SRINAGAR – Kashmir has seen an average of nearly 20 protests per dayagainst Indian rule over the last six weeks despite a security lockdown toquell unrest, a senior government source told AFP.
Tensions remain high in the disputed Himalayan region after New Delhi’scontroversial decision last month to revoke the territory’s decades oldsemi-autonomous status.
Despite a curfew, movement restrictions and the severe curtailment ofinternet and mobile phone services, public demonstrations against India –mostly in the largest city Srinagar — have been constant, the source toldAFP late Saturday.
Altogether there have been 722 protests since August 5, with Baramulladistrict in the northwest and Pulwama in the south the biggest hotspotsafter Srinagar, the source said.
Since that date, nearly 200 civilians and 415 security force members havebeen hurt, according to the source.
Ninety-five of the civilians were injured in the last two weeks, theofficial said.
So far more than 4,100 people — including 170 local political leaders –have been detained across the valley, with 3,000 released in the past twoweeks, the official said.
It was unclear whether any politicians were among those released.
Indian authorities have so far insisted that outbreaks of violence havebeen minimal, and that only five civilians have died since the clampdownstarted.
The relatives of four of those killed told AFP they believed the securityforces were responsible for their deaths.
The latest updates came as police said Thursday that three men suspected ofbelonging to a Pakistan-based militant organisation were arrested whiletransporting weapons and ammunition towards Indian Kashmir.
Nuclear-armed neighbours India and Pakistan have fought two wars overKashmir, which was split between the two countries in 1947.
India deployed extra troops ahead of the August 5 decision to reinforcesome 500,000 soldiers already stationed in the region, one of the mostmilitarised places on the planet.
Pakistani Prime Minister Imran Khan on Friday promised to raise thedecision to strip Indian Kashmir of its autonomy at the upcoming UN GeneralAssembly session. -APP/AFP