Internet shutdown in Kashmir longest ever
Srinagar, December 18 (KMS): In occupied Kashmir, the Kashmir Chamber and Industry has said that the economy of the territory suffered a loss of Rs 178.78 billion in four months after imposition of lockdown by Indian government on August 5.
Releasing a comprehensive sector-wise report on losses due to the lockdown, the KCCI said that the damages had been assessed based on Jammu and Kashmir’s gross domestic product of 2017-18. The study focused on the 10 districts of the Kashmir Valley comprising 55 per cent of the total population of the occupied territory. A time span of 120 days was assumed for the calculations. The report said as per this method, Kashmir’s economy has suffered a loss of Rs 178.78 billion.
Meanwhile, Washington Post citing a report by Access Now, an international advocacy group that tracks Internet suspensions, reported that shutdown in occupied Kashmir, which entered its 136th day, today, was the longest ever imposed in a democracy. The report mentioned that the seven million people in the Kashmir Valley were abruptly returned to a pre-Internet era when India imposed the shutdown on 5th August before revoking Kashmir’s special status. The advocacy group pointed out that all communications were shut and politicians were detained after the move.
A report released by the Research Section of Kashmir Media Service on the occasion of International Migrants Day, today, revealed that the Indian atrocities since 1947 have rendered over 3.5 million Kashmiris migrants. The report added that the unabated Indian state terrorism during the past thirty years had forced over forty thousand Kashmiris to migrate and live outside the occupied territory as refugees and migrants.
On the other hand, a new report released by New Delhi-based Concerned Citizens Group led by former Indian minister Yashwant Sinha said, people in the Kashmir Valley fear that New Delhi would settle outsiders in the Valley to effect the demographic change. Based on the groups’ recent two visits to Kashmir, the report demanded reunion of Jammu and Kashmir and Ladakh.
A protest demonstration organized by Imam Khomeini Memorial Trust in Kargil demanded restoration of internet services, which continue to remain suspended in Kargil and other regions of Kashmir since 5th August. The protesters also condemned the newly approved controversial citizenship law by the Indian parliament. Sikh organizations, Akali Dal, Dal Khalsa and Muslim community of Malarkotla also staged protests in Amritsar, Punjab, against the law.
A research conducted by a Belgium-based non-governmental organisation has said that a network of pro-India fake websites has been spreading propaganda against Pakistan around the world. The EU Disinfo Lab report says that it has found over 265 fake local news sites in more than 65 countries that are managed by one ‘Indian influence network’.
