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There is no good in much of their secret conferences save (in) whosoever enjoineth charity and fairness and peace-making among the people and whoso doeth that, seeking the good pleasure of God, We shall bestow on him a vast reward.
(Al-Nisa, 4:114).

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Tuesday, February 23, 2010

Call for justice in Indian Kashmir.

AlJazeeraEnglish | February 23, 2010 - Protesters clashed with police in Indian-administered Kashmir on Monday, in the latest such confrontation over the deaths of two Kashmiri boys earlier this month.

More than 100 people have been arrested so far for taking part in the demonstrations.

Zahid Farooq, 17, and Wamiq Farooq, 13, were killed by Indian police in separate incidents, sparking widespread public anger in an already volatile region.

Zahid was playing with his friends outside his home when a security officer allegedly shot him because he called the policeman names.

Just days before that, Wamiq was fatally hit on the head by a teargas shell fired by police during a protest.

Indian officials have admitted that police officers were responsible for the deaths and say they are investigating the cases.

Monday's demonstrations coincided with the launch of an "Independent People's Tribunal on Human Rights Violation in Kashmir" by local activists in Srinagar, the capital of Jammu and Kashmir.

Faisal Qadri, one of the organisers, said the intention is to inform Kashmiris of their rights and raise awareness of the situation in the state.

"The purpose is to help victims, who for the last 20 years have had to live through a conflict where numerous incidents of human-rights violations such as disappearances, custodial killings, torture and rape have occurred," he said

Since 1989, the predominantly Muslim region has been the scene of an armed uprising against Indian rule.

By some estimates, the conflict has left more than 68,000 people, mostly civilians, dead and up to 200,000 people displaced.

Al Jazeera's Prerna Suri reports.