SRINAGAR: Indian for­ces killed two people in held Kashmir on Wed­nesday, one of them suspected of gunning down a bank manager this month, police said, part of a stepped-up operation that has triggered an exodus from the Muslim-majority region.

“Indian troops killed two [alleged] militants this morning in a gun battle; one of them, Jan Mohammad Lone, was involved in the killing of a bank manager,” said Vijay Kumar, the police chief of occupied Kashmir.

Fighters entered a branch of the Ellaquai Dehati Bank in Kulgam town this month and killed the manager, who came from the desert state of Rajasthan, and had only been posted to the branch four days earlier.

A little-known group, known as the Kashmir Freedom Fighters, claimed responsibility for the attack, warning outsiders not to settle in the India-held valley.

At least 16 people — both Hindu and Muslims — have been killed in targeted attacks in occupied Kashmir this year.

Kumar, the police chief, said Indian troops were tracking fighters and had killed eight involved in killings in recent weeks. At least 104 fighters have been killed in Kashmir this year, double the toll in the same period last year, he added.

Rattled by the killings, scores of Hindu families, including some from the Kashmiri Pandit community, have been fleeing the held valley in recent days.

The occupied region’s top government official, Lieut­enant Governor Manoj Sinha, has tried to assure Kashmiri Pandits of measures for their security.

As part of the crackdown, the government ordered 300 schools affiliated with the Jamaat-i-Islami to shut on Tuesday.

Published in Dawn, June 16th, 2022

Opinion

Editorial

Smog hazard
Updated 05 Nov, 2024

Smog hazard

The catastrophe unfolding in Lahore is a product of authorities’ repeated failure to recognise environmental impact of rapid urbanisation.
Monetary policy
05 Nov, 2024

Monetary policy

IN an aggressive move, the State Bank on Monday reduced its key policy rate by a hefty 250bps to 15pc. This is the...
Cultural power
05 Nov, 2024

Cultural power

AS vital modes of communication, art and culture have the power to overcome social and international barriers....
Disregarding CCI
Updated 04 Nov, 2024

Disregarding CCI

The failure to regularly convene CCI meetings means that the process of democratic decision-making is falling apart.
Defeating TB
04 Nov, 2024

Defeating TB

CONSIDERING the fact that Pakistan has the fifth highest burden of tuberculosis in the world as per the World Health...
Ceasefire charade
Updated 04 Nov, 2024

Ceasefire charade

The US talks of peace, while simultaneously arming and funding their Israeli allies, are doomed to fail, and are little more than a charade.