Kashmiri leader hanging day marked; HRs violations protested

By: A. A. Rathor

SRINAGAR, Held Kashmir: Kashmiris on Wednesday observed a strike in Held Kashmir to mark the death anniversary of Kashmiri leader Maqbool Bhat, who was hanged 20 years ago, after a New Delhi court sentenced him to death.

During the strike, shops and offices were closed and the roads free of traffic in the valley. Activists of the Jammu Kashmir Liberation front (JKLF) and Democratic Freedom Party (DFP) staged a protest in Srinagar outside the office of UN Military Observes Group in India and Pakistan (UNMOGIP) while shouting pro-freedom slogans.

Indian police detained Chief of DFP Shabir Shah and chief of JKLF Yasin Malik along with six other activists as they were trying to hold the protest.

In another development, rights activists have demanded immediate curbs on human rights violations by the army in Indian occupied Kashmir, pointed up by the recent killings of five villagers allegedly used by them as human shields.

According to reports the army last week forcibly picked up six villagers aged between 20-35 years from the impoverished Chittibandi village near north Kashmir's Bandipora town, 60 kilometers from Srinagar. Five of them were later found dead. The army said they had died in an army operation against freedom fighters that claimed three soldiers and six freedom fighters.

Separately, India plans to increase its paramilitary force in the held valley. Director Central Reserve Police Force (CRPF) Kanwaljeet Singh told newsmen the paramilitary service aimed to deploy a further 42 battalions each consisting of about 1,000 men in Kashmir.

“While 22 battalions are already under training, 20 more will be raised shortly. This will make CRPF the largest paramilitary force in the world with a total of 200 battalions,” he said.

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