US Congresswoman Ilhan Omar calls for immediate restoration of communication in occupied Kashmir
Ilhan Omar further stressed that 'international organizations should be allowed to fully document what is happening on the ground' in Kashmir
August 27, 2019
MINNEAPOLIS: US Congressperson Ilhan Omar on Tuesday called for the "immediate restoration of communication" and "de-escalation" in occupied Kashmir amid an Internet and media blackout after India scrapped Article 370 in the Muslim-majority region.
Taking to Twitter, Omar wrote: "We should be calling for an immediate restoration of communication; respect for human rights, democratic norms, and religious freedom; and de-escalation in Kashmir."
Also read: NYT report exposes India's atrocities in Kashmir
The congressperson further called out how India was not allowing international organisations — including human rights groups and media outlets — to enter occupied Kashmir to understand and analyse the extent of New Delhi-sanctioned atrocities being committed on the local folks.
She said: "International organizations should be allowed to fully document what is happening on the ground."
Omar's call-out of India's aggression and violence in Kashmir comes ahead of the Indian Army's upcoming crackdown in Soura neighbourhood of the disputed valley's Srinagar city as the lockdown continued through the 23rd consecutive day.
Speaking on condition of anonymity, a top police official said the Indian Army was busy preparing for the operation in Soura where, on Friday, a demonstration rally was held on the call of the Himalayan region's resistance leaders.
According to the Kashmir Media Service, scores of people defied the curfew again on Tuesday "in south, north, and central Kashmir…against India’s latest onslaught and imposition of Hindu culture on Kashmiri people".
Data from occupied Kashmir’s two main hospitals had indicated that at least 152 people have suffered injuries from tear gas and pellets in the disputed region since India's sweeping crackdown.
A local government official in occupied Kashmir, however, said the number of injured was probably higher. In the clashes after Friday prayers last week, Indian soldiers had used pellet gun shells and teargas against the protesters.
India and its forces have since August 5 held former Kashmir chief ministers and other politicians under house arrest and shut down all means of communication to the outside world.
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