US Representatives Express Concern for Kashmir Lockdown
Dr Asif Mahmood, a popular Democratic leader, led a delegation of Kashmiri notables and called upon several members of the US House of Representatives to seek their valuable and crucial support in bringing global attention to the Kashmir lockdown and to raise awareness about India’s crimes and atrocities in Indian Occupied Kashmir.
On August 5, 2019, the Indian government took the brazen and unprecedented step of essentially annexing the state of Jammu and Kashmir. In doing so, the Government of India put millions of Kashmiris under complete lockdown, with no access to food, medicines, communication, education and travel. India detained more than 4,000 people including members of civil society, lawyers, journalists, doctors and human rights defenders.
Even though, the United Nations has maintained for decades that the political status of Kashmir must be determined by the Kashmiri people, India disregarded what the Secretary General has said and ignoring all norms of international law and the United Nations Security Council resolutions on Jammu and Kashmir abrogated Articles 370 and 35A of the Indian constitution, and thereby brought a constitutional end to the special status of Jammu & Kashmir. Many believe this is meant to change the ethnic demographics of Kashmir and eventually eradicate Kashmir’s identity and political will - a process that could entail ethnic cleansing.
Members of the delegation headed by Dr Asif Mahmood shared their personal experiences and discussed the various issues that the community is facing due to this unprecedented lockdown. They requested the US Congress to urge India to immediately lift the siege and also urged the US Congress to play a vital role in resolving the Kashmir conflict. The delegation presented letters and articles that highlighted India’s atrocities in Kashmir and also highlighted the unprecedented siege that millions of Kashmiris have been under for more than a month.
As a result of these meetings, several US House of Representatives issued a statement and expressed their concern about the Kashmir lockdown.
Multiple UN resolutions over the years have called for a plebiscite and a right of self-determination in Kashmir. India has never allowed one to take place. Kashmiris have endured decades of brutal and cumulative state violence including extrajudicial killings, enforced disappearances, sexual violence, mass graves, human shield, torture and indefinite detention. The impunity with which this violence is being perpetrated by the Indian forces has been underwritten by laws such as the Armed Forces Special Powers Act (AFSPA), which guarantees Indian forces complete impunity. Kashmiris have consistently resisted Indian occupation and have remained dedicated and passionate in their demand for self-determination.
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