Youth dies in fresh J&K mob-security conflict

Srinagar: One person was killed in a clash between a mob and security forces in downtown Srinagar on Sunday evening, shattering the peace that was by and large witnessed in Kashmir through the day with curfew in force in the capital and two other towns.

Irfan Ahmed was injured in a clash between stone pelters and security forces in Fateh Kadal area and he succumbed to his injuries in SMHS hospital later, a police official said.

With this, the toll during the 44-day unrest has gone up to 65, including two policemen. Earlier, the situation was largely under control through the day with incidents of stone pelting reported only from three places — Kangan in Ganderbal and Trumgund and Behrampora in Sopore.

The miscreants assembled on roads and pelted stones on police and security forces, police spokesman said. Apart from these incidents, “the situation remained under control across the valley till the filing of this report”, he said.

Curfew was in force in the entire Srinagar district as well as in Anantnag and Pampore towns as a precautionary measure, a police official said. The police official said restrictions on the movement of the people were also in force in rest of the Valley.

‘Stone-pelters not satyagrahis’
Acknowledging that situation in Kashmir is “serious”, senior Union minister Arun Jaitley on Sunday asserted that there can be no compromise with those indulging in violence as he described stone-pelters as “not satyagrahis but aggressors” who target police and security forces.

He slammed Pakistan for the current unrest, saying it was “attacking the integrity of India” in a “new way” after failing to snatch J&K by waging wars and fuelling trouble ever since partition in 1947 and vowed to defeat this design too.

Mr Jaitley outlined the Modi government’s priorities, asserting that there will be no compromise with those indulging in violence even as efforts will be made for development of the state which was “denied” for the last 60 years.

“Now this time, a serious situation has emerged in which Pakistan, separatists and religious forces have joined hands and now with a new way, they are attacking the integrity of India,” he said.