India’s government detained at least 75 Kashmiri political leaders and activists to forestall political unrest after an alliance of Kashmir’s regional political parties won a local election, leaders and a police official said on Saturday.
The District Council election, concluded early this week, was the first such exercise since Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s government last year revoked the special status of the Muslim-majority, Indian-administered region. New Delhi then cracked down on the opposition and rounded up hundreds of people to preempt protests and violence.
The new detentions, including separatist leaders and members of the banned Jamat-e-Islami group, were for preventive custody, said a senior police official, who asked not to be identified in line with official policy.
India and Pakistan have claimed all of the Kashmir region since the partition of British-ruled India into Muslim Pakistan and Hindu-majority India in 1947. Two of the three wars they have fought have been over the Himalayan region.
The detentions undermine the verdict of the people, said Imran Nabi Dar, spokesman for the National Conference, a regional party and a key member of the alliance.
The alliance’s victory shows that Kashmiris have not accepted Modi’s decision to end Kashmir’s special status, said Omar Abdullah, a former chief minister and head of the National Conference.
After their release from lengthy detention, Abdullah and Mehbooba Mufti, chief of the Jammu and Kashmir People’s Democratic Party, announced the alliance in October to seek a peaceful restoration of Kashmir’s autonomy.
India detains 75 in Kashmir after local election
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India detains 75 in Kashmir after local election
- The district council election was first such exercise since New Delhi revoked the special status of the Indian-administered region last year
- New detentions include separatist leaders and members of Jamat-e-Islami group
Pakistan says responding to Afghan ‘offensive operations’ after border fire as tensions escalate
- Afghan Taliban spokesperson says “large-scale offensive operations” launched against Pakistani military bases
- Pakistan says Afghan forces opened “unprovoked” fire across multiple sectors along shared border
ISLAMABAD: Afghanistan’s Taliban authorities said on Thursday they had launched “large-scale offensive operations” against Pakistani military bases and installations, prompting Pakistan to say its forces were responding to what it described as unprovoked fire along the shared border.
The escalation follows Islamabad’s weekend airstrikes targeting what it said were Tehreek-e-Taliban Pakistan (TTP) and Daesh militant camps inside Afghanistan in response to a wave of recent bombings and attacks in Pakistan. Islamabad said the strikes killed over 100 militants, while Kabul said dozens of civilians were killed and condemned the attacks as a violation of its sovereignty.
In a post on social media platform X, Afghan government spokesperson Zabihullah Mujahid said Afghanistan had launched “large-scale offensive operations” in response to repeated violations by the Pakistani military.
Pakistan’s Ministry of Information said Afghan forces had initiated hostilities along multiple points of the frontier.
“Afghan Taliban regime unprovoked action along the Pakistan–Afghanistan border given an immediate, and effective response,” the ministry said in a statement.
The statement said Pakistani forces were targeting Taliban positions in the Chitral, Khyber, Mohmand, Kurram and Bajaur sectors, claiming heavy Afghan casualties and the destruction of multiple posts and equipment. It added that Pakistan would take all necessary measures to safeguard its territorial integrity and the security of its citizens.
Separately, security officials said Pakistani forces had carried out counterattacks in several border sectors.
“Pakistan’s security forces are giving a befitting reply to the unprovoked Afghan aggression with full force,” a security official said, declining to be named.
“The Pakistani security forces’ counter-attack destroyed Taliban’s hideouts and the Khawarij fled,” they added, referring to TTP militants.
The claims from both sides could not be independently verified.
Cross-border violence has intensified in recent weeks, with Pakistan blaming a surge in suicide bombings and militant attacks on militants it says are based in Afghanistan. Kabul denies providing safe havens to anti-Pakistan militant groups.
The clashes mark the third major escalation between the neighbors in less than a year. Similar Pakistani strikes last year triggered weeklong clashes before Qatar, Türkiye and other regional actors mediated a ceasefire in October.
The 2,600-kilometer (1,600-mile) frontier, a key trade and transit corridor linking Pakistan to landlocked Afghanistan and onward to Central Asia, has faced repeated closures amid tensions, disrupting commerce and humanitarian movement. Trade between the two nations has remained closed since October 2025.
