Srinagar
In Indian illegally occupied Jammu and Kashmir, Indian troops and police arrested over three dozen youth during cordon and search operations in different areas of the territory.
Two dozen youth were arrested by Indian police during house raids in Srinagar. Fifteen among them have been booked under black law Public Safety Act.
Seven youth were arrested in Tral and Awantipora areas of Pulwama district.
The locals told media that Indian troops have created an atmosphere of fear and terror in the entire Kashmir valley since a protest demonstration was held in Nawhatta area of Srinagar on Friday.
They complained that frequent raids and search operations have made daily life a hell in the territory.
Meanwhile, killing of a youth leader, Abdul Ghani Khawaja, in Sopore area of Baramulla triggered massive anti-India protests in Kralgund area of Kupwara district.
The youth was martyred during a cordon and search operation by Indian troops, last night.
The protesters including women and children raised high-pitched anti-India and pro-freedom slogans.
Hurriyat leader, Shabbir Ahmed Dar, in a statement welcomed the collective demand of Gilgit-Baltistan lawmakers for a provisional province of Pakistan.
He said the resolution does not affect the disputed nature of the Jammu and Kashmir and the demand for a provisional province is based on the principles of justice and equality.
Hurriyat leaders Ghulam Muhammad Khan Sopori, Javaid Ahmed Mir and Jammu and Kashmir Mass Movement in their statements in Srinagar said, India is trying, in vain, to suppress the Kashmiris’ genuine demand for right to self-determination.
A report released by Research Section of Kashmir Media Service, today, revealed that Indian troops in their continued acts of state terrorism martyred 850 Kashmiris from 2018 to 2020. It said that 18 women and 55 teenagers were among the killed people.
Sixty one youth were martyred in custody and fake encounters.
The KMS report was released in response to the figures presented by Indian Minister of State for Home, G Kishan Reddy, in Lok Sabha wherein he admitted that a total of 750 Kashmiris, less than the actual number, were killed over the past three years.
On the other hand, an Indian policeman, Rajinder Kumar, killed his wife, mother-in-law and father-in-law and injured two others by opening fire at them in Phallian Mandal area of Jammu district.
The Editors Guild of India has expressed shock and disbelief at the manner in which a group of ministers led by Narendra Modi has prepared a report with an embedded toolkit to control the narrative about the government in the media.
The Guild in a statement issued in New Delhi said, the group comprising 9 ministers had been constituted by the Modi government in mid-2020 without any provocation and at a time when various press freedom and democracy indices show a rapid slide.
Also, embarrassment to India under Modi has refused to die down while in the latest such development Members of UK Parliament across the board during a detailed debate on the controversial farm laws and press freedom in India have raised serious concerns over Indian government’s reaction to the protests.
The debate was a response to a petition that received signatures from over one hundred thousand UK residents within weeks.—KMS
