Teacher’s killing sparks protests in IOK

Srinagar—Chairman of Jammu and Kashmir Liberation Front, Muhammad Yasin Malik and President Democratic Freedom Party, Shabbir Ahmad Shah, in their separate statements here Sunday condemned in the strongest terms stepped-up acts of Indian state-terrorism in occupied Kashmir.
According to Kashmir Media Service, the Hurriyat leaders said that gruesome killing of a schoolteacher in custody in Kupwara and destruction of over a dozen residential houses in Bandipora by Indian troops had proved that India was not sincere and prepared to get the Kashmir dispute resolved through peaceful process of talks.
They pointed out that a steep rise in acts of Kashmiris’ bloodbath at the hands of Indian troops in the occupied territory amid the ongoing Pak-India dialogue process indicated that India wanted to hide its atrocities against Kashmiris under the garb of talks and to stifle Kashmiris’ genuine struggle for self-determination.
Malik and Shah warned that if Kashmiris’ repression continued, the talks’ process would be rendered meaningless and prospects of a negotiated settlement of the dispute could be diminished. They demanded inclusion of Kashmiris in the talks to make the latter a success. Shabbir Shah in his statement said that re-election of General Pervez Musharraf as President of Pakistan had generated a hope among Kashmiris that the ongoing talks’ process would remain on track and efforts to solve Kashmir dispute in accordance with Kashmiris’ aspirations would continue.
In occupied Kashmir, the gory killing of a schoolteacher, Abdul Rashid Mir in Kupwara by Indian troops has sparked unparalleled anti-India protest demonstrations in the area, with demonstrations continuing for the third day on Sunday, spewing venom at the Indian troops and calling for their immediate withdrawal from the land of Kashmir.
The agitated protesters told media men that the murder was pre-planned because the teacher had objected many a time to the obscene comments passed by an Indian army Major, a Subedar, and other troops at his female colleagues who always accompanied Mir, reported Kashmir media service.
The teachers of Government Middle School Marsary say that Mir used to accompany female teachers so that army men won’t tease them on their way to school. They say that Mir was badly tortured to death, first beaten and then fired upon to pass it off as an accidental death due to misfire. “They (the troops) had gagged his mouth and he couldn’t even scream when they were beating him up with gun butts, kicks and sticks in the forest,” said Gulshan, who was watching the troops beat Mir from veranda of her house. She said, “The troops had formed a ring around him and from the veranda of my house I saw him writhing due to onslaught from all sides.” According to Gulshan, the silence was broken by two gunshots.
“Panic gripped the village after gun shots were fired,” Gulshan said, adding that gunshots brought residents mostly women out of their houses and they ran towards the soldiers. The other women who were standing next to Gulshan said that the troops didn’t allow them to come close.
Hajra, 75, said, “I asked them have you killed anybody. They said, “No, we are for your security.” “We resisted, but our resistance infuriated the troops and they pointed their guns at us and chased us away,” Hajra said. She said that as women were assembling in the village they heard an announcement from the Masjid loudspeaker. “A man has been murdered by the troops in the forest and now they are trying to dispose off his body. Please come out of your houses.” After the announcement was made people came out of their houses and rushed towards the soldiers, the residents said.—Agencies