Indian troops killed two more Kashmiri youths during a cordon and search operation in the Khonmoh area of Srinagar on Saturday.
Clashes between Indian police and residents of the area erupted in the aftermath of the killings when Indian police used force to disperse demonstrators, who had come out on the streets to protest.
The latest act of Indian aggression came on India’s Republic Day, which was observed as Black Day by residents of Indian-occupied Kashmir and Azad Jammu and Kashmir.
The day was marked with a complete shutdown in occupied Kashmir, anti-India rallies and demonstrations in world capitals. The call to observe India’s Republic Day as Black Day was given by the Joint Resistance Leadership (JRL), which is led by Syed Ali Gillani, Mirwaiz Umar Farooq and Mohammad Yasin Malik.
Heavy contingents of police and troops were deployed across the valley to prevent people from staging anti-India demonstrations.
Hurriyet leaders were also put under house arrest or taken into custody.
In a statement, the JRL said that Indian was executing tyranny and suppression to forcibly impose its will over the people of Kashmir. “Thousands of armed personnel are deployed to suppress the aspirations of people and draconian laws like AFSPA and PSA are invoked to ensure people’s sentiments do not get out of hand,” it said.
In his message on the Black Day, Pakistan’s Foreign Minister Shah Mehmood Qureshi stressed the need for implementation of the United Nations Security Council’s resolutions on Kashmir dispute.
Referring to the Indian gross human rights violations in Held Kashmir, the foreign minister said the Indian forces were bluntly victimizing the Kashmiri people in the held valley and New Delhi had broken all records of atrocities.
He said India had no justification to observe the Republic Day when it had snatched the right of self-determination from Kashmiri people and its hand were soaked in the blood of innocent people. The foreign minister said the sacrifices of Kashmir will not go waste. Islamabad has repeatedly urged New Delhi to respect the 2003 ceasefire arrangement, investigate the incidents of ceasefire violations, instruct Indian forces to respect the agreement in letter and spirit and maintain peace along the Line of Control. However, the violation of the truce has been continuing.
Published in Daily Times, January 27th 2019.
