Srinagar (TDI): Forces in Indian Illegally Occupied Jammu and Kashmir have arrested more than 2,000 Kashmiris and demolished several homes in a massive crackdown following the Pahalgam incident.
The arrests were carried out across multiple districts, including Bandipora, Kupwara, Baramulla, Budgam, Srinagar, Ganderbal, Islamabad, Pulwama, Shopian, and Kulgam.
In the Islamabad district of IIOJK alone, cordon-and-search operations and house raids resulted in the arrest of more than 175 people. The detainees have been shifted to police stations and military camps.
A police spokesperson stated that 175 Kashmiris had been arrested during the operations across different areas of the district, adding that more checkpoints had been set up and patrolling had been intensified, especially in densely forested regions.
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Following the April 22 attack in Pahalgam, Indian forces and paramilitary troops escalated operations across the occupied territory, carrying out sweeping house raids and arbitrary arrests.
Indian troops have also iniated a campaign of demolishing the homes of pro-freedom Kashmiris. Since Saturday, the ancestral homes of 7 Kashmiris have been demolished using explosives by Indian troops.
On the other side, the houses of 5 more Kashmiris were razed in what critics described as ‘collective punishment’.
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The destroyed houses belonged to the families of Amir Nazeer Wani, Adnan Safi Dar, Amir Ahmed, Jameel Ahmad Sher Gojri and Farooq Ahmad Tedwa.
High-intensity explosives caused extensive damage to surrounding houses, leaving dozens of families homeless and in distress.
Farkhund Yousafzai is an Associate Editor at The Diplomatic Insight.
