Militants strike on anniversary of Kashmir’s loss of autonomy
srinagar — Militants attacked security forces with a grenade and gunfire in Kashmir on Wednesday, defying a strict security lockdown on the first anniversary of the government’s scrapping of the state’s autonomy.
Authorities blanketed Kashmir with troops, who laid out barbed wire and set up roadblocks to prevent demonstrations a year after Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s government stripped Jammu and Kashmir of its special rights.
The government said the change was necessary to develop the region and integrate it with the rest of India but it infuriated many Kashmiris. Some critics saw it as part of a pattern by the government aimed at sidelining Muslims. The government denies that. In Srinagar, a handful of members of the ruling Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) gathered at their headquarters to unfurl an Indian flag to mark the occasion. Party spokesman Altaf Thakur said similar celebrations took place in all district headquarters in the territory. “It is an important and historic day for our party,” Thakur said.
Elsewhere in Srinagar, police and paramilitary troops enforced the strictest lockdown for several months, stopping public movements, including a proposed meeting of politicians.
“One year later the authorities are still too afraid to allow us to meet, much less carry out any normal political activity,” former chief minister Omar Abdullah said on Twitter. —
One year later the authorities are still too afraid to allow us to meet, much less carry out any normal political activity. This fear speaks volumes about the true situation on the ground in Kashmir
Omar Abdullah @OmarAbdullah