Hurriyat leaders among dozens held in IHK

HELD SRINAGAR: Indian authorities arrested dozens of Muslim leaders including Hurriyat leadership, in raids across Kashmir and sent thousands of reinforcements to the troubled territory on Saturday.

As international concern grows over India-Pakistan sabre-rattling, residents of Kashmir, at the centre of a decades-old struggle between the nuclear-armed neighbours, reported heightened military activity.

The region has been on edge since the February 14 attack on an Indian convoy, which killed 40 soldiers and was claimed by Islamist group Jaish-e-Mohammed (JeM). About 10,000 paramilitaries started arriving in Kashmir on Saturday, a day after India ordered the reinforcements. Among those taken into custody in the crackdown in Kashmir were senior figures in Jamaat-e-Islami, the region’s biggest religious organisation, and the Hurriyat Conference, a coalition of local political parties. Jamaat and Hurriyat Conference both strongly support Muslim Kashmir’s right to choose whether it wants to be part of India or Pakistan.

"Police and other agencies launched a mass arrest drive and raided many houses in the valley with dozens of... central and district-level leaders arrested," Jamaat said in a statement, adding those detained included central leader Abdul Hamid Fayaz.

Police linked the arrests to security preparations for upcoming elections in India and a Supreme Court hearing on Monday on a challenge to a constitutional provision that gives the Kashmiris special rights to property and jobs in the territory. But the arrests drew widespread criticism from Kashmir political leaders. "Fail to understand such an arbitrary move which will only precipitate matters," Mehbooba Mufti, a pro-India former chief minister said on Twitter. "You can imprison a person but not his ideas." "Such illegal and coercive measures against Kashmiris are futile and will not change realities on ground," wrote Mirwaiz Umar Farooq, an influential separatist leader, on Twitter. The crackdown also resulted in the arrest of the Jammu Kashmir Liberation Front Chief Yaseen Malik.

Businesses across Kashmir were shut on Saturday, some in protest at the arrests and with others fearing conflict between India and Pakistan. Authorities did not comment on the reported fighter aircraft and helicopters flying over the territory. The showdown has sparked international concern with US President Donald Trump calling it "very dangerous". "We would like to see it stop," he added in comments at the White House on Friday.