Woman resistance leader asks people ‘not to side with Indian agents’

Pulwama: A woman resistance leader asked people ‘not to side with Indian agents’ while participating in the funeral procession of Basit, a 14-year-old boy from South Kashmir’s Pulwama district.

Basit lost his battle for life at a Srinagar hospital on Friday, taking the death toll in ongoing anti-India uprising that entered its 70th day, to 85. At least 150 protestors including five women sustained pellet and teargas shell injuries in protests after Friday congregational prayers across Kashmir, reports and witnesses said.

Basit Mukthar son of Mukhtar Ahmed of Dalipora Pulwama had sustained teargas shell injury in his head on September 5. He was declared brain dead, doctors said, and put on ventilator at Intensive Care Unit of SMHS hospital here. “He breathed his last early on Friday morning,” Basit’s family members said.

They said Basit was a class 8th student and had lost his father last year only. “ His father died a natural death,” they said.

Thousands of people thronged Dalipora village to participate in the funeral procession of Basit. Reports said the body was taken in a huge procession with hundreds of women beating their chests, and wailing.

A woman resistance leader, who was representing joint resistance leadership, asked people ‘not to side with Indian agents’. She asked people to stay away from participating in elections and appealed people to follow the joint resistance leadership’s protest programme.

The boy was laid to rest in a martyrs’ graveyard with all eyes around moist. As soon as Basit’s funeral concluded, youth clashed with forces at various places. At least 15 youth sustained pellet and teargas shell injuries in the forces’ action, reports said.

At least 12500 youth have sustained injuries in forces’ action since July 8— the day Kashmir erupted against the killing of Hizbul Mujahideen commander Burhan Wani. Of the total injured, over 800 have been hit by pellets in their eyes, with majority of them on the verge of losing their eye-sight partially or fully.

On Friday, police imposed strict curfew in major towns of Kashmir districts while old Srinagar areas witnessed toughest curfew-like restrictions.