- Pakistan seeks world intervention to stop killings, brutalities in IHK
Pakistan has strongly condemned killing of six Kashmiri people and injuries to many by Indian forces in the Indian-held Kashmir.
In a tweet message on Sunday, Foreign Office spokesperson Nafees Zakariya urged international community and human rights organisations to play their key role in stopping bloodshed and crimes against humanity by India in the disputed state.
He demanded that perpetrators must be brought to justice who were involved in killing of innocent people. Pakistan will continue diplomatic, moral and political support to Kashmiri people in their indigenous movement for right to self-determination, he said.
As many as six people were killed and at least 100 injured when police clashed with protesters during a by-election in Srinagar. Hurriyat Conference had called for a boycott of the vote, resulting in heightened security and low voter turnout when the polling began.
In Budgam district, police initially used teargas against protesters who were throwing stones, but then opened fire, killing six people, local and foreign media reported. Over 100 people were injured during the clashes across central Kashmir, according to officials.
At least 70 polling stations were shut due to the violence, while at some stations voting machines were set ablaze by the protesters. In Srinagar, the by-election was held to fill a vacant seat in the Lok Sabha, India’s lower house of the parliament.
A second by-election in the disputed state for a separate Lok Sabha seat is set to take place on April 12 in Anantnag. The results of both the polls are expected to be announced on April 15. All polling stations have been declared as sensitive by the Election Commission of India because of anger prevailing among the masses against India over the massacres.
Fearing protests and violence, police launched a crackdown in different parts and rounded up many youth, who have lodged at different police stations. Media reports said that only 11 out of 2147 votes were polled in three polling booth, 34, 35 and 36 in Sonwar area of Srinagar till filing of this report.
As many as nine candidates including National Conference President Farooq Abdullah are contesting the polls. The Srinagar-Badgam seat fell vacant after Tariq Hameed Karra resigned from the LoK Sabha, saying the government was treating Kashmiri people much worse than Nazi forces.
The authorities have put almost entire Hurriyat leadership including Mirwaiz Umar Farooq, Muhammad Yasin Malik, Syed Ali Gilani, Shabbir Ahmed Shah, Muhammad Ashraf Sehrai, Aasiya Andrabi and Nayeem Ahmed Khan either in jails or under house detention to stop them from leading the anti-India demonstrations and election-boycott rallies.