Pakistani Nobel laureate Malala Yousafzai on Tuesday said India and Pakistan should come together with the United Nations to stop the "inhumanity and heartbreak" in Kashmir, reported Dawn. The 19-year-old said, "The Kashmiri people, like people everywhere, deserve their fundamental human rights... They should live free of fear and repression."

Expressing solidarity with the people of Kashmir, she said dozens of unarmed protesters have been killed and thousands wounded, including hundreds of people blinded by pump action shotguns used to disperse demonstrators. According to her, several schools in the region have been closed beacuse of the ongoing crisis that started since the killing of Hizbul Mujahideen leader Burhan Wani on July 8.

Reacting to a PIL filed by the Jammu and Kashmir High Court Bar Association seeking a ban on pump action shotguns, which have left thousands in the Valley with severe injuries, the Mehbooba Mufti government on Tuesday said the judiciary cannot interfere with the state's duties to enforce law and order. "It is constitutional and legal duty of the State to maintain law and order. As to what method is required to be given effect [to] in order to control law and order has to be left to the State," the government said.

The state said the court cannot give directions its law enforcement agencies on how to act. "More than 3,700 police and security forces personnel [3,777 to be precise, till August 30, 2016] have also sustained injuries during the attacks on them by the crowd by using stones and sharp-edged weapons and petrol bombs," the government informed the court.

On the same day, across the border, Pakistani Army Chief General Raheel Sharif said Islamabad will continue to support the people of Kashmir regarding "diplomatic and ethical" issues, PTI reported. Calling Kashmir the "jugular vein" of Pakistan, Sharif said, “We salute the great sacrifices of the people of Kashmir for their right of self-determination. The solution of the problem lies in the implementation of the resolutions of United Nations in this regard."

He said Pakistan's defence was always strong, but now it has become invincible. He was speaking at the country's Defence Day ceremony in Rawalpindi. Sharif said, "I want to make it clear that we are fully aware of all covert and overt intrigues and intentions of our enemies. Be the challenge military or diplomatic; on the borders or within the cities, we know our friends and foes all too well." He also said Pakistan values its relationship with China and Islamabad will not allow any external force to obstruct it.