US worried over restrictions, detentions in IOK

State Dept urges India to respect human rights, comply with legal procedures

The United States is watching the situation in Occupied Jammu and Kashmir and continues to be "very concerned by reports of detentions and the continued restrictions on the residents of the region," the US State Department said on Thursday.

"We urge respect for human rights, compliance with legal procedures, and an inclusive dialogue with those affected," according to a statement issued by the department.

The US also called for all stakeholders to maintain peace.

"We call on all parties to maintain peace and stability along the Line of Control," the statement read.

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.

Indian troops, in their fresh act of state terrorism, also martyred a Kashmiri youth in the Sopore area of Baramulla district. The youth was killed during siege and search operation in the Warpora area of Sopore.

The occupied valley is under a strict lockdown, imposed hours before India illegally annexed the disputed territory.

Hundreds of Kashmiris have suffered injuries in protests since the lockdown was imposed as Indian forces used teargas shells and pellet guns on them.

The occupied valley has been turned into a jail for its residents, who have been confined to their homes. Patients in a critical condition are not allowed to travel to hospitals. Medical stores have run out of stocks. The residents are facing immense hardships because of the acute shortage of essential commodities including baby food.

Residents are not even being allowed to participate in the funeral prayers of their loved ones.

Because of the restrictions, the people of occupied Kashmir are unable to stock essential commodities for the winter season. It will result in a large number of deaths even if the curfew is lifted in the later part of the summer. The valley remains cut off from the rest of the world because of the closure of Srinagar-Jammu Highway during the winter snowfall.

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.

"The shutdown of the internet and telecommunication networks, without justification from the government [of India], are inconsistent with the fundamental norms of necessity and proportionality," the statement quoted the experts as saying. "The blackout is a form of collective punishment of the people of Jammu and Kashmir, without even a pretext of a precipitating offence."

"We remind the Indian authorities that the restrictions imposed by the Indian Government are intrinsically disproportionate, because they preclude considerations of the specific circumstances of each proposed assembly."

The OHCHR statement also noted with extreme concern reports of arrests of political figures, journalists, human rights defenders, activists and others, and of use of excessive force against protesters.

"The experts said they were deeply concerned by reports that security forces were conducting night raids on private homes leading to the arrests of young people," the statement read.

"Such detentions could constitute serious human rights violations. The allegations must be thoroughly investigated by the authorities, and, if confirmed, those responsible must be held accountable," the statement added. "We are gravely concerned about allegations that the whereabouts of some of those detained is not known as well as the general heightened risk of enforced disappearances, which may proliferate against the backdrop of mass arrests and restricted access to the internet and other communications networks.

Regarding the use of excessive force and live ammunition against protesters, the experts said India had the responsibility to use the minimum force necessary when policing protests. "This means that the use of deadly force is a measure permissible only as last resort and to protect life."

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".