Where is Kashmir heading this Summer?
Shahana Butt
Press TV, Kashmir
After a lull of around 20 months, street protests against Indian rule resurface in Indian-controlled Kashmir.
That came after three suspected anti-India fighters were killed by government forces in a so-called anti-militancy operation on Friday in the southern district of Pulwama. Officials say two of the three men were involved in killing a policeman guarding a local politician’s house.
Like in past, hundreds of people marched towards the site of the gunbattle in support of the fighters. They chanted slogans against the Indian rule in region. Government forces used tear gas and fired shotgun pellets at the stone-throwing protesters, injuring 4 people.
India imposed a security crackdown on Kashmir after August 5, 2019 when it unilaterally stripped the region of its autonomy. The crackdown coupled with the Covid-19 lockdown kept people from taking to the streets.
Indian officials call the Kashmir unrest 'Pakistan-sponsored terrorism', a charge that Islamabad denies.
A senior journalist and political analyst from Kashmir, says there is pent-up anger among people and this is going to be critical this summer.
Last month, India and Pakistan agreed to abide by their 2003 ceasefire agreement along the de facto border dividing Kashmir. However, the crackdown by security forces and attacks by militants continue unabated.
Kashmir has been a bone of contention between India and Pakistan since their independence from the British rule in 1947. The two countries have fought wars over the region, and claim sovereignty over it.
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