Five people were killed in clashes with security forces in Kashmir’s Budgam district on Tuesday, taking the toll in the state to 65. Protestors reportedly began pelting stones at security personnel in Magam area of the district in the morning. At least 15 people were injured in retaliatory fire. Parts of the Valley continue to be under curfew for the 39th consecutive day.
Even as violence hit the region again, Home Minister Rajnath Singh chaired a meeting in the Capital to review the situation in Kashmir. Singh held the meeting with National Security Advisor Ajit Doval and the head of the Intelligence Bureau, Dineshwar Sharma.
Clashes broke out in Kashmir following the killing of Hizbul Mujahideen commander Burhan Wani by Indian security forces on July 8. On Monday, while making an Independence Day address, Chief Minister Mehbooba Mufti had blamed the country’s leadership over the years for the current situation in Kashmir. She had said, “Guns cannot resolve issues, whether they belong to the militants or us,” adding that if the problem cannot be solved in the world’s biggest democracy, it cannot be solved anywhere else.
The unrest in Kashmir has also become the subject of an ongoing war of words between India and Pakistan, after the neighbouring country has criticised the government’s handling of the situation several times. Pakistan most recently “dedicated” it’s Independence Day to the “freedom” of people in the Valley, evoking a strong reaction from the Indian external affairs ministry.
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