Pakistan’s foreign secretary expressed his concerns over the killings of Wani and civilian protesters to Indian authorities Monday evening.
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He spoke on condition of anonymity because he wasn’t allowed to talk to reporters.
Indian-held Kashmir’s main hospital struggled to treat hundreds of patients wounded in four days of clashes, as medics warned that many could lose their eyesight from shotgun injuries.
A police officer told IANS that the forces exercise “restraint” but when the protesters charged towards them with rocks, one of the guards opened fire. The dead include a police constable who was drowned in the Jhelum river near Sangam, also in the south.
When Indian forces announced last week that they had killed a top Kashmiri rebel leader, they called it a major victory in the fight against militants in the disputed Himalayan region. Many in the region of 12 million people resent the deployment of hundreds of thousands of Indian troops and openly voice support for the rebels fighting for independence or a merger with neighbouring Pakistan. They were killed during clashes with security forces, mostly in Anantnag, Shopian, Kulgam and Pulwama districts.
New Delhi warned Islamabad late Monday not to meddle in India’s internal matters after Pakistan accused it of violating human rights in the aftermath of Wani’s killing.
“We have seen statements from Pakistan on the situation in the Indian state of Jammu and Kashmir”.
“I appeal to everybody to restore calm and peace so that further loss of lives is avoided”, she said.
“Pakistan is advised to refrain from interfering in the internal affairs of its neighbors”, he added.
On Sunday, Pakistan expressed deep shock at Wani’s death.
“The Prime Minister’s appeal for peace to the people of Jammu and Kashmir after his return from overseas is welcome but instead of sending more troops, it would have been appropriate to dispatch doctors and medicines to treat the victims of brute violence”, the Kulgam MLA said in a statement here.
The Pakistani and Indian governments, which each administer a portion of the region but which both claim authority over all of Kashmir, have weighed in on the violence. Apart from this, many risk losing their eyesight to the excessive use of pellet guns by security forces. Kashmir is about 70 percent Muslim.
He joined the HM group at the age of just 15 and was viewed as a hero by many in Kashmir.
The killing of Burhan Wani drew tens of thousands to rise up and renew demands for “azadi”, or freedom, from Indian rule.
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As the overall death toll from the violence rose to 32, ambulances continued to deliver more victims to Srinagar’s Sri Maharaja Hari Singh Hospital (SMHS) where patients were sometimes forced to share beds.
