Srinagar
Strongly denouncing the crackdown and search operations of two dozen villages in Shopian by the Indian forces and police in which helicopters were also used for the first time, was tantamount to war against civilian population, Hurriyat (m) said that thousands of people were subjected to “unwarranted repression and harassment” by restricting them to their homes.
Stressing that Indian government was writing a new black history of human rights violations in Kashmir, a spokesperson of the amalgam said that recent aggressive and “anti Kashmir statements” by the Indian politicians and military officials has led them to declare an open war against Kashmiris without any moral compunctions. The aim of this military expedition against Kashmiris is to muzzle all voices who speak for their basic political right, he said adding, and to smother the ongoing freedom struggle by means of military might.
The statement stated that the military operation against people in South Kashmir will add fuel to the fire since the situation was already explosive in that part of the state. It stated that such imprudent decisions will in no way help in solving the long pending Kashmir dispute.
The statement said that such military approach for the last thirty years has failed to defeat the desire for freedom in the people of Kashmir despite subjecting them to worst form of “state brutalities and atrocities”, nor will it deter them in future. This policy was and is a failure in its essence.
Meanwhile, the statement condemned the use of force against the students who staged a “pro freedom demonstration” in Sopore. It stated that dozens of students were injured after government forces fired pellets and beat the students in Sopore, adding, such actions reflect the anti-democratic and “tyrannical policies” adopted by the Indian state against Kashmiris where even students’ protests are repressed by means of force.
