Indian occupation forces killed nine Kashmiris and injured more than 50 in the latest act of state terrorism in Kulgam district of Held Kashmir on Sunday. Three of the martyred got killed when the troops blasted a house. The rest were killed in troops’ firing and in an explosion while people were removing the debris of the house. The incident followed a cordon and search operation by the occupation forces in the district. The troops used bullets, pellets and teargas shells against the protesting youth. Doctors at Kulgam and Islamabad district hospitals said that they had received 44 injured youth. Some critically injured were shifted to hospitals in Srinagar. Soon after the killings, the authorities suspended Internet services and imposed curfew like restrictions in Kulgam district. Meanwhile, four Indian soldiers were injured in two separate attacks in Kulgam and Pulwama. While condemning the incident, the Joint Resistance Leadership comprising Syed Ali Gilani, Mirwaiz Umar Farooq and Muhammad Yasin Malik called for a complete shutdown today against the brutal killings in Kulgam. They said that a protest sit-in would be held at Lal Chowk in Srinagar today (Tuesday). Mirwaiz Umar Farooq said that Indian forces had replicated the scenes of Karbala in Kulgam district of southern Kashmir. He said that the killing of so many youth in a single day was sufficient to shake the conscience of the world community. The Kashmir Economic Alliance in a statement supported the JRL’s call for the strike. The Chairman of Tehreek-e-Hurriyat Jammu and Kashmir, Muhammad Ashraf Sehrai in a statement said that the authorities had given a license to its forces to kill Kashmiris with impunity. Hurriyat leaders Zafar Akbar Butt and Bilal Siddiqui in their addresses and statements paid tributes to the Kulgam martyrs. Minister of Kashmir Affairs and Gilgit-Baltistan Ali Amin Gandapur condemned the martyrdom of nine Kashmiri youth by Indian troops. In a statement, the minister drew the attention of world community towards the worst atrocities carried out by the Indian security forces on innocent Kashmiris. “The world conscience should raise its voice on this barbaric treatment,” the minister said, adding that Pakistan will continue to expose the true face of India on all international forums. Published in Daily Times, October 22nd 2018.