A gunfight with suspected fighters left two Indian soldiers dead and two others injured in India-occupied Kashmir (IoK), days before local elections in the disputed Himalayan region.
IoK has seen a rise in clashes between fighters and security forces ahead of the first local assembly polls in the region for a decade.
The Indian army said the firefight took place on Friday in Kishtwar district, paying tribute to the “supreme sacrifice of the bravehearts” in a post on social media platform X.
The territory has been without an elected local government since 2019, when its partial autonomy was cancelled by Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s government.
A total of 8.7 million people will be eligible to vote for the region’s assembly when the election begins on September 18, with results expected in October.
Ahead of the vote, Modi is expected to address rallies for his Hindu-nationalist Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) in the southern Jammu portion of the territory, which has a sizeable Hindu population.
In the past two years, more than 50 soldiers were killed in clashes, mostly in Jammu.
New Delhi accuses Pakistan of backing the region’s fighters and cross-border attacks inside its territory — claims Islamabad denies.
Indian army personnel identified as Havildar Saty Singh Bisht belonging to the Chinar corps was killed by unknown militants during operational duties in Tangdhar, Kupwara District, J&K.
On the fifth anniversary of India's actions on August 5, 2019, in Indian Illegally Occupied Jammu and Kashmir (IIOJK), Pakistan observes 'Youm-e-Istehsal' (Day of Exploitation).
Ahead of 'Youm-e-Istehsal', the foreign secretary briefed diplomats in Islamabad on the situation in IIOJK. A solidarity walk was held in Islamabad, with various activities organized nationwide and globally to raise awareness about the plight of the Kashmiri people.
Youm_E_Istehsal
Occupied Kashmir: An Indian army captain was killed in an encounter between the Kashmiri freedom fighters and the Indian occupying forces in Akar Doda forest.Captain Deepak was successfully neutralized (48 Rashtriya Rifles).
Pakistani and Indian delegates engaged in a sharp verbal duel at the United Nations on Friday night after prime minister Shehbaz Sharif drew the world’s attention to India’s policy of...
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Pakistani, Indian delegates clash over Kashmir at UN
New Age Desk 29 September, 2024, 22:20
Pakistani and Indian delegates engaged in a sharp verbal duel at the United Nations on Friday night after prime minister Shehbaz Sharif drew the world’s attention to India’s policy of brutal coercion and oppression in held Kashmir, reports DAWN.com.
The Indian delegate, Bhavika Mangalanandan, reacted to the prime minister’s hard-hitting speech at the UN General Assembly in which he referred to New Delhi’s threats and arms build-up. He warned that Islamabad would respond ‘most decisively’ to any aggression by India.
Mangalanandan, first secretary in the Indian Mission to the UN, claimed that Jammu and Kashmir was India’s internal matter and accused Pakistan of ‘cross-border terrorism’.
She also commented on Pakistan’s domestic matters.
Exercising his right of reply, Pakistani delegate Muhammad Faheem dismissed his Indian counterpart’s false narrative, asserting that Jammu and Kashmir is an internationally-recognised disputed territory.
‘It has never been, nor will ever be, a part of India, nor is it an internal matter,’ Faheem said.
‘Yet, instead of honouring its obligations, India has chosen the path of repression, subjecting the legitimate aspirations of the Kashmiri people for self-determination through a brutal and oppressive occupation,’ Faheem, third secretary in the Pakistan Mission to the UN, said.
‘India’s illegal and unilateral actions of August 5, 2019, further intensified this occupation, with nearly one million soldiers deployed to suppress the Kashmiris’ legitimate aspirations,’ he added.
India’s crimes in held Kashmir are ‘heinous and committed with impunity’, with innocent civilians targeted through staged encounters, extrajudicial killings, and collective punishment, the Pakistani delegate added.
‘Entire villages have been razed, the entire Kashmiri political leadership remains incarcerated, and a media blackout continues to stifle independent voices,’ the Pakistani delegate said.
The UN High Commissioner for Human Rights and a number of special rapporteurs have documented these widespread violations, calling for the investigation of human rights violations in India-occupied Kashmir, he pointed out.
Rejecting the Indian delegate’s allegations of terrorism, Faheem said: ‘It is ironic that a country which uses terrorism as an instrument of state policy, should attempt to point fingers at others.’
‘India, which has been sponsoring terrorism and orchestrating assassination campaigns worldwide, is hardly in a position to lecture others on the issue.’
After the removal of Article 370, Kashmir has almost back to its best time. Tourism is flourishing, Huge investment has started flowing in, UAE has Planned a big investment in Kashmir. Youth is not dependent on money to be earned from stone pelting. Things are improving at a great pace.