Ground reports from Indian Illegally Occupied Jammu and Kashmir continue to undermine New Delhi’s repeated claims that “normalcy” has returned to the territory, especially following the revocation of Articles 370 and 35A.
Fresh incidents—including two commandos going missing during an operation in the dense Gadole forest area of Kokernag, Islamabad and adjoining Kishtwar district and clashes in Rajouri’s Beeranthub region—reaffirm that the territory remains under siege and far from stable.
Sources revealed that two elite soldiers from the Indian Army’s 5 Para unit disappeared during an attack on an Indian army team participating in an operation in the heavily forested Gadole area of Kokernag, South Kashmir. Search and rescue teams, including aerial surveillance, have been deployed to locate them. However, the sources disclosed that the missing troops were taken up by the mujahideen after the attack.
Under Kandi police station in Rajouri, a joint operation by Special Operations Group (SOG), Indian Army and Central Reserve Police Force units encountered armed resistance. Reports confirmed at least five SOG personnel were injured, and the area was immediately cordoned off with forces conducting searches amid heightened tension. The operations continue both in Islamabad and Rajouri districts and other areas of the occupied territory, during which local Kashmiris are subjected to harassment and intimidation.
Observers say these incidents reflect a pattern: operations intended to suppress dissent and project control, not peace. Despite propaganda to the contrary, large-scale CASOs, frequent raids, clashes, disappearances, and arrests continue unabated. These are not random events but routine in a militarised environment where any opposition is met with force.
The observers point out that until the core Kashmir dispute is resolved—recognising the historic rights of Kashmiris, implementing UN resolutions—the territory’s “normalcy” will remain a hollow slogan. Kashmiris will not halt their resistance, and no amount of glossy media spin can erase the checkpoints, raids, and detained voices defining daily life in IIOJK.
