Hundreds of protesting Kashmiris clash with police in IOK

Police fire tear gas and pellet-firing shotguns to disperse people trying to march down the main road in Srinagar

SRINAGAR: Hundreds of protesters in Indian Occupied Kashmir (IOK) clashed with police on Friday, even as New Delhi said it would begin restoring phone lines after a 12-day communications blackout.

With the Modi government fearing protests and unrest, the Muslim-majority northern region has been under lock down since the first week of August, when New Delhi stripped the disputed region of its autonomy.

Kashmiris hold placards as they shout slogans at a protest after Friday prayer during restrictions in Srinagar August 16, 2019. PHOTO: REUTERS

Police fired tear gas and pellet-firing shotguns to disperse residents who tried to march down the main road in the main city of Srinagar after Friday prayers.

Protesters hurled stones and used shop hoardings and tin sheets as improvised shields, as police shot dozens of rounds into the crowd.

"We are trying to breach the siege and march to the city centre but police is using force to stop us," one protester said, adding that three people were injured in Thursday clashes with police officers and reservists.

Sporadic clashes were also reported in other parts of Occupied Kashmir, where phone lines and internet connections have been cut off for nearly two weeks.

A Kashmiri woman shows her hands with messages at a protest after Friday prayers in Srinagar on August 16, 2019. PHOTO: REUTERS

Major towns and cities in the disputed valley remained under curfew, with occupying forces allowing people to move only on special passes.

Indian forces erected steep barricades and used concertina wires to block roads.



No big gatherings were allowed in the disputed valley and most mosques were shut for the second consecutive Friday.

"We want what is ours. We are not begging for anything but demand India should respect its promises," a second protester said.

"We will not sit back until we achieve complete independence from India," he added.

The protesters marched along the lanes of Srinagar, carrying black flags -- signifying grief -- and play cards with slogans including ‘Go India, go back’.

PHOTO: REUTERS

The clashes took place as a top official said that authorities would begin restoring phone lines in Occupied Kashmir on Friday evening, including in Srinagar.

Indian Occupied Jammu and Kashmir Chief Secretary BVR Subrahmanyam did not make clear whether mobile phones and internet connections would also be reinstated.

He said the restoration would "[keep] in mind the constant threat posed by terrorist organisations in using mobile connectivity to organised terrorist actions".

Celebrations for Eidul Azha were massively curtailed on Monday, with Srinagar's main mosque shut. The building remained off-limits on Friday.

PHOTO: REUTERS

Subrahmanyam said the government was aiming for the "earliest return to normalcy while ensuring that terrorist forces are given no opportunity to wreak havoc as in the past".

Despite the lock down, last Friday residents said some 8,000 people took to the streets and that the military used pellet-firing shotguns.

The Indian authorities confirmed that the clashes only after several days had passed, blaming them on stone-throwing ‘miscreants’ and saying its forces reacted with ‘restraint’.