Indian troops armed with automatic rifles and in riot gear fanned across villages and towns in Kashmir on Friday, ordering residents to stay indoors as a blanket curfew remained in force.
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More than 90 people have undergone surgery after being hit by pellets in their eyes since Saturday and a majority of them will either sustain some form of permanent damage, suffer disfigurement or lose their eyesight entirely, doctors say.
Violent protests rocked Kashmir last weekend following killing of Burhan Wani and two of his associated in an encounter with security forces on July 8 in Kokernag area of Anantnag district.
At least, one policeman has also been killed and about 1,550 others, mainly the members of CRPF, were also injured in mob violence, in addition to damages to police stations and posts, the camps of various security forces and other infrastructure damaged. The envoys were informed that due to use of lethal force by India, more than 40 civilians have lost their lives whereas another 2,000 have been injured, of whom 400 are in critical condition.
Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif termed Burhan Wani as “martyr of the independence movement” and proposed observance of July 19 as a “black day” while chairing a federal cabinet meeting at the Governor’s House in Lahore.
Separatist politicians extended call for protests and a shutdown of the region for the next three days.
In New Delhi, India’s External Affairs Ministry spokesman Vikas Swarup asked Pakistan to desist from interfering in India’s internal affairs and destabilizing the situation in South Asia through support to terrorism and other subversive acts.
India has unequivocally rejected Pakistan Cabinet decisions on the situation of Jammu and Kashmir. There is no issue of Kashmir between India and Pakistan and we are not ready to accept it, ‘ he said. They said in a statement they also supported Pakistan’s call to observe a “black day” on July 19 against the killings.
A congressional hearing in Washington and the United Nations general assembly were the forums for Pakistan’s public shaming after its representatives tried to rake up the Kashmir situation in the wake of the violence in the Indian state.
New Delhi: More than 200 passengers of a London-Mumbai Air India flight who were stranded at Baku in Azerbaijan after their aircraft is diverted night for “operational reasons” returns to Mumbai in a special aircraft sent for them.
Sudershan Khokhar, an ophthalmologist from All India Institute of Medical Sciences, said he had not witnessed so many injured at one time in three decades.
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“Necessary measures are being taken to ensure their security which is of prime concern to us”, he said.
