Kashmir lockdown continues: Mosques padlocked, Muharram marches blocked

SRINAGAR: The Indian forces have put restrictions on movement in Held Kashmir as the mosques were locked across the valley in the wake of Friday prayers.

The Muharram processions were also not allowed across the valley.

The restrictions are placed every Friday in the Valley as the Indian occupation forces feared protests at big mosques and shrines.

The Valley has been reeling under movement and communication curbs since the Centre announced its decision to revoke Article 370, and bifurcating the state into two UTs.

Many Kashmiri people sustained injuries when the forces attacked them as they were out breaking the restrictions holding protests against the Indian occupation of the Valley.

However, with the passage of time, restrictions were lifted in phases from many parts of the Valley.

Friday prayers have not been allowed at any of the major mosques in Kashmir for the past one month now.

The lockdown has entered the 33rd day today.

Compared to the past few days, fewer private vehicles were seen on the roads on Friday. The state government’s efforts to open schools have not borne fruit as parents have kept their children at home due to apprehensions about their safety.

The officials said attendance remained thin in many government offices due to lack of public transport.

Indian government is muzzling Kashmir media as part of the lockdown it imposed on the disputed region a month ago, according to a new report by two rights networks.

Published earlier this week, the study said reporters were being subjected to surveillance, informal investigations and harassment for publishing reports considered adverse to the government or security forces.

Titled “News Behind The Barbed Wire”, its findings reveal “a grim and despairing picture of the media in Kashmir, fighting for survival against the most incredible of odds.”

It also highlighted that recent editorials in major Kashmir papers covered only harmless topics, such on the benefits of Vitamin A and “Should you consume caffeine during summer?”

“This is intrinsically undemocratic and harmful, as it privileges the voices of authority and weakens those who speak truth to power,” the report said of the situation faced by the media in Kashmir.

Published by the Network of Women in Media, India and the Free Speech Collective, the report was prepared by two journalists who spent five days in Indian-Held Kashmir and spoke to more than 70 journalists, local administration officials and citizens.

An official in the Information and Broadcast Ministry told AFP on Friday it could not offer any immediate comments as it had yet to see the report.

The government has also restricted movement and curtailed phone and internet services, ostensibly to control unrest in a region where separatists have waged an armed rebellion against Indian rule since 1989.

Since August 5, at least 500 protests and incidents of stone throwing have occurred and some 4,000 people have been detained, according to multiple sources.

Five civilians have also died, the army said this week, blaming the deaths on stone-pelters and militants.

Meanwhile, the Indian Supreme Court on Sept 5 fixed for hearing on Sept 16 pleas of the Kashmir Times Editor and others on alleged communication blockade in Jammu and Kashmir. Anuradha Bhasin, the Executive Editor of Kashmir Times, told a bench headed by Chief Justice.