SRINAGAR – The most deadly year in a decade has left Indian-controlledKashmir facing a grim future with militant groups and the New Delhigovernment digging in for an even fiercer battle in 2019, experts say.
Indian forces say they killed two infiltrators coming from Pakistan on NewYear s Eve and authorities still virulently blame the neighbouring statefor the three-decade-old conflict which has claimed tens of thousands ofvictims.
But Kashmir politicians and independent Indian experts say the presence of500,000 troops in the former Himalayan kingdom and an election in India in2019 leaves little hope for an end to the bloodshed.
The Jammu-Kashmir Coalition of Civil Society (JKCCS), a rights group,listed 586 dead in its annual 2018 toll: 267 militants, 160 civilians —including 31 children — and the rest, state police and Indian armed forces.
Its list does not include the dozens killed in firing across the unofficialborder between the Indian and Pakistani sectors of Kashmir. Both sidesclaim the region.
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The numbers of dead militants and security forces are both the highest fora decade, as are the nearly 800 recorded clashes.
The bleak statistics all highlight the effects of a more intense governmentcampaign — “Operation All-Out” — to flush out armed groups who want anindependent Kashmir or merger with Pakistan.
Even the 20 recorded cases of suicide among Indian forces in Kashmir is arecord, according to the JKCCS. – APP/AFP