India Deploys Extra Troops in Kashmir, Raising Security Concerns
Reinforcements were summoned after intelligence agencies received information about possible rise in militant violence.
(Bloomberg) -- India said it has deployed additional troops in Kashmir following increased security tensions along the border it shares with Pakistan.
Reinforcements were summoned after intelligence agencies received information about possible rise in militant violence in the state, Dilbag Singh, the state’s Director General of Police, told reporters Friday without giving details of how many extra soldiers have been called up. An Indian home ministry official separately told reporters Aug. 1 that about 10,000 troops have been moved.
The deployment comes as thousands of devotees are on an annual pilgrimage to the Amarnath cave in the state that houses a shrine to the Hindu god Shiva. The Jammu and Kashmir Government on Friday advised both pilgrims and tourists to "curtail their stay in the valley immediately and take necessary measures to return as soon as possible" given the "terror threats."
‘Fear and Foreboding’
Former chief minister Omar Abdullah said in a tweet that while the "unprecedented order would seem to suggest a genuine fear of a massive terror strike" it would "do nothing to dampen the sense of fear and foreboding that prevails in the valley at the moment."
Reports of an influx of troops into Kashmir -- where local elections are due -- has raised concerns about whether Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s government is preparing to change laws that give the state a special constitutional status.
Earlier this week India rebuffed U.S. President Donald Trump’s offer to mediate between the south Asian nation and Pakistan, which have long-running tensions centering on Kashmir, an area in the Himalayas claimed in full -- and ruled in part -- by both.
Kashmir was in focus earlier this year when the nuclear-armed neighbors clashed following a terrorist attack that killed at least 40 Indian troops.
--With assistance from Bibhudatta Pradhan.
To contact the reporters on this story: Archana Chaudhary in New Delhi at achaudhary2@bloomberg.net;N. C. Bipindra in New Delhi at nbipindra@bloomberg.net
To contact the editors responsible for this story: Ruth Pollard at rpollard2@bloomberg.net, Karthikeyan Sundaram
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