SRINAGAR: Indian troops in their latest act of state terrorism, martyred four Kashmiri youth in Shopian district of occupied Kashmir on Sunday.
The youth were martyred during a cordon and search operation at Daramdora in Keegam area of the district.
The occupying troops have suspended internet services in the area.
A day earlier, the occupying forces martyred one Kashmiri during an operation in the Uri area of Baramulla district.
Kashmir is divided between nuclear-armed rivals India and Pakistan. Both claim it in full and have fought two wars over the mountainous region since the end of British colonial rule and partition of the subcontinent in 1947.
For decades, rebel groups in the region have battled Indian security forces for independence from New Delhi’s rule, or for a merger with Pakistan. More than 100 rebels have been killed so far this year.
Pakistan denies giving material support to such groups but says it provides moral and diplomatic backing for the self-determination of the Kashmiri people.
India regularly accuses Pakistan of supporting the rebels, however, and blames it for “controlling” the February suicide bombing and JeM that carried it out.
The rebuke ushered in a protracted diplomatic standoff between New Delhi and Islamabad, during which both sides conducted air attacks on each other’s territory and an Indian fighter jet was shot down during a dogfight.
Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi made frequent references to the military action against Pakistan during a recent election campaign that saw him sweep back to power.
Modi’s Hindu nationalist Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) has vowed to end the autonomy of Jammu and Kashmir, India’s only Muslim-majority state.
