The Washington Post - 07.08.2019

A14 EZ SU THE WASHINGTON POST.WEDNESDAY, AUGUST 7 , 2019

BY NIHA MASIH

new delhi — For the last
36 hours, Arusha Farooq has been
hooked to her phone — making
frantic calls, messaging repeated-
ly and then checking news sites in
despair. But none of the calls
connect, and none of the messag-
es get read. News reports also
have nothing from her hometown
Srinagar, the capital of the state of
Jammu and Kashmir, amid an
Internet shutdown imposed by
the Indian government.
“Right now, I’m just helpless,”
said Farooq, 26, who teaches at a
private college in Delhi. “I need to
know that my family is safe.”
On Monday, in an incendiary
move, the Indian government
stripped the state of its autonomy
guaranteed under the constitu-
tion. The change is expected to
anger and alienate many in Kash-
mir, raising the prospect of pro-
tracted violence in the restive
region bordering Pakistan.
Revocation of Kashmir’s spe-
cial status has been a long-stand-
ing demand of hard-line Hindu
nationalists. Prime Minister Nar-
endra Modi won a thumping vic-
to ry in the national elections in
May following a polarizing cam-
paign based on muscular Hindu
nationalism.
The step was taken amid a
harsh clampdown in the Muslim-
majority Kashmir valley. Thou-
sands of people were forced to
stay home as troops patrolled
barricaded streets. The Indian
government suspended phone
and Internet service. Schools re-
mained shut, and two former
chief ministers of the state
were arrested. On the website of
the largest circulating local paper,
there is only a blank page un-
der “today’s paper.”
A day later, there has been
almost no word from inside Kash-
mir, a situation m any described as
a “siege.”
Internet shutdowns are not
new to Kashmir. The current
shutdown is the 53rd this year. In
fact, Kashmir accounts for more

than 70 percent of all govern-

ment-imposed blackouts in the

country. In one instance, mobile

Internet remained suspended

for 1 33 days in the wake of

protests following the killing of

popular militant Burhan Wani in

2016.

But Farooq says this is the first

time even landline networks have

been shut down, leaving thou-

sands of Kashmiris across the

country with no means of getting

in touch with their families.

Additional troop deployment

has also left people concerned

about the safety of their loved

ones, g iven frequent violent clash-

es between civilian protesters or

militants and security forces. 2 018

marked the deadliest year in a

decade w ith 586 deaths, including

160 civilians.

Mudasir Amin, a doctoral stu-

dent in Delhi, has been racked

with worry. On Sunday, he re-

ceived a panicked call from a

20-year-old neighbor who recent-

ly had a kidney transplant. The

young man requested that Amin

send him a three months’ supply

of medicine as uncertainty spread

before t he government announce-

ment. Amin is concerned that the

lack of medication could endan-

ger his friend’s life.

He has no idea if he can or will

even be allowed to travel to his

village if he flies to Srinagar. He

has not heard from his friends

who h ave departed for Kashmir in

the last two days. “Once you land

there, you disappear in a black

hole,” Amin said.

Calling the suspension of mo-

bile and Internet services an “ab-

rogation” of the rights of the

people of Kashmir and their free-

dom of speech, Pranesh Prakash,

a fellow at the Center for Internet

and Society, said, “This is in

essence the declaration of inter-

nal emergency without official

proclamation.”

While government sources

called it a “precautionary” meas-

ure to contain violence as a result

of the a nnouncement, it is unclear

how long the ban will remain in

place. Vasudha Gupta, a spokes-

woman for the Interior Ministry,

said she had “no answer.”

“It’s like a pressure cooker situ-

ation,” s aid Iltija Javed, describing

the prevailing atmosphere from

Srinagar. The daughter of Meh-

booba Mufti, a prominent Kash-

mir leader under arrest, she is one

of the few people who have man-

aged to communicate through an

erratic broadband connection.

“By depriving people of their

right to even protest, the govern-

ment of India has just vindicated

the feeling that everybody here

shares — that what has happened

is a violation of their right,” she

said in a WhatsApp voice note

sent to The Washington Post.

The constitutional provision in

contention g ave Kashmir, the only

Muslim-majority state, certain

autonomous powers and was part

of the terms of its accession to the

Indian union in the aftermath of

the partition of India and Paki-

stan. It gave special privileges to

residents, such as the sole right to

buy property or hold government

jobs, both of which will be now

available to people from else-

where in India.

The state has also been bifur-

cated into two federal territories.

That will limit the authority of the

state governments, giving more

control to the central Indian gov-

ernment.

Since 1989, India has battled

with militants in Kashmir fight-

ing for independence from the

country or seeking more autono-

my. While India succeeded in

curbing the influx of cross-border

militants from Pakistan over the

years, it has struggled to restrain

local youths from taking up

arms. India and Pakistan control

parts of the region, and the two

countries have gone to war previ-

ously over Kashmir.

Radha Kumar, a former gov-

ernment-appointed interlocutor

to the state of Kashmir, called the

government’s move a “death

blow,” saying this would only

mean losing the people of the

Kashmir valley.

“My guess is Pakistan will try to

flood the valley with troops,” she

said. “We may not see an immedi-

ate rise in militancy, but again I

would be extremely surprised if

we don’t see more youth turning

to the gun.”

Media reports say India de-

ployed more than 40,000 addi-

tional troops to Kashmir in the

past week. Kashmir is consid-

ered one of the world’s most

heavily militarized zones, with

human r ights groups claiming the

presence of 500,000 to 700,

troops. Residents have long ac-

cused the armed forces of excess-

es.

Amin, the doctoral student in

Delhi, is haunted by his mother’s

last phone call. She told him they

had no idea when they would be

able to speak next. He recalled

holding back tears when she said

she wished he was with them:

“ ‘Even we if die, at least we would

be together,’ she told me.”

[email protected]

Ta nia Dutta contributed to this

report.

Internet, phone blackout leaves Kashmir under ‘siege’

Government-led

shutdown comes day

after state lost autonomy

DANISH ISMAIL/REUTERS

Indian security forces stop people during restrictions on Monday in Srinagar, the capital of the state of Jammu and Kashmir.

BY PAMELA CONSTABLE

islamabad, pakistan — Paki-

stan reacted with shock and an-

ger Tuesday to India’s sudden

decree revoking a 65-year-old law

that had granted limited political

autonomy to the disputed Hima-

layan border region of Kashmir.

Kashmir, long a flash point in

contentious relations between

the nuclear-armed neighbors, has

seen 30 years of unrest, including

guerrilla attacks, protests by Mus-

lims and allegations of repression

by Indian security forces. Now,

Pakistani officials and others say

they fear there is worse to come.

Pakistani Prime Minister Im-

ran Khan, in a grim address to a

special joint session of Parlia-

ment, accused India’s Hindu na-

tionalist leadership of promoting

a “racist ideology.” He said that

after making numerous attempts

at outreach, he has concluded

that Indian Prime Minister Nar-

endra Modi and his govern-

ment “took our overtures for

peace as weakness.”

India’s action Monday, which

stripped Kashmir of numerous

rights, “is not a decision they have

taken out of the blue,” Khan said.

“It is ingrained in their ideology

that puts Hindus above all other

religions.” India will “now crack

down even harder on the Kash-

miri people,” he predicted, add-

ing: “I fear they may initiate

ethnic cleansing in Kashmir to

wipe out the local population.”

Referring to a terrorist attack

in Kashmir that led to a danger-

ous military standoff in March,

Khan said neither country can

afford to fight an unwinnable war

against the other. “This is not

nuclear blackmail,” he said. Khan

said he intends instead to let

world leaders know that “what

the Indian government is doing

in Kashmir... goes against every-

thing the Western world believes

in.”

Pakistan’s senior military com-

manders issued a statement say-

ing they “fully supported” the

government’s rejection of India’s

actions.

“Pakistan never recognized the

sham Indian efforts to legalize its

occupation of Kashmir” t hrough

the Indian constitution, the com-

manders said. “The Pakistan

army stands firmly by the Kash-

miris in their just struggle.... We

are prepared and shall go to any

extent to fulfill our obligations.”

The drastic step taken Monday

by Modi abruptly repealed an

article in India’s constitution,

ending more than six decades of

limited but settled rights for resi-

dents of the majority-Muslim

Kashmir Valley. Numerous Paki-

stani commentators expressed

fears t hat it would unleash a spate

of violent repression and protest.

While Indian authorities im-

posed a blackout on news and

communication Monday from

Indian-controlled Kashmir, Paki-

stani news media aired nonstop

coverage. TV channels reported

that numerous Kashmiri lead-

ers were arrested and broadcast

images of Indian soldiers chasing

and beating protesters in Srina-

gar, the summer capital of India’s

Jammu and Kashmir state and a

hub of Muslim unrest.

There was widespread con-

demnation of India’s action by

politicians and commentators.

Many said it violated U.N. resolu-

tions on the status of Kashmir

after the tumultuous partition of

India created Pakistan in 1947.

Pakistan has long championed

the efforts of Indian Kashmiris to

gain independence from Indian

rule, and India has repeatedly

accused Pakistan of abetting

guerrilla attacks and bombings

there.

Last week, India sent thou-

sands of extra troops into the

region and urged all tourists to

leave, raising fears in Pakistan

that military action was being

planned. Over the weekend, Paki-

stani officials accused India of

dropping cluster bombs in civil-

ian areas along the Line of Con-

trol that separates the Indian-

and Pakistani-controlled por-

tions of Kashmir.

Pakistani media also reported

that a senior Kashmiri Muslim

leader in Srinagar, Syed Ali Gee-

lani, had tweeted what he called

an “SOS” message to “all Muslims

living on this planet,” asking

them to speak out and warning

that India was “about to launch

the biggest genocide in the his-

tory of mankind.”

On Tuesday, the editors of

Dawn, Pakistan’s largest English-

language newspaper, also pre-

dicted “violent consequences.”

They said India’s move has re-

duced Kashmir “to the status of a

colony” and warned that Hindu

settlers, galvanized by Modi’s re-

election in May, could begin an

“invasion” of the Kashmir Valley

to dilute Muslim demographic

strength.

Until now, the region has en-

joyed semiautonomous powers,

with its own constitution, local

government and laws that con-

trolled all matters except those

related to finance, defense and

foreign relations. Outsiders were

not allowed to buy property t here.

Modi’s decree will end those

rights and incorporate Kashmir

fully into greater Indian territory.

Pakistani opposition leader Bi-

lawal Bhutto Zardari, chairman

of the Pakistan People’s Party,

called Modi the “butcher of Kash-

mir” and a “terrorist.” He called

on Pakistanis to raise their voices

against India’s action “at every

available international forum.”

In Washington, State Depart-

ment spokeswoman Morgan Ort-

agus said, “We are concerned

about reports of detentions and

urge respect for individual

rights.” She added, “We call on all

parties to maintain peace and

stability along the Line of Con-

trol.”

In a recent first meeting with

Khan in Washington, Presi-

dent Trump offered to help medi-

ate the Kashmir dispute between

Pakistan and India. In turn, he

asked Khan to support the on-

going peace talks in Afghanistan,

and the Pakistani premier said he

would invite Ta liban leaders to

meet with him.

Some analysts here said India’s

move against Kashmir was a de-

liberate effort to counter such an

effort and could even set back U.S.

talks with Afghanistan’s Taliban

insurgents. Pakistan has always

sought foreign mediation on

Kashmir, and India has always

rejected it.

Other Pakistani observers said

they had expected Modi to revoke

Kashmir’s special status sooner,

and some said such a plan was

part of his reelection manifesto.

“This is what they always want-

ed to do,” said commentator

Mosharraf Zaidi. “The best way

forward for us is to highlight

Indian atrocities in the occupied

territory,” he said. “Our govern-

ment should exercise immense

restraint and let India dig its own

grave through its thuggery.”

[email protected]

Anger in Pakistan over Kashmir change

Premier warns of ‘ethnic

cleansing’ by India in

majority-Muslim region

“This is in essence the declaration of internal

emergency without official proclamation.”

Pranesh Prakash, a fellow at the Center for Internet and Society

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