SRINAGAR: Indiantroops and police have detained more than 160 separatist leaders and activists,mainly from the Islamist party Jamaat-e-Islami (JeI), over two successivenights of raids in disputed Kashmir and imposed new curbs on freedom ofmovement. The crackdown in towns and villages follows a suicide car bombingthat killed 40 Indian paramilitary police in a military convoy on Feb. 14claimed by another group, the Pakistan-based Jaish-e-Mohammed (JeM).
Police say theyare rounding up separatists to head off trouble ahead of a general electionthat must be held by May. Authorities detained 60 more people from theJamaat-e-Islami late on Saturday or early yesterday, in addition to more than100 the previous night, said a senior police officer who asked not to beidentified.
"Since JeIhas a wider network across Kashmir and they are mobilizing anti-India protests,their arrest could help in curbing such protests ahead of elections," hetold Reuters. The authorities have also been detaining JeM militants,sympathizers and relatives since the attack. Separatists called for a strike toprotest against the detentions and the crackdown. In response, many shops,petrol stations, and businesses closed, with fewer people and vehicles onstreets in sensitive areas, except for troop patrols.
In some areas ofthe main city of Srinagar, the government clamped down on the movement ofpeople and vehicles. "The restrictions have been imposed as aprecautionary measure to avoid any untoward incident," police said in astatement. There was also at least one military operation during the day.Troops cordoned off Turigam, a village in South Kashmir's Kulgam district, andin a subsequent gun battle with JeM militants, one police officer and onemilitant died, a police source said. At least two other militants were trappedinside the village, the source said.
Fuel supplies low
The government ofJammu and Kashmir issued a statement saying that fuel supplies are criticallylow in the Kashmir Valley and rationing has been introduced. It said there isonly enough gasoline for one day, diesel for four days and no liquefiedpetroleum gas (LPG). The government said it will seek to increase supplies tothe region and that shortages are the result of road blockages after thesuicide bomb attack.
In the samestatement, state Governor Satya Pal Malik called on residents not to believe"rumors of any extreme nature". The government said that an increasein police numbers in the region was to prevent candidates and voters from beingintimidated into not standing or voting in the general election. Indianparamilitary troops in riot gear arrived in strength at first light, saidShakeel Ahmad, a resident of Nowhatta in the Srinagar district.
"At places,they have blocked the main roads with steel barricades and concertinawire," he said. Separatist leader Mirwaiz Umar Farooq, who chairs theregion's Hurriyat Conference, said arbitrary arrests and jailing of leaders,activists and young people for their political beliefs has happened acrossKashmir for 30 years. "Intimidating activists and leadership will notdeter them from their path, nor will it stop people from demanding theresolution of the Kashmir dispute through self-determination," he said.
Those detainedinclude JeI's leader, Abdul Hamid Fayaz, and Yasin Malik, the head of the JammuKashmir Liberation Front that also wants independence. Reuters' telephone callsto the Indian home ministry's media and communications department and HomeMinister Rajnath Singh's residence to seek comment went unanswered.
Tensions raised
The suicide bombattack has raised tensions between the nuclear-armed neighbors that both claimKashmir in full but rule it in part. India blames Pakistan for harboringmilitant groups operating in Kashmir, which Pakistan denies. After the attack,India dropped trade privileges for Pakistan and is preparing to send as many as10,000 more troops to the contested area, according to a home ministry letterseen by Reuters.
Kashmir is likelyto be a key election issue, distracting from concerns about how Prime MinisterNarendra Modi and his Bharatiya Janata Party have managed the economy. Modi haspromised a strong response to the attack, saying in a monthly radio broadcastyesterday that it had caused anguish to victims' families and all of India."This attack has filled us with angst and pain and these emotions areshared by the people of the world and those who believe in humanity," Modisaid. "Within 100 hours of the attack, our soldiers have given them abefitting reply." Modi added that the army had vowed to destroy themilitants and those who helped them.
Islamabad haswarned it would respond with "full force" if attacked. India'sSupreme Court will hear a case next week seeking to drop a constitutionalprovision that bars non-residents from moving to the state of Jammu and Kashmirthat encompasses the Muslim-majority region. If passed, it could furtherescalate tension there. - Reuters