LAHORE: Opposition leader in National Assembly Shehbaz Sharif has condemned extrajudicial killing of five Kashmiris, saying it appears to be the Modi government’s plan to eliminate the identity of Kashmiris.

“Extra-judicial killings of five more Kashmiris by Indian occupation forces is the result of the world turning a blind eye to the worst human rights abuses in IOK,” Mr Sharif said in a tweet on Thursday.

The PML-N president further said: “BJP-RSS combine is working on a multi-pronged sinister plan to eliminate the identity of Kashmiris.”

Five suspected Kashmiri fighters were killed in IIOJK on Wednesday, police said, as relatives of two men shot dead during an earlier security operation demanded their bodies be returned.

Clashes between Kashmiri fighters and Indian government forces have claimed at least 140 lives so far this year.

The five were killed during two separate search operations by government forces in Kulgam district.

Published in Dawn, November 19th, 2021