India demolishes homes, detains Kashmiris in sweeping crackdown after Pahalgam attack

Military raids, mass detentions, and punitive demolitions escalate repression after deadly attack

SRINAGAR, Kashmir (MNTV) – Indian forces have launched a sweeping military crackdown in Indian-administered Kashmir in the aftermath of the Pahalgam attack, escalating repression through demolitions, mass detentions, and violent raids.

The Pahalgam attack, which occurred on April 22, saw unknown gunmen kill at least 26 people at a resort in the region.

It marked the deadliest such incident in Kashmir in over 25 years, underscoring the volatile state of the world’s most militarized zone.

The military crackdown following the attack has drawn widespread condemnation for human rights violations, extrajudicial killings, and the use of collective punishment.

Over the past 72 hours, nearly a dozen residential homes across Pulwama, Shopian, Anantnag, Kupwara, and Bandipora districts have been demolished without prior notice. 

Security forces, using explosives, targeted homes of individuals accused of ‘militancy,’ in direct defiance of India’s Supreme Court guidelines affirming the constitutional right to shelter and requiring due legal process before demolitions.

In Pulwama’s Muran area, the home of Ahsan ul Haq Sheikh was reduced to rubble. 

Authorities claimed he had “trained in Pakistan” and “infiltrated” Kashmir, but no concrete evidence was presented. 

Similarly, in Shopian’s Chotipora village, the house of Shahid Ahmad Kutay was destroyed, despite his family asserting they had no contact with him for years.

In Bijbehara’s Guree village, 59-year-old Shahzada Bano sifted through the rubble of her demolished home. 

Authorities accused her son, Adil Thokar, of involvement in the Pahalgam attack and detained her, her husband, and her two younger sons during the operation.

Bano questioned why authorities did not apprehend her son earlier if they had intelligence about his movements.

Mass detentions 

The crackdown has seen over 1,500 Kashmiri youths detained and numerous homes raided. 

In Srinagar neighborhoods such as Safakadal, Bemina, Zadibal, and Shalteng, as well as in Anantnag district, mass detentions and aggressive searches have left communities in turmoil. In Anantnag alone, 175 people were rounded up.

While authorities initially accused The Resistance Front (TRF) of the Pahalgam attack, the group publicly denied involvement, raising concerns about the collective punishment meted out by India. 

Reports of extrajudicial killings have added to the turmoil. 

In Bandipora, Altaf Lali, the brother of a jailed Kashmiri pro-freedom rebel, was killed in what authorities described as an encounter. 

His family, however, alleged he had been abducted two days earlier and that the encounter was staged. 

Protests over his death were met with tear gas.

Separately, in Kupwara, Ghulam Rasool Magray, 44, was fatally shot by unidentified gunmen who entered his home under the pretext of conducting a search. 

His elderly mother, who suffers from an eye ailment, was the sole witness.

The punitive demolitions have reignited debates about India’s use of collective punishment in Kashmir. 

Legal experts have pointed out that the Supreme Court has ruled such actions without notice violate constitutional protections. 

However, Indian forces have bulldozed homes across Kashmir without issuing legal notices or offering families the chance to contest the actions.

Prominent Kashmiri politician and Member of Parliament Ruhullah Mehdi condemned the demolitions, describing them as “collective punishment” inflicted on entire families for the alleged actions of individuals.

As the rubble of destroyed homes mounts and mass detentions continue, Kashmiris face one of the harshest crackdowns in recent years. 

For many, the week’s events underscore the unrelenting cycle of violence, repression, and impunity that has defined life in the Valley.