AsiaNet-Pakistan Premier Editorial Content and Press Release Distribution Service
Srinagar, June 24, 2018 (PPI-OT): In occupied Kashmir, Rafeeqa Bano, who was injured in the firing of Indian troops in Srigufwara area of Islamabad, has said that the troops showered bullets on them without any warning. Rafeeqa Bano and her husband, Muhammad Yousuf Rather, were injured when the troops opened fire on their house during a cordon and search operation on Friday. Muhammad Yousuf Rathar died on way to the hospital, while Rafeeqa was first taken to District Hospital, Islamabad, where from she was referred to Soura Institute of Medical Sciences in Srinagar for specialized treatment for a bullet wound in her right hand.
She was discharged from the hospital on Saturday and brought to her residence where people jostled to console her for losing her husband. The-one storey house of Rathar was destroyed, as according to locals, it was set ablaze by the troops. Rafeeqa, with her arm plastered, bandaged and tied to the chest, is unable to move or sit properly and is being supported by three women in a tent erected in their lawn. She said the troops ordered them to open doors, windows and also asked them to switch on all lights in the house and afterward when they came out, fired bullets without any warning.
“After following their orders, we ran towards the main door, and the army personnel fired barrage of bullets towards us, one of which hit me. I saw my husband also falling on our porch where both of us lay bleeding. Afterward, I have no idea how I was taken out of the house and when I landed in a Srinagar hospital,” Rafeeqa said in a feeble voice as her relatives and neighbours present in the tent breakdown.
“I lost my husband, the house which he had built with his blood and sweat. My only son has been tortured by the police in custody, leaving him half dead. I don’t want anything, other than my son. Please ensure his release as he is all I have now,” she said. Rafeeqa’s son, Sayar Ahmed, was holed up inside his house for more than an hour as the troops did not allow him to come out, locals said.
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Kashmir Media Service
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