‘Wake up, world,’ Kashmir cries
People take to streets, defying unprecedented security restrictions
NEW DELHI— Hundreds of people defied unprecedented security restrictions and held a street protest in Indian-controlled Kashmir on Friday, as India’s government assured the Supreme Court that the situation in the disputed region is being reviewed daily and the restrictions will be removed over the next few days.
Carrying green Islamic flags and placards reading “Stop Genocide in Kashmir, Wake Up, World,” young and old people took to the streets in Srinagar, the region’s main city. Some hurled stones and clashed with security forces, who responded with tear gas.
Earlier Friday, a senior Indian official in Kashmir, B.V.R. Subrahmanyam, confirmed there would be some loosening of restrictions on the region’s residents, saying that landline phone services would be restored gradually beginning Friday night and schools reopened from Monday. He didn’t announce any immediate restoration of mobile phone service.
A heavy troop presence and restrictions including a nearconstant curfew and a news blackout remained in place for a12th day. The government imposed the lockdown to avoid a violent reaction to its decision on Aug. 5 to downgrade Muslim-majority Kashmir’s autonomy.
The Supreme Court decided to give the government more time before ruling on a petition demanding the lifting of media restrictions following its assurances that they will be eased soon, attorney Vrinda Grover told reporters. She represents Kashmir Times editor Anuradha Bhasin, who said she was unable to publish her newspaper in Srinagar.
Subrahmanyam also said that government offices had started functioning normally. He said Friday’s prayers were held peacefully and life in 12 of the region’s 22 districts was almost back to normal. Public transport will be restored gradually after evaluating the security situation, he said.
“Some preventive arrests were made in the region as a preventive measure to maintain law and order,” Subrahmanyam said.
Meanwhile, the family of a Kashmiri journalist said he has been detained by the Indian armed forces. Irfan Amin Malik works for Greater Kashmir, one of the largest newspapers in Kashmir.
Malik’s father, Mohammed Amin Malik, told The Associated Press that Malik was arrested late Wednesday at his house in Tral in Pulwama, a southern district in Kashmir.
Principal Secretary Rohit Kansal of the Jammu and Kashmir region said he was looking into the case. Jammu and Kashmir police chief Dilbagh Singh declined to comment.
Malik is the first journalist known to have been detained since India’s decision to revoke Kashmir’s special constitutional status. The decision has raised tensions with Pakistan. The nuclear-armed rivals both claim Kashmir and the Himalayan region is divided between them.