September 29
“We have been living in fear since an Army camp was established here, Will anyone hear our plight? Our lives are intimidated by the presence of an Army establishment in the midst of our village,” Ghulam Mohammed Kumar, a Redwani resident told The Kashmiriyat.
The Government Forces late night on last Saturday, moved into this South Kashmir locality and in the morning, a New Army camp had come up in a Panchayat Ghar besides the Martyrs’ Graveyard where at least 50 Anti India Militants are laid to rest.
The move has drawn flak from the locals who demand that the camp be removed immediately. “We were shocked to see soldiers erecting pickets, tents and marking the boundary with concertina wires,” said a local resident of Redwani Bala adding that, Gunfights and attacks have become a routine now, so the camp can create problems for us.
Late night on Tuesday after minor clashes, the Forces barged into the houses of Locals and vandalized property, threatened locals of dire consequences if they confront the Army, a Local from Khudwani alleged.
“There is barely any of us sleeping at home, we live in open fields or in some large halls such as mosques, because they have the address of us all, we are avoiding to be arrested and then tortured,” Adil, a Redwani Bala resident told The Kashmiriyat.
He said the forces start hurling abuses before they enter the households, they create an environment of fear and chaos, so as to threaten the locals.
Again on Wednesday, some youth threw stones on the vehicles of Government Forces who were passing through the area, after which the Army men stopped their vehicles and barged inside homes, vandalizing everything that met their eye.
Late evening on Friday, the Forces again went berserk and start thrashing locals and barged into many households, threatening the women and old.
“One of the Army man shouted at me, ‘Have you forgotten Hawoora’,we will repeat it, if you do not kneel,” Aqib Ahmed, a Redwani resident told The Kashmiriyat.
On 07 July this year, the Army fired at civilians in the Hawoora Village of Kulgam and shot dead three Civilians including a 13 year olf girl, Andleed jan.
On Saturday announcements reverberated throughout the area including in the nearby areas of Hawoora, Khudwani, Nowpora asking people to come out on the streets peacefully to demand the removal of the Army camp.
However the Police arrived on the spot and fired tear smoke shells on the protesters, locals said, which resulted in intense clashes which were going on till this report was filed.
The decision on redeployment has been taken after intelligence reports said South Kashmir had turned into a militant hub, an official told The Kashmiriyat.
“The officials said the army camps had been set up to help locals who were “possibly intimidated” by the militants,” he added.
As Militancy has shown a sign of drastic rise in the present year, the Indian Security agencies have showed visible concerns to stop the same. The Army and the Police has constantly asking the Militants to shun the ‘path of violence’ and return home and join the ‘mainstream.’
The calls have however shown no response on the ground as more than 140 cases of local youth taking up arms mostly in south Kashmir have been reported in 2018 so far, the year has also seen surge in Policemen killings and the abduction of SPOs of Jammu Kashmir Police.
Since 2016 July, post the killing of Burhani wani, many camps have been set up and re established in many residential areas of South Kashmir, which include one in Pahnoo, followed by another at Nagisharan, Breenti, Khudwani, Mahmoodpora, Chillipora and Zainpora areas of South Kashmir.