BJP Govt has turned occupied Kashmir into prison: CPI-M leader

A senior leader of the Communist Party of India Mohammad Yusuf Tarigami says the BJP government has turned occupied Kashmir into prison and graveyard.

Speaking at the foundation-day program of the party in Kolkata, he called upon Indian intellectuals and members of civil society to rise in protest against the oppression of Kashmiri people after the abrogation of Articles 370 and 35A of the Indian Constitution.

Read More: Indian troops martyr three Kashmir youths in occupied Kashmir

He said these constitutional provisions had provided special status to the state and rights to Kashmiris.

In occupied Kashmir, the Imam of Srinagar’s historic Jamia Masjid, Syed Ahmed Naqshbandi, has appealed to the Kashmiri people particularly religious scholars to hold demonstrations against the continued lockdown imposed by the Indian authorities.

According to Kashmir Media Service, the Imam addressing the Juma congregation at the historic mosque, today, strongly condemned the detentions and house arrests of Hurriyat leaders, activists, and youth. He said the occupation authorities have created an atmosphere of fear and intimidation in Srinagar by deploying heavy contingents of troops around the Jamia Masjid and monitoring the movement of people through drone cameras.

Read More: Foreign Office says efforts on to host OIC meet on Kashmir in Islamabad

Meanwhile, an atmosphere of fear continued to prevail in the Kashmir Valley and Muslim majority areas of Jammu and Ladakh regions due to unrelenting lockdown, which remained enforced on 152nd consecutive day, today.

The Jammu and Kashmir Peoples League leaders, Nisar Ahmed, Molvi Rafique, Manzoor Ahmed and Aadil Farooq, addressing separate public gatherings in different parts of South Kashmir, today, said that despite Indian state terrorism, the people of occupied Kashmir would continue their liberation struggle.