Skip to content
Search

Latest Stories

Curfew, strikes in Indian Kashmir after top militant's death

Thousands of Indian police and troops enforced a lockdown Wednesday (2) in parts of Kashmir, fearing violent reprisals a day after a top militant commander and two civilians were killed in clashes in the disputed Himalayan territory.

Residents in the old quarters of Srinagar, the main city in Indian-administered Kashmir, were ordered to stay indoors and obey the curfew as government forces patrolled streets lined with steel barriers and razor wire.


"I was not allowed by soldiers to leave home for work. They are right outside my door," Gulzar Ahmed, a mechanic, said by phone from his house in downtown Srinagar.

Schools and colleges were ordered shut for a second day to try to avert student protests against Indian rule, which frequently erupt into stone-throwing and clashes with troops.

Shops and banks also remained shut after three top Kashmiri separatist leaders called for a strike following the death of Abu Dujana, a senior rebel fighter from the Pakistan-based militant group Lashkar-e-Taiba (LeT).

His death, heralded by Indian forces as "a major achievement", sparked protests and clashes with government forces across the Kashmir Valley during which a young man was killed and scores injured.

A second protester died in hospital Wednesday. His funeral was attended by hundreds of mourners who pelted Indian soldiers with stones and chanted slogans calling for independence, witnesses said.

Dujana's death has dealt one of the biggest blows to Kashmiri separatists since a charismatic young commander, Burhan Wani, was shot dead in July last year.

Wani's killing sparked months of widespread protests against Indian rule and left nearly 100 civilians dead and thousands injured.

Since then protesters - sometimes entire villages - have increasingly taken to the streets, hurling stones at soldiers to help militants evade capture or death.

Kashmir has been divided between India and Pakistan since the end of British colonial rule in 1947. Both claim the Himalayan territory in full.

Militant groups, including LeT, have for decades fought roughly 500,000 Indian soldiers deployed in the territory, demanding independence or  merger with Pakistan.

Tens of thousands, mostly civilians, have died in the fighting.

More For You

Protesters rally against China's planned mega-embassy in London

A protestor is detained by the police during a demonstration against the proposed site of the new Chinese Embassy, outside Royal Mint Court, in London. REUTERS/Carlos Jasso

Protesters rally against China's planned mega-embassy in London

HUNDREDS of demonstrators protested at a site earmarked for Beijing's controversial new embassy in London over human rights and security concerns.

The new embassy -- if approved by the UK government -- would be the "biggest Chinese embassy in Europe", one lawmaker said earlier.

Keep ReadingShow less
Indian man arrested in US for alleged sexual assault

Singh is charged with “assault with sexual motivation” (Photo for representation: iStock)

Indian man arrested in US for alleged sexual assault

AN INDIAN national is among four persons arrested by US immigration authorities over charges related to sexual assault.

Jaspal Singh, 29, an Indian citizen was arrested on January 29 in Tukwila, Washington.

Keep ReadingShow less
Starmer sacks minister over WhatsApp messages

Andrew Gwynne (Photo: UK parliament)

Starmer sacks minister over WhatsApp messages

A Labour party lawmaker said he regretted "badly misjudged" comments after prime minister Keir Starmer sacked him as a minister.

It is the latest bump in the road Starmer's government has hit in its first seven months in power despite a landslide election victory in July last year.

Keep ReadingShow less
modi-bjp-reuters

BJP supporters celebrate in New Delhi. (Photo: Reuters)

Modi's BJP wins Delhi assembly election after 27 years

INDIAN prime minister Narendra Modi said on Saturday that "development had won" as his Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) secured victory in Delhi’s local elections, ending a 27-year gap since it last controlled the capital’s legislature.

"Development has won, good governance has won," Modi said after Delhi’s former chief minister, a key opposition leader, conceded defeat.

Keep ReadingShow less