DAY 51: Clashes continue, 60 injured in pellet firing

DAY 51: Clashes continue, 60 injured in pellet firing

Huge freedom rallies held in South Kashmir areas amid rains | Protests, curfew continue elsewhere | Bhaderwah to observe shutdown today | Mirwaiz remains lodged at Cheshmashahi Sub-Jail | Doda advocate booked under PSA | No restrictions, except in Pulwama town and some Srinagar areas, from today: Police

ABID BASHIR/ KHALID GUL
Srinagar/Anantnag, Publish Date: Aug 28 2016 11:47PM | Updated Date: Aug 29 2016 1:08AM

DAY 51: Clashes continue, 60 injured in pellet firing

At least 60 people including some women sustained pellet injuries in South Kashmir areas and Central Kashmir’s Budgam district on Sunday when forces foiled pro-freedom rallies there, witnesses said.

Photo: Mir Wasim/GK

 Locals, according to witnesses, had called for ‘Dangerpora Chalo’ in Budgam district and people from various areas including those from nearby Pulwama district marched towardsDangerpora where police had imposed strict restrictions. When people from New Khanda, Chattergam, Gangipora,  Kanipora, Wangipora and Kenihama areas reached Dangerpora, aheavy contingent of police and paramilitary forces intercepted them and fired dozens of tear-gas shells before resorting to massive pellet firing.  “Police also detained six youth,” localresidents said.

At least 15 people including three women sustained pellet injuries in the police action.  Clashes were going in the area till last reports came in.

SOUTH KASHMIR

At least 40 people were injured after police and paramilitary forces used force to foil peaceful pro-freedom rallies in several South Kashmir localities, even as curfew and restrictions remained in place in various towns for the 51st straight day.  Reports said police and CRPF raided Nadimarg village early in the morning and beat up volunteers who were making arrangements for a pro-freedom rally there. As people came out to protest, forces lobbed tear-gas shells and also fired pellets, witnesses said, adding: “At least 20 people were injured in the forces’ action with many receiving pellet injuries. The injured are being treated in local hospitals.”

“The forces also vandalized the venue and damaged the Public Address System and the stage,” witnesses said. They said the rally was however held later despite heavy rains and police action.

In Pariwan and Kanchlo villages of Kulgam district, where a similar rally was proposed to be held, forces attempted to foil the procession with force.  “The forces raided the venue and beat up volunteers and also lobbed teargas shells and pellets on people who came out to protest the police action,” witnesses said.

They said at least 10 people sustained injuries, two of them critical, in the forces’ action. “The injured were treated at District Hospital Kulgam,” they said.

A pro-freedom rally was also held in Belaw village of Pulwama and after the rally ended, six people sustained injuries, two of them with pellets while one was beaten, when forces swung into action.  However, due to heavy rains, only 1000 people reportedly attended the rally.

The rallies-cum-unity conferences of various sects have become a routine in South Kashmir during the ongoing anti-India uprising triggered by killing of Hizb commander Burhan Wani on July 8. More than 100 rallies witnessing attendance in thousands have been held so far.

Clashes between forces and protesters were also witnessed in Sangam area of Anantnag and Nayina village of Pulwama. 12 people sustained injuries in Achajipora area of Anantnag town during protests.

“Amid curfew people including women came out on roads early in the morning to protest nocturnal raids and arrests in the area. The forces swung into action and resorted to baton charge and lobbed tear-gas shells,” witnesses said.

They said 12 people including few women sustained injuries due to forces’ thrashing.  Forces also allegedly ran amok in nearby Dabruna village, beating inmates and ransacking goods, triggering further protests in the area.

Reports of protests also came in from Dadoo and Marhama village, the native place of Shahnawaz Khan whose body was fished out from river Jhelum when he had jumped into it while being chased by forces. The heavy rains however forced people to stay indoors as a result of which intensity of protests was also less on Sunday.  Curfew and restrictions however, remained in place in Anantnag, Pulwama, Kulgam, Shopian, Pampore, Awantipora, Kakpora, Bijbehara and Mattan areas.

NORTH KASHMIR

A massive protest rally was staged under the banner of Tehreek-e-Hurriyat at Ajas in north Kashmir’s Bandipora district in which hundreds of people participated. Hurriyat Conference (G) chairman Syed Ali Geelani addressed the gathering over phone and asked people to remain steadfast towards the freedom movement.

In the rally, many Sarpanchs and Panchs announced their resignation, reports said.
Reports from Baramulla said strict curbs remained in place across the district while Bridges—connecting old town with Civil Lines areas—continued to remain closed.  Reports said peaceful protest rallies were held in Rafiabad area of Baramulla while similar protests were staged in Zainageer and Arampora areas of Sopore, amid heavy rains.  Reports said curfew continued to remain in place during the day while authorities enforce night curfew across Kupwara district.

Due to rain, no major protest rally was held in the district, but deployment of forces continued to remain in place.

SRINAGAR

While old Srinagar areas continued to remain under tight curfew, restrictions were in place elsewhere in Srinagar district.

Reports said a major protest rally was held in Batamaloo area against the civilian killings. It culminated peacefully.

Reports of evening protests poured in from Lawaypora, HMT, Qamarwari and Bemina areas.
A torch procession was taken out at Nowgam area after Magrhib prayers. Reports from old Srinagar said majority of shops opened after 6 pm including the Jamia Market at Nowhatta.

In Lal Chowk, many shops opened after 6 pm.

Meanwhile, reports said Chairman of Hurriyat Conference (M) Mirwaiz will continue to remain in Sub-Jail Chesmashahi for some time. Mirwaiz was detained on Friday evening and first lodged in police station Nigeen wherefrom he was later shifted to Cheshmashahi Sub-Jail.

BHADERWAH TO OBSERVE SHUTDOWN ON MONDAY:

Anjuman-e-Islamia Bhadarwah on Sunday called for a shutdown in the area against civilian killing in Kashmir on Monday and detention of youths “at the behest of RSS and BJP in Bhaderwah.”

“Authorities and some communal politicians are hell bent to vitiate peaceful atmosphere of Chenab Valley by falsely implicating and arresting youth under draconian laws,” a statement of the Anjuman-e-Islamia read.

DODA ADVOCATE BOOKED UNDER PSA

Advocate Baber-ul-Islam was arrested in Doda on Saturday evening and booked under Public Safety Act (PSA).

Sources said he has been shifted to Kotbalwal jail. They said more than three FIRs have been registered against the Advocate for “raising voice against the recent killings in Kashmir.”

The administration has also slapped PSA on a medical student for protesting against Kashmir killing.President of Bar Association Doda Advocate Asim Hashmi has termed it as “misuse of power by the Doda administration.”

POLICE VERSION
According to a statement issued by the Zonal Police Headquarters Kashmir, “following improvement in situation, curfew was lifted from Anantnag and major areas of Srinagar this morning.”

“Three stray incidents of stone pelting were reported from Sangam, Ashajipora in Anantnag and Nadigam in Shopian where some trouble-mongers attempted to disturb the situation by pelting stones on police and security force deployments. Barring these three incidents of stone pelting, overall situation remained peaceful and under control across the valley,” it said.

The statement said restrictions under section 144/CrPC remained in force in Kashmir. “However, curfew was imposed under the areas of three police stations of Srinagar, Pampore and Pulwama towns only. Increased movement of vehicular traffic and people was observed in major areas of the valley including city Srinagar,” it claimed.

‘NO RESTRICTIONS FROM TODAY’

“Following improvement in the situation, there will be No restrictions in Kashmir valley from Monday, except town Pulwama and areas falling under jurisdictions of Police station M.R Gunj and Police Station Nowhatta in Srinagar,” a police spokesman said on Sunday evening.

RADIO KASHMIR BACK ON AIR

Radio Kashmir Srinagar once again started broadcasting its scheduled programmes after it went off air from Saturday evening for more than 15 hours, officials said.

(With additional reporting from Altaf Baba and Ghulam Muhammad)

50 Day of Unrest: Kashmir is where it was on July 8

50 Day of Unrest: Kashmir is where it was on July 8
Published August 27, 2016

50 Day of Unrest - Kashmir is where it was on July 8When Union Home Minister Rajnath Singh addressed a press conference on Thursday with Chief Minister Mehbooba Mufti by his side, he said it was for a first time that a Home Minister had visited Kashmir twice in just a month to assess the situation.

This depicts the grim situation on the ground zero in Kashmir where the state and Central governments in an effort to calm the protesters and contain the situation, have resorted to massive security clampdown following the killing of militant commander Burhan Wani. Since then, almost 50 days have passed and the Kashmir lockdown continues. Nearly 70 people have died and over 8,000 have been injured during these days.

Rajnath made his first visit to Kashmir on July 23, the 14th day of the unrest, and his second visit came on August 25, the 47th day of the turmoil.

Before landing in Srinagar on Wednesday, Rajnath invoked former Prime Minister Atal Bihari Vajpayee’s much-used three words — “Kashmiriyat, insaniyat and jamhooriyat.” He invited those people for talks who believe in these three phrases. Apart from the mainstream political groups, a few odd unknown civil society groups, no one from dissenting groups — Hurriyat or protesting youth — met him.

While wrapping up his two-day visit which was further muddied by his joint press conference with Chief Minister Mehbooba Mufti where she lost her cool, Rajnath announced preparation for an all-party delegation and alternative to the controversial pellet guns, without further elaborating. In fact, doubts still persist regarding the mandate of such panel as Kashmir-based political parties insist that it won’t work unless the recommendations of the all-party delegation are implemented without wasting time.

On the ground zero the situation remains same. Since last week, the government has even imposed night curfew across Srinagar and major towns of the Valley in a bid to scuttle the separatist protest programme. Mobile Internet services continue to remain suspended since July 9 while outgoing calling facility is barred on the prepaid mobile telephones.

In the absence of any political initiative to break the cycle of violence, the only option exercised by the governments has been to deploy more forces and use bullet and pellet guns coupled with curfew and restrictions in a hope to tire out the protesters who have emerged from every nook and corner of the Valley, including the remotest villages.

The only intervention, though late, came from Prime Minister Narendra Modi on August 22, who had till then maintained a silence on the happenings in Kashmir. It came when a delegation of Opposition parties, led by former Chief Minister Omar Abdullah, called on him. Modi said a dialogue was a must for bringing to the unrest to the end and ensuring a permanent solution in Kashmir within the ambit of the Constitution.

However, that message too seems to have been lost in the din of street protests and almost-daily sounds of firing of pellet guns. The streets of Kashmir continue to witness protests and clashes, which are more fearful and loud in south Kashmir.

As the lockdown continues, Mehbooba Mufti statements appear to be “out of sync” with the mood of the people and “reality” on the ground. Though she may have appeared to be having an iron hand, for many in Kashmir that is not the requirement at the present when the aim is to pacify the angry protesters.

Turn of events

July 8 Hizbul Mujahideen militant commander Burhan Wani killed in a gunfight in south Kashmir’s Anantnag district along with his two associates. The killing sparks instant protests.
July 9: 12 protesters killed in action of security forces. The authorities suspend mobile Internet services in Kashmir valley while the facility is completely snapped in south Kashmir.
July 12: The Prime Minister reviews the Kashmir situation, appeals for calm
July 15: Printing presses of newspapers raided and printing stopped after which local newspapers fail to hit the stands
July 20: The Army Chief reviews security situation in Srinagar
July 21: Chief Minister Mehbooba Mufti chairs an all-party meeting in Srinagar, asks Delhi to start a political dialogue
July 26: Rajnath forms an expert team to explore alternatives to pellet gun
July 28: Mehbooba Mufti says nobody knew Burhan Wani was holed up at Kokernag in Anantnag
August 8: Three BSF men and a militant killed in Pakistan BAT team’s action close to the LoC in Nowgam
August 12: The PM chairs all-party meeting on Kashmir, blames Pakistan for unrest
August 14: Pakistani flags hoisted at various places in Kashmir. Militants appear in Kulgam pro-Pak rally
August 15: A CRPF commandant and two militants killed in Srinagar gunfight. Five unidentified militants killed and a senior Army officer receives minor injuries when the Army foils an infiltration bid in the Uri sector of Baramulla district
August 16: Five civilians killed in clashes
August 17: Three security personnel killed in an ambush of an Army convoy in Baramulla district
August 18: Security forces beat college lecturer to death in Khrew, Pulwama. The Army orders probe order.
August 21: Opposition leaders, led by Omar Abdullah, meet the President
August 21: Union Minister Arun Jaitley during a rally in Jammu says there will be no compromise with those indulging in violence in Kashmir
August 22: The PM says a dialogue is a must for bringing an end to the unrest and talks about a lasting, permanent solution to Kashmir within the Constitution
August 22: Mehbooba says 95 per cent want peace
August 22: For the first time after 12 years, the BSF deployed in Srinagar for law and order situation
August 25: Rajnath Singh concludes two-day visit to Srinagar. Says pellet guns to go
Source:Agencies

Kashmir: Arrest of separatist leader causes uproar

Mirwaiz Umar Farooq a leader of separatist conglomerate

Kashmir: Arrest of separatist leader causes uproar
Mirwaiz Umar Farooq a leader of separatist conglomerate, has been arrested in Indian-administered Kashmir.

A Kashmiri separatist leader has been arrested in Indian-administered Kashmir while leading a peaceful demonstration.

Mirwaiz Umar Farooq, from All Parties Hurriyet Conference (APHC), was initially held in the Nigeen Police Station after being arrested in front of his residence on Thursday, before he was transferred to Chashma Shahi Sub-Jail on Friday, the APHC said in a statement.

Local media reported that Farooq was taken into custody for violating the terms of his house arrest by trying to participate in a march to the Martyrs' Graveyard along with his supporters to pay tribute and protest against the recent killings of civilian Kashmiris.

Mirwaiz Umar has been under house arrest for nearly two months for speaking out against "the continuing violence and oppression by the Indian Security Forces," APHC spokesman Shahidul Islam said in a statement.

"Speaking out against the Indian state's violations of basic human rights is not a crime, it's heroism," Islam said.

"Especially when India demonises people on the basis of their faith and ethnicity."

APHC spokesman added that they demand Mirwaiz Umar to be released immediately.

"We appeal to the International Community to condemn the political detention of Mirwaiz Umar and we demand his immediate release," he said.

Almost daily anti-India protests are taking place in Indian-administered Kashmir after a popular rebel commander was killed in a gun battle with security forces [Farooq Khan/ EPA ]

"Currently, there is a siege going on in Kashmir," said Muzzammil Thakur, executive director of the Kashmir Institute of International Affairs.

"Mirwaiz Umar Farooq has been detained unnecessarily and illegally," he told Al Jazeera. "He is a popular leader who is working for Kashmir's prosperity."

"We want him to be released immediately."

Mirwaiz Umar's arrest also caused uproar on social media, with hundreds of people sharing their anger about the incident under the hashtag #freemirwaiz.


While emphasising that they view Mirwaiz Umar's arrest as "illegal", social media users demanded his immediate release and called for India to respect Kashmiri people's human rights.

Almost daily anti-India protests are taking place in Indian-administered Kashmir after a popular rebel commander, Burhan Wani, was killed in a gun battle with security forces on July

In the backlash over Wani's shooting, 66 civilians have so far been killed, many while defying a sweeping curfew to join banned protests.

Two members of the Indian security forces have also been killed, making it the deadliest chapter in Kashmir's troubled history since a similar spike in 2010.

Schools, shops and most banks remain shut, and normal economic activity has been paralysed.

Residents say the region feels more like a prison than the "paradise" that Prime Minister Narendra Modi evoked recently.

Since Modi's Hindu nationalist government came to power in 2014, there had only been sporadic violence, but tensions have never been far from the surface in India's only Muslim-majority state.

Modi has spoken of his "pain" at the violence and on Thursday, he dispatched one of his top lieutenants to Kashmir's capital.

"Do not question our understanding of the situation ... We know what the problem is, and we'll find a solution," Home Minister Rajnath Singh told reporters in Srinagar.

Modi has laid much of the blame for the unrest on Pakistan, which has a history of supporting Kashmiri separatists and, like India, lays claim to the whole of the region which was split between the two countries after independence in 1947.


Indian Prime Minister Modi has laid much of the blame for the unrest on Pakistan [Farooq Khan/EPA]

While the Indian-controlled part has guarantees of autonomy, Modi's Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) is officially committed to scrapping that section of the constitution, and critics say its stance is exacerbating tensions.

The BJP is now part of a coalition government in Kashmir, performing strongly in last year's state elections in areas where the state's Hindus are concentrated.

"New Delhi has reneged on its commitments by whittling down the autonomy," former chief minister Omar Abdullah told an AFP reporter.

'Deadly mix'

Despite the government's talk of wanting to restore peace, thousands of security reinforcements have been sent to the region in the last few days, some setting up camp in schools that have been closed.

"Without any political initiatives, it's all coming down to us. And what we do has its own consequences," a senior army officer told AFP on condition of anonymity.

A top police officer, who was not authorised to speak to the media, said a "brutal suppression" was likely.

"For the first time, the militants and the public are on the same page. It is a deadly mix."

There is already deep anger about the security forces' routine use of crude pump-action pellet guns, which spray blinding metal shards to break up protests.

The guns are meant to minimise fatalities in protests, although the law gives the armed forces a relatively free hand to use lethal force, especially against suspected "militants".

Hospital authorities say they have treated at least 500 patients with eye injuries caused by pellet guns, many of whom will never recover their full vision.

Source: Al Jazeera And Agencies

More you suppress us, more we will resist: Mirwaiz

More you suppress us, more we will resist: Mirwaiz
2014 floods taught us about self-reliance, resilience, fortitude

BY OBSERVER NEWS SERVICE|AUGUST 21, 2016, 01:17 AM
Srinagar: Hurriyat (M) chairman Mirwaiz Umar Farooq today expressed shock at firing by Indian armed forces at an 80-year old man Abdul Qayoom and his old wife in Tral and wondered how barbaric can the state get.

He expressed deep concern and anguish over blocking of intra district movement of vehicles carrying essentials such as medicines vegetables and milk to Srinagar city especially to shehr-e-khas and imposition of round the clock curfew as a revenge against people  by the antihuman regime.

Hurriyat (M) chairman Mirwaiz Umar Farooq

“If the regime thinks it will weaken the people's resolve and we will be brought down on our knees and will give up, they are living in a fool’s paradise. In fact the more they repress us the more we will resist. Mirwaiz said in this crisis situation created by the vengeful state, each one of us has to redouble our efforts and help and support each other in every possible way. Adversity is a great teacher in a nation’s moral and character building,” he said.

Referring to 2014 floods, Mirwaiz said that the way the people, especially the youth rescued people whom the then government had left to its own mercy and the way they helped in rehabilitation and offering support to the affected was a big lesson that we learnt in self-reliance, resilience and fortitude which today is helping them to stand up against such might and tyranny.

He commended the volunteers for their daring young, for their dedication and commitment in the present crisis.

In connection with the current embargo he said a help line by Dar Ul Khair Mirwaiz Manzil has been set up and those in urgent need should call at 9419017890 for help after getting in touch with the local masjid committee. (PTK)