Two More Die In Kashmir Violence
By Sheikh Imran Bashir & Manoj Khar
05 August, 2010
Agence India Press
Srinagar/ New Delhi: A youth was killed Thursday in firing by security forces, while a 50-year man died in hospital of injuries sustained Wednesday, taking to 49 the toll in the cycle of violence sweeping the Kashmir Valley since June.
The chairman of Hurriyat Conference (G) Syed Ali Shah Geelani called on the people to avoid violent protests, while opposition party Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) legislator and former deputy chief minister Muzaffar Hussain Beigh submitted his resignation from the assembly, saying it was becoming "irrelevant" in the present conditions.
"Beigh has said in his resignation letter that he was resigning from the state legislative assembly as it had become irrelevant in light of the present situation in the Valley," a party spokesman said here.
Life continues silent in curfew, as strict curfew was enforced by security forces and the police.
In Pulwama, security forces again rushed on protesters and opened fire on them, in which three people were injured critically. They were immediately shifted to Srinagar for treatment where one of the injured identified as Shabir Ahmad Malik, 26, succumbed to injuries.
"Shabbir had recieved a bullet in his neck and died at the hospital, said doctor at SMHS.
According to reports, thousands of demonstrators marched from Zadoora-Newa area of Pulwama towards Pulwama town on Thursday to attend the (Rasm-i-Chaharum) fourth day mourning of Muhammad Yaqoob Bhat, killed on Sunday there in firing, was observed today and paramilitary and police forces stopped the march near the Degree College Pulwama and asked the marchers to disperse.
Eyewitnesses told Agence India Press that police and paramilitary forces fired several rounds of bullets in the air to quell the marchers, who, in response sat on the road there and staged a protest.
In Srinagar, Gulam Muhammad Badyari, 50, who was injured in firing by security forces late Wednesday when security personnel fired on demonstrators in Gunpatyar area, succumbed to his injuries in hospital. His body was handed over to his relatives.
The deaths take the toll of civilians killed in security force's firing since Friday to 32 while 49 have been killed in the violence that started June 11.
Reports of clashes between the security forces and the protesters have also come in from Delina village in Baramulla district.
Meanwhile, Chief Minister Omar Abdullah Thursday faced the anger of the relatives of the youth injured in the recent protests as he came to a hospital here to visit them
Abdullah visited the Sher-e-Kashmir Institute of Medical Sciences (SKIMS) at Soura Thursday afternoon to enquire about the well-being of the injured who are admitted in the in the hospital.
Eyewitnesses said Omar was forced to leave the hospital when more than 50 youth, most of them attendants of the injured, raised massive pro-freedom, anti-India and anti-Abdullah family slogans.
This was for the first time that the chief minister tried to express sympathy with the injured but the move backfired.
Meanwhile, an official spokesman said Omar visited SKIMS to take the stock of availability of medicines and life saving drugs. “He also met the injured people undergoing treatment and their attendants,” the spokesman said.
Abdullah had flown to the hospital in a state government helicopter although it is located barely 10 km from the Lal Chowk.
A day after Home Minister P Chidambaram stressed on dialogue as the way forward for addressing the problems in Kashmir, a group of 40 young MPs from across the spectrum on Thursday appealed to the youth in the Valley to "exercise restraint" and put their trust in a dialogue for working out a solution.
"What has happened in the recent past has been very unfortunate and we are deeply concerned...we urge our young brothers and sisters in J and K to exercise restraint and have trust in the power of dialogue," the joint appeal said.
"The future belongs to our generation. We, the young parliamentarians belonging to your generation, sincerely hope for a bright shared future for you and for all of us," the MPs said in the statement.
Releasing the statement in Parliament House complex, Congress member Priya Dutt told reporters that the MPs were deeply concerned over the loss of lives in the Valley.
Meanwhile, the CCS chaired by Prime Minister Manmohan Singh met today for the second time in five days to review the latest situation in Kashmir valley which relatively remained peaceful for the second straight day after being rocked by violence.
According to official sources tonight, the Cabinet Committee on Security (CCS) noted with satisfaction that the fresh wave of violence that broke out last Friday had ebbed to some extent since yesterday.
The meeting also discussed the assessment of the latest situation in the valley made by Jammu and Kashmir DGP Kuldeep Khoda.
The CCS last met on August one after renewed violence claimed 13 lives in three days.
The BJP on Thursday asked Prime Minister Manmohan Singh to call an all-party meeting to discuss the situation in Jammu and Kashmir, restore peace and harmony in the region, and ensure that no steps are taken which demoralise security forces deployed there.
Senior BJP leader LK Advani, along with a delegation of party MLAs from J&K and central leaders, met the PM to discuss the matter and submitted a memorandum. “During the meeting, Advani told the PM that we were looking forward to the statement of home minister P Chidambaram but he only apprised us of the situation in Kashmir and said nothing about the steps being taken by the Centre,” said leader of Opposition in Lok Sabha Sushma Swaraj
“Advani told Singh that the Centre is clueless about what to do in Kashmir and cannot think of a way to deal with the situation. Earlier, there used to be terrorist violence but now violent crowds throw stones at the security forces,” Swaraj said. The party demanded that the PM call an all-party meeting to discuss the situation and the steps to be taken to deal with it. “The PM gave us a positive response. He said he had no issues in calling an all-party meeting to discuss the matter,” Swaraj said.
The BJP said Singh agreed with them that the first priority at this juncture was restoration of peace in the Valley. “He also assured us that nothing would be done that would demoralise the security forces there,” Swaraj said.
In the memorandum, the BJP said 1,262 security personnel have been injured in mob violence so far.
“Any dilution in the presence of the security forces or their authority is wholly unacceptable to us. The all-party meeting wrongly decided (despite BJP’s dissent) to have an inquiry against the security forces. We cannot allow any dilution of India’s security presence, particularly when Pakistan is fomenting trouble,” the memorandum said.
Swaraj alleged the Army was functioning with its ‘hands tied’ due to government pressure and there was also talk of dilution of Armed Forces Special Powers Act.
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