Srinagar, March 10, 2018 (PPI-OT): In occupied Kashmir, families of four civilians killed in the firing of Indian troops in Shopian have not lodged any formal complaint as they consider the judiciary biased and not for the people of Kashmir.
Four civilians – Muhammad Shahid Khan (20), Suhail Khalil Wagay (22), Shahnawaz Ahmed Wagay (23) and Gowhar Ahmad Lone (24) – were killed by the troops near Shopian’s Pahnoo village on last Sunday.
The Indian army, in its first two statements, had termed the slain civilians over ground workers (OGW) of Mujahideen. Later in a press conference, a senior army official had said, “No doubt they (locals) were civilians, but investigations will reveal their role with militants.”
The families of the martyred civilians believe that the investigation will go nowhere, same as the several other cases of civilian killings in Kashmir did.
“You are talking about justice? What happened to those three civilians killed?” said Manzoor Ahmed, a family member of Suhail, citing the incident of Shopian’s Gawonpora village, where three civilians were shot dead by the army in January. “Aasiya and Neelofer, our two innocent sisters, were raped, murdered and thrown away to die. Nine years have passed since, what about them? What happened to that case and investigation?” he further questioned.
Manzoor said he openly challenges the police and the army to bring any valid evidence to prove that Suhail was an OGW or a militant’s associate. He said, “Neither the families is going to lodge an FIR, nor do we expect justice from a judicial probe.”
Another relative, Muhammad Yaseen, sitting next to Manzoor, said, “If Suhail was an OGW, why didn’t they arrest him instead of killing him?”
“There are thousands of Suhails who died in the past. None of them got justice, nor will he. The people of Kashmir, especially Shopian, are now used to these killings,” he added.
Similarly, Bashir Ahmed, maternal uncle of Gowhar, too, believes that his nephew’s case will get overlooked like many others.
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