Adding insult to injury, New Delhi notifies law allowing Indians to buy land in occupied Kashmir

As Kashmiris across the world observed a Black Day today to mark India's occupation of Jammu and Kashmir on Tuesday, New Delhi added insult to their injury by notifying a law allowing any Indian citizen to buy land in their occupied homeland.

According to the Times of India and other outlets, the Indian Ministry of Home Affairs has notified new laws for the occupied territory, called UT of Jammu and Kashmir Re-organisation (Adaptation of Central Laws) Third Order 2020.

The publication reported that the notification allows any Indian citizen to purchase land in Indian-occupied Jammu and Kashmir. The new law has removed the condition that individuals purchasing land in the occupied territory be a permanent resident of the occupied valley.

The move has already been rejected in Kashmir, with the former chief minister of the occupied territory describing it as “unacceptable amendments to the land ownership laws” of the occupied valley.

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“Even the tokenism of domicile has been done away with when purchasing non-agricultural land & transfer of agricultural land has been made easier. J&K is now up for sale & the poorer small land holding owners will suffer,” former IOJK chief minister Omar Abdullah said in a tweet.

India has, since August of last year, had its eyes on illegally changing the demography of the occupied territory, ever since Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi's government revoked Article 370 of their constitution to attempt to annex the disputed territory.

Soon after the move, India placed crippling restrictions in the valley, repeatedly shutting down mobile and internet services and restricting the mobility of its citizens.

In May of this year, India further expanded its annexation program by Passing the 'Jammu and Kashmir Reorganisation Order 2020' to settle non-Kashmiris in occupied territory by changing the domicile laws.

Kashmiris observing Black Day today

The law was notified today as Kashmiris on both sides of the Line of Control and the world over are observing Black Day today, to convey to the world that India has occupied their motherland illegally and against their aspirations.

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The Indian Army had invaded the state of Jammu and Kashmir on this day in 1947, in an attempt to subjugate the Kashmiri people.

Since then, despite unabated Indian atrocities, New Delhi has been unable to break the will of the brave people of Illegally Occupied Jammu and Kashmir, who are still struggling for their right to self-determination.