Kashmir lockdown: Curfew, communications blackout enter 30th day

SRINAGAR: The clampdown in Indian occupied Kashmir entered the 30th day on Tuesday after India withdrew Article 370 of its constitution that gave a special status to the disputed territory.

The valley which has been under a curfew since August 5, remains cut off from the rest of the world due to the continued blockade and suspension of internet, mobile and landline phones and closure of TV channels.

A humanitarian crisis has been looming in the valley as people face acute shortage of food, medicines and other commodities.

According to Kashmir Media Service, hospitals in the valley have run medicines, while the hospital staff has been finding it difficult to turn up for work due to the curfew and restrictions imposed by the Indian occupying forces a month ago.

Residents have been confined to their houses due to stringent restrictions amid all the communication links of the territory with the outside world snapped by the authorities.

The curfew and lockdown has led to protests in the valley with thousands of Kashmiris including Hurriyat leaders placed under house arrest or detained.

Residents in the Muslim-majority region have complained of a stifling environment as well as the inability to get in touch with family and friends worried about their wellbeing.

The near-total communications blackout has triggered global concern, with a group of UN human rights experts warning it amounted to "collective punishment" and risked exacerbating regional tensions.

European Parliament demands Modi immediately lift Kashmir curfew

The European Parliament's Committee on Foreign Affairs (AFET) on Monday demanded that India's Prime Minister Narendra Modi immediately lift the New Delhi-sanctioned curfew in occupied Kashmir.

Expressing serious concern over the complete communication and media blackout in the Muslim-majority Himalayan region, the European Parliament strongly criticised India and its members condemned the behaviour of Modi's Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) administration.

Members of the European Parliament demanded that India start a dialogue with Pakistan right away and Modi immediately lift the curfew in Kashmir.

The members further said the European Union (EU) and the European Parliament should issue a reactionary statement on the situation in occupied Kashmir as soon as possible.

DG ISPR posters surface in Kashmir

Posters and handbills with pictures of Inter-Services Public Relations (ISPR) Director General Major General Asif Ghafoor surfaced in Indian occupied Kashmir on Monday.

The Kashmir Media Service in a report said the posters and handbills carrying the ISPR spokesman's pictures surfaced in the disputed valley, carrying the message that Pakistan would continue fighting for Kashmir till the last soldier and bullet.

In posters, pro-independence Hurriyat activists announced that the Kashmiri people would together push India out of their homeland, which is a paradise on earth.