Indian-controlled Kashmir rattled by targeted killings

There's a strong suspicion among Sopore residents that Indian forces are behind the recent shootings – all four of the dead men had opposed Delhi's rule of the region.

Kashmiri children look on as an Indian paramilitary soldier stands guard during restrictions in the downtown area of Srinagar, the summer capital of Indian-controlled Kashmir, on June 18, 2015. Farooq Khan/EPAShow less

SOPORE, INDIA // Four assassination-style killings since last week have shaken this town in Indian-controlled Kashmir, just as the region seemed to be slowly emerging from decades of violence.

There’s strong suspicion in the Sopore area – where most of its 500,000 residents want independence or union with Pakistan – that India is behind the killings. The region is claimed by both India and Pakistan, and the four slain men apparently shared a common sentiment: two had fought Indian rule militarily while the other two had politically opposed Delhi’s control.

Militant and separatist groups say it’s no coincidence that the attacks came after comments made by Indian defence minister Manohar Parrikar last month that “you have to neutralise terrorists through terrorists only”.

Rattled by the killings, Sopore has become a ghost town. Its normally bustling streets lie deserted, and its residents, when they do go out, make little eye contact with each other. Some fear that Indian security forces have reactivated secret militias such as the “Ikhwanis”, which they once used to eliminate dissidents during the bloody 1990s.

The violence comes after a period of relative calm. Guerrilla attacks have declined and tourism has once again become a serious business. But the recent attacks are a crushing reminder that the region, where a bloody separatist campaign and brutal Indian military crackdown has killed 68,000 people since 1989, remains volatile.

Activists called for a protest rally in Sopore on Friday, but Indian authorities imposed a curfew in many parts of Kashmir to try to prevent the demonstration from taking place. In addition, thousands of armed police and paramilitary soldiers fanned out across the region where street protests have become the main tool to express anger against Indian rule.

Police also detained dozens of separatist leaders and activists to stop them from leading the protest.

On-and-off talks between India and Pakistan over the disputed territory have made virtually no progress in years amid deep mutual distrust. India accuses Pakistan of training and financing militants and pushing them into the Indian-controlled portion of Kashmir. Islamabad denies the charge, saying that it only gives moral and diplomatic support to the rebels.

The killings began last week when gunmen shot and killed a well-known separatist activist, Sheikh Altafur Rehman, who was also a senior pharmacist at a hospital in Sopore.

“He was released from police custody only two days earlier before he was brutally murdered by Indian agents,” said his 74-year-old father, Sheikh Mohammed Yousuf, sitting in his home, tears trickling down his cheeks.

“What will police probe? We know who’s behind these killings. We know the planners,” Mr Yousuf said. “Anyone can be used for pulling the trigger.”

Three days later, a local trade union leader and separatist sympathiser Khurshid Ahmed Bhat was killed. Then, on two successive days, two former rebels were slain. Mehrajuddin Dar, who had fought with the pro-independence Jammu-Kashmir Liberation Front, was outside his poultry shop in Sopore on Sunday when he was shot in the head from behind.

The next day, Aijaz Ahmed Reshi, who had been in prison on several different occasions, was also shot in the head in his village near Sopore. Two men came from behind and pumped three bullets into his head. The gunmen fired shots in the air as local villagers, along with a neighbour’s dog, caught hold of one of the assailants’ legs.

“In a commando style, he shot the dog in the head,” said local resident Ahmed Bhat.

Reshi was part of the Harkat-ul Mujahideen militant group in 2002, according to his family and neighbours. He was arrested and incarcerated for nearly three years in 2007. Police locked him up again for three months in 2012.

“He was now a contractor, leading somewhat a normal life,” said his younger brother Muddasir Ahmed. “But he would always say: ‘My life is nothing, soldiers will kill me any day.”’

Authorities say their initial investigations indicated that two prominent local rebels belonging to Kashmir’s largest militant group, Hizbul Mujahideen, were involved in the killings.

“We’ve identified the militants and it’s only a matter of time before we get them,” said K Rajendra, director general of police. “It’s an internal rivalry and an apparent split within their ranks leading to these killings.” The police have offered a reward of about US$31,000 (Dh113,861) for the capture of the two suspects.

The Hizbul Mujahideen has denounced the killings and blamed India – allegations that Mr Rajendra said were “baseless”.

* Associated Press