MT, Srinagar: Indian forces, in their unabated acts of state terrorism, martyred 26 Kashmiris in the first nine months of 2026 in Indian illegally occupied Jammu and Kashmir (IIOJK).
According to data issued today by the Research Section of Kashmir Media Service, Indian Army, Rashtriya Rifles, Central Reserve Police Force (CRPF), Special Operations Group (SOG), and notorious agencies, including Counter Intelligence Kashmir (CIK), National Investigation Agency (NIA), and State Investigation Agency (SIA), arrested 4,738 civilians, including youth, students, political activists and women during 1,903 cordon and search operations (CASOs) and house raids.
Many of the detainees were booked under draconian laws such as the Unlawful Activities (Prevention) Act and the Public Safety Act (PSA).The data further revealed that at least 52 civilians were injured after Indian police and paramilitary forces used brute force against peaceful and unarmed Kashmiris during the period.
Additionally, intensifying its colonial-style suppression, the highly communal and corrupt administration led by New Delhi-appointed Lieutenant Governor Manoj Sinha, under the direct control of the Indian Home Minister, seized 293 properties, including residential houses, land, shops, institutions, and vehicles belonging to Kashmiris.
In September alone, Indian forces personnel martyred five Kashmiris in fake encounters and extrajudicial killings in IIOJK . During the period, 34 civilians, mostly political activists, youth and students including human rights activist Muhammad Ahsan Untoo, were arrested during 156 cordon and search operations and house raids, while several of the detainees were booked under black laws, including Unlawful Activities (Prevention) Act (UAPA) and Public Safety Act (PSA). Besides, properties, including houses and lands, of 19 Kashmiris were attached in the month.
The report further said over 1,074 Kashmiris, including young boys and women, have been martyred, more than 2,708 injured and over 37,817 arrested in the territory since the abrogation of Articles 370 and 35A on August 5, 2019.
Kashmir watchers and political analysts said the illegal confiscation and demolition of properties formed part of the BJP-led Indian government’s strategy to economically weaken Kashmiris, punish political dissent and suppress the ongoing freedom movement in the occupied territory.
They said the continued killings by Indian forces’ personnel were meant to instil fear among Kashmiris, but such measures had failed to weaken the Kashmiris’ resolve for freedom.
Meanwhile, over three thousand Kashmiris, including Hurriyat leaders and activists — APHC Chairman Masarrat Aalam Butt, Muhammad Yasin Malik, Shabbir Ahmad Shah, Aasiya Andrabi, Naheeda Nasreen, Fehmeeda Sofi, Nayeem Ahmad Khan, Ayaz Akbar, Pir Saifullah, Merajuddin Kalwal, Shahid-ul-Islam, Farooq Ahmed Dar, Syed Shahid Shah, Advocate Mian Abdul Qayoom, Mushtaq-ul-Islam, Dr. Hameed Fayaz, Bilal Siddiqi, Molvi Bashir Irfani, Fayaz Hussain Jafari, Zaffar Akbar Butt, Noor Muhammad Fayaz, Showket Hakeem, Advocate Zahid Ali, Dr. Muhammad Qasim Fakhtoo, Dr. Muhammad Shafi Shariati, Rafiq Ahmad Ganai, Farooq Ahmed Tawheedi, Ghulam Muhammad Khan Sopori, Saleem Nanaji, Muhammad Yasin Butt, Umar Adil Dar, Siraj Zargar, Dawood Zargar, Zahoor Ahmed Butt, Hayat Ahmed Butt, human rights activist Muhammad Ahsan Untoo — and others continue to face the worst political vendetta in terms of illegal imprisonment. They have been jailed in India and Kashmir on fabricated charges for years.