Several protesters hurt by Indian troops in IHK

ISLAMABAD: Several people were injured when Indian troops used brute force against peaceful protesters in the Pulwama town of Indian held Kashmir on Monday.

According to the Kashmir Media Service (KMS), people took to the streets in various areas of Pulwama, and staged forceful demonstrations against the killing of four youths in violent cordon and search operations by Indian troops a day earlier. Indian troops fired pellets and tear gas to disperse the protesters. Several youths sustained injuries in the brutal actions of the troops.

Meanwhile, a complete shutdown was observed in Pulwama and Shopian against the killings of the youth. All shops, business establishments and educational institutions remained closed while traffic was off the roads.

Hundreds of Kashmiris visited the residences of the slain youths to pay tribute to them and express solidarity with their families.On the other hand, the Hurriyat forum led by Mirwaiz Umar Farooq in a statement in Srinagar said the Hurriyat leadership has always been in favour of talks to settle the Kashmir dispute. A spokesman of the forum said the Kashmiris being the most affected party to the Kashmir dispute for the past 72 years naturally wanted its resolution.

This came as Indian troops launched fresh cordon and search operations in Baramulla and Pulwama districts on Monday. The troops cordoned off Dooru village in Sopore area of Baramulla district. The troops sealed all the entry and exit points of Dooru and started a door-to-door search operation.

The Indian forces also launched a similar operation in Tumluhal area of Pulwama district. The forces’ personnel started house-to-house searches after blocking all entry and exit points of the area. The military operations in the two areas continued till last reports came in.

On the other hand, a constable of Indian police’s intelligence wing committed suicide in Jammu. The constable identified as Arjun Dev, who was undergoing lower class course at the training centre Sujwan, ended his life by shooting himself with his service rifle.This incident raised the number of such deaths amongst the Indian police personnel and troops to 434 in occupied Kashmir since January 2007.