Kashmir besieged for 29th day as humanitarian crisis worsens

Kashmir has been an epicenter of wars between Pakistan and India for several decades.

SRINAGAR (Dunya News) – The humanitarian crisis in occupied Kashmir has worsened as Indian occupation forces have besieged the disputed Himalayan region for the 29th day consecutive day on Monday.

Modi-led Hindu nationalist Indian government, in violation of United Nations Security Council resolutions on Kashmir, have unilaterally abrogated articles 370 and 35A of its Constitution through a rushed presidential decree on Aug. 5 and blatantly imposed stringent curfew and all-out communications blackout in the region.

Meanwhile, people are facing severe shortage of food, medicines and other commodities due to unabated curfew and communication blockade.

Markets and schools are still shut while all internet and communication services including landline phone, mobile and TV channels are closed in Kashmir valley and districts of Jammu region. Local newspapers are offline while most of them failed to bring out their print editions.

Over 10,000 Kashmiris and hundreds of political leaders and workers including Syed Ali Gilani, Mirwaiz Umar Farooq and Muhammad Ashraf Sehrai continue to remain under house arrest or in jails.

16 Kashmiris martyred in August

According to Kashmir Media Service, Indian troops, committing the acts of state terrorism and violations of basic human rights, have martyred 16 Kashmiris, including a young boy and a woman, during the month of August, 2019.

A report by Kashmir police confirmed that more than 300 incidents of protests took place over the last three weeks, with 160 demonstrations reported in Srinagar.

Around 22 protests were carried out in Pulwama and 18 in Baramulla, the police report said. On August 17, the valley witnessed 24 protests, the highest number in a single day.

The relatives of an Indian soldier, Veera Mani, from Tamil Nadu staged a protest in New Delhi to demand the return of his body, reportedly killed in an encounter in the Kashmir valley. The protest proves that Indian army is reluctant in sending the bodies of its slain soldiers back home fearing severe backlash.

Indian troops are anticipated to conduct a major crackdown in several areas, particularly Soura region, where violent clashes had erupted between protesters chanting slogans against New Delhi’s aggression and illegal moves in Kashmir.

Speaking on a condition of anonymity, a top Indian police official told the media that the Indian Army was preparing an operation in the area where frequent demonstrations were held on the call of local leaders resisting Indian occupation.

Bernie Sanders calls it “unacceptable”

US Senator and presidential contender Bernie Sanders on Saturday rebutted Indian actions in occupied Kashmir as “unacceptable” and urged the United States to support the UN-backed peaceful resolution of the Kashmir dispute.

He said he was “deeply concerned about the situation” in Jammu and Kashmir.

The 77-year-old leader, speaking at an event, emphasised that the “communication blockade must be lifted immediately” in the Kashmir Valley. “I am deeply concerned about the situation in Kashmir…” he said.

“The communication blockade must be lifted immediately and the US government must speak out boldly in support of international humanitarian law and in support of UN backed peaceful resolution that supports the will of Kashmiri people,” the seasoned Democrat leader added.

British MP, Imran Hussain, after a visit to the Line of Control in Kashmir, said that what he had seen was nothing short of a war crime. He asked the international community to visit the Line of Control to see for themselves the horrific potential of a genocide that was beginning to unfold in the region as the sons and daughters of Kashmir are oppressed, persecuted, shot at and forced from their homes.

Meanwhile, hundreds of Kashmiris and their sympathizers continued to hold protest demonstrations in Birmingham against the Indian atrocities in occupied Kashmir. The protesters at a rally, held in New Street, strongly condemned the August 05 move of the Indian government.

The Chairman of Kashmir Council Europe, Ali Raza Syed in statement in Brussels said, the upcoming meeting of European Parliament’s Foreign Affairs Committee on the situation in occupied Kashmir is an important development.

‘Nothing short of war crime’

"This is nothing short of a war crime, and it is time that the international community should visit the Line of Control to see for themselves the horrific potential of a genocide that is beginning to unfold in the region as the sons and daughters of Kashmir are oppressed, persecuted, shot at and forced from their homes,” said Bradford East’s Labour MP, Imran Hussain.

He flew out to Pakistan last week to head to the Line of Control (LoC) in Azad Kashmir. He met with senior officials from Azad Kashmir and Pakistan, said the London-based The Telegraph.

Mr Hussain said: “Earlier this week I visited the LoC in Kashmir to personally receive a high-level briefing from senior officers in the Pakistani military on the ongoing situation in Kashmir. “What they told me was extremely shocking, with horrific tales and testimonies from civilians living in the region.

“Almost a month after revoking Articles 370 and 35A, I was told that the Indian Government continues to maintain their harsh lockdown and restrictions on Kashmir. “It is far worse than I could ever have imagined, with an authoritarian curfew on Kashmiris that prevent them from leaving their home. “A strict blockade is preventing medicine and food from entering the region, creating a huge humanitarian crisis as medicine and food begins to run out.”

“The harsh media blackout has seen landline phones cut off, mobile phones blocked and internet access denied, which all prevent the spread of information on what is happening in Kashmir also remains in place. “This is despite it being declared as draconian and unprecedented by the UN’s Special Rapporteur. “It continues to empower the Indian Armed Forces to continue with their brutal oppression and persecution of Kashmiris that has been heavily criticised on many occasions by human rights organisations.

“Knowing they effectively face immunity from any repercussions of their actions, I was also told in this briefing that not only have the Indian Armed Forces arrested up to 10,000 people under the draconian powers handed to these occupying forces, but that the reported use of cluster bombs, banned by many countries around the world for their indiscriminate nature and impact on civilians, is true, and that civilians in Azad Kashmir are being deliberately targeted by elements of the Indian Army.

Protest in Birmingham

Hundreds of Kashmiris and their sympathisers held a protest demonstration in Birmingham against the Indian atrocities in occupied Kashmir.

The rally, which was held in New Street, was once again over the issue of scrapping of the Article 370 by Modi government.

Zubaida Khan of the “Daughters of Kashmir” group, said: “India has been violating the human rights of the people of occupied Kashmir.

She said, “We request our local MPs to bring the IOK matter forward in the parliament and the United Nations General Assembly so that an end could be brought to the Indian brutalities in the territory.”

She urged the UK government to highlight the Kashmir dispute and resolve the humanitarian crisis in the occupied territory so that the world could be conveyed a message that UK is a country which supports humanity and justice.

The protesters on the occasion chanted slogans like “Freedom now” and “Shame on you”.