Muslim nations protest rights violations in Kashmir

ISLAMABAD — The world’s largest bloc of Muslim countries expressed concern Saturday over alleged human rights violations in Indian-controlled Kashmir, which has seen weeks of deadly clashes between Muslim protesters and police.

Iyad Madani, secretary-general of the 57-member Organization of Islamic Cooperation, said at a news conference in the Pakistani capital of Islamabad that the situation in Kashmir was deteriorating and urged the international community to act.

Standing next to him at the news conference, Aziz accused Indian forces of using lethal force against Kashmiris protesting peacefully over extrajudicial killings.

The husband and wife were injured Friday night by pellets from a shotgun fired as they tried to resist a police party looking for one of their sons for allegedly leading anti-India protests in the southern Tral area, police and locals said.

In signs of an intensified crackdown against protesters in Indian-held Kashmir since last week, local residents have increasingly accused counterinsurgency police and army soldiers of systematically raiding neighborhoods, ransacking houses and beating residents to intimidate protesters.

A security lockdown and protest strikes have shut the Indian portion of Kashmir since the killing of a popular rebel commander on July 8 sparked some of Kashmir’s largest protests against Indian rule in recent years.