Kashmiri students clash with Indian policemen during a protest in Srinagar, Indian controlled Kashmir, Thursday, April 5, 2018.
Syed Ali Safvi
Press TV, Kashmir
Amid the coronavirus pandemic, guns are blazing in Indian administered Kashmir. Scores of pro-independence fighters have been killed as New Delhi escalates crackdown in the restive Himalayan region.
As the world grapples with coronavirus pandemic which has infected over three and a half million people across the world, Indian forces have intesified crackdown on pro-independence fighters in the disputed region of Kashmir. The surge in deadly fighting between Indian forces and armed fighters has killed at least 30 pro-independence fighters and over a dozen Indian forces including two top ranking army officers in last few weeks. A 14-year-old specially-abled boy also fell to the bullets on Monday. This as the region is under lockdown to combat the coronavirus outreak.
Kashmir valley has been in a state of stringent security lockdown since April 5 when Indias ruling Hindu nationalist Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) stripped the region of its special status. The restive region has witnessed almost daily gun-battles over the past few moths. According to official statistics, over 60 pro-independence fighters have been killed this year so far.
Guns are also blazing on the highly militarized frontier that divides Kashmir between India ad Pakistan. Scores of Indian and Pakistani border guards and a number of civilians, including children, living along the border have been killed in spate of fighting over the last few weeks.
Pertinently, both New Delhi and Islamabad are signatories to the 2003 UN-brokered ceasefire agreement. Despite that the nuclear armed countries continue to exchange deadly fire on the Kashmir border and then trade blame on ceasefire violations.
Alarmed by the escalating violence, UN secretary general has also called for ceasefire along the UN-monitored line of control.
New Delhi has long accused Pakistan of supporting pro-independence fighters in the restive Kashmir region by arming and training them. Islamabad terms the allegation baseless.
Kashmir is a bone of contention between India and Pakistan. Both the countries claim the region in full, but rule it in parts.
Guns may have fallen silent everywhere in the world in the wake of coronavirus pandemic, but they continue to roar here in Kashmir. There seems to be no end to the violence, bloodshed and suffering on all sides of spectrum.
LINK: https://www.ansarpress.com/english/17022
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