Political leaders and a police official said on Saturday that the Indian government has arrested at least 75 political leaders and activists in the Kashmir region to prevent unrest after a coalition of regional political parties won the local elections.
The local council elections, which concluded last week, were the first political exercise of its kind since the government of Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi last year abolished the special status of the predominantly Muslim region administered by India. New Delhi launched a crackdown on dissent and arrested hundreds to quell the protests and confront the violence.
A senior police official, who asked not to be named, said the recent arrests, which included figures including separatist leaders and members of the outlawed Jemaah Islamiyah, were precautionary measures.
India and Pakistan have demanded entitlement to the entire Kashmir region, since the division of India, which was under British administration, into Muslim Pakistan and Hindu-majority India in 1947. Two of the three wars broke out between the two neighbors because of this mountainous region, which is located in the Himalayas.
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