SRINAGAR: Five Kashmiris were martyred in the Kulgam district on Sunday by Indian occupation forces.
An operation was initiated by the Indian army’s 9 Rashtriya Rifles, Central Reserve Police Force and Special Operation Group of police in the Kellan area of Kulgam district, according to Kashmir Media Service.
A youth was killed during the cordon and search operation and a house was also destroyed.
Subsequently, protesters took to the streets over the incident leading to clashes causing injuries to dozens more after Indian forces fired pellets.
Internet and phone services in Kulgam have been suspended while train services in South Kashmir have also been suspended.
On Saturday, a complete shutdown was observed in occupied Kashmir today to mark the sixth martyrdom anniversary of Kashmiri leader Muhammad Afzal Guru who was hanged Indian authorities in 2013.
According to Kashmir Media Service, the call for the shutdown was given by the Joint Resistance Leadership (JRL) comprising Syed Ali Gilani, Mirwaiz Umar Farooq and Muhammad Yasin Malik.
The leadership demanded that the remains of Guru and another renowned Kashmiri liberation leader, Muhammad Maqbool Butt be returned from New Delhi’s Tihar Jail for a proper burial. The JRL had also called for a march towards Lal Chowk in Srinagar on Monday on the martyrdom anniversary of Butt.
Earlier this month, Foreign Minister Shah Mehmood Qureshi said that the issue of Kashmir is a critical part of the country’s foreign policy and Pakistan has a clear position on the matter.
