Ahead of the upcoming Indian Lok Sabha elections, Indian troops have initiated a fresh wave of house raids, crackdowns, harassment, and arrests in the Indian illegally occupied Jammu and Kashmir.
According to the Kashmir Media Service, civil society members, observers, and lawyers in Srinagar, speaking to the media, have highlighted that the ongoing house raids conducted by Indian forces have resulted in the arrest and summoning of hundreds of youth, peace activists, and freedom-loving individuals, predominantly from IIOJK. This crackdown is aimed at stifling dissent against Indian occupation.
The recent surge in arrests in IIOJK is viewed as further political victimization of the people of Kashmir, who have been denied their basic human rights, they emphasized. They stated that the current arrest campaign by Indian forces is a vindictive policy of the BJP-led Modi government intended to suppress the voice of freedom.
The report indicates that Indian troops are targeting ordinary Kashmiris during cordon-and-search operations and house raids. The Modi-led regime is systematically eliminating space for pro-freedom individuals in IIOJK by repeatedly detaining them on fabricated charges.
India’s continued use of draconian laws like the Public Safety Act (PSA) and the Unlawful Activities Prevention Act (UAPA) to prolong the illegal detention of Kashmiri people is highlighted in the report.
Members have called on the international community to hold India accountable for its ongoing crackdown against innocent Kashmiris, which they classify as a crime against humanity in IIOJK. They argue that the unlawful arrests and torture inflicted by Indian troops and paramilitary personnel aim to undermine Kashmiris’ resolve for freedom, as Modi’s government persists in obliterating all peaceful means of resolving the Kashmir dispute.
Lawyers have urged world human rights organizations to take notice of the unlawful detentions in IIOJK and intervene to protect the rights of Kashmiri civilians.—KMS
