SRINAGAR: Indian occupation forces martyred eight Kashmiri youth in Shopian district of Indian-held Kashmir on Sunday.
The youth were martyred during a cordon and search operation jointly launched by Indian army’s 34-Rashtriya Rifles, Central Reserve Police Force and Special Operation Group at Batagund in the Kapran area of the district. A house was also destroyed in the firing by the troops.
The bodies of the youth were found from the debris of the destroyed house.
The authorities also suspended Internet services in the Shopian district and other areas of the south Kashmir.
As the news about the killing of the youth spread, hundreds of civilians took to the streets, raising anti-India slogans and marching towards the house, resulting in clashes with the security forces.
Earlier this year, a United Nations report accused India of having used excessive force in the occupied territory to martyr and wound civilians. The report had also called for an international inquiry into the accusations of rights violations.
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.
Meanwhile, Federal Minister for Kashmir Affairs and Gilgit-Baltistan Ali Amin Gandapur on Sunday said that while India was involved in state terrorism in occupied Kashmir, Pakistan was taking steps for promoting peace in the region.
In a statement, Gandapur slammed Indian forces for killings of Kashmiris on a daily basis and called on the country to stop the genocide.
India will have to accept Kashmiris’ right to self-determination, he said.
The minister added that Pakistan had showed its commitment to peace by fulfilling its promise to open the Kartarpur corridor.
Published in Daily Times, November 26th 2018.