Curfew, curbs break all past records in IHK

Clampdown continues on 51st consecutive day; APHC condemns arrest of Mirwaiz, others; Radio Kashmir Srinagar goes off air; HRW sees clear use of excessive force in Valley

SRINAGAR: In Indian-held Kashmir (IHK), the puppet authorities have broken all past records of curfew and other restrictions, as the clampdown continued for the 51st consecutive day on Sunday.

Restrictions on the movement of people and goods transport remained in force in Srinagar, Sopore, Baramulla, Bandipora, Shopian, Kupwara, Pulwama, Badgam, Gandarbal and Islamabad districts and parts of Jammu region.

However, people defied curfew in several areas and came out of their houses and held anti-India and pro-freedom protest demonstrations. Several people were injured in clashes erupting in the Islamabad town against the arrest of Kashmiri youth.

The Indian Army barged into houses in the adjoining Dabruna village, ransacked the houses and harassed the dwellers. The High Court Bar Association at a meeting in Srinagar on Sunday reiterated that the Kashmir dispute could only be resolved through implementation of the United Nations Security Council resolutions.

Complete shutdown was observed in Rajouri, Poonch and adjoining areas against the killings in Kashmir and to express solidarity with the people of Kashmir where 86 people have been killed by the Indian Army so far.

The All Parties Hurriyat Conference (APHC), in a statement issued in Srinagar, denounced the arrest of APHC leader Muhammad Ashraf Sehrai from his house in Srinagar. The police also arrested social and political activist Hassan Babur Nehru in the Faridabad area of Doda district under the black Public Safety Act.

The APHC strongly condemned the arrest of its leaders including Mirwaiz Umar Farooq who had been lodged at a sub-jail in Cheshmashahi, said a press release.The illegal house detention for the past 49 days is the standard response of the infamous regime as well as its predecessors to prevent them from leading the people and letting the truth of Kashmir be known, it said.

Expressing deep sorrow and grief at the killing of Shakeel Ahmed Ganai of Rajpora, Pulwama, by the forces the other day and the drowning of Shahnawaz Khan of Sangam, Anantnag, when the forces were chasing him and he jumped into water to save himself, the spokesman strongly denounced the brutalities.

Meanwhile, Chairman of Jammu and Kashmir National Front (JKNF) Nayeem Ahmad Khan has said that Kashmiris are fighting for referendum and maintained that their aspirations could not be trampled by what he said brutal tactics by New Delhi.

Meanwhile, in a surprising development, Radio Kashmir Srinagar went off air on Saturday and consequently several programs could not be broadcast.According to Kashmir Media Service, this is for the first time that Radio Kashmir Srinagar went off air and the incident happened before the scheduled march called by the joint Hurriyat leadership to government-run radio and TV stations.

When contacted, Director Radio Kashmir Srinagar Dr Humayun Kaisar, concealing the actual reason, said the Narbal transmitter of Radio Kashmir developed a technical snag and current affairs programs including Shehar Been Gaimi Bayan Hund program and Wadi ki Awaz could not be broadcast.

On the other hand, the Human Rights Watch (HRW), an international rights body, has urged Indian authorities to investigate each incident where ammunition including pellets were used, to determine if the use of force was proportionate.

According to Kashmir Media Service, HRW South Asia Director Meenakshi Ganguly, in an interview with a Srinagar-based English daily, said de facto impunity prevails for the government forces in Kashmir. She said: “For too long inquiries are ordered but we see no outcome. It is for this reason we have been calling for the repeal of the Armed Forces Special Powers Act and other laws that provide immunity from prosecution.”

Ganguly said: “There are repeated allegations that riot control guns which fire pellets instead of live ammunition were not used properly leading to severe injuries even deaths,” she said adding that even bystanders were injured.

Those responsible for violations should know that they will be held to account not protected from prosecution after internal inquiries that are considered neither transparent nor fair, said Ganguly who has previously served as the South Asia Correspondent for Time Magazine before joining Human Rights Watch.