SRINAGAR: Nine people, among them a 16-year-old protester and a police commander, lost their lives on Monday as clashes and gun battles raged across the disputed region on India’s Independence Day.

The teenage boy was shot dead late on Monday following clashes between Indian forces and protesters in the Batmaloo area of Srinagar, hours after two suspected militants were killed in a brief shootout a few miles away.

“The teenager was brought dead to the hospital. He was hit by a bullet,” said Kaiser Ahmad, a doctor at Srinagar’s main hospital.

Separately, doctors at another Srinagar hospital said a young protester died from injuries on Monday, days after he was hit by a bullet. Nearly 70 people have been killed in the ongoing unrest.

India, Pakistan urged to make Line of Control irrelevant

Fierce clashes between protesters and Indian troops were reported across the Valley despite the authorities imposing a round-the-clock curfew.

Mobile and internet services were snapped and thousands of armed policemen patrolled the main cities and towns to thwart any violence on Independence Day.

Earlier in the day, a paramilitary police commander was critically wounded in an ambush in Srinagar’s Nowhatta locality and later died in hospital while two suspected militants were killed in a shootout following the attack, said an officer of India’s Central Reserve Police Force (CRPF).

“We have lost a commanding officer. Two militants were also killed in the ensuing gunfight,” said CRPF Inspector General Atul Karwal.

He said nine others were wounded with three, including two local policemen, in a critical condition.

The officer could not immediately confirm the identities of the dead militants but said they were “non-locals”.

Authorities have imposed a curfew in large parts of Kashmir, India’s only Muslim majority disputed region, since July 9 during an upsurge in violence sparked by the killing of a top militant commander called Burhan Wani in a gunfight with Indian forces.

Flag farce

In a separate gunfight on Monday, five suspected militants were killed near the Line of Control (LoC) — the de facto border dividing Kashmir between India and Pakistan — in the northern Uri sector, the area’s police chief said.

Imtiyaz Hussain said the suspects were spotted by guards after they sneaked over to the Indian side of the heavily militarised LoC.

Two Indian army officers, including a commanding officer, were wounded and evacuated to an army hospital in Srinagar.

Kashmiri groups traditionally appeal to citizens to observe a shutdown on Independence Day to protest against Indian rule.

Held Kashmir’s first woman chief minister Mehbooba Mufti called on India and Pakistan to make the LoC irrelevant to bring peace to the region.

“I appeal to both countries that this line dividing Kashmir should be made irrelevant,” Ms Mufti told a thinly-attended gathering at a sports stadium in Srinagar.

The main event at the fortified arena was marred by spectators booing the chief minister after the Indian flag fell to the ground as she tried to hoist it, prompting authorities to order a probe to determine if it was the result of an act of sabotage.

She blamed the Indian leadership for the current crisis in the region and urged protesting youths to return to their schools and colleges.

Published in Dawn, August 16th, 2016