Expressing deep sorrow and anger over the killing of two militants and a teenage boy at Drabgam, Pulwama, the Joint Resistance Leadership comprising Syed Ali Shah Geelani, Mirwaiz Umar Farooq and Muhammad Yasin called for a complete strike on Tuesday across Kashmir.
Two militants of HizbulMujahideen—commander Sameer Ahmed Bhat alias Sameer Tiger and Aqib Ahmed— were killed in an encounter with the forces at Drabgam. A teenager Shahid Ahmed was also killed and at least a dozen protestors were injured.
In a joint statement issued here, the leadership urged the people to observe a complete shutdown across Kashmir on Tuesday against the killings.
“Strike is also against the open aggression against the people of southern Kashmir. People have been left at the mercy of (government) forces who are killing the youth at will,” the leadership said.
The leadership said that government forces have “unlashed a reign of terror in the garb of” fighting militants.
“The forces are shielded by draconian laws and they are selectively targeting and killing Kashmir’s young generation knowing well they will not be held accountable. By indiscriminately firing bullets, pellets and tear gas shells at peaceful protestors in Drabgam they killed a budding flower and left dozens seriously injured,” the leadership said. Paying homage to Sameer, Aqib and Shahid, the leadership said that by choking all means of peaceful expression, the state was pushing Kashmir’s young generation to the wall.
“The heavily armed state machinery by using immense lethal force against our vulnerable youth is adding fuel to the fire and making the situation more fragile,” the leadership said.
The JRL said that people of Kashmir are offering immense sacrifices on all fronts and that the entire nation is committed to safeguarding these sacrifices and remaining steadfast towards the goal.
The Leadership said that peace cannot prevail in South Asia as long as the Kashmir dispute remains unresolved.
“It’s time New Delhi to shun its obduracy and acknowledges the ground reality in Kashmir. Sooner or later the people of Kashmir will have to be given a chance to exercise their political will and the Kashmir dispute will be resolved as per the wishes and aspirations of the people of Kashmir,” the leadership said. GKNN