Indian troops martyr 17 Kashmiris in September

ISLAMABAD: Indian forces’ personnel in their unabated acts of state terrorism martyred 17 Kashmiris including a young boy in the last month of September in occupied Jammu and Kashmir. According to the data issued by the Research Section, of those martyred, 14 Kashmiris were killed extra-judicially and in fake encounters. At least 196 civilians and political activists were arrested, most of them, under black laws, Public Safety Act and Unlawful Activities (Prevention) Act in 151 cordon and search operations and house raids during the month. The All Parties Hurriyat Conference has expressed grave concern over these operations, arrests, and extra-judicial killing of Kashmiri youth. APHC spokesman Advocate Abdul Rashid Minhas in a statement issued in Srinagar demanded an early resolution of the Kashmir dispute. Meanwhile, India transformed the occupied territory into a virtual military garrison by deploying 400 paramilitary Central Armed Police Force companies in north Kashmir alone during the final phase of sham Assembly elections today. This massive deployment adds to the existing Army and Border Security Force personnel in the territory, further solidifying India’s iron-fisted control. Multiple checkpoints were set up along the Srinagar-Jammu highway, and intensified frisking was conducted on all roads, restricting the movement of Kashmiris. Critics dispute the legitimacy of the elections due to the UN-designated disputed status of the territory.