Indian forces deployed in Kashmir to stop rally
Indian authorities have deployed hundreds of troops to most parts of Indian-controlled Kashmir’s main city of Srinagar to prevent demonstrations marking the anniversaries of the assassinations of two pro-independence leaders.
Armed with automatic weapons, the Indian troops patrolled the streets of Srinagar on Thursday to stop the rally to commemorate the death anniversaries of two slain leaders of Kashmir, Mirwaiz Mohammed Farooq and Abdul Gani Lone, who were killed by assailants in 1990 and 2002 respectively.
Shops, schools and businesses closed and public transport was suspended in Srinagar in response to a general strike call by pro-independence groups.
Indian authorities ordered residents in the old quarters of the city to stay indoors and put Mirwaiz Umar Farooq, the son of Mohammed Farooq, and some other pro-independence leaders under house arrest.
Umar Farooq was scheduled to lead the march later on Thursday.
Pro-independence fighters have been battling government troops in Indian-controlled Kashmir since 1989.
Kashmir lies at the heart of almost 67 years of hostility between India and Pakistan. Both neighbors claim the region in full, but have partial control over it. Thousands of people have been killed in Kashmir over the past 25 years.
Islamabad and New Delhi have fought three wars, two of which over Kashmir, since their independence from the British colonial rule in 1947.
YH/NN/GHN
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