Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi has called an emergency meeting to discuss escalating violence in India-held Kashmir (IHK) amid anti-India protests that have left at least 32 people dead in clashes with authorities.
The protests erupted over the weekend after government forces killed Hizbul Mujahideen commander Burhan Wani. Indian authorities imposed an indefinite curfew in most parts of IHK after Wani was killed.
Paramilitary troops and police in riot gear were patrolling villages and towns on Tuesday. Still, crowds ignored curfews to demonstrate in several places around the region.
Police said Tuesday that the death toll from the street violence had reached 32, after three young men died overnight. Hundreds of civilians and at least 100 troops have been injured.
Wani, the Hizbul Mujahideen chief of operations, was killed in fighting on Friday after Indian troops, acting on a tip, cordoned off a forested village in the southern Kashmir’s Kokernag area, said Police Director-General K. Rajendra. Two other members of Wani’s group were also killed in the gun battle.
Pakistan on Sunday condemned the “extra-judicial killing of Kashmiri leader Burhan Wani and scores of other innocent Kashmiris”, terming such acts a “violation of the fundamental human rights of Kashmiris”.
The Foreign Office also summoned Indian High Commissioner Gautam Bambawale on Monday to register a protest with the envoy and convey Pakistan’s concerns over the killing of Burhan Wani and other civilians in IHK.
Terming Pakistan’s condemnation of the killing of Wani an interference in India’s internal affairs, India’s Ministry of External Affairs (MEA) said Pakistan should refrain from issuing statements on unrest in IHK.
