Indian police and security forces arrested 13 Kashmiri youths on Saturday during raids in Pulwama and Islamabad districts, Radio Pakistan reported.
The police conducted raids in different areas including Midoora, Laribal, Kakapora and Marhama. The arrests were made in connection with Thursday’s explosion at Lethpora in Pulwama that left 44 Indian soldiers dead.
Pakistan has strongly condemned the continuing crackdown on Kashmiris in the aftermath of the Pulwama attack in the occupied valley. Foreign Office Spokesman Dr Faisal tweeted on Saturday. He said India must not use the Pulwama attack as a carte blanche to intensify its atrocities against the innocent Kashmiris in Indian-held Kashmir. Meanwhile, mobile internet services remained suspended in most parts of Kashmir on Saturday while the network speed was throttled in other parts as a precautionary measure to maintain law and order, officials said. Mobile internet was suspended in south Kashmir’s four districts of Anantnag, Kulgam, Shopian and Pulwama and central Kashmir’s Srinagar and Budgam districts. The curfew in Jammu city continued for the second day on Saturday and army staged flag marches in sensitive localities. The University of Jammu postponed all examinations scheduled for the day. “The curfew is being implemented strictly and there is no report of any untoward incident from anywhere,” Deputy Inspector General of Police Jammu Vivek Gupta said. At least 44 Indian paramilitary soldiers were killed on Thursday in Pulwama district when an improvised explosive device (IED) went off as a convoy of military vehicles drove by, some 20 kilometres from the main city of Srinagar.
Published in Daily Times, February 17th 2019.
