Gun deaths raise Kashmir tensions

TENSIONS HAVE escalated in the aftermath of a suicide attack in disputed Kashmir, with seven people killed in a gun battle that broke out as Indian soldiers searched the area for militants.

Government forces surrounded a village in the southern Pulwama area after receiving a tip that militants were hiding there, security officials said.

As troops began conducting searches, they came under heavy gunfire, leading to a clash that killed four soldiers, two suspected militants and a civilian.

A senior police officer, an army officer and three other soldiers were wounded in the operation, which follows a February 14 suicide attack on a paramilitary convoy that killed at least 40 soldiers, the worst attack against Indian government forces in Kashmir’s history.

India blamed the attack on Pakistan and promised a “jawbreaking response”.

Pakistan has warned India against linking it to the attack without an investigation, saying that it was part of New Delhi’s “known rhetoric and tactics” to divert global attention from human rights violations in Kashmir.

India and Pakistan each administer part of Kashmir, but both claim the Muslim-majority region in its entirety.

The attack has led to a spike in communal tensions in Hindumajority India.

Videos of anti-Kashmiri protests have gone viral on social media, including some in which Kashmiri students were beaten by mobs of Hindu nationalist groups and warned to leave colleges and universities.

On the outskirts of the northern city of Ambala, about 300 Kashmiri students were forced to leave their rented accommodation by local Hindu residents, at least three students said.

One of the students who asked to be identified by only his middle name, Ahmed, due to fear of reprisals from his university, said he and his fellow students felt unsafe despite police security.

The Kashmiri students blamed Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s Hindu nationalist ruling party for stoking anti-Muslim and anti-Kashmiri sentiment in India ahead of a general election due this year.

In another northern city, Dehradun, at least 20 Kashmiri students were forced to lock themselves in their hostel rooms for safety until police arrived, The

Times of India newspaper reported. Police in Dehradun said the students were safe but refused to comment further.

Vijay Kumar, a top government adviser, said they received several complaints from students and business people, and authorities were “doing everything possible for the security” of Kashmiris.

He said authorities have spoken with local officials in various cities and also set up help centres for Kashmiris living outside the state.

Yesterday’s fighting in Kashmir triggered anti-India protests and clashes, with local residents, mainly youths, trying to march to the site of the gun battle in solidarity with the rebels.

Government forces fired tear gas at the stone-throwing protesters.

No-one was immediately reported injured in the clashes.

Residents said troops destroyed a civilian house with explosives during the fighting.

Police said they recovered the bodies of two militants from the debris. A civilian was also killed in the crossfire, police said.

At least 20 students had to lock themselves in their rooms until police arrived.