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A police official, speaking on condition of anonymity, told AFP that in one incident a youth being chased by police “jumped into the Jhelum river and died”.

The incident happened in Srinagar’s old town which has become a hotbed of anti-India protests during the three-decade insurgency in Kashmir that has left tens of thousands dead.

A source told AFP that at least six people have been admitted to hospital in Srinagar with gunshot wounds and other injuries from protests.

More than 100 people, included political leaders and activists, have been arrested as part of the lockdown for being a threat to the peace in the Himalayan valley, officials told the Press Trust of India.

Meanwhile, eight Muslims MPs from UK Labour Party have written to Prime Minister Boris Johnson urging the British government to condemn the recent transgression by India in occupied Kashmir.

The letter spearheaded by the Shadow Justice Minister Yasmin Qureshi, was signed by MPs Rushanara Ali, Rosena Allin-Khan, Shabana Mahmood, Afzal Khan, Khalid Mahmood, Faisal Rashid, Mohammed Yasin, as well as Liberal Democrat peer Baroness Shas Sheehan.

PAK DOWNGRADES TIES

Pakistan said yesterday it will “downgrade” diplomatic relations and suspend bilateral trade with arch-rival India.

“We will call back our ambassador from Delhi and send back their” envoy, Foreign Minister Shah Mehmood Qureshi announced in televised comments, while a government statement declared that Pakistan will suspend trade in a downgrading of diplomatic ties between the arch rivals.

The decision was taken at a meeting of Pakistan’s National Security Committee led by Prime Minister Imran Khan and attended by the heads of the armed forces and senior government officials.

Pakistan’s prime minister Imran Khan vowed on Tuesday to fight the issue “on every forum” and demanded the international community take action, accusing Modi of an anti-Muslim agenda.

The Pakistani military has also said it “firmly stands” with Kashmiris.

A spokesman for India’s foreign ministry did not immediately respond to a request for comment.

MEDICAL SERVICES

All telephone, television, and internet connections stayed severed in Kashmir. By night, police vans had patrolled the streets, with loudspeakers warning residents to stay indoors.

South Kashmir, the epicentre of the insurgency in recent years, was completely locked down, said a state government official who visited the area.

“The highway was deserted, except for some trucks and buses carrying labourers out of the valley,” added the official, who asked not to be named.

Local authorities have not declared a curfew, but instead clamped down on non-essential travel and gatherings of four or more, effectively keeping restive people in their homes, reported Reuters.

Officials of emergency services, such as hospitals and the fire department, said their staff were also frequently stopped at checkpoints, with access sometimes blocked.

The principal of Srinagar’s Government Medical College, which runs the state’s largest hospital network, comprising about 3,500 beds, has to personally visit district officials to coordinate services or seek approvals, a hospital official said.

“The principal doesn’t have any means of communication,” added the official, who asked not to be identified. “Police stations have been given satellite phones but not him. That shows their (government’s) priority.”