Gunfight with Militants: 2 Indian soldiers killed in Kashmir

Two Indian soldiers were killed yesterday in a gunfight with suspected militants along the border that divides the disputed territory of Kashmir between India and Pakistan, officials said.

The two were killed during an operation to intercept Pakistani infiltrators who were attempting to cross the heavily-militarised border into India, the Press Trust of India news agency reported officials as saying.

The operation was still in progress, army spokesman Lieutenant Colonel Devender Anand said in a statement.

An armed rebellion against Indian rule has raged for decades in Kashmir, and has left tens of thousands dead, mainly civilians.

New Delhi accuses Pakistan of arming and training anti-India rebels and sending them across the border to launch attacks on Indian forces.

Islamabad denies the charge, saying it only provides diplomatic support to Kashmiris’ right to self-determination, reports AFP.

Indian-administered Kashmir has been tense since New Delhi revoked the region’s semi-autonomous status in August and imposed a security and communications lockdown.

Some of the restrictions have since been eased. Broadband internet service was restored in government-run hospitals and SMS facilities were restored on all mobile phones yesterday, after over four-and-a-half months of suspension.

“It has been decided to restore internet connectivity to all government hospitals with effect from midnight of December 31 besides fully restoring SMS on mobile phones,” Jammu and Kashmir administration spokesman Rohit Kansal told reporters in Jammu, the winter capital.

Kansal said the administration in Kashmir is facilitating students, contractors, tour operators, government officials through various internet touch points.

“Nearly 900 such touch points and special counters are functional throughout Kashmir in districts, prominent tourist places and hotels, and about 6 lakh people have taken advantage of these touch points,” the spokesman said.

In response to a question on release of detained politicians, including three former chief ministers, Kansal said that “any release or detention, preventive or otherwise, is a decision that is being taken by local law enforcing agencies based on its assessment of the local law and order situation”.

Five political leaders, who had been under preventive detention since August 5 were freed on Monday last but former chief ministers Farooq Abdullah, Omar Abdullah and Mehbooba Mufti are still under detention.

Kashmir has been split between India and Pakistan since the end of British colonial rule in 1947. The archrivals have fought two of their three wars over the territory.