Srinagar: In occupied Kashmir, people including students staged forceful anti-India demonstrations, today, while Indian forces’ personnel used brute force on the demonstrators, injuring many of them.
People took to the streets in Srinagar, Chadoora, Badgam, Islamabad, Kulgam, Pulwama, Shopian, Sopore, Pattan, Hajin, Bandipore and other areas of the territory raising high-pitched pro-freedom, pro-Pakistan and anti-India slogans. They also waved Pakistani flags at various places. Thousands of people took out a rally in Chadoora area of Badgam against the killing of a youth, Muhammad Yasin Itoo, by Indian troops. Indian police resorted to brute force on protesters in Nowhatta and many other areas of the territory, injuring several of them.
Hundreds of students of Islamic University of Science and Technology in Awantipora, Pulwama, staged demonstrations in the campus against the recent killing of a B-Tech engineering student, Irfan Sheikh, by Indian troops. The students also offered funeral prayers in absentia for Irfan Sheikh. The students of degree college, Kupwara, shouted pro-freedom and anti-India slogans when an Indian delegation led by senior BJP leader and former Indian minister, Yashwant Sinha, arrived in the institution. Indian police arrested two students of 11th class at Mendhar in Poonch after their photograph in which they were saluting Pakistani flag went viral on social media.
Members of civil society including lawyers, writers, journalists, businessmen, doctors and teachers staged a silent sit-in protest at Pratap Park in Srinagar against India’s plans to dilute Article 35A of Indian Constitution to change the Muslim majority of the territory into a minority.
Meanwhile, the Chairman of Hurriyat forum, Mirwaiz Umar Farooq, addressing Juma congregation at Jamia Masjid in Srinagar said for the past 70 years, people of Kashmir are born and raised with the fact that Kashmir is a disputed territory waiting a final settlement, which lies in the implementation of the UN resolutions. He said that killing of innocent youth by Indian troops had failed to kill the Kashmiris’ liberation sentiment as was evident during funeral prayers of the martyrs. The working president of Jammu and Kashmir Muslim Conference, Jehangir Ghani Butt, addressing his party workers in Gandarbal said that the Kashmir dispute had assumed a dangerous shape due to India’s intransigent attitude towards its peaceful settlement.
Complete shutdown was observed in Chadoora and Pulwama areas against the killing of youth, Muhammad Yaseen Itoo and Muhammad Ayub Lone, by Indian troops.
On the other hand, the Jammu and Kashmir Democratic Freedom Party and Dukhtaran-e-Millat in their statements strongly condemned the US decision of designating Hizbul Mujahideen, the largest mujahid organization of Jammu and Kashmir, as a terrorist group. They said that Hizbul Mujahideen was fighting at local level against Indian occupation of Jammu and Kashmir.
