JAMMU: One person was killed and 17 were injured when a grenade exploded at a bus terminal in India-held Kashmir (IHK), police said.

The blast in the city of Jammu comes amid heightened India-Pakistan tensions after 40 Indian troops were killed on Feb 14 in IHK, sparking the biggest standoff between the nuclear-armed neighbours in years.

Jammu police chief M.K. Sinha told reporters that the grenade was lobbed at the bus stand, and the explosion left “approximately 18” people injured.

One of the injured later died during treatment at the hospital, an officer at the regional police headquarters said.

Police said the bus hit by the grenade was leaving for Pathankot city in Punjab state when the blast occurred, with many local media reports putting the number of injured at 28.

Purported videos of the incident circulating on social media showed injured people lying on the ground with locals trying to help them.

The blast comes weeks after the February bombing, which was the deadliest attack on Indian forces in a 30-year Kashmir uprising. Tens of thousands have died during crackdown by Indian forces on Kashmiris protesting New Delhi’s rule.

New Delhi has long accused Islamabad of supporting Kashmiri fighters in IHK, and the attack last month, claimed by the Pakistan-based group Jaish-i-Mohammad (JeM), sparked a major escalation in tensions.

In response, New Delhi said it carried out air strikes on Feb 26, targeting what it alleged a JeM training camp at Balakot in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa, and killing “a very large number of JeM militants” who were planning more attacks in India.

The Pakistani government said that no such sites or targets were hit, and on Feb 27 launched its own air strike.

In an ensuing dogfight, two Indian aircraft were shot down and one of the pilots was captured by Pakistan. India claimed it had also shot down a Pakistani fighter.

As fears rose that the two nuclear-armed nations might enter their fourth war, Pakistan released the pilot as a “gesture of peace”.

This helped ease tensions, although both countries have continued to fire artillery and mortars over the Line of Control, killing civilians on both sides.

Indian forces have also fought gun battles with armed Kashmiris and arrested hundreds of people since the February bombing.

Jammu is largely a Hindu-dominated area of the contested region. It has seen attacks in the past, despite little or no support for Kashmiri protesters that enjoy widespread public backing elsewhere in the disputed region.

Police suggested that the blast on Thursday could be aimed at fomenting communal tensions in Jammu.

Authorities imposed a curfew for several days in Jammu in the wake of the Feb 14 attack after Hindu mobs attacked and set fire to properties belonging to Kashmiri Muslims.

Published in Dawn, March 8th, 2019