NEW DELHI — India’s anti-terrorism agency Monday night arrested Khurram Parvez, a prominent human rights activist in Indian-administered Kashmir, after hours-long raids at his residence and office in Srinagar, according to people familiar with the matter. The agency confirmed the arrest Tuesday but declined to provide details about the case.
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Parvez, 44, is the program coordinator for the Jammu Kashmir Coalition of Civil Society, or JKCCS, a rights group that for decades has monitored and investigated human rights violations in Kashmir, a Muslim-majority enclave claimed by India and Pakistan.
In October last year, the agency conducted raids against people in Kashmir, including activists such as Parvez and a journalist. The agency said it was investigating the groups and individuals that were raising funds and using them to carry out “secessionist and separatist activities” in Kashmir.
In Kashmir, militants target minority civilians, stoking fears of a return to violent past
For decades, the Indian government has battled militants seeking independence from India or merger with Pakistan.
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In 2016, Parvez was stopped from leaving the country to participate in a session at the United Nations Human Rights Council in Geneva and arrested later.
The arrest of Parvez came following a tense week in Kashmir. The region was convulsed by furious demonstrations after the deaths of two businessmen during a raid by security forces at a shopping complex on Nov. 15.
Officials said the two civilians were killed in the crossfire during a gunfight with suspected militants and quickly buried them; prominent local political leaders, including Mehbooba Mufti, the former top elected leader of Jammu and Kashmir, accused police of using the men as human shields during the shootout and criticized the counterinsurgency operations in the region, which have left a trail of civilian deaths that are not fully accounted for.
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In the face of mounting public pressure, Kashmir’s lieutenant governor ordered a probe into the encounter and officials agreed to return the bodies of the civilians to relatives. Shop, businesses and offices shut across the region in protest over the incident.
Indian security forces last month launched a weeks-long campaign into a heavily forested region near the Pakistan border to search for militants responsible for killing 9 Indian soldiers.
Irfan reported from Srinagar, Kashmir.
Read more:
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