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INDIA-KASHMIR-PAKISTAN-UNREST
Rebels kill four police in Indian Kashmir ahead of key court case
SRINAGAR, India, Aug 29, 2018 (BSS/AFP) – Suspected rebels shot dead four
police officers while security forces killed two militants in Indian Kashmir
on Wednesday as tensions rose before a major Supreme Court hearing on the
troubled region.
Five police officers who had stopped near the southern Kashmir town of
Shopian to repair their vehicle were ambushed, Inspector General of Police
Swayam Prakash Pani told AFP.
“Four of the police were killed. One who was inside the vehicle at the
time of the attack is safe,” Pani said.
Separately, two suspected rebels were killed in a gunfight with government
forces not far from the attack on the police, officials said.
The Muslim-majority Himalayan region, divided between India and Pakistan
since their split in 1947, has seen a resurgence of hostilities in the past
two years.
Security officials say at least 144 militants have been killed this year,
while more fighters have joined rebel ranks. There are an estimated 250
active underground fighters, they say.
Separatist groups have called a general strike for Thursday and Friday
before the Supreme Court hearing, which they fear could allow Indians from
outside Kashmir to buy property in the state and get government jobs.
The court will hear arguments on Friday on a legal challenge against a
1954 constitutional provision, Article 35A, that reserved the special
privileges for Kashmir permanent residents.
Separatist groups seeking Kashmir’s independence or merger with Pakistan,
along with business and civil society groups have opposed scrapping Article
35A.
Incorrect rumours this week that the article had been scrapped caused
protests and clashes in Kashmir.
The ruling Hindu nationalist Bharatiya Janata Party of Prime Minister
Narendra Modi wants to annul the constitutional provisions that grant special
status to Kashmir.
A BJP spokesman this week said Article 35A had become an obstacle to
outside investment in the region.
Rebel groups have for decades fought hundreds of thousands of soldiers and
police deployed in Indian Kashmir. Pakistan controls a separate part of the
former Himalayan kingdom and like India claims the region in full.
BSS/AFP/RY/1835 hrs