Modi appeals for peace in Indian Kashmir as curfew enters day 4

Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi Tuesday called for restoration of peace in Indian Kashmir, where a curfew has been in place for the fourth consecutive day following eruption of unrest over the killing of a separatist terrorist.

Following a highlevel emergency meeting with senior officials, upon his return to New Delhi from a tour of Africa, Modi expressed concern over the situation and appealed for peace, Minister of State in the Prime Minister’s Office Jitendra Singh said.

A spokesperson from the Kashmir Police central office told EFE on conditions of anonymity that the security situation on Tuesday is “normal” and that curfew continued only in “a few places,” excluding Srinagar, the region’s summer capital.

He also stressed the number of deaths since the unrest began Saturday stands at 23 22 protesters and one policeman, although local news agency KNS said the central government representative in the region, Asgar Hassan Samoon, had raised the number to 30.

Moreover, nearly a thousand people have been injured, mostly due to stonepelting by protesters and consequent police retaliation.

Burhan Wani, 21, a rebel from the separatist group HizbulMujahideen and one of the most wellknown faces of the outfit due to his active social media presence, was killed late Friday along with two other terrorists in a joint operation by the police and military in the Kokernag area in Kashmir.

Kashmir is India’s only Muslimmajority region although Pakistan has claimed complete sovereignty over it since the 1947 partition that divided the subcontinent, following the end of British colonial rule.

The two nuclear powers have since then fought two wars and have been involved in two minor skirmishes over Kashmir.

On Sunday, Pakistani Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif condemned the “murder” of Wani who joined the insurgency at the age of 15 and termed the “excessive and unlawful” use of force against civilians during the ongoing protests as “deplorable”, statements that have been strongly rebuffed by Indian authorities.