WASHINGTON: The United States on Thursday said that it was “very concerned” about reports of detentions and restrictions imposed in Indian occupied Kashmir.
As the Indian government’s lockdown of occupied Kashmir continued for the 25th consecutive day on Thursday, hundreds of Kashmiris defied the restrictions and took to the streets in Srinagar and other areas of the disputed territory to stage demonstrations against New Delhi.
Indian troops and police personnel used brute force against the demonstrators, injuring many of them. More than 600 protests have been staged in occupied Kashmir since August 5, when the Indian government, led by the Hindu nationalist Bharatiya Janata Party, revoked the special status of the disputed territory, paving the way for outsiders to purchase land and settle there — a move aimed at changing the demography of the Muslim-dominated region.
During the meeting, Trump raised the issue of occupied Kashmir with Modi, expressing hope that something positive would come out of talks between Pakistan and India.
“We spoke last night on Kashmir, the prime minister [Modi] feels like he has it under control. They speak with Pakistan and I am sure that they will be able to do something that will be very good,” Trump told reporters.
In a recent statement released by the Office of the UN High Commissioner for Human Rights (OHCHR), human rights experts called on India to lift the lockdown and communication blockade it had imposed on occupied Kashmir.
They urged India to end what they termed a form of ‘collective punishment’ on Kashmiris.
Separately, a global advocacy group Genocide Watch issued an alert for occupied Kashmir, calling on the UN to “warn India not to commit genocide in Kashmir”.