Asia

India bans Kashmir religious group amid sweeping crackdown

Associated Press
Published | Updated

Kashmiri children hold placards and shout freedom slogans in Srinagar, Indian controlled Kashmir, Friday, March 1, 2019. India has banned Jama'at-e-Islami, a political-religious group in Kashmir, in a sweeping and ongoing crackdown against activists seeking the end of Indian rule in the disputed region amid the most serious confrontation between India and Pakistan in two decades. (AP Photo/ Dar Yasin)

Supporters of Jammu Kashmir Liberation Front (JKLF) shout freedom slogans during a protest in Srinagar, Indian controlled Kashmir, Friday, March 1, 2019. India has banned Jama'at-e-Islami, a political-religious group in Kashmir, in a sweeping and ongoing crackdown against activists seeking the end of Indian rule in the disputed region amid the most serious confrontation between India and Pakistan in two decades. Placard in Urdu reads "we reject terrorism by National Investigation Agency ( NIA)." (AP Photo/Dar Yasin)

India has banned the largest political and religious group in Indian-controlled Kashmir in an ongoing crackdown on activists seeking the end of Indian rule in the disputed region, amid the most serious confrontation between India and Pakistan in two decades.

Authorities imposed a security lockdown in several parts of the region on Friday, including in downtown areas of the main city of Srinagar, in anticipation of protests against Indian rule.

India's home ministry issued the ban on Jama'at-e-Islami on Thursday night, accusing the group of being an "unlawful association" and supporting militancy in the region.

Police have arrested at least 400 activists and leaders, mainly from Jama'at-e-Islami, which seeks self-determination for the entire Himalayan region, which is divided between India and Pakistan but claimed by both in its entirety.