Indian troops in their unabated acts of state terrorism martyred 33 Kashmiris from January to June this year in Indian illegally occupied Jammu and Kashmir.
A report released by Kashmir Media Service noted that 16 of the victims were killed in fake encounters or in custody by the Indian forces’ personnel. Additionally, 2,589 people, including Hurriyat leader Firdous Ahmed Shah and former Kashmir High Court Bar Association President Mian Abdul Qayoom were arrested during this period.
The troops also destroyed at least six houses and other structures using chemical substances during cordon and search operations. The report highlighted that congregational Friday prayers on Jumat-ul-Wida and Eid prayers were not allowed in the historic Jamia Masjid as well as Eidgah in Srinagar. It maintained that thousands of Kashmiris remain imprisoned in various jails in India and IIOJK, with many held in distant Indian prisons.
Meanwhile, APHC spokesman Advocate Abdul Rashid Minhas in a statement in Srinagar stated that the Amarnath Yatra has worsened the plight of Kashmiris already enduring Indian state terrorism. He said the Modi government, under the pretext of securing the Yatra, has deployed additional troops and intensified cordon and search operations, house raids, searching and frisking, increasing daily hardships for ordinary people. He noted that while New Delhi is accommodating the Yatris, it is depriving Kashmiri Muslims of their religious rights, including Friday and Eid prayers and Muharram processions.
The Amarnath Yatra, which began on June 29, will continue until August 19. On the other hand, Indian authorities seized residential properties belonging to two Muslim residents in Samba. Since August 2019, the occupation authorities have been systematically attaching or confiscating properties owned by Kashmiris under various pretexts. This is part of the Modi regime’s broader campaign to suppress support for Kashmiris’ right to self-determination.
Additionally, residents of the Kandi area of Kupwara staged a protest against occupation authorities for failing to provide drinking water for several years. The protesters said that over 5,000 people in the area are affected by severe water shortages, forcing them to use contaminated streams despite health risks. Also, an Indian policeman died in a road accident in Soura area of Srinagar. KMS
