Kashmir protests as India kills prominent militant

By Zahid Rafiq

SRINAGAR, Jammu and Kashmir

Pro-independence protests erupted across the disputed Kashmir Valley on Saturday after Indian forces shot dead a prominent separatist leader and another militant in the morning.

Sabzar Ahmad, a member of the separatist militant group Hizbul Mujahideen was killed in a gunbattle with the Indian forces in Tral area of southern Kashmir, Chief of Indian Police Shesh Paul Vaid confirmed.

Sabzar was a close aide to slain Hizbul Mujahideen commander Burhan Wani whose killing on July 8 last year sparked a six-month-long uprising against the Indian rule.

Another militant killed in the gunbattle, Faizan Ahmad, was a recent recruit.

A civilian, Aaqib Ahmad, also lost his life in the crossfire, security officials confirmed.

The gunbattle began on Friday night in Saimu village which was later cordoned off by the troops, Indian forces said.

- Schools, colleges shut down

Schools and colleges were shut down by the government as news of the killings spread, to stop students from carrying out demonstrations and clashing with the Indian forces.

Clashes, however, continued across the valley, causing a government clampdown on Internet services in the region once again. Seven protesters were injured and hospitalized.

Kashmir, a Muslim-majority Himalayan region, is held by India and Pakistan in parts and claimed by both in full. A small sliver of Kashmir is also held by China.

The two countries have fought three wars – in 1948, 1965 and 1971 – since they were partitioned in 1947, two over Kashmir.

Kashmiri resistance groups in Jammu and Kashmir have been fighting against Indian rule for independence, or for unification with neighboring Pakistan.

More than 70,000 people have reportedly been killed in the conflict since 1989. India maintains more than half a million troops in the disputed region.

Pakistan condemns 'ruthless killing' of Kashmiris

Pakistan has condemned the killing of Kashmiri youths and use of "brutal force" against protesters by the Indian army in disputed Kashmir, and urged the international community, especially the UN to work to stop India from "ruthless killing of defenseless Kashmiris".

Foreign Affairs Adviser, Sartaj Aziz, who effectively acts as foreign minister, said in a statement on Saturday that some 12 Kashmiri youth had been killed over the last two days in the disputed Jammu and Kashmir by the Indian forces.

"In its attempt to hide the reality of the indigenous uprising of young Kashmiris, including tens of thousands of girls and boys, India is trying to equate it with terrorism.

"The facts have repeatedly come out proving that indigenous Kashmiris were killed by Indian occupation forces in 'fake encounters' and 'buried', claiming them to be 'infiltrators' from across the border," Aziz said.

"In its latest effort to discredit the Kashmiri indigenous movement and justify its massive military action to wipe out Kashmiris, it is now bringing in the bogey of Daesh's presence in Indian occupied Jammu & Kashmir," he added.

Aziz reaffirmed the government and the people of Pakistan’s unflinching support for "their Kashmiri brethren in Indian-occupied Kashmir" in their just struggle for the right to self-determination as promised to them in the relevant UN Security Council resolutions on Kashmir.

*Aamir Latif contributed to this story from Pakistan.