After days of relative calm, three persons were killed and two others wounded when the police opened fire into groups of slogan-chanting protesters and rock-throwing youth at Palhalan, outside the north-western Kashmir town of Pattan, on Monday. The condition of one of the injured civilians is stated to be critical. A report said he too had succumbed at a Srinagar hospital.
Seventeen-year-old Show-kat Ahmed died on the spot whereas Nooruddin, 26, who had received firearm wounds on both thighs, was brought dead to Srinagar’s Sher-i-Kashmir Institute of Medical Sciences (SKIMS). The condition of a third injured civilian, identified as 35-year-old Muhammad Ashraf, who was hit in the neck, is stated to be “very critical”. A report said another youth, Mudassir Ahmed, died of a bullet wound on the way to hospital. He was among several residents injured in clashes with security forces in the area. The toll in weeks of protests and violence has risen to 69.
Also, PM Manmohan Singh announced that later this week the CCS will meet for a “threadbare” discussion on the situation in the Valley. There are indications that the Centre may initiate new steps toward restoration of peace in the Valley, including releasing political prisoners and repealing the controversial AFSPA.