As Modi cuts it loose, Kashmir is about to get even worse. Yes, that’s possible

Now that a Ramadan ceasefire has ended in the trouble-torn region, a bloody government crackdown looms with an eye on elections

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An Indian paramilitary trooper stands on alert in Srinagar. Photo: AFP

Published: 7:30pm, 22 Jun 2018Updated: 8:49pm, 22 Jun 2018

India’s insurgency-ridden Jammu and Kashmir province is tipped to enter one of its most violent phases as Prime Minister Narendra Modi has pulled his Hindu nationalist Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) out of a local coalition government to prepare the ground for a crackdown ahead of the next general election in 2019.

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BJP cites rising terrorism, Islamist radicalisation and growing threats to life and free speech as its reasons to withdraw from the coalition with the People’s Democratic Party (PDP). The decision took even PDP leader and Chief Minister Mehbooba Mufti off guard, as it was a sudden shift from the national party’s earlier stand that Modi’s prudent policies had weakened anti-India forces in Kashmir. The Muslim-majority region, together with Hindu-majority Jammu, constitutes the Jammu and Kashmir province. Kashmir has for decades been in the throes of popular protests for autonomy that New Delhi says are aided by neighbouring Pakistan.

Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s political party has withdrawn support out of a coalition in Jammu and Kashmir. Photo: AFP

Amid rising street protests, Modi’s BJP-led federal government in New Delhi announced a unilateral Ramadan ceasefire but refused to extend it, against the wishes of the PDP. The ceasefire was called off two days after the assassination of a senior editor and peace activist Shujaat Bukhari. The state’s top police officer told leading television channel NDTV that anti-terror operations put on hold during the ceasefire were being scaled up. Elite commandos have also reportedly been flown in as New Delhi prepares for, what English-language newspaper The Telegraph terms “Mission Krushmir”.

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On Friday morning, a gunfight erupted between militants and government forces in south Kashmir’s Srigufara area in which four militants, one civilian and a police officer were killed. Separately, clashes broke out between protesters and government forces. At least 30 civilians were injured, including five with bullet wounds.

The government suspended internet services in parts of Kashmir Valley as more reports of protests are pouring in from different parts of Kashmir, coinciding with Friday prayers.