Indian troops continue to detain Kashmiri youth: report

Nocturnal raids have created panic among Kashmiris

ISLAMABAD: Dozens of youth have been arrested by Indian forces during nocturnal raids conducted in various villages of Shopian district in Indian occupied Kashmir.

According to Kashmir Media Service [KMS], the residents of the villages including Gagren, Meminder, Rawalpora, Dangam and Kanjiullar told media that the raids have created a panic among people in these villages.

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"Many people were detained during the raids after their sons were not found at home," they said.

The residents of Rawalpora said that many people went into hiding after the recent raids. Most of the villagers said that the police detained the youth without any reason. "They detain young boys and then ask for ransom," the villagers said.

Meanwhile, a group of influential Indian citizens has called for the settlement of Kashmir dispute through dialogue saying that military measures cannot resolve the lingering dispute.

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According to Kashmir Media Service, the group headed by senior Bharatiya Janata Party [BJP] leader and former Indian Minister Yashwant Sinha, in a statement issued in New Delhi said that the continued reliance on militarily measures to deal with Kashmir's political problem was short-sighted and New Delhi should instead initiate dialogue urgently.

Besides Yashwant Sinha, the statement was also signed by Justice (retd) A P Shah, Wajahat Habibullah, Salman Haidar, Nirupama Rao, Aruna Roy, Shekhar Gupta, Prem Shankar Jha, Ramachandra Guha, S Irfan Habib, Kapil Kak, Badri Raina, JohnDayal, Bharat Bhushan and Sushobha Barve.

The statement warned against a repetition of 2016-like mass uprising in occupied Kashmir. The uprising was triggered by the extrajudicial murder of popular youth leader Burhan Wani by Indian troops on July 8 2016.  Over 120 people were killed by Indian forces during the mass movement.

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The group came up with the statement at a time when the situation in Kashmir is deteriorating in the wake of fresh civilian killings on the day of Indian parliamentary by-polls for Srinagar constituency on April 9.

While 10 people have been killed by Indian forces' actions during past two weeks, the protests have spread to campuses across occupied Kashmir, forcing the puppet administration to shut down the educational institutions.

Yashwant Sinha, while talking to a Srinagar-based English newspaper Greater Kashmir, said that the present situation in occupied Kashmir was a matter of ‘grave concern’.