Srinagar, October 20
Protest demonstrations continued for the second consecutive day today against the killing of a local school teacher in Kupwara district of north Kashmir, while protesters torched an Army vehicle and a state government vehicle during protest demonstrations since yesterday.

An FIR has been lodged in the Trehgam police station, Kupwara, against the killing of the teacher, while the Army regretted and has ordered an inquiry into the incident. Sources said an Army jawan had been taken into preventive custody in this connection.

The Army personnel allegedly shot dead Abdul Rashid Mir, a Rehbar-e-Taleem (ReT) of Rawatpora, near Chowkibal, in frontier district of Kupwara on Thursday morning.

The locals accused the Army personnel for the killing of the teacher, who was on his way to school, only two days after Chief Minister Ghulam Nabi Azad claimed at the second All-India Editors’ Conference here that custodial deaths had come down.

A defence spokesman here said the opening of the Choukibal-Drangyari road was done by the Army to ensure the safe passage of a convoy on Thursday morning. A person came towards the road, near one of the stop-locations. He was halted and told to prove his identity by soldiers on duty in Marsari at 10:30 am. Instead of showing his identity papers, the man got into an argument with the soldier. In this confusion, the weapon got accidentally discharge, leading to the death of Rashid Mir of Rawatpora.

Meanwhile, two persons, including an unidentified militants and a policeman, were killed while two others, including a policeman and civilian, were injured in an encounter at Malpora, Sopore in Baramulla district today.

Meanwhile, the People’s Democratic Party (PDP), relations of which have strained further with the ruling Congress, has condemned the "cold-blooded murder" of a teacher.

PDP spokesman has asked the state to provide a foolproof mechanism for preventing recurrence of such incidents.

Reiterating its demand for the withdrawal of troops from inhabited areas and handing over responsibility to the police, the PDP spokesman said continued presence of troops in civilian areas now proved counter-productive. "Instead of being lauded for commendable job in bringing peace to the state, troops are now frequently becoming the target of the public wrath for such actions", he added.

Srinagar, October 20
President of the PDP Mehbooba Mufti has welcomed reported finalisation of items by New Delhi and Islamabad for trade across Line of Control (LoC) in Jammu and Kashmir. She has asked the governments of India and Pakistan to facilitate movement of trucks on the Srinagar-Muzaffarabad road at the earliest.

"I think there should now be no problem in allowing the movement of goods on the Srinagar-Muzaffarabad road", she said here today. Mehbooba said after the reopening of Srinagar-Muzaffarabad road for the divided families,people of Jammu and Kashmir were looking ahead for free movement of people and goods on this road.

“The initiative must not be restricted" to the Srinagar-Muzaffarabad road alone, but all traditional routes, including the Suchetgarh-Sialkote, Kargil-Skardu, Bandipora-Gurez-Gilgit, Nowshehra-Mirpur and Poonch-Rawalakote roads must be opened for the free movement of people and goods, she said.

The PDP president said export of products like carpets, furniture, silk, fruits, spices, aromatic plants, pulses, saffron and basmati rice through LoC, as had been reportedly cleared by Islamabad would contribute to economic growth of the state. She hoped more items would be added to the list.