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Curfew in Kashmir can’t stop deadly clashes
07/07/2010
The Indian army occupies main Kashmiri towns to keep pro-independence protests under control · Police and paramilitary forces opened fire against several demonstrations held in recent weeks · 16 people died as a result of governmental violence · Srinagar, Anantnag and Baramulla have come to a standstill due to curfew.
Summer season seems to be tantamount to instability and riots in Kashmir. Clashes between pro-independence supporters and Indian troops have resulted in at least 16 people dead only in the last four weeks. Last victims died on Tuesday, when police broke up a demonstration and killed 3 young demonstrators.
Indian-administered Kashmir is witnessing another uprising after a boy was killed by Indian police with a tear gas bomb on June 11. The Indian army was deployed in the area and curfew was declared as he police attack enraged people in several Kashmiri towns.
Several media report that it has been 2 decades since regular Indian troops last patrolled the streets of Jammu & Kashmir. In recent years they have been mostly in charge of fighting against insurgency rather than quashing demonstrations, a task which is commonly carried out by police and paramilitary troops.
Curfew was imposed in Srinagar -the capital- and other major towns of Kashmir, not only against demonstrators but also journalists and media. Some witnesses said media crews were confiscated their equipment.
A considerable part of people living in the country supports independence for Kashmir or reunification with the rest of Kashmir under Pakistani control (PAK, Pakistan-Administered Kashmir). The main pro-independence actor is the All Parties Hurriyat Conference, an alliance of several political parties and civil organizations. There are also armed groups such as Hizbul Mujahideen (HM) and Lashkar-e-Taiba (LeT) -the latter with headquarters in Pakistan.
Further information:
- AP: Army presence soars amid deadly Kashmir protests
- Hindustan Times: Army steps in to control situation in Kashmir
- Kashmir Watch: Curfew shrouds Kashmir strictly, Life remain silent
Kashmir
General information
Population: 13.000.000 inhabitants (Escola de Cultura de Pau, 2009)
Area: 222.200 km²
Institutions: Government and Parliament of the State of Jammu and Kashmir (India). Government and Parliament of the provinces of Azad Kashmir and Gilgit-Baltistan (Pakistan).
State administration: India, Pakistan and China
Major cities: Srinagar, Jammu, Mirpur, Muzaffarabad, Gilgit
Territorial languages: Kashmiri, Urdu, Dogri, Pahari, Mirpuri, Gojri and Hindko, among several others
Official languages: Kashmiri, Urdu, Dogri
Major religions: Sunni Islam, Hinduism, Buddhism
See the dossier Peoples and nations today: Kashmir for further information.
