It will be three months soon since the abrogation of Article 370 and 35A of the Indian Constitution that granted special status to the state of Jammu and Kashmir and its hasty bifurcation into two Union Territories but the centre¡¯s maintained claims of normalcy having been restored in the Kashmir Valley even as it continues to remain under the clampdown has come under the scanner as there has been a considerable spike in grenade attacks as well as killings of non-Kashmiri truck drivers in the region.?
Another truck driver was killed by suspected militants on Monday in Jammu and Kashmir's Anantnag district, news agency PTI confirmed.?
Agencies
A resident of Katra in Udhampur district, Narayan Dutt is the fourth truck driver who became the target of militants since August 5 when the controversial decision of Prime Minister Narendra Modi-led NDA government rocked the Indian parliament.
Dutt was shot at by the militants in the evening in the Kanilwan area of Bijbehara in the south Kashmir district and he died on the spot. The area has now been cordoned off and a hunt launched to nab the attackers. The episode follows a series of attacks on truck drivers and non-locals.
Kashmiri women walk in between damaged apples after a truck carrying the apples was set ablaze by unidentified gunmen in Chitragam village. REUTERS PHOTO
Earlier, terrorists had killed two non-Kashmiri truck drivers in Shopian district when they had gone to ferry loads of apples on October 24. Exactly ten days before that, two terrorists, including a suspected Pakistani national, shot dead the driver of a truck having Rajasthan registration number and assaulted an orchard owner in Shopian district.
Two days after that, Punjab-based apple trader Charanjeet Singh was killed and Sanjeev injured when terrorists attacked them in Shopian district. The same day, a brick kiln worker from Chhattisgarh was shot dead by militants in Pulwama district.
If the targeted attack on truck drivers and non-Kashmiris operating in the valley is one dangerous trend emerging from the activities of the militants after the scrapping of Article 370 and heightened security then the repeated reports of grenade attacks in the valley is another serious cause of concern.?
Indian police officers stand at the site of a grenade attack in Srinagar October 12, 2019. REUTERS PHOTO
Terrorists on Monday once again lobbed a grenade into a crowd that was waiting at a bus stop in Sopore. At least 20 civilians were injured in the incident, PTI said, quoting police officials. About six among them were seriously injured and had to be referred to a hospital in Srinagar.?
Notably, strict security arrangements are in place and restrictions continue to be imposed in the valley even as there is no ending the suspension of internet facilities in Kashmir valley.?
In the meanwhile, a group of European Union lawmakers are visiting Kashmir on Tuesday, becoming the first foreign delegation since the special status of Jammu and Kashmir was revoked in August.?
The opposition, led by Congress, has dubbed it an insult to Indian democracy as an all-party delegation has not been allowed in the valley for well over two and a half months now.?
Congress MP Shashi Tharoor had, during the debate on the bill that changed Jammu and Kashmir¡¯s special status, urged the centre that an all-party delegation be allowed to visit the valley in order to ascertain the claims made by the centre.?
Leading opposition leaders, including former Congress President Rahul Gandhi, who was the prime opposition face against PM Narendra Modi in 2019 general elections, were not allowed to exit the Srinagar airport.?
India has long maintained that Jammu and Kashmir is an entirely internal matter of India and has not allowed external interference in its affairs. PM Modi-led NDA government has also reiterated the same on several fore but allowing EU delegation to ¡°assess the situation¡± while prohibiting elected Indian representatives from entering Kashmir hasn¡¯t gone down well with many of NDA¡¯s political opponents.?
AP PHOTO
There is also an evident anger among the Kashmiri people and it is likely to increase further with the passage of every day that restrictions continue. While all sorts of things have been said about the state of affairs in the valley, the Kashmiri people have themselves been deliberately suppressed and pushed out of the mainstream Indian discourse on recent developments.?
And more than anything else, they are the greatest victims in this tug of war.?