Assassination-style killings rattle Himalayan region
SOPORE, India — Four assassination-style killings since last week have shaken this town in Kashmir just as the Himalayan region claimed by both India and Pakistan seemed to be slowly emerging from decades of violence.
There’s strong suspicion in the Sopore area, where most of its 500,000 residents want independence or union with Pakistan, that India is behind the killings. The four slain men apparently shared a common sentiment: Two had fought Indian rule militarily while the other two had politically opposed India’s control.
Militant and separatist groups say it’s no coincidence that the attacks came after Indian Defence Minister Manohar Parrikar’s comments last month that “you have to neutralize terrorists through terrorists only.”
Rattled by the killings, Sopore is a ghost town. Its normally bustling streets lie deserted, and its residents, when they do go out, make little eye contact with each other. Some fear Indian security forces have reactivated secret forces such as the “Ikhwanis” they once used to eliminate dissidents during the bloody 1990s.
The violence comes after a period of relative calm. Guerrilla attacks have declined and tourism was once again becoming a serious business. But the recent attacks are a crushing reminder that the region where 68,000 people have been killed since 1989 remains volatile.
Activists called for a protest rally in the town Friday, but Indian authorities imposed a curfew in many parts of Kashmir to prevent that from occurring. Thousands of armed police and paramilitary soldiers fanned out across the region where street protests have become the main tool to express anger against Indian rule.
On-and-off talks between India and Pakistan over the disputed territory have made virtually no progress in years amid deep mutual distrust. India accuses Pakistan of training and financing militants and pushing them into the Indian-controlled portion of Kashmir. Islamabad denies the charge, saying it only gives moral and diplomatic support to the rebels.