SRINAGAR: Two apple truck drivers were shot dead and their vehicles set on fire in held Kashmir, police said on Friday, in the latest attack on the vital local fruit industry which has been pulled into the conflict between militants and New Delhi.

The nearly $2-billion apple trade has been caught between militants wanting a shutdown of the local economy in protest at India’s actions, and New Delhi which wants to restore normality.

The two drivers, who were from outside Kashmir, died late on Thursday in the southern Shopian district, a militant stronghold, after gunmen sprayed their vehicles with bullets, police said. A third driver was also injured.

“We have some important clues about the attackers,” senior police official Munir Khan said.

Last week two apple traders and a driver — all three also from outside Kashmir —were killed in two separate attacks by militants in the same region, known for its vast orchards.

Gunmen also shot and wounded a local apple trader and a five-year-old girl last month in northern Sopore area.

The held valley’s apple sector — currently in harvest season — is vital to the local economy, employing more than three million people directly or indirectly.

Although authorities said roughly 10,000 apple trucks left the valley last week trade remains largely subdued, with many farmers voluntarily allowing the crop to rot on trees as a mark of resistance against New Delhi’s August decision.

India’s Supreme Court on Thursday told the government to provide a timeline on restrictions as it heard petitions challenging government’s gag order on communication. The court fixed the next date of hearing on Nov 5.

Independent candidates have overwhelmingly won village council elections held in held Kashmir months after New Delhi imposed a harsh security crackdown and stripped the region of its semi-autonomous status.

The elections were boycotted by most political parties, including those whose leaders were sympathetic to the Indian government but have been detained since the Aug 5 crackdown.

Chief Electoral Officer Shailendra Kumar said independent candidates won the chairmanships of 217 areas, followed by candidates from Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s Bharatiya Janata Party in 81 areas. The voters were village council members, and the general public did not participate. Modi’s party did not boycott the elections.

Kumar said that elections were conducted in 280 areas, while chairmen in 27 others ran unopposed.

Most of the candidates and thousands of council members have lived for months in hotels in Srinagar, the region’s main city, because of security concerns. In the past, militants fighting against Indian rule have targeted candidates.

Both rebels and separatists have called elections an illegitimate exercise under military occupation.

Heavy contingents of police and paramilitary soldiers guarded polling stations. At some places, soldiers patrolled streets around polling stations. Police said no violence was reported.

About 1,000 people ran in the elections. In at least 25 councils, candidates ran unopposed.

Political scientist Noor Ahmed Baba said the exercise, at least in theory, is an “important layer of democracy” but questioned conducting it in “extremely difficult and abnormal times.”

“When most people are bothered about their basic freedoms and livelihood, facing crushing restrictions, you’ve these elections,” Baba said. “This is more like completing a formality. It looks more like an artificial exercise.”

Published in Dawn, October 26th, 2019