India on alert for communal strife after Kashmir attack

The Indian government is on alert following a recent deadly attack on Indian forces in Kashmir that has triggered a wave of communal violence against Kashmiris residing in different parts of India.

India’s Interior Ministry on Sunday ordered increased safety measures for Kashmiri civilians following reports of mob attacks on them in various parts of the South Asian country.

The ministry issued an advisory to all states to “ensure their (the Kashmiris’) safety and security and maintain communal harmony.”

A car bomb attack on a military convoy of Indian forces in Indian-administered Kashmir killed at least 44 of them on Thursday. The attack was claimed by a Pakistan-based militant group and was the worst in decades of militancy in the disputed valley, which is claimed in full by both India and Pakistan but ruled partially by each.

PressTV-Car bomb kills dozens of Indian troops in Kashmir

At least 44 people have been killed and several others wounded after a car filled with explosives rammed into an Indian military convoy in Kashmir.

The bombing has caused widespread anger across India, with some demonstrations and TV news channels demanding military action against Pakistan.

India’s Prime Minister Narendra Modi has vowed a strong response to the attack.

PressTV-India vows 'heavy price', calls Pakistani envoy after attack

India summons Islamabad's ambassador over a deadly bombing in Kashmir after a Pakistani militant group claimed responsibility.

Following that incident, a man believed to be a Kashmiri was beaten by a crowd in New Delhi that accused him of chanting anti-India slogans. Some Kashmiri students were also assaulted by members of right-wing Hindu groups in the northern state of Uttarakhand. 

Kashmiri students in Uttarakhand’s capital of Dehradun said they also had been asked to vacate their rooms immediately.

Other incidents of violence or discrimination against Kashmiris have been reported in India as well.

Authorities say about a dozen people have been detained for making “derogatory” statements about the attack on social media.

A round-the-clock curfew remained in place in Jammu City, the Hindu-majority region of Kashmir, after mobs torched properties belonging to Kashmiri Muslims. Police has urged residents to contact their hotline for “speedy assistance in case they face any difficulties/harassment.”

A shutdown was also observed in the main city Srinagar. Internet services were cut across the state.

Mehbooba Mufti, a former chief minister of Kashmir, in a Twitter post appealed to the New Deli government to ensure the security of Kashmiris across India.

“Understand the pain and anguish,” she said. “But we must not allow such mischievous elements to use this as an excuse to persecute/harass people from J&K (Jammu and Kashmir). Why should they suffer for somebody else’s action?”

But authorities have not been exactly responsive.

India withdraws police protection for Kashmir leaders

Indian authorities withdrew police protection for five independence-seeking leaders in Kashmir on Sunday. 

Home Affairs Ministry spokesman A. Bharat Bhushan Babu said that police protection had been withdrawn for Muslim cleric Mirwaiz Umar Farooq and four other leaders, adding, “We have decided to withdraw the security of separatist leaders in the wake of the attack on security forces.” 

Babu said the decision followed a call by the government for a review of security for those “taking money from Pakistan.”

A spokesman for independence-seeking leaders, however, dismissed the significance of the government’s decision. “It has no bearing, neither can it change the reality of the lingering Kashmir dispute or the situation on the ground,” he said.

Pakistan is widely accused of arming and training militants.

On Wednesday, an explosives-laden car rammed into a bus carrying Iranian security personnel in Sistan-and-Baluchestan Province — which borders Pakistan — killing 27 of them and wounding 13 others. The so-called Jaish ul-Adl terrorist group, which is linked to al-Qaeda, claimed responsibility for the assault.

Various civilian and military Iranian officials have in the wake of the Wednesday terrorist attack used unprecedented rhetoric against the government in Islamabad for harboring terrorists, who routinely stage attacks against Iran from inside Pakistan and then retreat into Pakistani territory.

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