Kashmir News Weekly Roundup: 7/16-7/23
Occupation Agencies continue reign of terror across Kashmir, raid multiple locations
Three districts in South Kashmir were the target of searches by the State Investigation Agency (SIA) Kashmir. The SIA officials conducted the searches on Tuesday, assisted by law enforcement and the paramilitary CRPF. The searches were carried out in the southern Kashmir towns of Anantnag, Chakoora, and Shirmal, as well as the Qaimoh neighborhood of Kulgam.
The National Investigation Agency of India conducted many searches around Valley on Thursday as part of its ongoing arresting spree. In connection with cases involving militant conspiracy, the NIA investigators, J&K Police, and CRPF forces conducted searches in northern Kashmir’s Baramulla and Sopore and in southern Kashmir’s Pulwama, Awantipora, and Shopian.
On Saturday, the NIA also carried out raids in the Kishtwar area, during which a few cell phones and other papers were confiscated. Notably, the organization has carried out over 70 searches throughout JK in the previous month. Regular raids targeting Kashmiri citizens are still being conducted. India has been carrying out these searches using its NIA, SIA, CBI, SIU, and armed forces in order to persecute Kashmiris on the basis of false claims.
Exclusive:
Occupation Police targeting Kashmiris who supported Pakistan Cricket Team in Dubai
After videos of Kashmiri supporters raising slogans in support of the Pakistan cricket team had gone viral on social media, the occupational forces have created a list of individuals who they have identified from these videos. During the match in Dubai, in August 2022, the Men’s T20 Asia Cup, Kashmiri supporters were seen wearing Pakistan Cricket Team jerseys and singing traditional Kashmiri songs.
A Kashmiri woman, whose video had garnered millions of views on Instagram and Facebook, told us that she had come home for Eid after two years, and soon after her arrival she was summoned to the Police station where she was interrogated for over three hours. The woman told us that she has been made to sign a bond stating that if she does anything that is “anti-national” the local authorities have the right to impound her passport and bar her from traveling outside of India.
At least seven more people reported that after the match, and the videos going viral, they have either received threatening phone calls or summons. In one case, the house of a software Engineer working in Dubai was raided and his devices seized. “They told me that I am meeting Pakistanis in Dubai and am working for them. That is untrue, I am a professional who does his job and nothing more. They are using every tactic to harass us.”
Exclusive:
Occupation Police arrest Journalist, book him for ‘fundraising’ for militant organizations
In connection with an alleged “militant funding” case, police detained a young journalist from North Kashmir’s Pattan neighborhood last week. The family has rejected the allegations, claiming that the only reason their son is the target of a fabricated case is because he is married to a cousin of a resistance commander.
A family member stated, “The police had arrested him earlier and according to their claims, our son shared a post on social media two years ago asking for financial support for the family of a jailed resistance activist Sarjan Barkati.”
A number of the accused youth’s acquaintances and relatives have also been called in for investigation. The Indian state is using various justifications to punish their son, according to the father of the youth: “The Indian army raided our house the day he was getting married and questioned us regarding his marriage to the daughter of a resistance commander.”
Notably, hundreds of Kashmiris are being held under false accusations in various jails across India. The Kashmiri people are being punished by the Indian state agents under the guise of investigations for their involvement in the resistance struggle.
News Updates:
Indian Occupation dismisses top University spokesperson for alleged militant links
Invoking Article 311 of the Indian Constitution, the puppet Jammu and Kashmir administration fired three more government workers on Monday, including a police officer and the spokesman for Kashmir University. The fired employees, as per the occupation authorities, engaged in separatist activities and had ties to militant groups.
According to a source, the JK administration has fired three individuals: Police Constable Arshid Ahmad Thoker, Revenue Department Officer Murawath Hussain Mir, and Public Relations Officer (PRO) of the University of Kashmir, Faheem Aslam for “working with Pakistani militancy outfits, providing militants with logistics, propagating militant ideology, raising militant finances, and furthering militant agenda.”
In May 2022, chemistry professor— Altaf Hussain Pandit— along with two other government employees, were removed from services in line with recommendations of the STF.
In July 2021, the government dismissed 11 of its employees, including sons of Hizbul Mujahideen chief Syed Salahuddin and two from the police department. In November of that year, the government terminated the services of two senior officers — a deputy superintendent in the JK prisons department and a principal of government girls’ higher secondary school — for their alleged links with militant organizations.
Occupation Police arrests four more civilians
In the Budgam area of central Kashmir, the police and Indian army detained four civilians on Tuesday under the false pretense of being militant allies. The arrested youth have been identified as Mushtaq Ahmad Lone, Azhar Ahmad Mir, Irfan Ahmad Sofi, and Abrar Ahmad Malik.
India has been regularly carrying out civilian arrests in Kashmir. Currently, hundreds of Kashmiris are being imprisoned inhumanely in jails throughout India on fabricated charges.
Kashmir Hajjis say the Indian government is mistreating pilgrims
The first group of 630 pilgrims, who had just completed the Islamic Hajj pilgrimage, arrived in Srinagar on Tuesday. The pilgrims said that the Indian government did not provide any of the facilities that were promised during the holy pilgrimage in Makkah and Madina.
A Hajji claimed, “The Indian government failed in every way to provide any comfort for the pilgrims from Kashmir. There were more than 15 people living in one room with only one bathroom. They handled us like animals. When we addressed the authorities, they would act as though enabling Muslims from Kashmir to perform the Hajj was a favor for us. This is disgusting.”
This situation has raised concerns regarding the disparity of treatment of Islamic religious matters in comparison to Hindu ones. This has led many Muslims to question why the government struggles to offer seamless services for a relatively small group of 12,000 Hajjis, while the entire state apparatus is mobilized to cater to thousands of Hindu Yatris. This year, a total of 12,067 pilgrims, comprising 6,698 males and 5,369 women, have embarked on the holy pilgrimage.
