Despite a public outcry against the use of pellet guns against protesters, youth with pellet injuries are pouring into hospitals from different parts of Kashmir.
In the past four days, Shri Maharaja Hari Singh (SMHS) Hospital has received over 100 youth with pellet injuries while some have been admitted to Sher-i-Kashmir Institute of Medical Sciences (SKIMS) and district hospitals.
Twelve-year-old Mir Arafat of Khanbal in south Kashmir has been kept under observation at the intensive care unit of the SMHS Hospital. Arafat has received hundreds of pellets in vital organs, like heart, spinal card, right eye, neck, chest, stomach, and intestines.
“He needs multiple surgeries and it is not advisable to do it at this moment. We have kept him under observation and specialists from different departments are looking after him,” a senior resident treating Arafat told Kashmir Post.
Doctors said they will go ahead with surgeries after seeing Arafat’s response to the treatment in next 48 hours.
“He is clinically stable but we can’t predict anything at this moment. Dozens of pellets have gone deep into his several vital organs,” they said.
Writhing in pain, Arafat, a Class VII student, was playing cricket with other boys when protesters nearby came under bullet and pellet shelling of security forces at Khanbal on Tuesday.
His father, Abdul Rehman Mir accused security personnel of “behaving irresponsibly” during the protests.
The eye department of SMHS Hospital has received 183 patients with grievous eye injuries and 137 among them have been operated upon, a senior eye specialist said.
After growing clamour in media over the use of “lethal” pellet guns against protesters, Union Home Minister Rajnath Singh said on Monday the Central government will rethink the use of pellet guns in Kashmir as he had already received a report on the number of people injured by the use of it after angry mobs took to streets following the July 8 encounter of Hizbul commander Burhan Wani.
Not only Arafat, his two other team mates, including eight-year-old Asif Rashid, were injured in the security forces’ shelling at Khanbal.
Asif is admitted to the Ophthalmology Department of SMHS Hospital where he is nursing grievous wounds in his right eye. He had received some pellets in his chest and abdomen but they had not gone deep inside. “His (Asif) vision is affected and at this moment we are treating his wound,” an eye-specialist said.
For specialised treatment, the doctors have shifted one of the injured, Wasiq Farooq, to SKIMS, Soura, where doctors termed his condition as critical.
While the number of youth injured with pellets is increasing, there is no official word from the PDP-BJP government over the ban of the “lethal” pellet gun.
However, senior PDP leader and Lok Sabha member from north Kashmir Muzuffar Hussain Beg termed the use of pellet guns by the J&K Police as worst crime. Saying it should be stopped, Beg said he had already taken up this issue with Chief Minister Mehbooba Mufti.
Senior High Court lawyer Zaffar Ahmad Shah said pellets were “lethal and severely damaging the vital organs of human body”.
“It seems some lobby within the government is against banning of use pellet guns in Kashmir,” he said.
However, he said the J&K Bar Association should approach the High Court for seeking directions to prevent the use of pellet guns in Kashmir given the extent of injuries during the past 16 days.
“We have enough evidence to prove that pellets are causing grievous injuries in people,” he said.
Meanwhile, Home Minister Rajnath Singh on Sunday urged Kashmiri youths to end their protests and ordered security forces to avoid pellet guns to bring peace in the Kashmir Valley. He also told Pakistan not to encourage people in Jammu and Kashmir to become terrorists.
At the end of a two-day visit to the Kashmir Valley, Srinagar and Anantnag included, the minister said New Delhi was ready for talks that will help bring “peace and normalcy” in the state.
His trip came amid the deadliest unrest in years that has left 45 people dead in violent stone-throwing protests following the July 8 killing of top pro-Pakistan rebel ‘commander’ Burhan Wani.
“I urge the youth of Kashmir not to engage in stone-pelting and also ask the security forces to avoid using pellet guns against protesters as far as possible,” Rajnath Singh told reporters here.
He reiterated his commitment in Parliament that the central government would set up a team of experts to find ways of using non-lethal weapons to control mobs that will submit a report in two months.
“I appeal to people to restore peace and normalcy,” he said, adding New Delhi was ready for a “constructive” dialogue which can help in restoring normalcy in the troubled valley.
He said he met at least 13 delegations during his stay in Srinagar and asked them “to help the government with constructive suggestions in bringing peace and normalcy.
“If there are differences of opinion, those can be resolved through dialogue.”
Asked if the government was ready to talk to separatist leaders, Rajnath Singh didn’t rule it out but said normalcy was the priority. “Let us first ensure normalcy. Then, we can decide whether we talk to separatists or any other group.”
Saying the Indian government would never tolerate terrorism, the minister said while Pakistan carried out operations against militants in Islamabad’s Lal Masjid in July 2007, they encouraged youths to take up arms in Kashmir.
“I would like to tell our neighbouring country, you are affected by terrorism. You had to storm the Lal Masjid to kill the terrorists. But on the other hand, you appeal to Kashmiri youth to take up guns.
“This should stop…. Pakistani’s role is not ‘pak’ (pure) on Kashmir. They must change their attitude and mindset vis-a-vis Jammu and Kashmir.”
Pakistan Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif had hailed the slain Hizbul Mujahideen commander as a “martyr” who fought for Kashmir’s “Azadi”. And on Friday, Sharif said his country was waiting for the day Kashmir becomes a part of Pakistan.
Rajnath Singh, in no ambiguous terms, asked Pakistan to stop meddling in Kashmir affairs. “We do not need the involvement of any third power to address the Kashmir situation.”
He said his government didn’t want “a relationship with Kashmir that is forcible and based on necessities. We want to build a relationship based on emotional bonds.”
He said steps were being taken to ensure Kashmir becomes a “firdous” or heaven again, remembering a famous Persian couplet that praises the serene beauty of the land and refers to it as the “paradise on Earth”.
“I have spoken with Chief Minister Mehbooba Mufti and assured her that any injured person who are unable to get proper medical treatment here can be sent to Delhi for treatment. We will ensure they are treated at AIIMS.”
