Srinagar and other towns in India-administrated Jammu and Kashmir are under curfew following unrest over the killing of four protesters by the Border Security Forces (BSF) on July 18. The killings took place in the Gool area of Ramban district. According to locals in Ramban, protests erupted after BSF personnel roughed up a religious leader’s brother following an argument over offering late-night Ramadan prayers. The BSF dismisses this version, saying a mob attacked their camp and tried to storm their storehouse of arms and ammunition. Separatist leader Syed Ali Geelani has called for a three-day general strike in response to the incident, while several other prominent separatists have been arrested. A clash between demonstrators and security forces at the town of Doda, in Chenab valley, left 20 injured, including five police officers. The Amarnath Yatra, an annual Hindu pilgrimage to a sacred cave associated with the god Shiva in the mountains of Kashmir, has been ordered suspended. (Hindustan Times, CSM, July 19)
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Five Indian soldiers killed in Kashmir border incident
Five Indian soldiers were shot dead in Indian-administered Jammu and Kashmir Aug. 6. India’s army accused Pakistan over the incident, saying troops had “entered the Indian area and ambushed” an army patrol in the Poonch area. A Pakistani military official told the BBC that “no fire took place” from their side.
Indo-Pak water war in Kashmir?
For the first time since a ceasefire was signed 10 years ago, Indian and Pakistani forces are again shelling each other across the Line of Control in Kashmir. (IANS, BBC News, Sept. 22) In this unhelpful atmosphere, India and Pakistan have opened talks in New Delhi over India’s plans for new hydro-electric development in Kashmir’s Chenab basin—which Islamabad charges violates the 1960 Indus Waters Treaty dividing water rights in the territory. (The Hindu, Sept. 22)