Tension in One of Asia\u2019s Flashpoints<\/p>\n
Heavy-handed crackdown in Kashmir following cop\u2019s killing<\/p>\n
By: Majid Maqbool<\/p>\n
The killing of a police constable in the Kashmir Valley city of\nAnantnag, allegedly by Islamists militants, has triggered one of the\nlargest security crackdowns since India officially revoked the special\nstatus of the region in 2019, arresting more than 2,500 and triggering\nconcern over \u201ccollective punishment\u201d amid heightened vulnerability for\nthe ongoing Amarnath Yatra pilgrimage.<\/p>\n
The Resistance Front (TRF), a proxy of Lashkar-e-Taiba, claimed the\nattack, marking the first major insurgent strike in the Kashmir Valley\nsince the 2025 Pahalgam attack which killed 26 people, mostly tourists.\nIt is the latest of a decades-long string of provocations in Kashmir,\none of the world\u2019s premier tourism sites, which has been a source of\ntension since the end of British colonial rule, with both majority Hindu\nIndia and Muslim Pakistan claiming the region is their own. It has\nevolved into a multifaceted crisis involving nationalism, religious\nidentity and military conflict.<\/p>\n
Soon after the killing of head constable Ashiq Hussain Qureshi (45)\nof the Jammu & Kashmir Police, who was shot dead at Lal Chowk in\nsouth Kashmir\u2019s Anantnag district on July 22 while on security duty, the\nfamily homes of two Lashkar\u2011e\u2011Taiba militants were razed with controlled\nexplosives within 48 hours. The demolitions targeted houses of Adil\nAhmad Thokar and Haroon Rashid Ganaie, both active militants since 2018,\nalthough their family homes had already suffered previous\ndemolitions.<\/p>\n
According to police officials, the arrested included suspected\nabove-ground associates of militants, members of banned separatist\norganizations, former stone-throwing protestors and those whose names\nhave figured in investigations and militancy-related cases in the past.\nThe arrests are meant to \u201cdismantle ecosystem supporting terrorism,\u201d\npolice said, and carried out on \u201ccredible intelligence.\u201d<\/p>\n
Lieutenant Governor (LG) Manoj Sinha, while strongly condemning the\nkilling, said that the \u201cheinous act will not go unpunished. J&K\nPolice and our security forces are on the ground and will bring those\nresponsible to justice.\u201d The current Chief Minister Omar Abdullah of the\nformer state also condemned the attack but flagged concern over mass\narrests following the attack.<\/p>\n
\u201cPeople are angry that a police head constable has been killed so\nbrutally. But when the number of arrests rises from hundreds to 2,000 or\n2,500, that public anger risks being redirected against us,\u201d the chief\nminister said during a press interaction in Srinagar. \u201cSo, demolishing\nhouses or making thousands of arrests will not help improve the\nsituation.\u201d<\/p>\n
Kashmir-based politicians from different regional parties, while\ncondemning the attack, also expressed concern over mass crackdowns and\narrests following the attack. Former chief minister and President of\nPeople\u2019s Democratic Party Mehbooba Mufti and J&K Peoples Conference\nPresident and MLA Sajad Lone denounced the mass arrests as measures that\n\u201clook more like community punishment.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cAs the country welcomes the government of India\u2019s decision to\nwithdraw cases against student protesters elsewhere, one question\nremains: why is the same compassion denied to Kashmir\u2019s youth?\u201d asked\nanother PDP MLA Waheed Parra.<\/p>\n
A political analyst and scholar of Kashmir studies, who wished to\nremain anonymous, said these actions may deliver short-term security\ngains but ultimately weaken the prospects for lasting peace by\nreinforcing resentment instead of addressing the conflict\u2019s underlying\npolitical realities.<\/p>\n
\u201cThe mass detentions following the killing of a policeman and the\ndemolition of houses in South Kashmir reflect a continuing reliance on\ncoercive state practices that have long shaped governance in Kashmir,\u201d\nthe analyst told Asia Sentinel, adding that punishing families and\ncommunities for the alleged actions of individuals raises serious\nconstitutional, legal, and human rights concerns. \u201cIn a region already\nburdened by decades of conflict, such measures are widely seen as\ncollective punishment, deepening mistrust and political alienation\nrather than restoring confidence.\u201d<\/p>\n
Praveen Donthi, Senior Analyst at International Crisis Group, who has\nreported extensively from the Kashmir region in previous years, told\nAsia Sentinel that New Delhi\u2019s iron-hand security approach to Jammu and\nKashmir has created \u201ca superficial calm, allowing it to claim a return\nof peace and stability to the region.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cYet even a single militant attack undermines the narrative,\ntriggering panic among security forces, who then resort to\ndisproportionate responses,\u201d said Donthi. \u201cSuch intimidating security\ntactics, intended to instill fear, don\u2019t counter militancy but end up\nfueling it. The Pahalgam attack and the Delhi blast prove that the\nsecurity policy hasn\u2019t yielded dividends after seven years.\u201d<\/p>\n
Ultimately, the state\u2019s reliance on coercive, heavy-handed tactics,\nincluding mass detentions and home demolitions after every other\nmilitant attack, can be counterproductive. While security operations can\noffer short-term security control, treating the entire population as\nsuspects, going for mass arrests and punitive house demolitions, can\nfuel deeper alienation on the ground, experts and analysts warn.\nDisproportionate responses to singular militant attacks, the analysts\nargue, run the risk of further reinforcing public resentment, raising\nconcerns about violating human rights and shattering prospects of\nlasting peace in the region.<\/p>", "url": "https:\/\/jawawa.id\/newsitem\/tension-in-one-of-asias-flashpoints-1785462644", "image": "" }, "sponsor": "Okusi Associates", "sponsor_url": "https:\/\/okusiassociates.com" }