SRINAGAR: Indian troops martyred three more Kashmiri youth in Baramulla and Shopian districts of Occupied Kashmir on Saturday in the latest acts of Indian state terrorism.
The latest deaths came as a state of fear and panic gripped the Himalayan terrority after the Hindu nationalist Baharatiya Janata Party (BJP) government called in tens of thousands of additional troops and ordered tourists to evacuate the region.
According to the Kashmir Media Service, two youth were martyred in a cordon and search operation at Malmapanpora in Sopore area of Baramulla district, where an Indian soldier was injured in an earlier attack.
Another youth, identified as Manzoor Ahmed Butt, was martyred during an over 40-hour long cordon and search operation at Pandoshan in Shopian district, where Indian troops had martyred another youth, Zeenat-ul-Islam Naikoo, the previous day. The Indian forces also razed several houses to the ground by during the operation in Pandoshan.
Thousands of people participated in the funeral prayers of martyred Zeenat-ul-Islam Naikoo at his native Memmander village in Shopian district on Saturday, where they raised anti-India and pro-freedom slogans.
Scores of students reportedly assembled at the Kashmir University and held a demonstration against the war hysteria created by India in the Kashmir valley. The students pledged that any nefarious design by the Indian state which is against the interests of Kashmiri people would be opposed, tooth and nail.
In a statement, Chairman Jammu and Kashmir Peoples Movement Mir Shahid Saleem also warned the Indian government that any move to tinker with the special status of Jammu and Kashmir would have disastrous consequences.
Threat to scrap Occupied Kashmir’s special status
Meanwhile, fear gripped Chenab Valley and Pir Panchal areas of Jammu region after deployment of additional paramilitary personnel by India at many places in these areas. According to KMS, Kashmiri residents were feeling insecure as they feared “something bad was going to happen”.
The state government said late Friday that tourists should leave Occupier Kashmir “immediately” because of intelligence about “terror threats” to a major Hindu pilgrimage in the region.
The order came as the Indian government called in thousands of military reinforcements to the Himalayan territory. The Indian government has admitted that 10,000 extra troops were sent to Occupied Kashmir a week ago, but media reports Friday said a further 25,000 had been ordered there.
The Indian government has declined to say how many are in the new reinforcements.
Kashmir politicians have raised fears that the additional troops are a sign that the Hindu nationalist Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) government could carry out a threat to scrap Occupied Kashmir’s special status under the Indian constitution.
Recent official orders, including the one on Friday, have triggered rumours that the BJP government is planning to remove Article 35A, which prevents people from outside buying property or claiming government jobs in Occupier Kashmir.
Political leaders in the territory have warned that cancelling constitutionally guaranteed rights could spark unrest.
Former Jammu and Kashmir chief minister Mehbooba Mufti said India “has chosen territory over people”, and “seems to be preparing to rob them (Kashmiris) of whatever little is left to protect their unique identity”.
“Such a move will have catastrophic consequences and push Kashmiris to the brink,” she tweeted.
Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s government has refused to say whether it is about to scrap the constitutional article, though he has often spoken against it.
