Professor among 10 martyred in IHK

HELD SRINAGAR: In another act of state terrorism, Indian troops shot dead 10 innocent Kashmiris, including a university professor, in the Indian Held Kashmir (IHK) on Sunday. Thousands took to the streets in south Kashmir to show support for the slain people.

The Indian forces opened fire to break up the protests, director general of police Shesh Paul Vaid said. Hundreds of people were injured in the protests, according to doctors. Mohammad Rafi Bhat, a university sociology professor, along with four people were shot dead by the Indian troops. The Kashmir University, where he taught, was ordered closed for two days, according to a university statement.

Other martyrs were identified as Saddam Ahmad Paddar, Bilal Ahmad Mahand, Aadil Malik, Tausif Ahmad Sheikh, Asif Ahmad Mir, Aadil Ahmad Sheikh, Sajjad Ahmad Rathar, Nasir Ahmad Kumar and Zubair Ahmad Nagroo.

As news of the killings spread, residents took to the streets across southern Kashmir, shouting slogans demanding an end to Indian rule, witnesses and a police officer said. Another police officer, speaking on condition of anonymity, said at least 30 people were injured in clashes with Indian forces who fired live ammunition, pellet guns and teargas.

A doctor at a hospital in Shopian said hundreds of injured needed treatment. "We have reached our full capacity. We have run out of essential medicines, there are no more ambulances," he told AFP. On Saturday, four Kashmiris died during firing of Indian troops in held Srinagar.

A curfew was ordered in Srinagar on Sunday and mobile internet services were shut down in much of the occupied region. Fighting in the IHK this year has left 120 dead, according to officials. Pakistan condemned the killing spree unleashed by the Indian occupation forces in IHK.

In a tweet, the Foreign Office Spokesman, Dr Muhammad Faisal, said India needs to put an immediate end to the massacre of Kashmiris. He said fact finding missions of the UN bodies for human rights must visit the IHK and witness and report on the abysmal human rights situation on the ground.