Two Indian soldiers killed days ahead of Kashmir polls

NEW DELHI – A gunfight with suspected militants left two Indian soldiers dead and two others injured in Kashmir,

days before local elections

in the disputed Himalayan region.

Indian-administered Kashmir has seen a rise in clashes between rebels and security forces ahead of the first local assembly polls in the region in a decade.

The Indian army said the firefight took place on Sept 13 in Kishtwar district, paying tribute to the “supreme sacrifice of the bravehearts” in a post on social media platform X.

Muslim-majority Kashmir has been divided between rivals India and Pakistan since their independence from British rule in 1947 and is claimed in full by both countries.

Rebels have fought Indian forces for decades, demanding independence or a merger with Pakistan.

About 500,000 Indian troops are deployed in the region, battling a 35-year insurgency that has killed tens of thousands of civilians, soldiers and rebels since 1989.

The territory has been without an elected local government since 2019, when its partial autonomy was cancelled by Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s government.

A total of 8.7 million people will be eligible to vote for the region’s assembly when the election begins on Sept 18, with results expected in October.

Ahead of the vote, Mr Modi is expected to address rallies for his Hindu-nationalist Bharatiya Janata Party in the southern Jammu portion of the territory, which has a sizeable Hindu population.

In the past two years, more than 50 soldiers have been killed in clashes, mostly in Jammu.

India accuses Pakistan of backing the region’s militants and cross-border attacks inside its territory, claims that Islamabad denies.

The nuclear-armed neighbours have fought in several conflicts for control of the region since 1947. AFP