Lockdown in occupied Kashmir enters 20th day
Last updated on: 24 August,2019 06:47 pm
Hundreds of thousands of people are besieged and AJK has become big jails for its inhabitants.
SRINAGAR (Reuters) - The residents of occupied Kashmir woke up to another morning of restrictions on Saturday (August 24), a day after thousands of protesters hit the streets to condemn the territory’s special status.
In occupied Kashmir, the authorities continued to impose strict curfew and other restrictions across the Kashmir valley on the 20th consecutive day, today, to prevent people from holding demonstrations against Indian move.
According to KMS, due to severe blockade, people are facing acute shortage of essential commodities including baby food and life-saving medicines and the valley represents a humanitarian crisis. Hundreds of thousands of people are besieged and Jammu and Kashmir has become a big jail for its inhabitants.
The Indian authorities have been maintaining a strict curfew in the Kashmir valley since 5th August when Narendra Modi government announced scraping of the special status of Jammu and Kashmir. Hundreds of thousands of Indian troops and police personnel deployed in every nook and corner of the territory are not allowing people to come out of their homes.
The authorities also continue to impose information blockade as TV channels and internet links are snapped and restrictions on media remain in place since 5th August. Local newspapers could not update their online editions while majority of them could also not be printed due to curfew and other restrictions during all this period.
On the other hand, the people of occupied Kashmir have been warned to beware of Indian collaborators who are trying to approach their Indian masters to bring the members of extremist Hindu organizations like Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh and other Hindutva forces to the territory to make the Kashmiris slaves and snatch their everything including religious identity.
The warning has been issued through posters and handbills by Hurriyat activists. The Indian collaborators also have been asked to adopt Hurriyat line and in case they provide any facilitation to Hindutva forces, they would face serious consequences.
India revoked the special status of its portion of Himalayan Kashmir, known as Jammu and Kashmir, on August 5 and moved to quell widespread unrest by shutting down communications and clamping down on freedom of movement.
Large swathes of Srinagar remained deserted with most of the shops being closed. Only a few people were seen on the streets of Srinagar with limited traffic movement.
"The situation is normal but the situation is not normal, everyone is locked inside their house," said a Srinagar resident, Altaf.
Barbed wires were put across roads and security personnel stood guard to prevent any untoward incidents.