- People defy curfew, stage anti-India demos in Handwara
SRINAGAR, April 14: In occupied Kashmir, normal life remained crippled on the second consecutive day, Thursday, due to complete shutdown against the killing of four civilians including a woman in the unprovoked firing of Indian troops on peaceful protesters in Kupwara district.
Call for the shutdown was given by the Chairman of All Parties Hurriyet Conference, Syed Ali Gilani, and the Jammu and Kashmir Liberation Front Chief, Muhammad Yasin Malik.
The puppet authorities continued to impose curfew and other restrictions in Srinagar and Kupwara to prevent people from staging protests against the killings. However defying curfew, people took to the streets in Handwara and Kupwara towns and raised high-pitched pro-freedom and anti-India slogans. Indian forces’ personnel fired teargas shells to disperse the protesters, injuring several people. Angry protesters set afire a police post in Kupwara. The occupation forces did not allow a team of journalists from Srinagar to enter Handwara town. Indian police arrested Hurriyet leader, Bilal Ghani Lone, along with his associates from Sopore when he was going to Kupwara to meet the families of the martyrs.
The occupation authorities have put almost all Hurriyet leaders under house arrest or behind the bars to prevent them from visiting the families of the martyrs and expressing solidarity with them. The authorities have also suspended the Mobile Internet service to stop people from sharing information about the situation in the territory.
Hurriyet leaders including Syed Ali Gilani, Mirwaiz Umar Farooq and Muhammad Yasin Malik strongly denounced the cold-blooded murder of innocent civilians in Kupwara and imposition of curfew and other restrictions in the territory. They have appealed to the people to hold peaceful demonstrations and the Mirwaiz has given a call for Handwara March, today (Friday).-KMS
