Massive anti-India rally held in Kashmir

Tens of thousands of people have staged a massive rally in Kashmir in protest at the Indian rule as violence continues to wreak havoc in the disputed Himalayan valley.

The protest rallies took place after Eid al-Fitr prayers on Saturday in Kashmir’s summer capital of Srinagar and other major towns across the Muslim-majority region on Saturday.

The protesters chanted slogans such as “Leave India, Go back” and “We want freedom.”

Meanwhile, angry protesters, most of them young men, threw stones at Indian troops, a Press TV correspondent reported.

The demonstrators also attacked police stations and burned government offices in the volatile valley.

Government security forces responded by firing tear gas and warning shots to disperse the demonstrators across the region.

More than a dozen people are said to have been injured in clashes between protesters and police forces on the outskirts of Srinagar.

The rallies came after Mirwaiz Umar Farooq — a Muslim cleric and influential moderate separatist — asked worshippers to take to the streets.

The Indian-administered Kashmir has been rocked by frequent protest rallies since June. The demonstrations broke out after Indian security forces killed a teenager on June 11.

Some 70 Kashmiris, among them children, have lost their lives during three months of unrest. Thousands have been killed in volatile Indian-administered Kashmir since 1989.

The three-month long political turmoil has also damaged the economy and education in the Kashmir valley.