Srinagar: In wake of the bloodbath at Shopian, The Kashmir Chamber of Commerce and Industry (KCCI), in a statement said that they are overwhelmed by the fact that people getting killed in double figures every day which has made the situation worse in Kashmir .
“It is high time that the government of India stops these killings forthwith. We have been on record months before in our representation to the government that the only way is negotiating with all stakeholders for peaceful settlement of Kashmir without any preconditions,” said Javed Ahmed Tenga, President of the KCCI in a statement.
This can no longer go on. We cannot see our people especially youth being killed everyday as it is genocide of Kashmiris,” he added.
Five militants were killed in a gunfight in Shopian on Sunday. In the clashes that followed, five civilians were killed by the armed forces. The slain militants included Hizb’s top commander Saddam Padder and Kashmir University’s missing Professor Dr. Mohammad Rafi Bhat. He had gone missing on Friday which had triggered protests in the university.
Over a dozen protesters have been injured during clashes near the encounter site.
In his last call to his family, Bhat told his father that he was ‘sorry if he has hurt them.’
Reacting over the killing of the professor, former chief minister Omar Abdullah said that his death is the answer to those who say that jobs is the solution to violence and alienation in Kashmir.
Meanwhile, Chief Minister Mehbooba Mufti while expressing anguish over the killings has said that gun, either way of a militant or that of security forces, is no solution for resolving issues.
The Joint Resistance Leadership (JRL) has called for a shutdown on Monday against the continuous bloodshed in Kashmir. The leadership has also asked the people to march towards the civil secretariat and hold a peaceful sit there.
