Engineer Rashid protests in Lok Sabha against mass detentions, house demolitions in IIOJK
New Delhi: Kashmiri politician and Indian parliament member from Baramulla constituency of Indian illegally occupied Jammu and Kashmir (IIOJK), Engineer Rashid, staged a protest in the Lok Sabha against mass detentions and demolition of homes following the killing of an Indian police head constable in Islamabad district of the territory.
According to Kashmir Media Service, as soon as the House convened, Engineer Rashid entered the Well of the Lok Sabha and raised slogans condemning the large-scale detentions and house demolitions in the occupied Kashmir Valley.
Speaking to reporters outside the parliament, Engineer Rashid expressed sympathy with the family of slain Head Constable Ashiq Hussain, but questioned the sweeping crackdown that followed.
“We feel the pain of the family of the policeman… But how can you justify the arrest of thousands of people and the bulldozing of residential houses?” Rashid asked. “You have created a martial law-like situation in Jammu and Kashmir.”
He said Kashmiris were being subjected to collective punishment. Rashid further said that democratic rights were being denied to the people of IIOJK, and questioned the double standards in how similar situations are handled in other parts of India. He added that Kashmiris continue to face repression, and compared the Indian government’s approach to dissent in Kashmir with the police response to protests in Delhi.
