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Srinagar, August 11 2013 (PPI-OT): In occupied Kashmir, curfew has been extended to Kathua, Udhampur, Samba, Rajouri and Reasi districts following the reign of terror unleashed by Hindu extremists against Muslim population across Jammu region.
The measure has been taken after anti-Muslim violence erupted in Jammu last evening. Kishthwar where the violence sparked off soon after the Eid prayers on Friday, is already under curfew for the last three days.
The authorities confirmed that situation in Jammu and Rajouri was tense. The activists of Hindu extremist organisations, Vishua Hindu Prashed, Bharatiya Janata Party and Bajrang Dal torched at least five shops belonging to the Muslims in the area.
The extremists set on fire several vehicles including a passenger bus in Jammu. A Hindu gang of so-called Village Defence Committees raided the Paddar Police Station in Kishtwar in pursuit of a Muslim civilian sheltering in the station. They kidnapped the man and subsequently killed him.
Meanwhile, the handicap man who was burnt alive by a Hindu mob on Friday in Kishtwar has been identified as Bashir Ahmed Sheikh of Sangram Bata.
On the other hand, normal life remained crippled for the second consecutive day, today, in Kashmir Valley due to the strike against the ongoing anti-Muslim violence in Jammu. Call for the strike was given by the veteran Hurriyet leader, Syed Ali Gilani. All shops, business establishments and petrol pumps across the Valley remained closed, while public transport was off the road.
The Internet and mobile phone services remained suspended across the occupied territory. The Jammu and Kashmir Liberation Front Chairman, Mohammad Yasin Malik addressing a press conference in Srinagar announced to take out a peace march from Maisuma to Lal Chowk, tomorrow, to send a message of peace in the wake of communal violence in Jammu.
He said that the communal tension in Jammu region had a link with the forthcoming elections in India. The JKLF Chairman asked people to remain vigilant. He maintained that the Village Defense Committees, actually, consisted of Indian army personnel, however, without uniform. He demanded that the committees be immediately disbanded.
On the other hand, Hurriyet leaders including Muhammad Musaddiq Aadil, Hakeem Abdur Rasheed, Shakeel Bakshi, Javed Ahmad Mir, Syed Basher Andrabi, Imtiyaz Ahmad Reshi and Mohammad Maqbool Sofi attended the Fateha Khawni of prominent martyred leader, Sheikh Abdul Aziz on his 5th martyrdom anniversary, today.
They reiterated the Kashmiris’ commitment to carry forward the martyr’s mission till its logical conclusion. APHC leader Zafar Akbar Butt, who continues to be under house arrest since Thursday, in a statement also paid tributes to the martyred leader and the martyrs of 2008 and 2010 uprisings.
For more information, contact:
Kashmir Media Service
Email: info@kmsnews.org
Phone: 92-51-4435548, 4435549
Fax: 92-51-4861736