SRINAGAR: Police arrested at least 200 activists seeking the end of Indian occupation in held Kashmir and sent thousands of reinforcements to the disputed region, officials said on Saturday.

According to sources, about 10,000 Indian paramilitary personnel have started arriving in the region.

The crackdown comes amid tensions between India and Pakistan following the Feb 14 suicide car bombing of a paramilitary convoy by a local Kashmiri. Over 40 personnel died in the attack.

Police said on Saturday they went to neighbourhoods overnight and rounded up top leaders and activists of mainly Jamaat-i-Islami, a political-religious group that espouses the right to self-determination for India-held Kashmir.

Among those arrested were Jamaat-i-Islami head Abdul Hamid Fayaz and Mohammad Yasin Malik, an influential pro-independence leader who heads the Jammu-Kashmir Liberation Front.

Mohammad Yasin Malik of JKLF among those detained

Malik was picked up from his home in Srinagar, where most shops and businesses closed in protest against the crackdown.

Police officially gave no reason for the arrests.

However, a police official said on condition of anonymity the arrests of local leaders and deployment of additional troops to the disputed region were aimed at stopping protests against the upcoming elections across India.

“The arrival of more troops and the arrests of leaders and activists of ‘separatist’ groups is part of an election exercise undertaken to ensure free and fair elections,” he said.

“Anti-election campaigns will not be allowed and ‘separatists’ will be detained to ensure free, fair and transparent elections in the state,” he added.

Through the night, Indian fighter aircraft and military helicopters hovered above the disputed region. Indian military officials offered no comment about it.

Residents fear the crackdown could be a prelude to a military strike by India against Pakistan or the tinkering of held Kashmir’s special status in India’s constitution. India’s Supreme Court has yet to give its verdict on a petition against the special provision that it has been hearing for more than a year.

A spokesman for Jamaat-i-Islami said the arrests of its members were a “well designed ploy”, ahead of a court ruling on the issue.

The arrests drew widespread criticism from Kashmiri leaders.

“Fail to understand such an arbitrary move which will only precipitate matters,” Mehbooba Mufti, a former chief minister of the Jammu and Kashmir state, 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 on Twitter.

Published in Dawn, February 24th, 2019