Two people were killed and several others injured during clashes with security forces in Kashmir, as all 10 districts in the Valley observe Eid under a strict curfew for the first time since independence.

A man was killed in firing as protesters clashed with security forces on Tuesday morning in Bandipore, less than 70 km from Jammu and Kashmir capital Srinagar. Another person was killed in clashes in Shopian. The death toll in violent clashes in the state since July is now 81.

Protesters have defied restrictions in many places, taking out demonstrations. Several people have been injured in clashes with security forces across the valley.For the first time, Eid prayers today are not being held at the famous Hazratbal Shrine in Srinagar. People have been asked to offer prayers at local mosques.

Usually bustling with festivity on Eid, Srinagar’s marketplaces are deserted today, with bakeries and sweet shops closed. Shepherds who waited the whole year to sell sheep and goats for the Eid sacrifice said there were no customers.

“In my life of 70 years, I have never seen such a situation when you are facing curbs on Eid day. This is the most sacred day for us and on this day such helplessness, desperation and restrictions,” said Zarief Ahmad Zarief, a noted Kashmiri poet and social activist.

The decision to impose restrictions on the assembly of a large number of people was taken amid fears of fresh violence and a call by separatists for a march on Eid to the local offices of the United Nations, official sources said.
The separatists have also called on protesters to block a national highway in the Valley.
Eighty-one people have been killed and more than 10,000 injured in clashes between security forces and protesters that have raged across Kashmir since Burhan Wani, a 22-year-old Hizbul Mujahideen terrorist, was killed on July 8.

The Army is on standby today and soldiers have been stationed at vantage points in rural areas which have a history of violent protests. Helicopters and drones have been deployed to spot trouble and give an early warning to security forces in case people gather.

Internet services have been shut down as has all mobile telephony except that of the state-run BSNL for the next 72 hours.

“The PDP always loves to compare the situation with 2010 agitation but never ever has there been a curfew on auspicious occasion like Eid before,” said a spokesman of former chief minister Omar Abdullah’s National Conference.

According to Divisional Commissioner Kashmir, Mr Baseer Khan, keeping in view the violence and stone pelting incidents of the previous Fridays, curfew was imposed in 12 Police Stations of Srinagar, towns of Anantnag, Pulwama, Kulgam, Shopian, Awantipora and Baramulla today.

Meanwhile, according to a statement issued by the Zonal Police Headquarters Kashmir, 31 incidents of stone pelting were reported from Srinagar, Budgam, Pulwama, Kulgam, Shopian, Baramulla, Sopore, Bandipora and Handwara. “At these places, miscreants assembled on the roads after Friday prayers and pelted stones on police and security force deployments,” it said adding that the situation remained by and large under control across the Valley.

Maintaining that the Kashmir issue has multiple dimensions, Chief Minister, Ms Mehbooba Mufti today said a serious and sustained effort is required at various levels to resolve the problem and ensure peace and stability in the State and the region.

“It (Kashmir issue) is an complex problem and a chief minister or a prime minister can’t overnight come up with a solution to this multi-dimensional challenge. What is required is a serious, concerted and inclusive effort at diplomatic and political levels through an institutionalized mechanism to resolve the issue,” the Chief Minister said while addressing a function after laying the foundation of the new building for Government Degree College, Bhalwal here.

Deputy Chief Minister, Dr Nirmal Singh, Minister for Education, Naeem Akhtar, Minister for Health & Medical Education, Mr Bali Bhagat, Minister of State for Tourism and Culture, Ms Priya Sethi and Member Parliament, Jugal Kishore Sharma were present on the occasion.

The Chief Minister appreciated the efforts of the All Party Delegation to reach out to various shades of political opinion in Jammu and Kashmir and added that it depicts the true essence of India’s vibrant democracy. She said shutting doors on the All Party Delegation is not going to help anyway. “Instead of being caught in darkness, the separatists should have met the members of the All Party Delegation and put across an implementable roadmap for the resolution of the issue,” she said and added that by shying away from talks, a message has gone around that the separatists are not interested in ending the people’s miseries by coming forward for peaceful resolution of the issue.

Ms Mehbooba said as the resolution adopted at the All Party Meeting in New Delhi on Wednesday has reiterated the urgency of engagement and dialogue in Jammu and Kashmir, “we hope a fresh and productive effort would be made by the country’s political leadership to reach out to all the stakeholders in the State to address the issue through inclusive and comprehensive engagement.” She expressed the hope that the separatists would also respond positively to the fresh initiative to end the decades old political uncertainty in J&K, which has left behind a trail of tragedies in almost every home in Kashmir.

Ms Mehbooba said that violence is no solution to any problem, rather reposing faith in the dialogue process is the only way out to address the issues. She said that governance and political process should go hand in hand to overcome the tough times that the state is presently passing through. “The people of Jammu and Kashmir, irrespective of their age, gender, status or the political affiliation, have been suffering the disastrous consequences of the turmoil and unrest and they have to be retrieved from this blood-spattered quagmire, sooner the better,” she said and added that the onus lies on all the stakeholders.

Maintaining that the relations with Pakistan strongly impact the situation in Jammu & Kashmir, Ms Mehbooba said this was aptly understood by the former Prime Minister Atal Bihari Vajpayee and Mufti Mohammad Sayeed who worked tirelessly to resolve the issue through confidence building measures, both on internal and external fronts. “If anything was achieved in Jammu and Kashmir since the partition of the subcontinent, it was between 2002 and 2005 when cross-LoC roads were opened for movement of people and goods and there was peace along the borders,” she said and added unfortunately, after Mr Vajpayee demitted office in 2004, there was no substantive movement forward on the peace and reconciliation initiatives taken by India and Pakistan vis-à-vis Kashmir leading, once again, to an era of cynicism and alienation in the Valley.

Ms Mehbooba said with a robust mandate on his back and the country’s political leadership, cutting across the divide, fully supportive of reviving the peace and reconciliation process in and around Jammu and Kashmir, Prime Minister, Mr Narendra Modi has the opportunity to resolve the Kashmir issue in the interest of the peace and stability of the State and the region.

The Chief Minister said that it must not have ever happened that in a period of two months the Union Home Minister visited a State thrice to reach out to the people and work out a way to address the issue. She also appreciated the initiative of the Union Government to appoint a Nodal Officer to look into the grievances and concerns of Kashmiri students studying in various parts of the country.

The Chief Minister said the Government has faced difficult times in Kashmir and yet ensured that people have access to healthcare and are provided with basic amenities like ration, power and water. She appreciated the Department of Health especially medics and paramedics for tirelessly attending to their duties and caring for the people. She also complimented the Education Department and State’s administrative machinery to conduct various competitive examinations and to make it possible for the students to appear in such exams.

The Chief Minister reiterated that the present Government, based on its Agenda of Alliance, is working on a comprehensive developmental road map to ensure equitable development of all the three regions of the State. She added that various projects that were left in limbo were ensured to see the light of the day. She said that it is the State Government’s vision of developing Jammu as an independent tourist destination and bringing the State on the world map as the No 1 tourist destination. She said that the Government is committed to enhance the job avenues for the youth and increase employability.

She also appreciated the people of Kashmir for their cooperation in the smooth conduct of the Amarnathji Yartra showing the cultural essence of Kashmiriyat.

Ms Mehbooba appreciated the people of Jammu for having maintained peace and tranquility in the region during this period. She said that we are all interdependent and interconnected and anything happening in one corner of the State affects the other either directly or indirectly. She added that it is thus important to maintain brotherhood and the spirit of oneness that binds us together and that this bond of trust and amity was further strengthened when people coming down to Jammu from Kashmir were given a warm welcome making them fell secure and at home.

The Chief Minister reiterated that the present Government, based on its Agenda of Alliance, is working on a comprehensive developmental road map to ensure equitable development of all the three regions of the State. She added that various projects that were pending have been completed.

Ms Mehbooba also congratulated the people of the area, on having fulfilled a long pending demand for the building of the degree college and added that it is expected to be completed by next year. She further said that the Government shall make all efforts to provide all facilities to the girl students for their empowerment.

Speaking on the occasion, the Deputy Chief Minister said that the coalition government is working steadfast on the agenda of alliance to take the state on the path of development. He said providing good governance to the people in most transparent and accountable manner is the hallmark of the present government. He said that government has initiated reform in all vital sectors like Health, Education, R&B and stress has been laid on giving all three regions their equal share.

“We are working to fulfill the aspirations of the people and bring Jammu and Kashmir on the forefront of development. He also highlighted that with opening and setting up of premier institutions like IIM, IIT and AIIMS Jammu will soon emerge as a vital educational and healthcare destination.

In his address, Minister for Education, Mr. Naeem Akhtar congratulated the students for the new campus and said that the government is working towards achieving the vision of Late Mufti Mohammad Sayeed of providing our students best of facilities and quality education.

“The best investment we can make for our future is in the human resource development that holds key to our progress and prosperity”, he said, adding that we need to make our new generation ready to face the new era with confidence and right attitude.

He said that government is not just investing on educational infrastructure rather focus has been laid on enhancing the employability quotient making them job fit. He stressed that education is the key to emancipation of any society and development of our country.

Minister for Health and Medical Education in his address congratulated the people of the area for getting this new building which was a long pending demand. He said with major developmental initiatives underway the people of Raipur-Domana constituency will have an access to better amenities. He said that various vital road projects have been sanctioned in the area and work on 100 bedded Sub-Hospital is being executed at an estimated cost of Rs. 23 crore that shall greatly augment the healthcare services. He maintained that the concerned departments have been directed to ensure time bound completion of projects and ensure their technical feasibility.

While addressing the gathering, Priya Sethi said that government is making concerted efforts to provide quality education to the children and in making them ready to face the challenges of competitive world. She also highlighted the various ambitious projects in education and tourism sector which are paving way for a new Jammu and Kashmir.

Member Parliament, Jugal Kishore Sharma in his address congratulated the students for this new institution and said that government is working towards equitable development which has infused a new trust in the people that government is committed for development.

Commissioner Secretary, Higher Education, Asgar Samoon, Divisional Commissioner, Jammu, Dr. Pawan Kotwal, IGP Jammu Danish Rana, Deputy Commissioner Jammu, Simrandeep Singh MD JKPCC, Dilip Thusoo and other senior officers were also present on the occasion.

General Dalbir Singh Suhag, Chief of Army Staff, accompanied by Lt. Gen. D.S. Hooda, Northern Army Commander and Lt. Gen. S.K. Dua, GOC 15 Corps, met Governor N.N. Vohra at the Raj Bhavan here today.

During their hour long meeting, the Governor and the Army Chief discussed the external security situation and issues relating to effective internal security management.

The Governor and Army Chief also discussed the varied opportunities which need to be provided to the youth for assuring stable and bright future for them.

 Bismillah-ir-Rahman-ir-Rahim

Address to Nation / Press Conference (dated: 09-09-2016)

My Dear Countrymen!

Assalam-u-Alaikum Wa Rehmatullahi Wabarakata hu

The current phase of the freedom struggle against India has so unnerved the occupier and its local stooges that they have resorted to vilest means to suppress the struggle. While they are killing people on the streets and arresting them under their draconian laws, we have learnt that they have formulated a kill list, whereby they have identified pro-freedom leaders and activists and those civil society members, business leaders, government employees and journalists, who have not succumbed to their machinations. This is a very serious issue and we warn the occupier and their local stooges that any such misadventure will have serious repercussions.

The frustration of our occupier is understandable because between us and our freedom stand half a million Indian guns only. Never before have we been so close to freedom with such clarity as we are now. We have reached this stage because the people of Jammu and Kashmir have not only resisted the brute military occupation of India with exemplary courage and sacrifices but also repeatedly shown that the people would not be defeated.

This present uprising is a continuation of our long struggle for freedom from India. Shortly after Commander Burhan’s martyrdom, in multitudes our young and old, men and women came out from their homes, poured onto the streets and marched towards Tral to pay homage to our beloved Burhan and the two other martyrs. Since then, during the past two months there is no village and no town where people have not made it abundantly clear again that the only relationship between India and Kashmir is that of the occupier and the occupied and between the two the smokescreen that India had created here in the form of Abdullahs, Muftis, Lones and the sundry has fallen. We have always been saying that these collaborators are mere stooges of India and today it is crystal clear that their only task is to strengthen the Indian occupation of J&K and provide shameless justifications for cold-blooded murder, maiming and blinding of our people.

The current phase of the freedom struggle has provided a powerful push towards our goal of freedom, which is very much in sight.

The defeat of our enemy and the fact of our imminent victory are very much evident in the frustrated talk in their parliament, institutions of power and in the news studios of their fascist media. For the past 70 years, India has created a massive infrastructure of military occupation and other instruments of control but the last two months have shown that our will to fight for freedom is stronger than all their evil machinations.

This is the time to remember the efforts and sacrifices of those who nurtured this freedom movement through their blood, beloved ones and hard work since 1947 in general and from 1989 in particular. In 1990 when people rose against the military control of India, the entire world was shaken off the slumber; Jammu Kashmir attracted an unprecedented focus from the International community.

Then a long reign of terror was unleashed by the Indian state, which included scores of massacres, rapes, murders and killings, torture and arson. There was a stage when Indian state thought that the brutal repression could break the resolve of the people of Kashmir. They brought upon us devastation and thought that we will give up our struggle for freedom.

But our people and Mujahedeen offered great sacrifices to keep the flame of freedom alive and the fact that India made no discrimination in its extreme response between armed men and the civilian population. The veterans of the Freedom movement, along with the new generation, gathered themselves again and resisted the Indian occupation forces in every available space.

Through the next two decades, even though India martyred a hundred thousand of our people including women and children, disappeared more than ten thousand, and made into orphans, widows and half widows tens of thousands of our people, displaced large populations, and tortured, maimed, imprisoned countless of us, the people of J&K persisted in their struggle for freedom. We refused to surrender and kept alive the flame of freedom in our souls. Then came the peoples’ uprisings of 2008, 2009, 2010 and now 2016.

This spirit for the struggle for freedom has been seamlessly passed on to the next generation despite great disadvantages. Our occupier has the world’s third largest army. It has the world’s largest paramilitary force, most of which is stationed in Kashmir. It is the world’s fifth largest economy. We are a people’s resistance. We have no resources. We have no army. We have no media. But our greatest strength is our truth, unity and our determination to free ourselves from the yoke of this evil occupation.

The greatest sign of our victory is that the mighty army of our occupier has to shoot dead middle-aged women, a 21-year-old girl and beat to death a teacher. If after 70 years of military control, a soldier has to kill an unarmed woman and a schoolboy with a stone in his hand to forcibly keep Kashmir under Indian control, what bigger proof do we need of who has been defeated and who is victorious? The bullets of Indian soldiers are merely the symbols of their cowardice.

No fight is possible without a people willing to sacrifice their lives and livelihoods. Our people have been martyred and maimed. Our children languish in their prisons, bravely suffering their tortures. These cowards have blinded our children. We closed our businesses and shuttered our shops. Our labourers, masons, transporters, shikarawallas, ponywallas, carpenters, weavers and others are at the forefront of the struggle, sacrificing their livelihoods. This is the struggle of every soul—-farmers, doctors, teachers, school children and government employees.

These sacrifices are the building blocks of the free nation we are destined to become.

The way people helped each other and remained united during this phase of freedom struggle is a sign that we have already started living as a free people.

From the streets to the leadership we are all united in our freedom struggle against India and no matter whether the Indian occupying forces keep us under curfews or arrest us in prisons or in our homes, they will never succeed in severing the cord that joins us in our collective yearning for our freedom. We are and we must stay united; our unity is the death of our enemy.

During this uprising, Pakistan has once again proved that they are our friends and well-wishers. Pakistan and its people shared our pain and raised their voice in our support. We are happy that at a time when the people of Jammu and Kashmir have once again risen for their freedom, Pakistan and its people have taken an ethical stand to support our struggle morally, politically and diplomatically.

We are also thankful to several other countries like China, Norway, Saudi Arabia, New Zealand, Iran and to the Organization of Islamic countries (OIC) for expressing concern over the brutal repression by India in Kashmir. We are also thankful to Turkey for its unambiguous support to our just struggle for freedom from Indian occupation.

There was a time when the Kashmiri people would need someone else to read and write their letters. Our stories of pain and longing for freedom would almost always be distorted by the journalists and writers who came from India to take note of our lives and struggles against the Indian occupation. While there are a few honorable exceptions, the dominant discourse created by the Indian media and writers continues to be based on falsehoods aimed at dehumanizing us and labeling our just struggle as terrorism. The Indian media, by and large, is an extension of the Indian state and performs well the role that has been assigned to it to help keep in place the Indian occupation in Kashmir.

But what is heartening to us is that our own people are writing with complete clarity of thought and immense courage to portray the truthful picture of our struggle. Our own writers are narrating the horrors that our people are suffering at the hands of the occupying Indian state, and are giving voice to the collective aspirations of the people for freedom.

It is because of that writing that the International press too has cut through the lies of India and Indian media to see the truth on Kashmir’s streets and in its hospitals and prisons. We are thankful to the International press for reporting honestly and humanely about an occupation that is a shame to human values.

While the people of Jammu and Kashmir stand united in their collective pursuit for freedom, we once again appeal to the handful of collaborators from among our own to return and join the march of freedom. In the depth of their hearts, these collaborators know fully well that they are on the wrong side of truth and history, and that for small material gains they have become tools for the foreign military occupation of their own land and people and are risking their souls for eternal damnation. And for what? Lure of money and a false sense of power from the fascist Hindu forces, who want to enforce a demographic change on our land, obliterate our identity as Muslims, and annihilate us as people.

There still is time for them to make amends and join the honorable struggle for freedom and stand shoulder to shoulder with their own people who fight not only for themselves and the present generation but also for the generations to come.

We also appeal specifically to those who, merely to earn a livelihood, have joined our occupier and tormentor, thinking that they are only doing a job for the salary they are paid every month. Allah will never let you and your families suffer and starve if you are on the path of truth and righteousness. But if you continue to remain on the side of occupying State, killing and maiming your own people, no salary will be enough to cure the rot that Allah will send in your hearts and lives. We are sure that you would come to the side of truth, one day. We hope that it is sooner than later.

We need to consolidate on this new phase of our struggle and make resistance a way of our living. Our people have sacrificed their lives and livelihoods and given our resistance a clear vision of what our priorities and responsibilities must be to ourselves. The struggle for freedom is a continuous process and we must not lose the clarity of the present moment to the slumber of the so-called normalcy. Rather, we need to make this clarity as the guiding light for the future course of our resistance. The current phase of the freedom struggle is a powerful push towards our decisive march of freedom from India.

Immediately, we need to identify those who have suffered the most at the most basic levels, a mohalla and a village level. I again appeal for setting up Bait-ul-Maal in every mohalla and village. We should constantly monitor the condition of those who have been injured and work for their long-term rehabilitation.

We must own our martyrs and help their families in every possible manner and not let them become prey to the exploitative politics of Indian stooges here.

Shaken by our resolve and our united struggle for freedom, India has once again started the farce of engagement that it time and again has used to divert attention from the reality on the ground here. They will come again to ask – what do we want. They know the answer to that question. We want freedom.