Indian Kashmir shuts down in protest
Military court verdict exonerates five army officers involved in killing of five civilians 14 years ago.
An Indian paramilitary trooper patrols in Srinagar. PHOTO: AFP
SRINAGAR:
Large parts of Indian Kashmir shut down to protest a military court verdict exonerating five army officers involved in the killing of five civilians 14 years ago.
Most businesses were closed and public transport halted in Srinagar and other areas of the region after separatist groups called a one-day strike.
Mirwaiz Umar Farooq, who also heads the All Parties Hurriyat Conference, a grouping of separatist organisations, urged Kashmiris to ‘raise our voice against the verdict’, in a statement this week.
The five civilians were killed in Pathribal village, in the northern state of Jammu and Kashmir, days after the massacre of 35 Sikhs in the remote village of Chattisinghpora in March 2000.
The army claimed the victims were “foreign militants”, accusing them of being responsible for the massacre.
Published in The Express Tribune, February 1st, 2014.
Large parts of Indian Kashmir shut down to protest a military court verdict exonerating five army officers involved in the killing of five civilians 14 years ago.
Most businesses were closed and public transport halted in Srinagar and other areas of the region after separatist groups called a one-day strike.
Mirwaiz Umar Farooq, who also heads the All Parties Hurriyat Conference, a grouping of separatist organisations, urged Kashmiris to ‘raise our voice against the verdict’, in a statement this week.
The five civilians were killed in Pathribal village, in the northern state of Jammu and Kashmir, days after the massacre of 35 Sikhs in the remote village of Chattisinghpora in March 2000.
The army claimed the victims were “foreign militants”, accusing them of being responsible for the massacre.
Published in The Express Tribune, February 1st, 2014.