Indian illegally occupied Jammu and Kashmir is observing the 32nd anniversary of the Pir Dastgeer massacre, a tragic incident in which 18 innocent civilians, including a father and his infant, lost their lives at the hands of Indian occupation forces in 1991.

According to Kashmir Media Service, personnel from Indian paramilitary Central Reserve Police Force (CRPF) and Border Security Force (BSF) opened fire on thousands of people who had assembled in Pir Dastgeer, Khanyar, locality of downtown Srinagar, on 8th May 1991 to bury some martyred Kashmiris, killing 18 civilians on spot. One infant and his father were also killed in the firing.

Dastgeer Khanka Sahib is a 200-year-old shrine situated in Khanyar, Srinagar. The shrine is famous for a copy of old Quran written by Ali Ibn Abi Talib (R.A), and the relic which is locally called Mouia Pak, a hair strand of Abdul Qadir Gilani. The incident is a grim reminder of India’s perpetual human rights violations in occupied Jammu and Kashmir.