Suspected Militants killed civilian and injured three of his relatives in Hajin

Militants kidnapped a civilian and injured three of his relatives in Hajin Bandipora district of Jammu and Kashmir, police said on Tuesday. Suspected militants of Lashkar-e-Toiba barged into the house of one Farooq Ahmad Parray at Hajin on Monday night and opened fire on inmates, a police spokesman said. “The terrorists used knives to cause grievous injuries to wife, daughter and brother of Farooq,” he said. The militants also kidnapped Muntazir Ahmad Parrey, son-in-law of the house owner from there, the spokesman said. Meanwhile, Jammu and Kashmir Police on Tuesday…

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Tourist sector gets a jolt due to sudden spike in violence

A sudden spike in the level of violence in Kashmir on Sunday has cast a shadow on the tourism industry, which was hoping for increased footfall of holidaymakers. As the region witnessed a sudden bout of protests and a record high death toll on Sunday, it has caused scare among tourists who came face to face with the turbulent situation. Several tourists, who had planned to holiday for several days, cancelled their stay in the region and rushed home. The deterioration of the law and order situation after Sunday’s multiple…

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Indian, Pakistani troops exchange heavy fire on LoC

Indian and Pakistan soldiers traded heavy fire across the Line of Control (LoC) on Sunday in Jammu and Kashmir’s Poonch district, police said. The Pakistan army resorted to unprovoked heavy shelling and firing at Indian positions in Khari Karmara area of Poonch, a police officer said. “Pakistan shelling and firing started at 1 p.m. and continued for nearly half an hour. Indian positions retaliated effectively and strongly,” the police officer said. On March 18, five members of a family were killed and two others injured when a mortar fired by…

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Mass outpouring of grief and anger as mourners bury the dead

There was scarcely anyone in the village of Amshipora who had managed to sleep through the night. Songs of freedom and defiance playing on the mosque loudspeaker kept everyone up. In any case, the anguish of losing a bright young man of the village was so deep that somehow everyone felt that they must mourn with the Dars by staying close to them. AitimadHussain Dar was twenty-six-year-old with an MPhil from Hyderabad University. He was killed by the government forces with four of his comrades in a long gunfight in…

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Kashmir on edge again as resistance extend strike by a day

A day after the killing of 12 militants and four civilians in security forces operations, Kashmir remained on edge and the strike called by separatists and restrictions imposed by authorities paralysed normal life in Kashmir. Tension prevailed in south, central and north Kashmir today and authorities enforced curfew-like restrictions in parts of south Kashmir and Srinagar to foil anti-India protests and prevent youth from taking to roads and indulging in stone pelting. The police, paramilitary and army men were deployed in strength in the curfew-bound areas to enforce the restrictions…

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Killings of civilians in Kashmir ‘Needs to be Investigated’: UN Spokesperson

The recent killings of civilians in Kashmir “needs to be investigated,” Stephane Dijarric, the spokesperson for Secretary-General Antonio Guterres said Monday as protests swept the state. “Civilians have to be protected wherever they are, whether it is in Gaza, whether it is in Jammu and Kashmir, whether it is in Yemen; it is a basic principle,” he said in reply to a reporter’s question. “Any loss of civilians needs to be investigated wherever they occur.” Four civilians were killed in Shopian district during operations against militants on Sunday. Three soldiers…

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Pellet horror revisits SMHS Hospital, scores facing risk of blindness

Horror wreaked by pellet ammunition in 2016 has revisited the SMHS Hospital, where at least 41 youths who suffered pellet injuries in anti-government protests in Shopian on Sunday face imminent partial or complete blindness. In Ward No. 8, 14-year-old Murtaza Hussain writhes in pain. Both his eyes are bandaged shut. An unspecified number of metal pellets have penetrated his face and eyes. He couldn’t get a wink of sleep last night, his uncle Ghulam Ahmad said. But more than the pain, Hussain’s family is worried about the ultimate nightmare the…

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Students, Traders protest Shopian civilian killings, Complete shutdown across Kashmir

Local traders and students on Monday protested against the killings of civilians in south Kashmir’s Shopian district on Sunday. Carrying placards and raising slogans, a group of traders under the banner of the Kashmir Traders and Manufacturers Federation assembled at the Ghanta Ghar in the city’s Lal Chowk and raised slogans against the government. They demanded that the killing spree in the Valley should be stopped. “Killing of innocent civilians is a deep-rooted conspiracy ….this is unfortunate…we urge the Indian civil society and international bodies such as Amnesty International to…

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