Indian forces’ personnel have intensified search and checking operations in Srinagar under the pretext of strengthening security arrangements for the ongoing Amarnath Yatra in Indian illegally occupied Jammu and Kashmir (IIOJK). According to Kashmir Media Service, personnel of the Central Reserve Police Force (CRPF) and police conducted a joint search operation at Ghanta Ghar in Lal Chowk, the Srinagar city’s commercial hub.

During the operation, Indian forces carried out extensive checks of vehicles, motorcycles, auto-rickshaws, bags and identity documents of commuters and pedestrians. Indian officials said the intensified checking drive was part of the enhanced security arrangements put in place for the annual Amarnath Yatra, during which thousands of Indian Hindu pilgrims travel through the occupied territory.

It is worth mentioning that the BJP-led Indian government has turned the annual Amarnath Yatra into one of the most heavily militarized religious pilgrimages by deploying thousands of additional troops and subjecting the local population to intensified surveillance, frisking, checkpoints and movement restrictions. Kashmir watchers say such extraordinary security measures further aggravate the atmosphere of fear and militarization across IIOJK. 

Credit: Independent News Pakistan (INP)