Pellet victims Monday staged a protest in Srinagar. They demanded a ban on use of pellet guns by forces in Kashmir and urged society to take note of their plight and help them.

Various human rights bodies including Amnesty International have condemned the use of pellet firing shotguns by forces since  at  least  2010.

“These  weapons  have  killed,  blinded and  injured  thousands  of  people In  January  this  year,  the  Jammu  and  Kashmir  state government  admitted  in  the  state  legislative  assembly  that 6,221  persons  received  pellet gun injuries, including 782 eye injuries, between July 2016 and February 2017. The  actual figures are likely to be even higher,” Amnesty International recently wrote in a letter to Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau, urging him to raise the issue during his visit to India.

People  injured by  pellet firing  shotguns  have  faced  serious  physical  and  mental  health issues,  including  symptoms  of  psychological  trauma, Amnesty said, adding school  and  university  students who  were  hit in  the  eyes  said  that  they  continue  to  have  learning  difficulties.

“Several victims who were the primary breadwinners for their families fear they will not be able to work any longer. Many have not regained their eyesight despite repeated surgeries. These shotguns fire a large number of small pellets spreading over a wide range. There is  no  way  to  control  the  trajectory  or  direction  of  the  pellets,  whose  effects  are therefore  indiscriminate. By their  very nature, the weapons have  a high risk  of  causing serious and permanent injuries to the persons targeted as well as to others. These risks are  virtually  impossible  to  control.”

(Pictures by Zargar Zahoor)