Tensions Spark in the Disputed Territory of Kashmir

In July of 2016 Indian forces killed a Kashmiri rebel named Burhan Wani, which created a domino effect of violent protests that injured over 120 people (The Hindu, 2017). The disputed territory is either Indian or Pakistani territory depending who you ask, and Indian forces have begun cracking down on resistance in the area in order to secure the land. What has followed is intense unrest. In the same month as the death of Burhan Wani, the Indian government seized newspaper prints in order to enforce an information blackout and sent in 2,000 extra troops (The Hindu, 2017). Relations between India and Pakistan became hostile. When Kashmiri rebels raided an Indian military base, killing 18 soldiers, India responded with “surgical strikes” (Al-Jazeera, 2017).

More recently Indian instated a social media ban on civilians in the region that has drawn scrutiny by many, including two United Nations officials. They issued a statement against it, claiming the ban impacted, “the fundamental rights of everyone in Kashmir,” that maintained, “the character of a collective punishment.” The month-long ban restricts citizens from 22 social media sites in response to Kashmiri rebels using them to back their movement (USA Today, 2017).

“[The ban] is to control the political space. The government is trying to control things in a military way which is not going to help,” said Political Analyst Gull Mohammed Wani. “The government is claiming it has taken this step to calm the situation down. In the absence of social media, rumors can be more dangerous, as we have seen in the past.” (Al-Jazeera, 2017)

In May 2017, Pakistan and India began exchanging fire despite their ceasefire agreement. The two countries have both blamed each other for provoking the exchange that led to two deaths on either side (Al-Jazeera, 2017). The bitter disagreement over the two territories of Jammu and Kashmir has been going on for decades now, and insurgencies in the area have been frequent. Unrest has been growing steadily until this point, and the two nuclear powers are both determined to gain control of the area.