‘Release Kashmiris’: Protesters burn Indian flag in AJK capital

Many children also took part, displaying placards reading: Go India Go back (from Kashmir)

Protesters in Muzaffarabad march against human rights violations in Indian-held Kashmir. PHOTO: INP

MUZAFFARABAD:


Hundreds of people in Azad Kashmir burnt India's flag and an effigy of its prime minister on Sunday in protest at a crackdown on Kashmiri leaders in the Indian sector of the divided territory.


Refugees from Indian-ruled Kashmir rallied under the banner of "Pasban-e-Hurriyat" (Protectors of Freedom) in Muzaffarabad, the capital of AJK. Many children also took part, displaying placards reading: "Go India Go back (from Kashmir)" and "Release Kashmiri leaders".


Police in the Indian sector shot dead a 16-year-old boy on Saturday during a demonstration on the outskirts of Srinagar, as a separatist strike shut down the Himalayan region on a second day of violent clashes.

Indian Kashmir has been rocked by violent protests for the past week after the brother of a top rebel leader was killed by the army near the town of Tral in the south of the Kashmir valley.

Shops, businesses and schools remained shut on Saturday across several towns in the state in response to a strike led by top separatist leader Syed Ali Geelani. Authorities have placed top Kashmiri leaders under house arrest to prevent them from leading protests.
Published in The Express Tribune, April 20th, 2015.
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