Residents in Indian-controlled Kashmir clashed with government forces Saturday as they defied a stringent curfew on the anniversary of the killing of a charismatic rebel leader, whose death triggered open defiance against Indian rule. Officials and witnesses said residents in at least four places in Southern Kashmir tried to march on the streets while chanting slogans in favor of rebels and ending Indian rule. Army spokesman Lt. Col. Manish Mehta called it an “unprovoked” violation of the 2003 cease-fire between India and Pakistan. Its topmost leader based in Pakistani-controlled Kashmir, Syed Salahuddin, was recently designated as the “global terrorist” by the US. Anti-India sentiment runs deep among the region’s mostly Muslim population and most people support the rebels despite a decades-long military crackdown.

Source: Egypt Independent July 08, 2017 07:41 UTC