Indian soldier killed in Pak firing at LoC

An Indian soldier was killed by Pakistani forces on the Kashmir border, the military said yesterday, as sporadic clashes between stone-throwing protesters and government forces in Srinagar left more than 100 injured.

The nuclear-armed neighbours regularly target each other with mortar shells and gunfire on the de facto border known as the Line of Control (LoC) in the disputed Himalayan territory which is claimed by both India and Pakistan.

But the latest skirmish comes as ties hit a new low after India revoked the autonomy of the part of the region it controls, sparking protests from the local population and outrage from Pakistan.

The Indian soldier was manning a post in mountainous Rajouri district yesterday when he came under “unprovoked fire” from across the border, local media reports said.

A New Delhi-based Indian Army spokesman confirmed the incident to AFP.

The death was the fourth claimed by the Indian side since the August 5 decision to strip the region’s special constitutional status.

Pakistan’s military has said five people including three soldiers have died in shelling by Indian forces.

The border clashes are happening amid a curfew in the valley, including its main city of Srinagar where fears of large-scale street protests against India’s move persist.

COLLECTIVE PUNISHMENT

Posters have sprung up across the region calling for a public march to the local UN office yesterday.

“Preachers in all mosques should make the people aware of India’s plans to change the demography of the state (Jammu and Kashmir),” handbills written in Urdu said.

Sporadic demonstrations have rocked some parts of Srinagar, with clashes between stone-throwing protesters and government forces leaving more than 100 injured.

Residents in the Muslim-majority region have complained of a stifling environment as well as the inability to get in touch with family and friends worried about their wellbeing, although some of the restrictions have been eased in recent days.

Kashmir has waged a three-decade-long armed rebellion against Indian rule with tens of thousands of lives, mostly civilians, lost in the conflict.

Ahead of its controversial announcement, India rushed tens of thousands of extra troops to the restive region to join 500,000 already in the valley, and imposed a strict communications clampdown.

The near-total communications blackout has triggered global concern, with a group of UN human rights experts warning Thursday it amounted to “collective punishment” and risked exacerbating regional tensions.

Yesterday, several dozen paramilitary personnel manned at least two barriers on the main road leading to the office of UNMOGIP in Srinagar and public movement around it was blocked.

Entry into the city’s old quarter, which has long been a centre for protests, was severely curtailed, as policemen blocked street after street with concertina wire.

Large swathes of Srinagar remained deserted with shops shut except for some provision stores with shutters half-down, reported Reuters.

Police vans patrolled some areas announcing a curfew and asking people to stay indoors.

On the Dal Lake, long rows of houseboats, which would typically be packed with tourists this time of the year, floated closed and empty, as police patrolled its mirror-calm waters in boats.

On Thursday, French President Emmanuel Macron met Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi, telling him Paris was keeping an eye on the Kashmir region.

France would “remain attentive to ensure the interests and rights of the civilian populations are properly taken into account in the territories on both sides of the (Kashmir) ceasefire line”, Macron said.

French officials had earlier said they would push Modi to explain how he saw things playing out in the region in the coming days and weeks.