Why Kashmir local police have become the new targets of rebels | Asia

Shopian, Indian Administered Cashmere – The killing of three other local police officers in Indian-administered Kashmir has highlighted growing tensions between rebels and police.

At least 37 police have been killed by rebels so far this year, according to official figures, compared to 32 in 2017.

Relatives of Nisar Ahmad Dhobi, 38, Firdous Ahmad Kuchay, 28, and Kulwant Singh, 35, said they were abducted from their homes and shot in the early hours of Friday by suspected members of two armed groups. in the villages of Kapran and Batgund, in the Shopian region of southern Kashmir.

A police statement promised a more thorough investigation into Friday's killings, but accused "the complicity" of Hizbul Mujahideen, the largest rebel group,

The bodies of police officers, who had worked in various districts of Kashmir but were visiting family in Shopian, were found in an orchard.

The brother of a police officer, who was also kidnapped, was released, villagers from Kapran told Al Jazeera.

Ruksana Akhtar, Dhobi's wife, said, "I resisted and told the gunmen to spare my husband, but they did not listen." I said it would come back in 10 minutes.In 10 minutes, I heard gunshots. "

Singh's mother, 70-year-old Pushpa Devi, said her son should have had the opportunity to resign, citing an ultimatum of "resignation or death" from Hizbul Mujahideen, who had warned Kashmiri police officers a few days earlier. d & # 39; insurrection.

Jammu and Kashmir state police chief, SP Pani, described the killings as "barbarians", adding that they showed "desperation on the part of the militants, not a flaw in our system".

At a time when Kashmir is one of its most violent phases, the rebels are increasingly targeting police officers whom they accuse of "collaborating" with the occupying forces of India.

Recently, police were asked to take extra security measures when visiting their homes, where they were told not to spend more than two hours each time.

The focus on the police comes as police hold prominent rebel relatives.

The role of the police is to deal mainly with public order. Unfortunately, they are driven to fight against militancy. The government has a Kashmir fight another Kashmir.

Shiekh Abdul Rasheed, independent legislator of the Jammu and Kashmir Assembly

On Wednesday, an audio message was broadcast on social media in which Hezbul Mujahideen commander Riyaz Naikoo, whose father, aged 70, was arrested by police, demanded the departure of local agents.

"You have forced us to kidnap your loved ones to make you feel what we feel when the police harass our families," Naikoo said.

Shortly after Friday's events, reports said several policemen had announced their resignation in video messages posted on social networks, but the Indian Ministry of Internal Affairs had denied their resignation, calling the information "propaganda of "Malicious elements".

In August, Kashmiri rebels abducted 11 family members of police after police arrested prominent fighters and burned the homes of two rebel leaders.

Relatives of the police were released after a day, but Hizbul Mujahideen warned "an eye for an eye" if government forces did not stop harassing rebel families.

"The families of the militants should not be affected, either by the army or by local policemen, it also puts our families at risk," a senior police official told Al Jazeera. # 39; anonymity.

How did the police change?

The police in Jammu and Kashmir have been transformed over the past 30 years.

In the 1990s, when the rebellion against Indian rule was at its peak, the local police did not participate in counter-insurgency operations, which were managed by a separate force, the Special Operations Group (SOG). The team included police officers who volunteered to fight the rebels, as well as former rebels who became counter-insurgents.

In the early 2000s, the SOG was disbanded and its staff restructured within the police to give the counter-insurgency a more local face.

"The role of the police is first to deal with law and order, but unfortunately they are driven to fight the activism that has confronted the activists.

"The government is asking a Kashmir to fight another Kashmir," Shiekh Abdul Rasheed, an independent legislator of the Jammu and Kashmir assembly, told Al Jazeera.

According to the records, more than 1,500 policemen have been killed in Kashmir since the beginning of the armed rebellion in 1989.

"My son worked with the police, because we are a poor family of 12. Only he had a permanent job.He had been warned, we would have asked him to resign," Malla said. Begum, 70 years old. Police officer Muhammad Yaqoob Shah was killed in front of his home on August 22.

The same day, Fayaz Ahmad, a trainee police officer in Kulgam, and Ashraf Dar, a police officer in Pulwama, were also killed.

For the police, the situation is different. They are from the same company. I think it will be terrible in the next few months. I see no solution as long as a political resolution is not taken.

Rahul Bedi, defense and security expert in New Delhi

Ajai Sahni, executive director of the Institute for Conflict Management in New Delhi, says local police are vulnerable.

"It happened in Assam, in Punjab and in other states, and a counter-insurgency operation succeeds thanks to its police, which is its face," he told Al Jazeera. .

The top police official who spoke to Al Jazeera said anonymously that his colleagues in Kashmir were "terrified" to visit their villages, but the Indian army was not so scared and was much less in danger .

"An army officer comes from outside Kashmir, we live in constant fear, worried about our families and ourselves, and most police officers do not even come [their] houses, "said the officer.

The Armed Forces Special Powers Act (AFSPA) provides for immunity against the Indian Army in Kashmir and other conflict areas in India from prosecution for allegations of torture, rape or extrajudicial killings.

India and Pakistan, which manage separate parts of Kashmir, waged three wars in the region.

India has stationed nearly 700,000 soldiers in the areas that it administers, making it the most militarized conflict zone in the world.

Kashmiri rebels demand the release of Indian control or a merger with Pakistan.

From 2017 to today, as part of the largest initiatives against the insurgency in Kashmir, a record 350 rebels have been killed.

According to official figures, the number of active armed rebels in Kashmir has surpassed 300 this year, the highest in a decade.

"Young men are forced to take up arms because of ongoing injustice and oppression," said Nazir Ahmad, a Shopian resident.

Shortly after the three policemen were killed on Friday, Mehbooba Mufti, former chief minister of Jammu and Kashmir, wrote on Twitter: "The only way forward seems to be a distant dream for now."

Experts warn that the situation in Kashmir will only worsen in the absence of political awareness, that the ruling party in India, the Bharatiya Janata Party, has replaced with a "muscular" approach to the uprising.

Rahul Bedi, a defense and security expert in New Delhi, told Al Jazeera that relations between the militants and the police would continue.

"The army of the region is isolated.They have AFSPA and equipment, but for the police, the situation is different.They are from the same company.I think it will be terrible in the next I do not see any solution until a political resolution is taken, "he said.