In occupied Kashmir, thousands of people participated in the funeral prayers of a martyred civilian youth, Amir Lone who succumbed to his injuries at Soura Medical Institute in Srinagar, today.
Amir Lone was critically injured in shelling by Indian forces on protesters in Kangan area of Gandarbal district on the 3rd of April. The protests had erupted against the killing of another civilian, Gowhar Ahmad Rather, by the troops, on the same day. Amir was laid to rest at his ancestral graveyard in Kangan amid pro-freedom and anti-India slogans.
The Chairman of All Parties Hurriyat Conference, Syed Ali Gilani addressed the mourners over telephone from his residence in Srinagar. Gilani while paying rich tributes to the martyred youth condemned the surge in civilian killings at the hands of Indian forces in occupied Kashmir. The Hurriyat forum Chairman, Mirwaiz Umar Farooq in his statement expressed grief over the latest killing and said that Kashmiri youth were losing their lives because of stubborn Indian attitude towards the Kashmir dispute.
Meanwhile, the killing of the civilian youth triggered a spontaneous shutdown in Kangan and other adjoining areas of Gandarbal district. A pall of gloom descended on martyr Amir Lone’s village as his body reached his village in Kangan. Shopkeepers downed their shutters, while transport came to a halt. Apprehending the protests, the authorities snapped internet services and imposed strict restrictions by massive deployment of the troops in the area.
A protest demonstration was held in Kupwara to demand death penalty to the culprits involved in gang rape and murder of a minor girl in Kathua district. The protesters including women carried placards reading ‘Death penalty to the culprits marched on Kupwara streets.
The Jammu and Kashmir Coordination Committee and the Jammu-based victim Muslim Bakarwal community in their statements urged the puppet authorities to transfer the case of rape and murder of the minor girl outside the Jammu region. They said that communal elements were trying to sabotage the legal proceedings.
On the other hand, Iranian Supreme Leader, Ayatollah Ali Khamenei while addressing a religious gathering in Tehran expressed the hope that the people of Kashmir would push back their oppressors by their resistance, soon.
