India considers easing restrictions in Kashmir as international pressure mounts
Ahead of the informal UN consultations regarding India’s abrogation of Article 370 of the Indian constitution, the administration of Jammu and Kashmir announced on Friday that restrictions in the valley would be lifted “in a phased manner.”
The state’s Chief Secretary B.V.R. Subrahmanyam said at a press briefing in Srinagar that no lives had been lost, nor anyone injured, “during the course of maintaining peace.”
“We are now taking measures to ease the restrictions in a gradual manner,” he announced. “There will be easing of restrictions in the coming days in an orderly way.” He said that schools in the state will reopen on Monday and that public transport will be permitted to function in areas around those schools. “Government offices were fully operational today and attendance was high,” Subrahmanyam added. He claimed that 12 districts in the state were now functioning “normally” and that limited restrictions were in place in only five districts, and that those restrictions had been imposed to counter the threat of “cross-border terrorism,” adding that “a few preventive detentions” had been made “to maintain law and order.” “The history of terrorism required the government to take steps. A few preventive measures were also made according to the provisions of law,” he said. “Similar measures were taken in the past also. Terror groups carry out attacks in Jammu and Kashmir to create fear and block development.”
His announcement came on the same day that the UN was set to hold an informal discussion on the government’s abrogation of Article 370 — a provision that gave the state of Jammu and Kashmir special autonomous status.
On Thursday, Amnesty International appealed to the Indian government to lift the communications blackout and engage with the people of Jammu and Kashmir.
The human rights NGO told Prime Minister Narendra Modi that if his decision to repeal Article 370 has the support of the people, “then he must immediately lift the communications blackout.”
“Modi must listen to the people in the region, engage with them, and hear what they have to say when it comes to decisions that affect their lives,” said Aakar Patel, head of Amnesty International India.
“The government of India must realize that the ongoing clampdown on civil liberties in Jammu and Kashmir will only increase tensions, alienate the people, and increase the risk of further human rights violations,” he added. On Friday an open letter from more than 200 writers and activists was published condemning the “mockery of democracy in Kashmir.”