US senator raises concern over Kashmir situation

WASHINGTON: In a sign of growing disquiet in the US Congress over the situation in Kashmir, senator and leading Democratic candidate for the presidential nomination Elizabeth Warren on Saturday expressed concern over the continuing restrictions in the region, joining fellow senators and rivals Bernie Sanders and Kamala Harris.

Coming ahead of a congressional hearing on October 22 on Kashmir, Warren’s remarks would worry New Delhi, which considers Congress the most supportive of American institutions. The Trump administration, which initially offered to mediate in the Kashmir dispute, later reverted to letting India and Pakistan resolve it bilaterally.

“I’m concerned about recent events in Kashmir, including a continued communications blackout and other restrictions. The rights of the people of Kashmir must be respected,” senator Warren, a leading candidate for the party’s nomination, had tweeted.

Senator Sanders was the first of the Democratic candidates to raise the Kashmir issue during an event in September. “India’s action is unacceptable” and “the communications blockade must be lifted immediately,” he said.

Senator Harris, who is of Indian descent, had raised similar concerns, saying, “We have to remind the Kashmiris that they are not alone... There is a need to intervene if situation demands.”

New Delhi has been dismissive of the concerns, arguing that US lawmakers say a lot of things “because people go to individual members of Congress . (and) what they say is not necessarily a function of their knowledge about that particular subject”.