Jammu and Kashmir has been boiling for the past few days with violence claiming 32 lives including that of a policeman. Officials said the agitation spread to north Kashmir from centre Tral, in south. Pro-Pakistan and anti-Indian slogans were chanted from loudspeakers of almost all the mosques across the region. People, especially the youth, were openly incited to fight against the security forces in an appeal to join "jihad against India".
The clashes followed the killing of 22 year old Hizbul Mujahideen commander Burhan Wani, in an encounter three days ago. Consequences included an angry mob pushing a police vehicle into the Jhelum, drowning its driver Afroz Ahmed, militants firing at police constable Abdul Gani, and four CRPF jawans narrowly escaping a grenade attack. Most of the incidents occurred in Pulwama and Qazigund areas, were despite curfew, constant clashes were reported between security forces and protesters. More than 350 persons, including over 115 security force personnel, have been injured in clashes and militant attacks in the current cycle of violence.
Kashmir's largest rebel group Hizbul Mujahideen has been fighting against Indian rule since the 1990s, in the disputed region. Wani's encounter took place in Bumdoora village of Kokernag, after a joint team of police and the Army launched a search operation on the basis of specific intelligence inputs regarding the presence of militants. The dead militant often tweeted propaganda material, mostly graphic pictures of violence in Kashmir. He would also post anti-India and anti-Modi content. The youth had joined HM when he was just 15 after Army soldiers reportedly assaulted his brother in 2010. Over the years, Wani gained a cult following on social media.
Striking the iron while its hot, neighbouring country Pakistan used the unrest to its benefit, calling the encounter as an "extra-judicial killing". In a statement released by the Pakistan foreign office, it said, "The extra-judicial killing of Kashmiri leader Burhan Wani and scores of other innocent Kashmiris is deplorable and condemnable. Such acts are a violation of fundamental human rights of Kashmiris and cannot deter the people of J&K from their demand for realisation of the right to self-determination." However, New Delhi refused to click on the bait and has refrained from responding to the statement.
Back from his 4-nation visit to Africa, Prime Minister Narendra Modi immediately chaired a high-level meeting of top officials to review the situation. Home minister Rajnath Singh, finance minister Arun Jaitley, foreign minister Sushma Swaraj, defence minister Manohar Parrikar, NSA Ajit Doval, and foreign secretary S Jaishankar were amongst present.
