SRINAGAR: Three ‘militants’ were killed in an overnight gun battle with soldiers in a village in India-held Kashmir, an army spokesman said on Monday.

In a strong reaction, Pakistan said acts of state terrorism by India continued unabated.

Indian military spokesman Rajesh Kalia said troops cordoned off the village near the tourist resort of Pahalgam after receiving a tip that fighters were hiding out in a home there.

“On specific intelligence army soldiers cordoned off the village on Sunday evening and the gun battle started,” Mr Kalia said. “Three terrorists have been killed. Their bodies and weapons have been retrieved.”

A police officer said soldiers using mortar fire destroyed the house.

Pakistan described the killings as a continued act of state terrorism and said India was blatantly committing crimes against humanity and against defenceless Kashmiris.

Indian acts of state terrorism continue, says Pakistan

In a statement issued in Islamabad, the Foreign Office strongly condemned “systematic and brutal killing of Kashmiris by the Indian occupation forces”.

The Foreign Office urged the United Nations, human rights organisations across the globe and the international community to act to stop bloodshed of Kashmiris by India.

It pointed out that since the current phase of uprising started in the wake of the extrajudicial killing of youth leader Burhan Muzaffar Wani on July 8, hundreds of Kashmiris had died at the hands of Indian troops. Indians forces have deliberately used pellet guns, injuring over 7,000 Kashmiris. The pellet gunshots blinded, completely or partially, over a thousand people, including children, it said.

The constant terrorist activities of RSS and its affiliates in IOK with the state’s backing, arbitrary arrests of thousands of Kashmiris with their fate remaining unknown, continued detention of Hurriyat leaders, disappearances and fake encounters, and blatant use of draconian laws to silence Kashmiris’ voice are highly deplorable and call for accountability of the perpetrators, it said.

According to the statement, it is a matter of great disappointment that India remains adamant in not allowing independent investigation into grave human rights violations in held Kashmir as repeatedly called for by the UN Human Rights Commissioner, Organi­sation of Islamic Cooperation, various countries’ parliamentarians and civil society members. The international community should take steps to ensure independent investigations without delay, it said.

Published in Dawn January 17th, 2017