4 Kashmiris dead in raids by Indian security forces

Published September 28, 2019
Security personnel stand guard to block a road while strict restrictions are imposed during a lockdown in Srinagar on Saturday. — AFP
Security personnel stand guard to block a road while strict restrictions are imposed during a lockdown in Srinagar on Saturday. — AFP

Indian security forces killed four alleged fighters in occupied Kashmir on Saturday, police said, as the disputed Muslim-majority territory simmers under a lockdown imposed by New Delhi after it revoked its constitutional autonomy in August.

Three were killed in the Batote market area of Jammu where, according to officials, they had allegedly taken a local civilian hostage inside his house.

The hostage was rescued unharmed, a spokesman for the central reserve police force told journalists.

Another Kashmiri was killed in an 'encounter' in Kangan in the north of the region, Dilbagh Singh, director general of Jammu and Kashmir police told AFP.

Singh also said Kashmiri fighters had thrown a grenade in the Safakadal area of Srinagar city but that no one was injured in the incident.

According to Kashmir Media Service, on the other hand, Indian troops killed three youth during cordon and search operations in Naranag area of Ganderbal and three others in Batote area of Ramban district in the Jammu region.

Take a look | 'They're marauding our homes like a victorious army': Kashmiris accuse Indian troops of beatings, abuse

Indian security forces had tightened restrictions in Kashmir and the Hindu-majority Jammu region on Friday, fearing protests ahead of speeches at the UN by the leaders of India and Pakistan.

In his address, Prime Minister Imran Khan warned the body that the dispute with India over Kashmir could escalate into an all-out nuclear war that would have consequences for the world.

The India-occupied region has been facing a clampdown since August 5, when the Indian government nixed Article 370 of the Indian constitution, which conferred a special status on it.

Scores of people, including mainstream and separatist leaders, have been detained or arrested by authorities since the Indian government made the move.

Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi's Hindu-nationalist government has faced criticism and calls to restore communications and ease restrictions in Kashmir.

India has repeatedly insisted that Kashmir is purely an internal matter and has bristled at outside comment or suggestions of mediation.

Opinion

Editorial

Trump 2.0
Updated 07 Nov, 2024

Trump 2.0

It remains to be seen how his promises to bring ‘peace’ to Middle East reconcile with his blatantly pro-Israel bias.
Fait accompli
07 Nov, 2024

Fait accompli

A SLEW of secretively conceived and hastily enacted legislation has achieved its intended result: the powers of the...
IPP contracts
07 Nov, 2024

IPP contracts

THE government expects the ongoing ‘negotiations’ with power producers aimed at revising the terms of sovereign...
Rushed legislation
Updated 06 Nov, 2024

Rushed legislation

For all its stress on "supremacy of parliament", the ruling coalition has wasted no opportunity to reiterate where its allegiances truly lie.
Jail reform policy
06 Nov, 2024

Jail reform policy

THE state is making a fresh attempt to improve conditions in Pakistan’s penitentiaries by developing a national...
BISP overhaul
06 Nov, 2024

BISP overhaul

IT has emerged that the spouses of over 28,500 Sindh government employees have been illicitly benefiting from BISP....