Berliner Boersenzeitung - Rebel attacks keep Indian-run Kashmir on the boil

EUR -
AED 4.302842
AFN 79.988996
ALL 97.295357
AMD 449.496115
ANG 2.096669
AOA 1074.270892
ARS 1542.554451
AUD 1.787174
AWG 2.108711
AZN 1.994775
BAM 1.956754
BBD 2.366783
BDT 142.429437
BGN 1.955484
BHD 0.441666
BIF 3495.634019
BMD 1.171506
BND 1.500387
BOB 8.100018
BRL 6.312102
BSD 1.172236
BTN 102.507849
BWP 15.644293
BYN 3.875974
BYR 22961.520127
BZD 2.354668
CAD 1.611565
CDF 3385.653172
CHF 0.941185
CLF 0.0285
CLP 1117.956903
CNY 8.410473
CNH 8.409516
COP 4709.185192
CRC 592.871322
CUC 1.171506
CUP 31.044912
CVE 110.318782
CZK 24.471603
DJF 208.737308
DKK 7.462652
DOP 71.624918
DZD 152.035978
EGP 56.618843
ERN 17.572592
ETB 164.179842
FJD 2.632081
FKP 0.867307
GBP 0.863031
GEL 3.157207
GGP 0.867307
GHS 12.349384
GIP 0.867307
GMD 84.934193
GNF 10164.890962
GTQ 8.991115
GYD 245.241139
HKD 9.196329
HNL 30.729982
HRK 7.533136
HTG 153.440218
HUF 395.465457
IDR 18898.206549
ILS 3.971312
IMP 0.867307
INR 102.419433
IQD 1535.648952
IRR 49349.695449
ISK 142.958836
JEP 0.867307
JMD 187.861586
JOD 0.830587
JPY 172.542059
KES 151.452048
KGS 102.331051
KHR 4694.359167
KMF 493.789581
KPW 1054.282337
KRW 1614.603432
KWD 0.357849
KYD 0.976856
KZT 630.82289
LAK 25378.277118
LBP 104933.967605
LKR 352.691963
LRD 235.02254
LSL 20.737801
LTL 3.459153
LVL 0.708632
LYD 6.369105
MAD 10.559348
MDL 19.570124
MGA 5169.590424
MKD 61.749588
MMK 2459.266979
MNT 4213.193023
MOP 9.477735
MRU 46.783808
MUR 53.221526
MVR 18.037925
MWK 2032.686411
MXN 21.718247
MYR 4.92911
MZN 74.929531
NAD 20.737801
NGN 1798.226279
NIO 43.141033
NOK 11.944706
NPR 164.01236
NZD 1.957077
OMR 0.450427
PAB 1.171506
PEN 4.131513
PGK 4.948413
PHP 66.326585
PKR 332.664687
PLN 4.257455
PYG 8780.244627
QAR 4.274785
RON 5.060089
RSD 117.120174
RUB 93.365816
RWF 1696.194288
SAR 4.395499
SBD 9.642189
SCR 17.272426
SDG 703.489128
SEK 11.157735
SGD 1.499264
SHP 0.92062
SLE 27.177033
SLL 24565.896027
SOS 669.937247
SRD 43.836005
STD 24247.811607
STN 24.511218
SVC 10.257
SYP 15231.864138
SZL 20.733078
THB 37.824714
TJS 10.930509
TMT 4.111987
TND 3.446781
TOP 2.820706
TRY 47.73078
TTD 7.960643
TWD 35.089538
TZS 3045.915955
UAH 48.670728
UGX 4170.895348
USD 1.171506
UYU 46.942886
UZS 14664.110781
VES 155.520411
VND 30795.967364
VUV 140.053656
WST 3.11401
XAF 655.699054
XAG 0.030383
XAU 0.000349
XCD 3.166054
XCG 2.112648
XDR 0.822792
XOF 655.699054
XPF 119.331742
YER 281.483577
ZAR 20.514185
ZMK 10544.963998
ZMW 26.990389
ZWL 377.224496
  • RBGPF

    0.0000

    73.08

    0%

  • CMSC

    0.0200

    23.08

    +0.09%

  • RYCEF

    0.6400

    14.94

    +4.28%

  • NGG

    -0.9500

    70.28

    -1.35%

  • RELX

    -0.2100

    47.83

    -0.44%

  • SCU

    0.0000

    12.72

    0%

  • RIO

    0.9600

    63.1

    +1.52%

  • SCS

    0.2300

    16.19

    +1.42%

  • BP

    0.1200

    34.07

    +0.35%

  • AZN

    1.2700

    75.34

    +1.69%

  • GSK

    0.5100

    38.22

    +1.33%

  • BTI

    -0.4100

    57.92

    -0.71%

  • CMSD

    -0.0107

    23.56

    -0.05%

  • BCC

    3.5200

    84.26

    +4.18%

  • VOD

    0.0300

    11.54

    +0.26%

  • JRI

    -0.0100

    13.38

    -0.07%

  • BCE

    0.1500

    24.5

    +0.61%

Rebel attacks keep Indian-run Kashmir on the boil
Rebel attacks keep Indian-run Kashmir on the boil / Photo: Tauseef MUSTAFA - AFP/File

Rebel attacks keep Indian-run Kashmir on the boil

Ambushes, firefights and a market grenade blast: headline-grabbing attacks in Indian-run Kashmir are designed to challenge New Delhi's bid to portray normality in the disputed territory, Indian security officials say.

Text size:

Kashmir has been divided between nuclear-armed rivals India and Pakistan since their partition at the chaotic end of British rule in 1947, and both countries claim the territory in full.

"The attacks are not merely about killing, but also to set a narrative to counter the Indian narrative -- that everything is fine," said the former head of India's Northern Command forces, retired general Deependra Singh Hooda.

Half a million Indian troops are deployed in the far northern region, battling a 35-year insurgency in which tens of thousands of civilians, soldiers and rebels have been killed, including at least 120 this year.

Prime Minister Narendra Modi's Hindu nationalist government cancelled the Muslim-majority region's partial autonomy in 2019, a decision accompanied by mass arrests and a months-long communications blackout.

The territory of around 12 million people has since been ruled by a governor appointed by New Delhi -- overseeing the local government that voters elected in October in opposition to Modi.

- 'Larger message' -

New Delhi insists it helped bring "peace, development and prosperity" to the region.

But military experts say that small bands of rebels -- demanding either independence or Kashmir's merger with Pakistan -- use attacks to contradict the claims.

"The larger message being sent out is that the problem in Kashmir is alive," Hooda said.

India blames Pakistan for arming militants and helping them "infiltrate" across the militarised dividing line to launch attacks, an allegation Islamabad denies.

A "spurt in infiltration" this year by insurgents was "not possible without Pakistan's army actively allowing it", Hooda charged.

Many clashes take place in forested mountains far from larger settlements.

But the huge military presence visible in sprawling camps and roadblocks -- roughly one in every 25 people in Kashmir is an Indian soldier -- serves as a constant reminder.

Many are frustrated by traffic jams caused by military orders that civilian cars stay at least 500 metres (1,640 feet) away from army vehicles.

Yet those who have long lived under the shadow of the grinding insurgency seemingly shrug off the threat.

When an attacker this month hurled a grenade at security forces in a busy market -- killing a woman and wounding 11 civilians -- shoppers returned within a couple of hours.

This month, thousands attended an army recruitment drive, even as soldiers battled gunmen in a nearby district.

- 'Low boil' -

Attacks appear dramatic, including a gun battle in downtown Srinagar in early November that police said killed a commander of the Pakistan-backed Lashkar-e-Taibamilitant group.

Earlier this year, attacks in the Jammu area -- a Hindu-majority region -- prompted the army to supply thousands of militia forces, dubbed village defence guards, with rifles.

But the death toll of 120 civilians, soldiers and rebels killed this year is, so far, similar in intensity to 2023, when 130 people died, according to the South Asia Terrorism Portal, a New Delhi-based monitoring group.

"It will remain like this on low boil, as long as Kashmir is divided (between India and Pakistan)," a security official said, speaking on condition of anonymity because they were not authorised to talk to journalists.

"We control it here; they (Pakistan) will activate it from there."

The Indian army says around 720 rebels have been killed in the past five years.

Regional army commander MV Suchindra Kumar said in October he believed fewer than 130 remained in the fight.

Another security official, who spoke on the condition of anonymity, said those include "highly trained and well-armed" fighters who had crossed from Pakistan.

"They are causing some damage by surprise attacks," the official said. "But the situation is under control".

Hooda, drawing on his long experience as a general, predicts little change as long as violence serves the agenda of India's rival Islamabad.

"I don't see this coming down immediately," he said, referring to the number of attacks.

"Pakistan has always felt that ratcheting up attacks will bring the spotlight on Kashmir".

(P.Werner--BBZ)