Tens of thousands of people shouting freedom slogans massed yesterday in revolt-hit Indian Kashmir to mourn 22 protesters killed in police firing during huge demonstrations in the mainly Muslim region.
Mourners in cars, buses, jeeps and trucks streamed to Pampore Township, just outside main city Srinagar, to take part in the outpouring of grief and anger. They shouted “We want freedom” and “Kashmir is ours.”
“This is a day we want to protest the slaying of 22 innocent Kashmiris,” said Mohammed Latief, a 32-year-old truck driver.
Police said they would not disrupt the event, at which many of the demonstrators hoisted black flags, a Muslim symbol of mourning.
“Authorities have said no force should be used against peaceful demonstrations,” police chief Kuldeep Khuda said.
Street battles earlier this week left at least 22 dead in police firing and hundreds injured.
Srinagar and other parts of the Muslim-dominated Kashmir valley have been rocked by some of the biggest protests since an insurgency against New Delhi’s rule erupted in 1989.
Veteran separatist leader Sheikh Abdul Aziz was among those who died earlier this week and Pampore, where the mourners gathered, was his hometown.
Aziz was a former militant who had renounced violence and joined Indian Kashmir’s political separatist alliance to seek the region’s independence.
“He is our hero — he has laid a fresh foundation for our freedom struggle with his martyrdom,” said Ayub Laway, one of Aziz’s supporters.
The rally in Pampore came a day after India’s Independence Day celebrations when thousands of Muslims in Srinagar protested New Delhi’s rule with some burning the national flag.
Addressing the nation in New Delhi, Prime Minister Manmohan Singh called it an “hour of crisis” and urged dialogue to resolve the violence in Kashmir, held in part by India and Pakistan but claimed in full by both.
The unrest was triggered by a Kashmir government move in June to donate land to a Hindu shrine trust. The decision was later reversed, angering Hindus who dominate the south of Jammu and Kashmir state.
BACKLASH: The National Party quit its decades-long partnership with the Liberal Party after their election loss to center-left Labor, which won a historic third term Australia’s National Party has split from its conservative coalition partner of more than 60 years, the Liberal Party, citing policy differences over renewable energy and after a resounding loss at a national election this month. “Its time to have a break,” Nationals leader David Littleproud told reporters yesterday. The split shows the pressure on Australia’s conservative parties after Prime Minister Anthony Albanese’s center-left Labor party won a historic second term in the May 3 election, powered by a voter backlash against US President Donald Trump’s policies. Under the long-standing partnership in state and federal politics, the Liberal and National coalition had shared power
CONTROVERSY: During the performance of Israel’s entrant Yuval Raphael’s song ‘New Day Will Rise,’ loud whistles were heard and two people tried to get on stage Austria’s JJ yesterday won the Eurovision Song Contest, with his operatic song Wasted Love triumphing at the world’s biggest live music television event. After votes from national juries around Europe and viewers from across the continent and beyond, JJ gave Austria its first victory since bearded drag performer Conchita Wurst’s 2014 triumph. After the nail-biting drama as the votes were revealed running into yesterday morning, Austria finished with 436 points, ahead of Israel — whose participation drew protests — on 357 and Estonia on 356. “Thank you to you, Europe, for making my dreams come true,” 24-year-old countertenor JJ, whose
A documentary whose main subject, 25-year-old photojournalist Fatima Hassouna, was killed in an Israeli airstrike in Gaza weeks before it premiered at Cannes stunned viewers into silence at the festival on Thursday. As the cinema lights came back on, filmmaker Sepideh Farsi held up an image of the young Palestinian woman killed with younger siblings on April 16, and encouraged the audience to stand up and clap to pay tribute. “To kill a child, to kill a photographer is unacceptable,” Farsi said. “There are still children to save. It must be done fast,” the exiled Iranian filmmaker added. With Israel
NO EXCUSES: Marcos said his administration was acting on voters’ demands, but an academic said the move was emotionally motivated after a poor midterm showing Philippine President Ferdinand Marcos Jr yesterday sought the resignation of all his Cabinet secretaries, in a move seen as an attempt to reset the political agenda and assert his authority over the second half of his single six-year term. The order came after the president’s allies failed to win a majority of Senate seats contested in the 12 polls on Monday last week, leaving Marcos facing a divided political and legislative landscape that could thwart his attempts to have an ally succeed him in 2028. “He’s talking to the people, trying to salvage whatever political capital he has left. I think it’s