Situation unchanged in IoK on 113th day

SRINAGAR (92 News) – There is no change in the prevailing miserable conditions of the people in the Indian Occupied Kashmir (IoK) and on Monday on the 113th consecutive day of siege, military lockdown and internet ban imposed by India. According to the KMS, restrictions under Article 144 continue to remain enforced while shops and business establishments are closed in Srinagar and other districts of the Kashmir valley. Restrictions have been particularly placed around the historic Jamia Masjid since 5th of August when India revoked Kashmir’s special status. All gates of the city’s central mosque are closed and additional troops are deployed outside the masjid. The people are cut off from rest of the world due to ban on internet, text messaging and prepaid mobile connections. Police raided MLAs’ hostel, which has been declared as sub-Jail, at Maulana Azad Road in Srinagar and manhandled 33 political detainees lodged in the jail. The prisoners were repeatedly frisked and asked to undress. Forces’ personnel even searched a politician’s two-year-old son. The incident triggered a protest inside the sub jail. Hundreds of Congress activists took out a march in Jammu to demand restoration of old status of Jammu and Kashmir. The protesters submitted a memorandum addressed to the Indian President, Ram Nath Kovind, at Deputy Commissioner’s office denouncing the murder of democracy in Kashmir. Meanwhile, a five-member civil society group led by former Indian Finance Minister, Yashwant Sinha was not allowed by the Indian authorities to visit Pulwama district. Kapil Kak, a member of the delegation, while belying Indian government’s claim about the situation in occupied Kashmir said that there was no normalcy in the territory. British Labour Party has promised a more interventionist policy on IoK in its general election manifesto. According to experts, relations between the UK and India could deteriorate on the Kashmir issue if Jeremy Corbyn replaces Boris Johnson as the PM of the UK after the new elections scheduled in December. The President of Malaysian Consultative Council for Islamic Organization, Mohammad Azmi Abdul Hamid in a statement issued in Kuala Lumpur expressed concern over the continued siege in Occupied Kashmir. He appealed to the world community to help end the prolonged lockdown and settle the lingering dispute according to the relevant resolutions of the UN.