Occupied Kashmir remained cut off from the outside world due to the communication blockade imposed by India while curfew and other restrictions continued on the 5th consecutive day, today. According to Kashmir Media Service, the Indian government had imposed curfew and other restrictions in occupied Kashmir ahead of announcement on Monday to repeal Article 370 of the Indian Constitution that granted special status to Jammu and Kashmir.
The occupation authorities have deployed thousands of Indian troops, paramilitary and police personnel in every nook and corner of the occupied territory to prevent demonstrations against the illegal move of the Indian government.
Several people were injured, today, when Indian troops used brute force against protesters in Sopore town.
Juma prayers could not be held at Srinagar’s historic Jamia Masjid and several other mosques due to restrictions.
Local newspaper could not hit the stands for the past five days while their online editions also could not be updated since the night of 4th August.
The people of the territory are suffering immensely due to the shortage of essential commodities, baby food and life saving drugs.
Almost all Hurriyat leaders, including Syed Ali Gilani and Mirwaiz Umar Farooq, have been put under house arrest or in jails.
Seventy of the arrested Hurriyat leaders and activists have been shifted from Srinagar to a jail in Agra city of the Indian state of Uttar Pradesh. Mian Abdul Qayoom, President of the High Court Bar Association, and Mubin Shah, an office-bearer of Kashmir Chamber of Commerce are among those shifted outside the Kashmir valley.
Over 560 political leaders and workers including even pro-India politicians like Farooq Abdullah, Omar Abdullah, Mehbooba Mufti and Sajjad Lone, have been detained.
Chairman of Jammu and Kashmir Peoples Movement, Mir Shahid Saleem, in a statement issued in Jammu thanked the government and people of Pakistan for standing in solidarity with the oppressed people of Kashmir at a time when India had robbed them of their status, identity and culture.
Members of the European Parliament, Irina von Wiese, Shaffaq Mohammed, Phil Bennion, Judith Bunting, Chris Davies, Antony Hook, Martin Horwood, Lucy Nethsingha and Sheila Ritchie in a letter to the High Representative of the EU, Ms Federica Mogherini urged the European Union to find ways to engage with all regional actors to bring about a lasting solution to the longstanding Kashmir dispute.
Member of European Parliament, Julie Ward, in a statement in Brussels and Members of British Parliament, Imran Hussain and Rachel Reeves, in their statements in London strongly condemn India’s illegal and unconstitutional move of revoking Article 370 to annex Kashmir and use of cluster bombs by the Indian Army against civilians living along the Line of Control in Azad Jammu and Kashmir.
The Chairman Kashmir Council Europe, Ali Raza Syed, met European Union officials at EU headquarters in Brussels and apprised them about the latest situation in occupied Kashmir.
The Diplomatic Bureau of Jammu and Kashmir Liberation Front’s UK-chapter in a statement strongly condemned the Indian government’s illegal decision of dividing occupied Kashmir on communal lines.
Courtesy – RP
