SRINAGAR, India (AP) 鈥 Three Indian soldiers were killed in a gun battle with rebels fighting against New Delhi鈥檚 rule in Kashmir, officials said Saturday, as authorities stepped up security on the fourth anniversary since India revoked the disputed region鈥檚 special status.
The battle broke out after soldiers acting on 鈥渟pecific inputs鈥 about the presence of militants launched a search operation in the forests of the southern Kulgam area late Friday, an Indian military handout said. It said three soldiers were injured in the exchange of gunfire with rebels, and they later died.
The search operation continued in the area, the military said, but did not give any other details.
India and Pakistan each claim the divided territory of Kashmir in its entirety.
Rebels in the Indian-controlled portion of Kashmir have been fighting New Delhi鈥檚 rule since 1989. Most Muslim Kashmiris support the rebel goal of uniting the territory, either under Pakistani rule or as an independent country.
The fighting coincides with the anniversary of India鈥檚 2019 decision to strip the region鈥檚 statehood, its separate constitution and inherited protections on land and jobs 鈥 a change that deepened political chaos in the Himalayan territory.
Police detained many politicians and activists and kept some under house arrest to stop them from protesting. The Indian government鈥檚 decision has since been accompanied by a slew of new legislation including a that made it possible for Indian nationals to become permanent residents of the region.
The changes were brought by Prime Minister Narendra Modi鈥檚 government on Aug. 5, 2019, and the move , where his administration was cheered by supporters for fulfilling a long-held Hindu nationalist pledge to correct 鈥渁 historical blunder.鈥
Modi鈥檚 government maintains that the region has prospered with greater developmental work and that militancy was largely wiped out after the decision.
Mehbooba Mufti, the region鈥檚 former top elected official, posted on the X platform, formerly known as Twitter, that authorities put her and other party leaders under house arrest.
She said the Indian government鈥檚 鈥渇alse claims about normalcy鈥 were exposed, and the official actions were 鈥渄riven by paranoia.鈥
鈥淥n one hand, giant hoardings calling upon Kashmiris to 鈥榗elebrate鈥 the illegal abrogation of Article 370 have been put up across Srinagar,鈥 Mufti said, referring to the clause in India鈥檚 constitution that granted Kashmir its special status. 鈥淲hereas brute force is being used to choke the actual sentiment of the people.鈥
to scrap the disputed region鈥檚 semi-autonomy, accompanied by an unprecedented security clampdown and a complete communication blackout, divided the region into two federal territories: Ladakh and Jammu-Kashmir, both ruled directly by the federal government without a legislature of their own and run by bureaucrats and a security setup with no democratic credentials.
As a result of the move, India鈥檚 only Muslim-majority region lost its flag, criminal code and constitution.
Meanwhile, Mirwaiz Umar Farooq, a top Kashmiri leader who challenges India's sovereignty over the region, completed four years of detention at his home in Srinagar. He criticized the authorities for curbing civil liberties.
鈥淔raming and executing laws that disempower local people, engineering demographic change, gagging media and seizing resources, all as a means of establishing peace and an approach to problem-solving is the way of the current dispensation,鈥 said Farooq who heads the region's main separatist grouping the All Parties Hurriyat Conference.
鈥淲hat is to be seen is how long this approach is followed and implemented,鈥 he added.
