India: Kashmir valley restrictions eased progressively

NEW DELHI, India

The presence of Indian army in Kashmir Valley was only limited to counter-terrorism, and police and central forces are there for handling public order, said India’s National Security Advisor (NSA) Ajit Doval on Saturday.

''I am 'fully convinced' that a majority of Kashmiris support the revoking of special status of Jammu and Kashmir and affirmed that restrictions in the state are aimed at preventing Pakistan from creating more mischief through proxies

and terrorists,'' said Press Trust of India (PTI) quoting Ajit Doval.

In a wide-ranging interaction with a select group of journalists, Doval said restrictions have anyway been eased progressively, and only 10 of the 199 police districts in Kashmir, Jammu and Laddakh now still have prohibitory orders,

while land-line telephones have been restored fully in all three areas, according to PTI.

According to PTI, Doval said, “If anybody is interested in restoring normalcy in Jammu and Kashmir, it is India."

Jammu and Kashmir has been facing a communication blackout since Aug. 5 when New Delhi stripped the disputed region of special provisions guaranteed by the Indian Constitution.

From 1954 until Aug. 5, 2019, Jammu and Kashmir had special provisions under which it enacted its own laws. The provisions also protected the region's citizenship law, which barred outsiders from settling in and owning land in the

territory.

Kashmiri leaders fear this is a deliberate move by the Indian government to change the demography of the Muslim-majority state, which is claimed by India and Pakistan in full and held by both in parts.

The two South Asian nuclear powers have fought two wars over Kashmir in 1947 and 1965.