SRINAGAR In occupied Kashmir, APHC leader and the Chairman of Jammu and Kashmir Tehreek-eMuzahamat, Bilal Siddiqi, has said that India has created an atmosphere of fear in the territory to prevent people from expressing their aspirations and sentiments. Bilal Siddiqi in a statement issued in Srinagar said, Indian troops barge into the residential houses, harass the inmates and ransack household goods. He said that since August 5, last year, there was complete ban on political activities in the territory. He said if any remark is made or published in favour of freedom movement, the person who makes the remarks is arrested while action is taken against the said newspaper. Bilal Siddiqi maintained that India intends to create a silence of graveyard in the occupied territory. He appealed to the world community to take cognizance of the grim human rights situation in occupied Kashmir and impress upon India to resolve the Kashmir dispute by giving the Kashmiris their right to self-determination. Meanwhile, the Jammu and Kashmir Students and Youth Forum has launched “India Must Quit Kashmir” movement by displaying banners bearing pro-freedom and quit Kashmir slogans across the territory. Convener of the forum, Manzoor Butt in a statement in Srinagar denounced in strong terms the continued lockdown in the Kashmir Valley. International news organisation, Reuters, in a report maintained that India has launched a massive crackdown against Virtual Private Network users in the territory for accessing Facebook, Whatsapp, Twitter and other social networking sites. A police spokesman told Reuters that cases have been registered against several people who accessed social networking sites through proxy servers. On the other hand, a large number of people from different civil rights organisations held a demonstration at Jantar Mantar in New Delhi, demanding restoration of Article 370 of the Indian Constitution that granted special status to occupied Kashmir. Posters calling for ‘Free Kashmir’ came up for sale on the occasion of the demonstration held on the completion of 200 Days of Kashmir Blockade, yesterday The police in the Indian city of Bangaluru arrested a girl for holding a placard carrying slogans ‘free Kashmir, free Dalits and free Muslims’ during a protest against the citizenship amendment law. On Thursday evening, a 19- year-old girl, Amulya Leona, had raised “Pakistan Zindabad” slogan thrice in the presence of All India Majlis-e-Ittehadul Muslimeen chief Asaduddin Owaisi after the organisers of the event under the banner of “Save Constitution” invited her to address the gathering.— KMS
