Life in occupied Kashmir remained paralysed on 72nd day
Srinagar, October 15 (KMS): In occupied Kashmir, Indian troops arrested several women after subjecting them to brute force during an anti-India demonstration in Lal Chowk area of Srinagar, today.
A large number of women including rights activists and leading academicians carrying placards gathered at the Pratap Park in Srinagar. As they started march, the police swooped in on them and arrested several women including the daughter and the sister of former puppet Chief Minister of occupied Kashmir, Farooq Abdullah, during the protest against the revocation of Kashmir’s special status. Ms Hawa Bashir, the wife of former Chief Justice of IOK High Court, Bashir Ahmed Khan, was also among the detainees. The protesters were dragged and subjected to torture by the police. This was the first anti-India protest of its kind in Lal Chowk area, the center of Srinagar, after 5th August 2019.
The police also tried to stop the protesting women from distributing a statement to the media, which said that they expressed their outrage against the Indian media for its false/misleading coverage of ground realities in the territory. Demanding restoration of civil liberties and fundamental rights of the citizens as well as immediate release of detainees and demilitarization of rural and urban areas, the women said they feel betrayed, humiliated and violated as people.
Normal life continued to remain paralyzed on the 72nd straight day, today. Restrictions continue to remain imposed with shops closed except for few hours in the morning and evening, schools and offices empty and public transport off the roads. Heavy deployment of Indian forces and ban on pre-paid phones and internet services are causing great inconveniences to the people throughout the territory. Lack of communications has also inflicted untold miseries on the people. Text messaging services were blocked just hours after Indian authorities had partially restored call and text services for post-paid mobile phones on Monday, following a 72-day blackout in the territory. Patients are the worst victims of the blockade, which has cut people off not only from their immediate surroundings but also from the world.
A recent report released in New Delhi by Anirudh Kala, Brinelle D’Souza, Revati Laul and Shabnam Hashmi after a visit to occupied Kashmir has testified that Prime Minister Modi and his government’s actions in reading down Article 370 and demoting Kashmir to a union territory has eventually proved veteran Hurriyat leader Syed Ali Gilani right that India cannot be trusted. The report maintains that now everybody trusts Gilani by default. The report quoting locals said that resistance leadership has finally won.
Meanwhile, a truck driver was shot dead and his vehicle was set ablaze by unidentified gunmen at Sindoo in Shirmal area of Shopian district. Over two dozen youth were arrested by Indian troops in the subsequent cordon and search operation in the area. In another incident, an Indian soldier was killed and two others were injured when an Improvised Explosive Device went off in Nowgam area of Kupwara district. Indian police arrested two youth in Ganderbal district.
