Kashmir – A baby girl was fired by a pellet in her right eye by the security forces in the early hours of Sunday when sudden protests erupted in the Shopian village of Jammu and Kashmir.
20-months-old, Hiba Nisar, is currently undergoing treatment at Shri Maharaja Hari Singh Hospital’s ophthalmology department in Srinagar, when a pellet was directly fired in her eye. She was immediately rushed to the hospital for a surgery. While the doctors say, the injury is serious and she would lose her eye sight forever.
Marsala Jan, Hiba’s mother said, “We were inside our home and intense tear gas shelling was going on outside. At one point, my five-year-old son began complaining of trouble in breathing. I decided to take my children out but as soon as soon as I opened the door, three men (security personnel) fired pellets on us directly,” reported by Indian Express.
Jan also received a pellet in her hand when she shielded Hiba’s face and pushed her son away to save him.
“I put my hand on Hiba’s face to protect her. Had I not put my hand, her face would have been disfigured with pellets,” the grieving Jan said.
Nisar Ahmed, Hiba’s father said, “They didn’t even leave this small kid…I am just praying to God that she has no serious problem in her eye.”
However, doctors at SMHS hospital said that Hiba’s condition is not good as she has perforation in the cornea with pellet in the eye.
“I only pray to God to give a severe punishment to those who are responsible for this, as a mother, I only can understand what she is going through,” Jan cursed.
According to local media reports, Seven top Hizb-ul-Mujahideen, Lashkar-e-Toiba and Jaish-e-Muhammad militants, an Indian soldier and a civilian were killed during two encounters and subsequent protests in Shopian and Pulwama districts of southern Kashmir.
