2 suspected militants killed in poll-bound disputed Kashmir

SRINAGAR, Jammu and Kashmir

The Indian army on Monday claimed to have killed two suspected militants who attempted to enter Indian-administered Kashmir from the Pakistani side.

“An anti-infiltration operation was launched by Indian army on the intervening night of 08-09 Sept in Lam area. Two terrorists have been neutralized and two AK-47 rifles and a pistol have been thus far recovered,” said the army’s Knight Corps on X.

The area is in the Rajouri district of the disputed region's Jammu province, where militants have killed over 50 Indian soldiers in sophisticated guerrilla attacks over the last three years.

At least 32 people, including Indian soldiers and civilians, have been killed in insurgency-related incidents this year alone, according to local media reports.

'Want dialogue with Pakistan'

The overnight “military operation” comes amid campaigning for a three-phased election for the local assembly, which will begin on Sept. 18.

This is the first Legislative Assembly election in 10 years, especially after the ruling Hindu nationalist Indian government in the center stripped the Muslim-majority region of its autonomy in August 2019, raising fears of demographic flooding from outsiders.

The election is being hailed as one of the most significant in the chequered political history of the region, which is claimed in full by India and Pakistan. It will be a sort of referendum on India’s 2019 decision, which has riled both Pakistan and China.

Campaigning for the polls in the Banihal area of Jammu province, India’s Defense Minister Rajnath Singh said on Sunday that his country is willing to engage in dialogue with Pakistan “if it stops supporting terrorism in Jammu and Kashmir. We want improved relations with Pakistan but first of all, they should stop terrorism.”

Reacting to Singh's statement, Mirwaiz Umar Farooq, leader of a Kashmiri pro-freedom grouping said Kashmiri pro-freedom organizations have always supported a negotiated settlement of the dispute and have participated in nearly every dialogue initiated by the Indian government in the past.