Kashmir News Weekly Roundup: 11/5-11/12

Exclusive:

Indian Occupation threatens Kashmiris with ‘arrest under UAPA’ for Palestine support

In the last several weeks, the Indian occupation forces and their allied agencies have called in a large number of journalists, academics, and social activists from Kashmir. These individuals were demanded to remove and refrain from sharing messages that support Palestine on social media, with the threat of arrest under UAPA charges looming over them. The summons were issued by CID, CIK, and the JK Police Cyber Cell.

As the relentless Israeli bombardment of Gaza enters its second month, the Indian Occupation regime has imposed a ban on protests supporting Palestine throughout the occupied territory. In parallel, the occupation authorities in Jammu and Kashmir have prohibited Friday congregational prayers at Jamia Masjid, the largest mosque in Kashmir. Mirwaiz, the chief cleric of the mosque, has been under house arrest for five weeks in connection with these developments.

Unrest in Southern Kashmir: Indian Troops Escalate Military Assaults Amid Internet Blackout in Parigam

Amidst an arbitrary internet blackout in Parigam and neighboring villages in the Pulwama area of South Kashmir, the occupying Indian troops have escalated their military assaults. Apart from nocturnal raids and cordon & search operations, innocent citizens have been subjected to everyday frisking, arrests, and crackdowns.

The residents claim that since 2021, the occupying troops have wreaked havoc on the region as a form of collective punishment for their sons’ involvement in the resistance forces.

The ransacking of civilian properties, torture and beating by the occupying forces has become a routine for the residents of Parigam and Sethar village. In the present, Kashmiri fighters’ longest-serving resistance commander Riyaz Sethri hails from the village. His family has been regularly harassed by the Indian forces.

News Updates:

India approves 6,000 settlements for Indian Hindus in Kashmir

To alter the demographics of occupied Jammu and Kashmir, India has approved 6,000 job openings and housing accommodations under the pretense of “resettling Kashmiri Pandits” in an effort to forward its settler-colonial program. 1,665 of the total number of approved homes have already been built. Confidential sources claim that as part of the Indian plan, which is directly inspired by Israel’s apartheid system among other things, Hindus from across India are to be gathered and settled into these communities under armed protection.

Notably, since India’s ruling fascist regime stripped the region of its semi-sovereign status, it has been introducing arbitrary laws, like land-laws and domicile laws that will provide Indians permanent residency in Kashmir. Experts have paralleled the abrogation and subsequent introduction and modifications of laws in Kashmir with Israel’s strategy of altering the demographics of Palestine.

India fires 55 Kashmiris accusing them of supporting resistance to Indian Occupation

55 Kashmir Muslims employed by the government have been fired by the puppet Indian regime in Jammu and Kashmir, which is headed by Lieutenant Governor Manoj Sinha. ‘Aiding the armed resistance effort against Indian rule’ has been cited as a justification for the current dismissals. Following the disputed region’s unlawful annexation in 2019 a dedicated task force was established by the Occupation Authorities in 2021 to identify and prosecute such personnel.

These acts, which the natives refer to as a form of collective punishment, have also drawn condemnation from union leaders and trade unionists. Mehbooba Mufti, the president of the PDP, has denounced the dismissals, calling them “arbitrary” and intended to inspire terror in the Kashmiri community.

Kupwara: Indian regime installs statue of Hindu king who fought against Muslims

The Indian regime, while furthering its attempts to destroy the culture and history of Kashmir, installed the statue of Chhatrapati Shivaji in Kupwara, on Tuesday. Shivaji was a Hindu king who fought many battles against the Mughals in India. Hindu nationalist hail him as a ‘warrior who fought against Islam’ to justify their Islamophobia.

Indian occupation has made many efforts to Hinduise Kashmir’s past in order to strengthen its claim on Kashmir and portray the disputed region as its integral part.
Lieutenant Governor Manoj Sinha along with Chief Minister of Maharashtra, Eknath Shinde and Maharashtra’s Cultural Affairs Minister Sudhir Mungantiwar under a tightened military presence led the event. In his address, the Lt Governor congratulated the ‘Amhi Punekar’ and 41 Rashtriya Rifles of the Indian Army for the initiative. Sinha also called for celebrating the Chhatrapati Shivaji Maharaj festival in Kupwara on November 7 every year.

India shuts Kashmir’s historic Jamia Masjid for fifth consecutive Friday

The Indian authorities banned congregational prayers at Kashmir’s historic Jamia Masjid on Friday. This was the fifth consecutive Friday when prayers were disallowed at the historic mosque. The grand mosque, located in the Nowhatta area of the city, remained locked and personnel from the occupying forces were deployed around the mosque.

The Anjuman Auqaf Jamia Masjid, the managing body of the mosque, in a statement said that for the fifth consecutive Friday, police closed the gates of the mosque. It said that Hurriyat Conference chairman Mirwaiz Umar Farooq, who is also the head cleric of Kashmir, “continues to be under house arrest”.

By closing places of worship and denying people the freedom to practice their faith, their right to freedom of assembly, and their right to peaceful protest, the Indian occupation has clamped down on anti-occupation demonstrations in Kashmir. The recent crackdown comes after Israel started its attack on Palestine. As the civilians in Muslim majority Kashmir planned to voice their opposition to the mass-murder in Gaza, India has been making all efforts to crush any anti-Israel demonstrations.

Aga Syed Hadi barred from Friday sermons for fourth consecutive week

The President of Anjuman e Sharie Shiayaan Aga Syed Mohammad Hadi al Mosavi was detained by Indian authorities at his residence on Friday and barred from offering congressional prayers for the fourth consecutive Friday.

In a statement, Anjuman e Sharie Shiayaan said that this is purely happening to prevent people from raising their voices against Israel’s genocide in Palestine. ‘Authorities firstly withheld the right of people to protest rallies, now they are adamant to not even allow free speech within the boundaries of the Imambargah,’ the statement added.

Notably, Aga Syed Hadi was also put under house arrest by the authorities on October 20th in view of the protests that were scheduled that day in support of Palestine.

India’s rule of terror in Kashmir continues with ongoing raids

India’s campaign of repression against the Kashmiri people for their support of the resistance movement is still ongoing. On Wednesday, the State Investigation Agency (SIA) conducted raids in Srinagar, Anantnag, and Pulwama, among other places in Kashmir. According to a report, these searches are being conducted in accordance with search warrants that have been granted by the Special Court. The raids are being conducted in connection with FIR no. 08 of 2023.

Particularly since 2017, India has conducted a significant crackdown against resistance groups and their supporters in the disputed territory using government agencies, including the army, NIA, CID, SIA, SIU, and others. Over 60 properties, including 30 homes in Kashmir, have been linked to “militancy” cases or are suspected of “harboring militants” in the past three years.