SRINAGAR/Islamabad - Hundreds of protestors clashed Tuesday with Indian forces on a third day of deadly troubles in Occupied Kashmir as the disputed Himalayan territory reeled from the killing of a tourist drawn into the unrest.
A Kashmiri man injured in earlier clashes died in hospital on Tuesday, setting off the new battles. Six Kashmiri civilians have now died in protests since a weekend siege in which Indian security forces killed five freedom fighters.
As news of the latest death spread in Shopian district, south of the state’s main city Srinagar, residents poured onto the streets, throwing stones at security forces who fired shotgun pellets and tear gas, witnesses said.
A police officer, speaking on condition of anonymity, said at least three people were critically injured in the clashes.
Shops and schools shut across the Kashmir valley following a protest call by Hurriyat leaders opposed to Indian rule. Hundreds of police in riot gear patrolled the old quarters of Srinagar amid a new curfew.
Late Monday, a tourist from India’s southern Tamil Nadu state was killed when the vehicle he was travelling in was hit by stones as it drove into a protest outside Srinagar.
Stone throwing is a regular tactic in battles between young protesters and security forces.
Mirwaiz Umar Farooq, a top Hurriyat leader and chief cleric, condemned the attack on tourists as hooliganism. “It is totally against our ethos of treating tourists as respected guests and brings a bad name to the people’s movement,” Farooq said in a tweet.
R Thirumani, 22, was going to join his family in the tourist resort of Gulmarg when he was critically injured.
“He was hit in the head by a stone. On reaching a hospital, he vomitted which went into his lungs and choked him to death,” Shesh Paul Vaid, director general of police in Indian-occupied Kashmir, told AFP.
The restive territory has become increasingly tense in recent weeks. Battles between fighters and government forces have left 15 dead, including seven civilians, in the past week.
Meanwhile, Pakistan Tuesday strongly condemned the continuing use of brutal and indiscriminate force by the Indian occupation forces in Held Kashmir that has resulted in the death of 14 Kashmiris in different districts.
The Kashmiri youth have been the deliberate target of this mindless killing spree, unleashed by the Indian occupation forces, said a foreign ministry statement issued in Islamabad.
“We extend our deepest sympathies and condolences to the bereaved families. Our thoughts and prayers are with them as they mourn the loss of their loved ones. The heartless killing of young Kashmiris daily constitutes yet another dark chapter in the long inhumane history of India’s illegal occupation Kashmir,” it said.
The people of Indian-occupied Kashmir continue to endure untold sufferings and face gross and systematic violations of their human rights - manifest in incarcerations, torture, rape, cordon-and-search operations, use of pellet guns, and extra-judicial killings, it said.
Their leaders remain under continued illegal house arrests and detention. For their part, the innocent, unarmed and defenceless Kashmiris stage peaceful protests, which are invariably countered with use of lethal weapons and disproportionate force by the Indian security personnel. Their mass participation in the funerals of the martyrs is a clear manifestation of their defiance as well as the determination to free themselves, the statement said.
“Indeed, in the history of past 70 years, it has been demonstrated time and again that the ferocity and inhumanity of India’s state-terrorism in IoK is no match for the resolve and resilience of the innocent, unarmed Kashmiri people. India will never be able to break their will. Nor will India succeed in misleading the world community through its malicious propaganda campaign painting the just, legitimate and indigenous Kashmiri struggle for self-determination as terrorism,” it said.
Pakistan remains in full solidarity with the people Kashmir. Pakistan also welcomes the strong support demonstrated by OIC member states for the resolution of the Jammu and Kashmir dispute in line with the UNSC resolutions and the wishes of the Kashmiris at the 45th Session of OIC Council of Foreign Ministers (CFM), held in Dhaka on 5-6 May 2018. We urge the international community to take cognizance of the brutal repression and massive violations of human rights taking place in IoK and to use its influence with India to bring an immediate end to the culture of impunity that has been fostered there for seven decades, the statement said.
Pakistan also calls upon the world community to play its rightful role in promoting a just and lasting solution of the Kashmir dispute in accordance with relevant UN Security Council resolutions and the wishes of the Kashmiri people. We believe this is a sine qua non for durable peace and stability in South Asia.