India imposes clampdown in Kashmir
To head off Eid protests
SRINAGAR AFP AUG12,2019- Indian troops clamped tight restrictions on mosques across Kashmir for Monday’s Eid al-adha festival, fearing anti-government protests over the stripping of the Muslim-majority region’s autonomy, according to residents.
The Himalayan region’s biggest mosque, the Jama Masjid, was ordered shut and people were only allowed to pray in smaller local mosques so that no big crowds could gather, witnesses said.
Kashmir police chief Dilbagh Singh said late Monday “Eid celebrations were peaceful today”.
Regional inspector general of police Swayam Prakash Pani added that “there is only a couple of injuries which were reported, otherwise the entire valley, the situation is normal”.
Kashmir has been in a security lockdown for eight days as the Hindu nationalist government in New Delhi seeks to snuff out opposition to its move to impose tighter central control over the region.
Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi insisted last week the decision to strip Kashmir of its autonomy was necessary for its economic development, and to stop “terrorism”. He has won widespread backing in India for the move.
But local Kashmir leaders say that stripping the region of its autonomy risks worsening the unrest.
The move has also sparked fury in Pakistan, which also claims Kashmir. Pakistan Prime Minister Imran Khan compared India’s tactics in Kashmir to those of the Nazis. Officials said Khan would visit the Pakistan-controlled part of Kashmir this week to show solidarity.