Indian paramilitary soldier cross barbed wire set up as road blockade at a temporary checkpoint during curfew in Srinagar, Indian controlled Kashmir, July 11, 2016.
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A diplomatic spat erupted between India and Pakistan on Monday over the unrest in Jammu and Kashmir after the killing of Hizbul commander Burhan Wani with New Delhi dismissing Islamabad’s strong attack, saying it reflected its “continued attachment” to terrorism.
Sharif ‘s office said in a statement that he had expressed deep shock at the “killing of Kashmiri leader Burhan Wani and many other civilians by the Indian military and paramilitary forces”.
Thousands of government forces in riot gear have fanned out across towns and villages in Kashmir.
In occupied Kashmir, complete shutdown marked by curfew and other restrictions was observed in the territory on the fifth consecutive day, today, against the brutal killing of at least 36 mourners including teenagers by Indian troops.
Most of those killed were men under the age of 26 from southern Kashmir, police said. At least 32 people have died so far and more than 1,300 have been injured.
Forty weapons including AK-47 rifles, INSAS rifles, one light machine gun and dozens of magazines and hundreds of rounds of ammunition were looted by angry mobs during the destruction of four police stations in south Kashmir on Saturday and Sunday. His death came amid a rise in violence and separatist sentiment across the state, which has been at the center of a tussle between India and Pakistan for decades. “The decision on resuming the yatra from Jammu will be taken after assessing the situation in the Valley”, a top police official told Mirror.
Prime Minister Narendra Modi earlier today chaired a high-level meeting in the national capital where he appealed to maintain peace and calm in the valley.
Kashmir has been divided between rivals India and Pakistan since 1947, but both claim the territory in its entirety.
Indian officials also lifted a suspension on the annual Hindu pilgrimage to a mountain cave that draws about half a million people each year, and asked that law enforcement ensure the security of the pilgrimage. Many resent the deployment of hundreds of thousands of Indian troops, and openly voice support for rebels who have been fighting since the 1990s to demand independence or a merger with neighboring Pakistan.
“About 2 lakh people attended the funeral prayers of Burhan Wani”, reports said, adding that 31 youth were also killed during the clashes between youth and forces in Kashmir following the killing of Wani.
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Be Civil – It’s OK to have a difference in opinion but there’s no need to be a jerk. The DM had an armed escort of local policemen whom he ordered not to use firearms so that casualties to protesters are avoided.
