Srinagar, November 22 (KMS): In occupied Kashmir, 110 days on, there is no change in the ground situation in the territory particularly in the Kashmir Valley where the residents continue to suffer immensely due to clampdown imposed by India on August 5.
What has changed is that shops, which used to open for few hours in the morning and evening, remain closed even for this brief duration in response to the Indian Home Minister Amit Shah’s recent claim that everything in normal in the territory. Public transport which had resumed on few routes also remains off the roads.
Mumbai-based newspaper The Economic Times quoting a senior official in the administration of occupied Kashmir said, everybody in Kashmir feels dejected but they haven’t been able to give vent to their feelings in any form. So, it added, you cannot describe this deceptive peace on the ground as normalcy.
The occupation authorities are likely to re-impose strict restrictions, today, in the Kashmir Valley to prevent people from holding anti-India demonstrations after Friday prayers. The authorities have not allowed the people to hold congregational Juma prayers at any of the major mosques and shrines of the territory since Aug 05, 2019.
On the other hand, the UK lawyers’ body in a letter addressed to the Indian Prime Minister, Narendra Modi, while raising concerns about the detentions in occupied Kashmir said that it had come across multiple reports claiming that over 3,000 civilians, including high ranking legal professionals, had been detained since abrogation of Article 370. The letter has been signed by Richard Atkins, Queen’s Counsel, Chair of the Bar and Schona Jolly, Queen’s Counsel, Chair of the Bar Committee.