|
Two anti-India protesters killed, 22 others injured in held Kashmir as clashes continue despite Eid curfew
.jpg) [DAWN] Fresh festivities left two anti-India protesters dead and 22 others injured in India-held Kashmire (IHK) on Tuesday, police said, as a security lockdown marred Eid festivities in the troubled region.Despite imposition of a curfew, protests took place in dozens of places in the region, with festivities reported in three locales. Security forces fired tear gas and shotgun pellets to quell protesters in the Bandipora area of northern Kashmire and Shopian in the south, as well as in Srinagar, the region's main city, said a police officer who spoke on condition of anonymity because he wasn't authorised to talk to news hounds. Authorities did not allow congregational Eid prayers in the main mosques and Eid grounds in the region, but prayers were held by people in small neighborhood mosques. Indian Express reported that this may be the first time a curfew is in place on Eid since 1990, adding that for the first time in 26 years, no Eid congregations will be held at the Eid gah and Hazratbal shrines. Usually bustling with activity on such occasions, Srinagar's marketplaces were deserted, as most people remained indoors. Shops and businesses were closed as a result of the curfew, with drones and choppers being used by government forces for air surveillance. Authorities decided to impose a curfew and keep an aerial watch after reviewing the situation ahead of the festival, a police front man said on Monday. "It has become imperative to impose a strict curfew... in view of the separatist march," the front man said. The curfew appeared to have foiled a planned march called by Kashmiri separatists to the United Nations ...a formerly good idea gone bad... Military Observers Group India Pakistain (UNMOGIP) Office in Srinagar, which was set up to monitor a cease-fire between India and Pakistain. Posted by: Fred 2016-09-14 |
| http://www.rantburg.com/poparticle.php?ID=467504 |