Srinagar – Authorities in Indian-administered Kashmir placed large partsof the disputed region under lockdown early Monday while India sent in tensof thousands of additional troops and traded accusations of clashes withPakistan at their de facto border.
Communications were cut, with private mobile networks, internet servicesand telephone landlines cut, an AFP reporter said.
Before the network disruptions, senior former and current Kashmiripolitical leaders tweeted that they had been put under house arrest.
The Himalayan region has surged back into the spotlight in the past fewdays, months after a militant attack on an Indian paramilitary convoyclaimed by a Pakistan-based group sparked cross-border airstrikes by thenuclear-armed rivals.
They have controlled parts of the region since the end of British colonialrule on the subcontinent in 1947.
But both claim it in full and have fought two of three wars over theterritory, where a decades-long insurgency on the Indian side has killedtens of thousands.
“As per the order, there shall be no movement of public and all educationalinstitutions shall also remain closed,” the state government ordered forSrinagar, the capital of Indian-administered Kashmir, and surrounding areasin a statement obtained by AFP.
“There will be a complete bar on holding any kind of public meetings orrallies during the period of operation of this order.”
Universities, schools and colleges in the Hindu-dominated Jammu wereordered to be shut, and one district in that region was placed underlockdown.
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Several other major districts of the Muslim-majority state were also placedunder restrictions, local media reported.
The latest tensions started in the last 10 days after New Delhi deployed atleast 10,000 troops. A security source told AFP a further 70,000 had beendeployed, which is believed to be an unprecedented level.
The government has introduced other security measures over terror threatclaims — including a call to stock up food and fuel.
The measures have sparked growing panic among residents, who formed longqueues outside petrol stations, food stores and cash machines.
A heavy presence of troops was seen in parts of Srinagar as gunshotssounded, although the streets remained empty, local residents told AFP.
In downtown Srinagar, government forces threw “chili bombs” that affectrespiratory systems onto the deserted streets, a local resident said, whilea senior official told AFP that nearly 300 administrative officials and topsecurity officials had been issued with satellite phones. – APP/AFP