Online Desk: Indian police have arrested two more persons in Bandipora district of Indian illegally occupied Jammu and Kashmir (IIOJK).

The latest arrests have raised the total number of people held in a fabricated case registered under the draconian Unlawful Activities (Prevention) Act (UAPA) to eight. The case has been described by the authorities as linked to a banned organisation.

The arrested persons have been identified as Irshad Ahmad Butt, a resident of Chakloo, Baramulla, and Shaukat Ahmad Reshi, a resident of Watlab, Sopore.

Six persons, including two women, had already been arrested in connection with the case. Police had claimed that the detainees were associated with a banned pro-freedom organisation and that their arrests followed the alleged busting of what they described as a prison-linked module of the organisation.

The latest arrests come amid a continuing crackdown involving detentions under various pretexts across IIOJK. Thousands of Kashmiris, including Hurriyat leaders and activists, remain imprisoned in jails and detention centres under draconian laws such as the Public Safety Act (PSA) and the UAPA, with many facing prolonged incarceration without fair trials.

Kashmir observers say arbitrary arrests and extended detentions are being used to foster an atmosphere of fear and intimidation in the territory and discourage Kashmiris from pursuing their demand for their inalienable right to self-determination.