Kulgam killings: Trading bodies stage sit-in at Regal Chowk

Srinagar : Jammu and Kashmir Police on Tuesday foiled protest marches of the Kashmir Chamber of Commerce and Industry (KCCI) and other trading bodies including Kashmir Traders and Manufacturers Federation (KTMF) against the recent Kulgam civilian killings. The trading bodies however held separate sit ins at protest sit at Regal Chowk Srinagar.
KCCI Secretary General, Farooq Amin, in a statement issued here said the KCCI members were prevented from proceeding towards Lal Chowk. “Despite strict restrictions, a large number of members of the Chamber participated in the protest march. The protest was led by Senior Vice President, Nasir Hamid Khan,” he said.
The members, however, held their sit-in at Regal Chowk, read the statement.
“As a sign of solidarity and to collectively condemn naked dance of human right violations, the Kashmir Chamber of Commerce and Industry today joins and supports people of Kashmir Valley to observe this peaceful protest. Members including executive, affiliated associations and office bearers are present at this venue and in one voice urge all right thinking people of the world to prevent repetition of violations, which has already taken heavy toll of our people,” Senior Vice President, Nasir Hamid Khan read out the KCCI statement.
The statement said that ‘every killing, every hartal, every strike and every large scale disturbance demands and calls for the resolution of the dispute of our State.’
“The Kashmir Chamber of Commerce and Industry calls upon human rights organizations, wherever they be, to report events which shake the conscience of the society and bring them to the notice of world community. Repetitive killings of our innocent people breach levels of tolerance. It is high time that the guns are silenced,” it said.
Kashmir Traders and Manufactures Federation (KTMF) – an amalgam of several trade bodies – on Tuesday held a protest in Srinagar against the recent civilian killings in southern Kulgam district.
Scores of KTMF members, led by Yasin Khan took out a protest march through Residency road and staged a sit-in at Regal Chowk where police had erected a barricade. The protesters were carrying placards with messages, like “UN Wake up, “One solution Kashmir resolution,” and “Stop state terrorism” to denounce the killings of seven civilians in Laroo village of Kulgam.