Anti-India protests held in occupied Kashmir
Anti-India protests held in occupied Kashmir
Srinagar (Web Desk): In occupied Kashmir, people staged forceful demonstrations in different areas, today (Friday), to show their resentment against the Indian occupation and division of Kashmir into two union territories by India, reported Kashmir Media Service.
Immediately after the Juma congregational prayers, people in large numbers took to the streets in Srinagar, Badgam, Ganderbal, Islamabad, Pulwama, Kulgam, Shopian, Bandipora, Baramulla, Kupwara and other areas of the occupied territory. They raised high-pitched pro-freedom, pro-Pakistan and anti-India slogans. At many places, the protesters were subjected to brute force by Indian police and troops. Many demonstrators sustained injuries in the brutal actions of the forces’ personnel.
Meanwhile, fear and uncertainty continued to grip the Kashmir Valley and Muslim majority areas of Jammu and Ladakh regions as the military lockdown imposed by India continued on 96th running day, today. People in the Valley continue to keep their shutters down and stay away from schools and offices as part of a civil disobedience movement against Indian occupation. Shops open briefly in the morning and evening hours but even this window is more often than not disrupted due to the continuing uncertainty. Prepaid phone, SMS and internet services remain snapped.
The Chairman of Jammu and Kashmir Anjuman Seerat Committee, Kishtwar, Maulana Abdul Qayoom, addressing a meeting of his organization in Kishtwar said that the Kashmiris would not forget the sacrifices rendered by the people of Jammu in the ongoing freedom struggle. He paid glowing tributes to the hundreds of thousands of Jammu martyrs who were massacred by the forces of Maharaja Hari Singh, Indian Army and Hindu extremists in different parts of Jammu region while they were migrating to Pakistan during the first week of November in 1947.
On the other hand, Deputy Secretary General for Economic and Global Issues of European Union, Christian Leffler, addressing an event in New Delhi said that the EU remained concerned over all fundamental rights of people of occupied Kashmir. He expressed surprise over the recent visit of some selected Members of European Parliament to occupied Kashmir saying that it was not the way parliamentary visits were organized.
In London, strategic experts from India, Pakistan and the UK during a panel discussion over the Kashmir crisis opined that the international community does have a role in diffusing tension in Kashmir. The discussion was organized by strategic advisory group CTD Advisors at Chatham House against the backdrop of India’s revocation of the special status of occupied Kashmir. The speakers included Maleeha Lodhi, most recently Pakistan’s Representative to the UN, Nidhi Razdan, Indian journalist, Abdu Rehman Chinoy, a London-based entrepreneur, Jack Straw, former UK foreign secretary, and Sir Mark Lyall Grant, National Security Advisor to former British Prime Ministers, Theresa May and David Cameron, as well as a former Representative of the UK at the UN.
