Thousands of soldiers and paramilitaries were Thursday engaged in a huge anti-militant operation in Indian-administered Kashmir, where armed rebels have repeatedly attacked government forces in recent weeks. Police said government forces had surrounded at least 20 villages in the drive, launched early Thursday in Shopian district in the volatile south of the disputed Himalayan region. … Read more
Thousands of soldiers and paramilitaries were Thursday engaged in a huge anti-militant operation in Indian-administered Kashmir, where armed rebels have repeatedly attacked government forces in recent weeks. Police said government forces had surrounded at least 20 villages in the drive, launched early Thursday in Shopian district in the volatile south of the disputed Himalayan region. … Read more
Seven people including five policemen were killed Monday when suspected militants attacked a bank van carrying cash in Indian-administered Kashmir, police said. “All the seven in the van, five policemen and two bank employees, were killed,” director general of police S. P. Vaid told AFP. The van was returning to a bank in the village … Read more
An unprecedented ban on Whatsapp, Facebook and Twitter in Indian Kashmir has highlighted social media’s role in energising an insurgency that has roiled the disputed Himalayan region for decades. Authorities in the Kashmir valley this week ordered internet service providers to block 15 social media services for at least one month, saying they were being … Read more
Suspected militants attacked an army garrison in Indian Kashmir on Thursday, killing three soldiers amid an uptick in violence in the restive region. The incident occurred just a day after Indian authorities in the area ordered internet service providers to block 22 social media services including Facebook, Twitter and WhatsApp for a month to maintain … Read more
Authorities in Indian-administered Kashmir on Wednesday ordered internet service providers to block popular social media services including Facebook, Twitter and WhatsApp after an upsurge in violence in the region. In a statement, the local government said the services were “being misused by anti-national and anti-social elements” and should be blocked for one month or until … Read more
Police fired into a crowd of stone-throwing students in Indian Kashmir on Monday, as violence in the disputed region intensified. Hundreds of student protesters shouted “We want freedom” and “Go India, go back” as they fought with government forces after taking to the streets of the main city Srinagar. An AFP reporter saw police fire … Read more
Muhammad Ashraf’s eyes fill with tears, overwhelmed by grief and joy all at once, as he recounts being reunited with his family 26 years after they were torn apart by insurgency in disputed Kashmir. “My son was 12 years old when we separated. Now my grandson is 16,” he told AFP of his odyssey to … Read more
Pakistan is set to execute an Indian naval officer accused of being a spy, potentially ratcheting up tension between the two nuclear-armed states. Kulbushan Sudhir Jadhav was sentenced to death after a military court found him guilty of planning, coordinating and organising espionage ‘aiming to destabilise and wage war against Pakistan’, a statement from the … Read more
The Indian army said Monday its soldiers killed four suspected rebels who attempted to cross into the Indian-administered part of Kashmir at the unofficial border dividing the disputed territory with Pakistan. The shootout happened late Sunday evening when soldiers guarding the border known as the Line of Control (LoC) intercepted four armed men in Keran, … Read more
Eight people have been killed and scores injured after police clashed with protesters during a by-election in Indian-administered Kashmir. Paramilitary forces fired bullets and shotgun pellets as people protesting against Indian rule stormed polling stations near Srinagar on Sunday. Separatist leaders had called for a boycott of the vote. Muslim-majority Kashmir is at the centre … Read more
Six people are dead and scores injured after police clashed with protesters during a by-election in Indian-administered Kashmir. Paramilitary forces fired bullets and shotgun pellets as people protesting against Indian rule stormed polling stations near Srinagar. Separatist leaders had called for a boycott of the vote. Muslim-majority Kashmir is at the centre of a decades-old … Read more
At least eight civilians were killed on Sunday when security forces in Indian-administered Kashmir opened fire on protesters during a by-election, according to officials. Local rebel leaders had called for a boycott of the vote, which was held to fill a vacant seat after a member of parliament resigned to protest the killing of civilians … Read more
Six civilians were killed in Indian-administered Kashmir Sunday when police opened fire at protesters who stormed polling stations during a by-election for a parliamentary seat, a top officer said. State and paramilitary police fired bullets and shotgun pellets as thousands of protesters shouting slogans against Indian rule charged into voting booths in Budgam district near … Read more
Three soldiers have died after avalanches struck a high-altitude army post in Indian-administered Kashmir, an officer said Friday, after heavy snowfall in the disputed Himalayan region. Multiple avalanches hit a post in Batalik near the Line of Control — the de-facto border that divides Kashmir — on Thursday, burying five soldiers, an army spokesman said. … Read more
A grenade explosion killed a police officer and injured 10 other security personnel in Indian-administered Kashmir on Sunday, police said, hours after Prime Minister Narendra Modi visited the tense region. Suspected rebels lobbed a grenade at a group of police and paramilitary troops in the main city of Srinagar following protests against Modi’s visit. “Four … Read more
It gives me no pleasure to have to quote the Scottish philosopher, David Hume, knowing, as I do, that Hume was a racist and did not scruple to slander non-white people when he discussed civilization. I don’t have the space to go into the reasons for that statement, but I do want to draw attention … Read more
It’s an area better known as a hotbed of insurgency but Indian Kashmir’s only ski resort — a favourite among aficionados for its silky snows — is now trying to attract international-level competition to its slopes. Nestled in the mountain range that encircles the Indian-controlled Kashmir Valley, Gulmarg is a stone’s throw from the highly-militarised … Read more
Three soldiers and four suspected militants were killed in separate gunbattles in Indian-administered Kashmir on Tuesday, officials said, marking an uptick in violence in the restive region. The soldiers died during a gunfight with militants that broke out at Hajin in Bandipora district, army spokesman Rajesh Kalia told AFP, adding that five other soldiers were … Read more
Four suspected rebels and two Indian army soldiers were killed in a gun battle in a village in Indian-administered Kashmir on Sunday, an army spokesman said. The militants were hiding in a south Kashmir village when the army and police surrounded it, a police official said. In the ensuing fire fight four militants and two … Read more