Protesters have clashed with government troops in several parts of Indian-controlled Kashmir for the second straight day, defying a curfew imposed to restrain public anger over the killing of four villagers in the disputed region. …read more
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Protesters clashed with government troops in several parts of Indian-controlled Kashmir on Friday, defying a government curfew imposed to quell large scale demonstrations over the killing of four villagers in the disputed Himalayan region.
Locals, responding to a call to protest by separatist groups, threw rocks as police and paramilitary soldiers tried to stop them by hitting them with batons and firing tear gas and, at one location, live ammunition, a police officer said on customary condition of anonymity.
Six police and paramilitary troops and at least two protesters were injured in the clashes.
The unrest follows the fatal shootings of four villagers by government troops on Thursday. More than 40 others were injured as troops clashed with locals protesting the alleged desecration of the Muslim holy book by border guards in a remote, mountainous village in the region.
The protesters have accused the Indian Border Security Force of tearing pages of several copies of the Quran and beating a school caretaker at a religious seminary during a search for militants Wednesday night.
Rajiv Krishna, a senior Border Security Force officer, rejected the desecration charges.
Indian Home Minister Sushilkumar Shinde ordered a probe into the incident. Rights groups say such investigations rarely lead to prosecutions and are mainly used to try to calm public anger.
The violence, which comes during the Muslim holy month of Ramadan, could trigger widespread protests in the disputed Himalayan region, with separatist groups that reject India’s sovereignty over the region calling for three days of strikes and demonstrations.
In response, the government put a curfew in place. On Friday, thousands of police and paramilitary soldiers erected checkpoints and laid barbed wire on roads in Srinagar, the main city in Kashmir to try and enforce the curfew and prevent any anti-India protests. They drove through neighborhoods warning people to stay indoors and barred Friday prayers in Srinagar’s main mosque.
Several other Kashmiri towns were also deserted as shops, businesses and public transportation shut down due to the curfew and strike. Authorities have postponed university examinations scheduled for Friday and blocked Internet services on cell phones in an attempt to prevent demonstrators from organizing.
Kashmir is divided between India and Pakistan, with both countries claiming the region …read more
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Indian Kashmir largely shut down amid heavy security on Friday after troops shot dead four people during a protest over a paramilitary raid on an Islamic school.
Shops, banks, schools and most government offices were closed in towns across the region, after a separatist leader called a three-day strike to protest Thursday’s killings.
Srinagar, the main city in the region, was largely deserted after hundreds of police and paramilitary troops were deployed on the streets to halt any demonstrations over the deaths, an AFP reporter on the scene said.
Although authorities have not officially declared a curfew in the troubled Himalayan region, residents said they were not being allowed to go about their business.
“Early in the morning, troops appeared all around my neighbourhood disallowing people from coming out onto the streets,” a resident of the old part of Srinagar, Farhan Ahmed, said by phone.
“It is undeclared curfew,” he said.
Troops fired on protesters on Thursday, after residents of the district of Gool gathered to demonstrate against what they said was a desecration of the Koran by troops during their search of a madrassa.
They gathered outside a base of the Border Security Forces (BSF) in Gool region, 230 kilometres (143 miles) south of Srinagar.
Residents accused BSF troopers of beating up a caretaker and desecrating a Koran, during a search for militants inside the madrassa in Gool late on Wednesday.
Police officers initially said six protesters were killed in the firing. But inspector-general of police, Rajesh Kumar, clarified on Friday that only four had died.
“The fact is that the number of dead is four. The confusion was because we were busy in dealing with law and order and also due to the spotty nature of telecommunications in the mountainous area,” Kumar told AFP.
He said 37 protesters were also injured in the incident.
The region’s chief minister, Omar Abdullah, condemned the shootings while India’s Home Minister Sushil Kumar Shinde ordered an investigation, saying the deaths were regrettable.
A top separatist leader, Syed Ali Geelani, called for a shutdown to protest the killings.
Most separatist leaders have been detained or put under house arrest to prevent them from leading protest rallies, sources said.
Chairman of the pro-independence Jammu Kashmir Liberation Front (JKLF) called for a protest before he was detained by police on Thursday.
The main university in the region postponed examinations scheduled for Friday without announcing any fresh dates.
Elsewhere, in Pakistani Kashmir’s main city Muzaffarabad around 500 protesters took to the streets, chanting slogans and burning the Indian flag, to condemn the forces’ actions.
A revolt against Indian rule has going on for decades in Kashmir, the country’s only Muslim-majority state.
The insurgency has been a regular source of tensions between residents and security forces, which often spill over into violence.
About a dozen rebel groups have been fighting Indian forces in Kashmir since 1989, either for independence or for a merger with Pakistan. The fighting has left tens of thousands, mostly civilians, dead.
Nuclear-armed rivals India and Pakistan have each administered part of Kashmir since the partition of the subcontinent after the end of British rule …read more
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Government forces in the Indian portion of Kashmir on Thursday fatally shot four villagers and wounded 25 others who were protesting the alleged desecration of the Muslim holy book by border guards, police said.
The violence — which came during the Muslim holy month of Ramadan — could trigger widespread protests in the disputed Himalayan region, with separatist groups that reject India’s sovereignty over the region calling for three days of strikes and demonstrations beginning Friday.
The protesters accused the Indian Border Security Force soldiers of entering a religious seminary Wednesday night looking for Kashmiri militants in Dharam, a village 220 kilometers (140 miles) south of Srinagar, the main city in Indian Kashmir.
The head of the seminary, Qari Shabir, said the border guards tore pages of several copies of the Quran after beating a school caretaker.
As thousands of villagers marched to the seminary on Thursday to protest the alleged desecration of the Qurans, government forces opened fire to stop them, wounding several, Shabir said.
After the protesters dispersed, civil and police authorities reached the village and tried to calm the angry villagers, he said.
Thousands of people from other areas then came and joined the protesters. They resumed the march, leading to scuffles with government forces, who again fired at the protesters, Shabir said.
“We were protesting the desecration of the holy book and instead of looking into this heinous act, they fired at us,” Shabir said.
Four of the villagers were killed and 25 were wounded, said a police officer who spoke on condition of anonymity because he was not authorized to speak to reporters.
Indian Home Minister Sushilkumar Shinde ordered a probe into the incident. “I assure that any use of excessive force or irresponsible action shall be dealt with strictly,” he said in a statement.
Rights groups say such investigations rarely lead to prosecutions and are mainly used to try to calm public anger.
Officials said thousands of people gathered in the area to protest Thursday’s incident. Protests also took place in other parts of Kashmir, and a key highway was closed.
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Suspected rebels killed a prisoner and wounded four police officers and a passer-by in Indian Kashmir when they lobbed a grenade at a police vehicle Wednesday, police said.
The vehicle was hit while passing through a crowded market in the Batamaloo area of the state capital Srinagar. A passer-by also suffered injuries in the attack.
Shakeel Ahmad Ksana, a prisoner who was being shifted to a jail in the vehicle, died while receiving treatment in a local hospital, a police statement said.
“It was a random attack on police. No one has been arrested for the attack,” local police official Afadul Mujtaba told AFP.
Kashmir is divided between India and Pakistan by a UN-monitored boundary known as the Line of Control. But both countries claim the Himalayan region in full and have fought two of their three wars over the territory.
Armed violence in Kashmir has declined during the last decade but recent months have witnessed more attacks by separatist militants on Indian forces.
On June 24 heavily armed rebels ambushed an army convoy and killed eight soldiers on the outskirts of Srinagar, on the eve of a rare visit to the region by Indian Prime Minister Manmohan Singh.
About a dozen armed rebel groups have been fighting Indian forces in Kashmir since 1989 for independence or merger with Pakistan. The fighting has left tens of thousands, mostly civilians dead.
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A curfew has been imposed in most of Indian-controlled Kashmir after a militant attack left five paramilitary troops dead and a civilian was killed by government troops.
Thousands of armed government troops patrolled the streets of the curfew-bound towns Thursday.
On Wednesday, two militants fired on a group of paramilitary soldiers in Srinagar, the region’s main city, killing five troops. Soldiers shot dead both militants.
Later Wednesday, paramilitary soldiers fatally shot a civilian who they said was part of a group of protesters throwing stones at vehicles taking the injured to a hospital. Locals said the man was not a protester.
No one has claimed responsibility for Wednesday’s attack, though suspicion immediately fell on Muslim separatists. India‘s government said the militants appeared to be from Pakistan, a charge Pakistan denied.
A police official says five Indian paramilitary soldiers have been killed in a militant attack in the capital of Indian-controlled Kashmir.
Police official Manoj Kumar Shree says two militants were killed after Wednesday’s attack on a Central Reserve Police Force base.
No groups have claimed responsibility for the Srinagar attack, though suspicion immediately fell on Muslim militants.
Kashmir has been wracked by more than two decades of violence, though militant attacks have decreased substantially in recent years. The Himalayan region of Kashmir is divided between India and Pakistan, but claimed in its entirety by both.
At least 15 people have been killed and six others seriously injured after the bus they were traveling in fell into a deep gorge in Indian Kashmir.
Senior police officer Mubashir Latfi says the accident occurred Friday afternoon near the town of Rajouri in India‘s Jammu-Kashmir state. The area is 140 kilometers (90 miles) northwest of Jammu, one of the state’s main cities.
The bus was carrying 35 people, including the driver.
Latfi says the driver lost control of the vehicle as he took a steep turn. The bus fell into a gorge 55 feet (17 meters) deep. Few other details were immediately available.
India has the world’s deadliest roads, with more than 110,000 people killed annually. Most crashes are blamed on reckless driving, poorly maintained roads and aging vehicles.
Most shops and businesses are shut in Indian-controlled Kashmir after separatists called for a three-day strike to demand the return of the body of a Kashmiri man secretly executed and buried in the Indian capital.
The strike began Wednesday and authorities imposed a ban on the assembly of more than four people to prevent protests in the region.
Kashmir was rocked by violent anti-India protests after Mohammed Afzal Guru was hanged in a New Delhi jail Feb. 9. He was convicted of involvement in a 2001 attack on India‘s Parliament.
Three protesters died in clashes with troops.
Many Kashmiris believe Guru did not get a fair trial and the execution’s secrecy only fuelled the anger in a region where anti-India sentiment runs deep.
Authorities have re-introduced a strict curfew across most of Indian-controlled Kashmir ahead of Friday prayers, as residents in the region simmer with anger over the secret execution of a Kashmiri man in the capital.
The restive Himalayan region was rocked by violent anti-India protests after Mohammed Afzal Guru was hanged Saturday in a New Delhi jail and buried there. Guru had been convicted for his role in a deadly 2001 attack on India‘s Parliament that killed 14 including five gunmen.
Many in Kashmir believe Guru did not get a fair trial and the secrecy with which the execution was carried out only fuelled the anger in a region where anti-India sentiment runs deep.
A curfew has been in place since the execution, but groups of demonstrators have defied it and clashed with government forces. Three protesters have been killed and more than 100 have been detained, according to police.
The curfew was relaxed in some areas in recent days, but was restored ahead of Friday prayers in this Muslim majority region.
Early Friday morning, police drove through the streets of Srinagar, the region’s main city, ordering residents to stay indoors. The return of the strict curfew comes as the All Parties Hurriyat Conference, an umbrella organization of separatist political and religious groups, called for a mass funeral prayer for Guru to be held Friday at a large square near Srinagar’s Martyr’s Graveyard, where hundreds of separatists and civilians killed in the region’s long-running conflict are buried.
Insurgents have been fighting in Kashmir for more than two decades, demanding either a separate state or merger with Muslim-majority Pakistan. The region is divided between India and Pakistan and claimed in its entirety by both.
Authorities have relaxed a curfew in much of Indian-ruled Kashmir after days of protests over the secret execution of a Kashmiri man convicted in an attack on India‘s Parliament.
However, the curfew remained in effect Thursday for the sixth straight day in more than a dozen places, including parts of Srinagar, Kashmir’s main city.
The region was rocked by violent anti-India protests after Mohammed Afzal Guru was hanged Saturday in a New Delhi jail and buried there. Three protesters died in clashes with government forces.
Police on Thursday stopped nearly two dozen lawyers from marching in Srinagar to demand that Guru’s remains be brought to the region.
The government also directed public employees to “attend their duties without fail,” saying their identity documents would be treated as curfew passes.
Anger and protests over the government‘s secret execution of a Kashmiri man convicted in a deadly attack on India‘s Parliament has stirred fears the volatile region could again descend into a cycle of violence after two years of relative peace.
Kashmir has been rocked by anti-India protests, despite a rigid curfew, since Mohammed Afzal Guru was hanged in New Delhi early Saturday. Three protesters have been killed so far in clashes with security forces.
Tens of thousands of troops patrolled the streets of Indian-controlled Kashmir on Tuesday, confining residents to their homes.
Omar Abdullah, Indian Kashmir‘s top elected official, expressed concerns that Guru’s hanging could lead to a new round of unrest.
Government forces are enforcing a rigid curfew for the third straight day in Indian-controlled Kashmir after India executed a Kashmiri man convicted in a deadly 2001 attack on Parliament.
Mohammed Afzal Guru was hanged in New Delhi on Saturday. Ahead of the execution, authorities ordered people in most of the Indian-held part of disputed Kashmir to remain indoors indefinitely in anticipation of anti-India protests.
Despite the curfew, hundreds of angry residents have clashed with the troops in the region.
A young boy injured in anti-India protests died in a hospital early Monday. Another protester died late Sunday.
Cable television and mobile Internet services were shut in most parts of the region on Monday.
Most of Indian Kashmir is paralyzed as a strict curfew imposed after the execution of a Kashmiri man convicted in a deadly 2001 attack on India’s Parliament remains in effect.
Mohammed Afzal Guru was hanged in New Delhi early Saturday, triggering protests across Indian Kashmir and prompting authorities to order people in most of the region to remain indoors indefinitely. Police say 23 policemen and 13 protesters were injured in Saturday’s demonstrations.
Tens of thousands of security troops are fanned out across the Himalayan region.
Cable television and mobile Internet services have been shut down in most parts of the region, and most local newspapers were not available Sunday. One major paper said police came to its offices and asked management to hold off publishing Sunday’s edition.
Indian news channels are reporting that a Kashmiri man convicted in the 2001 attack on India‘s Parliament has been hanged.
State-run Doordarshan News said that Afzal Guru was executed early Saturday morning in New Delhi’s Tihar prison. Phone calls to the prison and several Home Ministry officials went unanswered.
Afzal Guru has been on death row since being convicted by India‘s top court in 2002. A mercy petition sent to India‘s president, the last step in the judicial process, was rejected earlier this week.
Several rights groups including political groups in Indian Kashmir have said that Guru did not get a fair trial.
Six security troops and a gardener were killed in the December 2001 attack. All five men who launched the attack were killed.
An official says India and Pakistan have resumed a bus service in the disputed Himalayan region of Kashmir near the area where their armies recently engaged in deadly skirmishes.
Indian Kashmir‘s home secretary Suresh Kumar says nearly 120 passengers from both sides of Kashmir crossed the transit point in the Poonch region on Monday.
The bus service as well as trade between Indian and Pakistani controlled portions of Kashmir in Poonch was suspended on Jan. 10 following the worst frontier violence in a decade.
However, another similar bus service at a different frontier crossing had continued unhindered.
Three Pakistani and two Indian soldiers were killed in the recent fighting. Both countries accused each other of starting the violence.
Kumar said trade between the two sides will also resume starting Tuesday.
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