17 teens killed in Valley since June
Seventeen teenagers have been killed by security forces in the Valley during the last six months. The youngest to have lost his life is thirteen year old Wamiq Farooq who was returning from school last month when he was felled by a bullet.
Condemning the spiralling violence which has overtaken the Valley once again, Dr Girija Dhar, chairperson, Kashmir Interventions — a guild of service running a shelter for children in Srinagar who have lost their parents in militancy — insists, “the violence has to end. Youngsters cannot be made pawns in a game of political opportunism being played out here.”
Dr Dhar who has gathered the details of the young boys who have died and sent them to the National Commission of Human Rights laments that teenagers Shakeel Ahmed Gani (14 years), Inayat Khan (14 years) and Tufail Matoo (17 years) were much too young to die.
“Undoubtedly many of them were veteran stone throwers and could have participated in these demonstrations without understanding the full impact of what was happening but surely the security forces should have handled the entire situation differently,” Dr Dhar believes.
Retired Army officers who are working in the Delhi Chapter of the Guild of Services and are also members of the India-Pakistan’s Initiative for Peace believe a “disproportionate amount of force has been used to put down this violence.”
Col Virendra Verma (Retd), who has served in the intelligence wing of the Army if the CRPF was using only rubber bullets, as they are claiming then seventeen lives should not have been lost.
Col Verma believes, “It appears from the incidents that have occurred that the security personnel lacked proper training. They also need to be provided with better protective gear to deal with stone-throwers.”
Col A.R. Khan (Retd), also a member of the Guild of Services, feels the firing should be resorted to as a last resort otherwise a “dialogue with the youth is the only long-term solution.”
Youngsters who have lost their lives since January 2010 are — Inayat Khan (17), Wamiq Farooq (13), Zahid Farooq (16), Tufail Matoo (17), Rafiq Ahmad Bangroo (25) Javid Ahmad Malla (18) Shakeel Ahmad Ganai (14) Firdaus Ahmad Kakroo (22) Bilal Ahmad Wani (22).
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