Indian police kill 17 Kashmiris

In a fresh cycle of violence in the Indian occupied Kashmir (IoK) valley, 17 people have been martyred, and at least 45 others have been injured. Five persons were martyred and more than 20 injured in firing by security forces at Tangmarg, 45km from Srinagar, in Baramulla district While two youths Muddasir Ahmad Parray and Abdul Majid were declared dead at the nearby Magam Sub District Hospital, another youth succumbed to injuries at a city hospital here. He has been identified as Abdul Qayoom, officials at the hospital said. Two injured youths, identified as Afaq Ahmad Khan and Tariq Ahmad Ganai, were declared dead on arrival at a city hospital. A woman died on the spot when she was hit by a stray bullet inside her residential compound at Ompora in Budgam. In another clash in Bandipora, one person was martryed and two others injured when security forces opened fire to quell a stone-pelting mob, police said. Three persons lost their lives in clashes in Pampore town of Pulwama district and other parts of the Valley while a youth injured in firing by security forces succumbed in hospital. A teenaged boy was martryed and another critically injured when security forces allegedly opened fire to disperse a stone-pelting mob in Anantnag district of South IoK late in the evening, police sources said. Aaqib Ahmad Wagay and Firdous Ahmad were hit by bullets when security forces opened fire in self-defence after their vehicle was attacked by a stone-pelting mob near Lazibal, 60 kms from here, the sources said. Both the injured youth were taken to hospital where Wagay was declared dead. One person was killed in a firing incident at Chanakhan in Sopore area of Baramulla district, the sources said. In New Delhi, the cabinet met to discuss steps to defuse the tension, but decided against heeding calls from some in the government to partially lift a 20-year-old emergency law that is despised by many in IoK. The cabinet said it was “deeply distressed” by the unrest, but offered no new initiatives besides an all-party meeting for later in the week to discuss solutions to the violence, which has left 84 civilians dead since June.