Indian officials lift curfew from most of Kashmir

SRINAGAR, India (AP) — Authorities on Monday lifted a curfew imposed in most parts of Indian-controlled Kashmir as part of a 52-day security lockdown, although most shops and businesses remained closed due to an ongoing strike called to protest Indian rule in the disputed Himalayan region.

Government forces on Monday removed steel barricades and coils of barbed wire from the roads across the region, but officials said the curfew would continue in some parts of the old quarters of Kashmir's main city of Srinagar and in the southern Pulwama area.

Public transport was off the roads in Srinagar but some private vehicles were seen on the streets.

The curfew, a series of communication blackouts and a tightening crackdown have failed to stop some of the largest protests against Indian rule in recent years, triggered by the killing of a popular rebel commander on July 8.

Since then, tens of thousands of people have defied security restrictions, staged protests and clashed with government forces on a daily basis.

At least 68 civilians have been killed and thousands injured, mostly by government forces firing bullets and shotguns at rock-throwing protesters. Two policemen have been killed while hundreds of government forces have been injured in the clashes.

Kashmir is divided between India and Pakistan and claimed by both. Most Kashmiris want an end to Indian rule and favor independence or a merger with Pakistan.

More than 68,000 people have been killed since rebel groups began fighting Indian forces in 1989 and in the subsequent Indian military crackdown. </s> Pro-Independence leaders in Jammu and Kashmir called for a shutdown on Monday, a day after five militants and six civilians were killed in clashes with the Indian security forces.

Offices, schools and businesses remained completely shut while public and local transport remained off the roads.

The government responded by imposing curfew-like restrictions -- suspending cellular internet and train services in the region.

Hundreds of streets were barricaded with barbed wires as heavily armed soldiers kept vigil.

Monday’s shutdown was called for by pro-Independence leaders who had announced a sit-in protest outside the Civil Secretariat in capital Srinagar.

According to a statement from the Hurriyat, resistance leader Mirwaiz Umar, who has been under house-arrest since Saturday, tried to break the cordon and was detained by the police. Another top resistance leader, Yasin Malik, has been in police detention since Saturday. Top octogenarian Hurriyat leader Syed Ali Geelani is also under house arrest.

On Sunday, five militants were killed when Indian forces ambushed the house they were in for the night. They included two senior militant commanders and a sociology professor at the Kashmir University, who is believed to have recently joined militant ranks. He had, according to reports, left his university in Srinagar on Friday afternoon and was killed on Sunday morning.

The civilians were killed when Indian forces allegedly opened fire at a mass protest held in support of the slain militants. Thousands who came out in support of the militants shouted slogans calling for Kashmir’s independence from India and threw stones at heavily-armed Indian forces.

Kashmir, a Muslim-majority Himalayan region, is held by India and Pakistan in parts and claimed by both in full. A small sliver of Kashmir is also held by China.

The two countries have fought three wars -- in 1948, 1965 and 1971 -- since they were partitioned in 1947, two of which were fought over Kashmir.

Also, in Siachen glacier in northern Kashmir, Indian and Pakistani troops have fought intermittently since 1984. A cease-fire came into effect in 2003.

Some Kashmiri groups in Jammu and Kashmir have been fighting against Indian rule for independence, or for unification with neighboring Pakistan.

According to several human rights organizations, thousands of people have reportedly been killed in the conflict in the region since 1989. </s> A shutdown is being observed in Kashmir following a call from Joint Resistance Leadership (JRL) against the killings in the holy month of Ramadhan.

All the shops and other business establishments are closed Srinagar and other parta of the Valley. However, transport services were also affected in parts of thr Valley.

On Thursday five militants, two civilians and two army men were killed in separate gunfights in south Kashmir’s Pulwama and Shopian districts.

The JRL has called for a strike against killing of civilians and militants during the holy month of Ramadhan. </s> Flames and smoke billow from residential houses after they caught fire during a gun battle between Indian army soldiers and suspected militants at Kachdoora village in south Kashmir's Shopian district, April 1, 2018. Photo by Reuters/Danish Ismail

Indian security forces killed at least three civilians and wounded about 70 in restive Kashmir on Sunday when hundreds of people tried to prevent them from carrying out operations against suspected militants, police and residents said.

At least 17 other people, including 13 suspected militants, were killed in gunbattles during the day in southern Kashmir, police officials said, the worst violence in the region this year.

When hundreds of people came out on the streets of Kachdoora village in Shopian district to try to halt a gunbattle between militants and security forces, troops used tear gas and pellet guns to disperse the crowd. They later opened fire.

Local residents said that after the protests, the security forces called off the operation. Police said five militants and three soldiers were killed in the fighting.

Muslim separatists have been waging a violent campaign against Indian rule since the late 1980s in Indian-held Kashmir.

Fighting also broke out in two other villages in the region on Sunday.

S.P. Vaid, the state director general of police, said the army received information on Saturday night about militants hiding in an area near Dragad village, about 50 km (30 miles) south of Kashmir’s capital of Srinagar and also in Shopian district.

“In Dragad, 7 bodies of militants were recovered including top commanders. They were killed in a gunbattle,” Vaid said, adding that the owner of the house in which the militants were trapped was also killed.

Another militant was killed in Dialgam village in Anantnag district, about 60 km (37 miles) south of Srinagar, while one was caught alive, he said.

Authorities have directed schools and colleges in Kashmir to remain closed on Monday to prevent any recurrence of violence, and restrictions have been imposed in several areas.

Train services to south Kashmir have been suspended as a precautionary measure, a railways official said, and internet services in five districts have also been blocked.

In south Kashmir’s Pulwama district the local administration has imposed restrictions on the movement of people and vehicles to prevent any violence. </s> NEW DELHI (Reuters) - Phone and internet services were suspended in Indian Kashmir on Monday and state leaders placed under house arrest, deepening fears that Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s government plans to weaken the special rights of residents in the disputed region.

The clampdown began in the early hours of Monday when Indian authorities said they were imposing restrictions on public movement and shutting all educational institutions in the main Srinagar city.

There has been no word on the clampdown from the federal government in New Delhi, which rules the troubled state since last year after Modi’s Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) withdrew from a coalition with a local party.

The federal cabinet was meeting at Modi’s residence on Monday to discuss the situation, and Indian media said the government was likely to make a statement in parliament on the situation in Kashmir later in the day.

Some regional leaders around midnight tweeted saying they have been or feared being arrested.

The leaders had previously expressed fears that Modi’s federal government may try to withdraw decades-old special rights conferred on the state, including an amendment to the Indian constitution that prevents people from outside the state from buying property there.

There have also been concerns that Modi’s Hindu nationalist BJP could move to abolish Kashmir’s autonomous status, a plan that has in the past provoked warnings of a backlash in the Muslim-majority state.

Omar Abdullah, a former chief minister of the state, said he believed he was being placed under house arrest, appealing to people to stay calm.

Mehbooba Mufti, another ex-chief minister and Modi’s former ally, said it was “ironic that elected representatives like us who fought for peace are under house arrest.”

A spokesman for India’s federal home ministry in New Delhi did not respond to a request for comment.

“To place two former Chief Ministers under house arrest is unprecedented and unacceptable. Would it happen in any other state of India? Is this how we build trust among the Kashmiris?” prominent historian and columnist Ramachandra Guha said on Twitter.

Tensions in Kashmir, claimed by both India and Pakistan, have risen since Friday, when local Indian officials issued an alert over possible militant attacks by Pakistan-based groups.

Pakistan has rejected those assertions, but thousands of Indian tourists, pilgrims and workers left the region in panic over the weekend.

Indian authorities also issued a notice for Srinagar city saying there “shall be no movement of (the) public and all educational institutions shall also remain closed” until further orders.

Three local government officials told Reuters early on Monday that mobile internet services in the region had been suspended. Reuters was not able to reach its reporters in the region as the communication networks were blocked. </s> SRINAGAR, India (AP) — Police say fresh clashes have killed one protester and injured five in India's portion of Kashmir, as a security lockdown marred Eid festivities in the troubled region.

A police officer says security forces fired tear gas and shotgun pellets to quell protesters Tuesday in the Bandipora area of northern Kashmir and Shopian in the south. The officer spoke on condition of anonymity because he wasn't authorized to talk to reporters.

Shops and businesses were closed, with a curfew in effect in the entire Kashmir Valley. Most people remained indoors for the Islamic festival of Eid al-Adha, which fell on Tuesday.

The region has been wracked by protests for two months following the killing of a rebel leader. Over 70 civilians have been killed and thousands wounded, mostly by government forces. </s> related media assets (image or videos) available. Click to see the gallery.

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Seven civilians died and dozens were injured when Indian security forces opened fire at people protesting the killing of three militants in a gun battle in restive Kashmir on Saturday, police said.

SRINAGAR, India: Seven civilians died and dozens were injured when Indian security forces opened fire at people protesting the killing of three militants in a gun battle in restive Kashmir on Saturday, police said.

Defence spokesman Colonel Rajesh Kalia said an operation was launched in the morning in response to intelligence reports about the presence of militants in a village in Pulwama district, south of the state's summer capital Srinagar.

"During the operation militants fired upon troops, leading to a gun battle in which three militants were killed," he said.

A senior police officer, who was not authorised to speak to the media, said large numbers of local people then gathered at the site, leading to clashes between them and security forces in which seven people were killed and about 50 injured.

An eyewitness, Mohammad Ayuob, told Reuters Indian troops fired at the locals when they tried to retrieve the body of a militant.

Jammu and Kashmir is mainly Hindu India's only Muslim-majority state. India and Pakistan both rule the region in part but claim in full. India accuses Pakistan of fomenting trouble in its part of Kashmir, a charge Islamabad denies.

The Himalayan state has been particularly tense over the past few months as Prime Minister Narendra Modi's Hindu nationalist party pulled out of local government, leaving a power void.

Widespread protests have broken out in Srinagar and other parts of Kashmir over the killings. Security has been tightened and troops rushed to potential hotspots. A curfew was imposed in Pulwama town and surrounding areas, according to media reports.

The separatist group Hurriyat Conference called for a three-day strike and protests across Kashmir.

"Bullets and pellets rain!" its Chairman Mirwaiz Omar tweeted, adding that their supporters would march towards an army cantonment on Monday so that the Indian government can "kill all of us at one time rather than killing us daily".

Authorities have suspended train services in the Kashmir Valley and shut down mobile internet services to try and prevent the unrest from spreading.

Indian security forces say they have killed 242 militants this year. In addition, 101 civilians and 82 security officials have also died, according to officials. The total death toll in violence is the highest in more than a decade. </s> Authorities lifted a curfew in Indian-administered Kashmir after 52 days of lockdown amid deadly violence, but street clashes broke out again Monday between protesters and security forces.

Restrictions were lifted throughout most of the tense Kashmir Valley including the main city of Sringar "following improvement in the situation", police said in a statement late Sunday.

It was unclear whether the relaxation of restrictions would continue in the northern Himalayan region, where 68 civilians and two police officers have been killed since the unrest erupted last month.

Schools and businesses remained closed on Monday and many streets in Srinagar were largely deserted as troops in riot gear patrolled on foot.

Hundreds of residents rallied in other parts of Srinagar and in the northern town of Bandipora after the curfew was lifted, throwing stones at security forces who fired live rounds into the air and tear gas to disperse them, witnesses and an AFP photographer said.

The current violence, the worst to hit the region since 2010, was triggered by the July 8 killing of a popular rebel leader, Burhan Wani, in a gunbattle with soldiers.

Several rebel groups including Wani's Hizbul Mujahideen have for decades fought some 500,000 Indian soldiers deployed in the territory, demanding independence for the region or its merger with Pakistan.

Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi appealed for calm in the region on the weekend, criticising those responsible for encouraging youngsters to become involved in the recent unrest.

Kashmir has been divided between rivals India and Pakistan since their independence from Britain in 1947. Both claim the Himalayan territory in full.

Tens of thousands, mostly civilians, have died in the fighting since the armed rebellion against Indian rule began in 1989. </s> A nearly two-month curfew in the troubled Indian state of Jammu and Kashmir was partially lifted on Monday only to be largely re-imposed after fresh violence erupted in several parts of the capital, Srinagar.

For many people the easing of the curfew had been the first opportunity in 52 days to move freely outside their homes. The former Himalayan kingdom has been wracked by protests in the wake of the killing of a popular young militant separatist by security forces on 8 July.

The death of Burhan Wani, a commander of the Hizbul Mujahideen group, tipped Kashmir into one of its worst crises in years. At least 68 people have been killed to date and up to 10,000 injured during the clashes.

The saga has soured relations between Pakistan and India, who have been engaged in a decades-long dispute over the region.

Authorities announced the partial lifting of the curfew after declaring an improvement in the security situation. But in many areas residents swiftly came out to hurl stones at government forces and shout slogans demanding freedom from Indian rule.

Weeks of mobile phone network blackouts and movement restrictions have hit the poorest of Kashmir the hardest, with many people struggling to get hold of basic supplies from relief committees established across Srinagar.

Raja Begum, a 62-year-old widow living in a small home in downtown Srinagar, lost her daily earnings of 150 rupees a day selling clothes on the street.

“I tried to venture out of my house several times to get medicines but each time I was stopped by paramilitary forces,” said Begum, whose health has deteriorated without the drugs she needs.

Even without the curfew, shops remained closed after a strike was called by the All Parties Hurriyat Conference (APHC), an umbrella group of separatist parties, many of whose leaders have been arrested in recent weeks.

“People will not start their usual business until Delhi says it is open to full talks with the three parties – India, Pakistan and the resistance leaders,” said Hamida Nayeem, an academic at Kashmir University and an activist.

On 15 August, Islamabad extended a formal invitation to India for fresh bilateral talks on the Kashmir dispute. But the offer was rebuffed by India, with Delhi saying it would discuss cross-border terrorism, which it blames on clandestine support by Pakistan.

The lifting of the curfew allowed Nayeem to visit injured protesters recovering at Srinagar’s main hospital, many of them from serious pellet injuries to the eyes caused by shotguns used by security forces to disperse crowds.

She said she had seen more than 100 such patients on Monday, many of whom either had been blinded or had undergone multiple operations to try to salvage some of their eyesight.

“India has achieved new depths of degradation with this policy of aiming guns at people’s eyes,” she said. “They treat us as enemies rather than citizens.”

India has flooded even more security forces into a region that is already home to 500,000 soldiers. Many of the reinforcements have taken over schools for use as temporary bases.

The government of the prime minister, Narendra Modi, initially played down the crisis in Kashmir, but it has faced increasing pressure, including from army chiefs, to open a dialogue with separatist leaders.

In a radio address on Sunday, Modi expressed sadness at the loss of life in Kashmir but criticised “those trying to disturb peace in Kashmir by putting small children in the front and hiding behind them”.

India and Pakistan have fought three conflicts over the Muslim-majority region, which Pakistan believes should have been included inside its territory when the subcontinent became independent from Britain in 1947.

Pakistan’s prime minister, Nawaz Sharif, announced over the weekend that he had appointed 22 parliamentarians as “special envoys” who would attempt to raise the issue internationally in the hope that foreign governments would exert pressure on India.

The violence in Kashmir has undermined Sharif’s dream of overseeing an improvement in relations with India.

Doubts are growing over whether Modi will attend a meeting of heads of government of the South Asian Association of Regional Cooperation due in the Pakistani capital on 9 November.
Kashmir remains on lockdown, with the internet out and nearly all phone lines severed.