- People of IHK protest against petition challenging article 35-A
ISLAMABAD: Indian troops martyred two youth in Indian held Kashmir’s (IHK) Sopore district on Friday. Both of them were killed by the troops during a violent cordon and search operation in the district. The Indian occupation forces also suspended internet service and shut down educational institutes in the Baramulla district.
On Thursday, Indian troops had martyred two youth in IHK’s Kupwara district during a cordon and search operation. Earlier this year, in June, a United Nations report accused India of having used excessive force in occupied Kashmir to martyr and wound civilians since 2016, as it called for an international inquiry into the accusations of rights violations.
The first UN report on human rights in IHK focuses mainly on serious violations in the region from July 2016 to April 2018.
Activists estimate that up to 145 civilians were martyred by security forces and up to 20 civilians martyred by armed groups in the same period, it said.
“In responding to demonstrations that started in 2016, Indian security forces used excessive force that led to unlawful killings and a very high number of injuries,” the report said.
UN High Commissioner for Human Rights Zeid Ra’ad Al Hussein called for maximum restraint and denounced the lack of prosecutions of Indian forces in Jammu and Kashmir due to a 1990 law giving them what he called “virtual immunity”.
In a statement, Zeid called for a commission of inquiry by the Human Rights Council, which opens a three-week session in Geneva on Monday, into all violations. Alleged sites of mass graves in the Kashmir Valley and Jammu should be investigated, he said.
India rejected the report, calling it a “selective compilation of largely unverified information” that sought to build “a false narrative”, adding that it violated the country’s sovereignty and territorial integrity.
PEOPLE OF IHK PROTEST AGAINST PETITION CHALLENGING ARTICLE 35-A:
People of IHK on Friday held massive demonstrations in Srinagar and other major towns to protest against the petitions challenging Article 35-A of the Indian constitution.
The said article grants special rights and privileges to permanent residents of Jammu and Kashmir and bars non-Kashmiris from permanently settling in the territory.
A petition seeking repeal of Article 35-A is listed for hearing in the Indian Supreme Court on Monday. The repeal of this constitutional provision is aimed at converting Muslim majority of the occupied territory into a minority by paving way for non-Muslim Indian citizens to settle there.
Soon after the culmination of Friday prayers, people took to the streets in Srinagar, Badgam, Kangan, Ganderbal, Islamabad, Bandipora, Hajin, Kulgam, Kupwara, Sopore and Baramulla and staged forceful demonstrations against Indian conspiracy.
Members of Sikh and Pandit communities also participated in the protests. The protesters, led by Hurriyet leaders including Mirwaiz Umar Farooq, Muhammad Yasin Malik and others, raised high-pitched pro-freedom, pro-Pakistan and anti-India slogans.
Addressing the protesters, Hurriyet leaders said the people of Kashmir were ready to defend Article 35-A with their blood.
Indian police subjected the protesters to brute force at different places. People also staged protests in Mandi area of Poonch district in Jammu region against the onslaught on Article 35-A.
Hurriyet leaders, Shabbir Ahmed Dar, Muhammad Iqbal Mir, Muhammad Ahsan Untoo, Imtiaz Ahmed Reshi, Ghulam Nabi War and Ghulam Nabi Waseem, in a joint statement, said the people of Jammu and Kashmir would resist any attempt to abrogate Article 35-A.
Members of Jammu and Kashmir Civil Society Coordination Committee, Mir Javaid Advocate, Mufti Nasirul Islam and Jagmohan Singh Raina, have submitted an application in the Indian Supreme Court, seeking the dismissal of the petition filed for the abrogation of Article 35-A.
Meanwhile, Indian troops, in their latest act of state terrorism, have martyred two more youths during a cordon and search operation in Drusoo area of Sopore.
A complete shutdown was observed in different areas of Kupwara and Baramulla districts against the killings. Despite restrictions, thousands of people participated in the funeral prayers of the martyred Bilal Ahmed at his ancestral Shatmuqam village in Lolab area of Kupwara district.
The occupation authorities booked Tehreek-e-Hurriyet leader Umar Aadil Dar, under black law, Public Safety Act, and lodged him at Kathua Jail in Jammu.
