Kashmir: Restrictions reimposed in parts of Srinagar

SRINAGAR, Jammu and Kashmir

Restrictions were reimposed Friday in some parts of Srinagar city in Jammu and Kashmir ahead of Friday’s congregational prayers, police said.

The restrictions were imposed to maintain “law and order situation,” a police official in Srinagar said.

“The restrictions are in place particularly in old areas of Srinagar city. It is a precautionary measure,” the official told Anadolu Agency in condition of anonymity.

In the areas where restrictions have been reimposed, the Indian forces have laid barbed wires in several places to prevent the public movement.

On the 54th day of near-complete lockdown across the Indian-administered region, the public transportation is still cancelled and businesses are shut down.

India’s news agency Press Trust of India, quoting officials, reported that the restrictions have been also imposed in Ganderbal, Anantnag, Awantipora, Sopore and Handwara towns of the region.

The region is facing an unprecedented communication blockade, with internet and mobile phones curtailed across the region since Aug. 5, when India revoked the special status of Jammu and Kashmir.

Officials said in Handwara and Kupwara district of northern Kashmir, mobile services are operational. Anadolu Agency however couldn’t confirm the claim.

Several rights groups including Human Rights Watch and Amnesty International have repeatedly called on India to lift restrictions and release political detainees.

India said that 93% of the restrictions have been eased in the conflict-ridden region, a claim that Anadolu Agency could not independently verify.

From 1954 until Aug. 5, 2019, Jammu and Kashmir enjoyed a special status under the Indian constitution which allowed it to enact its own laws. The provisions also protected the region's citizenship law, which barred outsiders from settling in and owning land in the territory.

Also, the Indian government further downgraded and divided the disputed region into two centrally controlled “union territories”.

India and Pakistan both hold Kashmir in parts and claim it in full. China also controls part of the contested region, but it is India and Pakistan who have fought two wars over Kashmir.