Friday, November 15, 2024
Islamabad (News International new. DW News. November 15, 2024) Indian security officials say that the increasing activities of militants in Indian-administered Kashmir are aimed at countering the New Delhi government's claims that the situation in the disputed region is normal. The challenge is to do.
Kashmir has been divided between nuclear-armed rivals India and Pakistan since the end of British rule in 1947 (for the past several years), and both countries claim full ownership of the region.
Retired General Dipinder Singh Hooda, former chief of forces of India's Northern Command, said, "The aim of the militant attacks is not just to cause casualties but to create a completely counter-narrative to counter the current Indian narrative that all is not well." .
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The insurgency in Indian-administered Kashmir has been going on for thirty-five years and so far tens of thousands of civilians, Indian soldiers and Kashmiri militants have been killed.
These include at least 120 deaths so far this year.
The Indian government has deployed more than half a million troops in the troubled region. The Hindu nationalist government of Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi revoked the Muslim-majority region's constitutional partial autonomy in 2019. The region of about 12 million people has since been governed by a governor appointed by New Delhi, who oversees a local government elected this October.
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New Delhi insists it helped bring "peace, progress and prosperity" to the region. But small groups of Kashmiri militants and insurgents, who demand either independence or the annexation of Indian-administered Jammu and Kashmir to Pakistan, respond to Indian claims with attacks, military experts say.
"A big message is being sent that the Kashmir issue is still alive," said General Retired Hooda.
India blames Pakistan for arming militants and aiding the attacks, a charge the Islamabad government denies. Hooda alleged that this year's "increase in infiltration" by insurgents would not have been possible without the active permission of the Pakistan Army.
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Much of the fighting in Kashmir takes place in the mountainous jungles away from major settlements, but the sprawling military camps and roadblocks in the region serve as a constant reminder of the large military presence here. It is said that on an average, there is one Indian soldier for every 25 people in Kashmir.
Due to this reason, the routine life of common people is also affected here.
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As long as Kashmir is divided (between India and Pakistan), it will remain so, a security official told AFP on condition of anonymity. “We control it (infiltration) here, they (Pakistan) continue it from there.
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The Indian Army says that around 720 militants have been killed in the last five years. Regional army commander MV Sachindar Kumar said in October last month that he believed fewer than 130 militants were still fighting.
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Another security official, speaking on condition of anonymity, said the militants included "highly trained and well-armed" fighters, "who came from Pakistan."
The official said, "They are causing some damage with sudden attacks but the situation is under control."
Hooda, in the light of his long experience as a general, says that as long as violence serves Islamabad's agenda, only minor changes can be foreseen in the situation in Kashmir. "I don't see them going down any time soon," he said, referring to the number of attacks. Pakistan has always felt that escalating these attacks can shed light on the Kashmir issue."
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