Indian troops kill 11 protestors amid anger in Kashmir

INDIAN security forces shot dead at least 11 Muslim demonstrators in Kashmir yesterday amid a wave of anger against India’s control of the region.

Casualties mounted the day after a leading separatist politician and five other protesters were gunned down by troops in the area.

Police and soldiers enforced a daylight curfew in a bid to prevent rioting, but resorted to gunfire in the face of large crowds of stone-throwing youths, witnesses said.

Police, medical doctors and witnesses said 11 Muslim protesters, including a 55-year-old woman, were gunned down and at least 100 others wounded across Jammu and Kashmir state, north of India

“We want freedom and we will continue our struggle until we are free,” senior Muslim cleric and separatist leader Mirwaiz Umar Farooq said.

On Monday, Sheikh Abdul Aziz, a leader of the political struggle against Indian rule, was shot dead by security forces during a protest near the Line of Control, which divides the Indian and Pakistani parts of Kashmir.

Pakistani foreign minister Shah Mehmood Qureshi accused India of using “excessive and unwarranted” force to quell the protests, and voiced Pakistan’s grief at Aziz’s “martyrdom”.

India criticised Pakistan for interfering in the issue.

Aziz’s funeral was held yesterday, after mourners broke through a police cordon and freed two separatist leaders who were under house arrest so they could lead funeral prayers.