Shops shuttered, streets deserted as IOK loses special status and is divided

Indian govt’s orders went into effect after midnight dividing up occupied Jammu and Kashmir into two union...

SRINAGAR: Shops and offices were shut in occupied Kashmir on Thursday and the streets largely deserted as federal authorities formally revoked the restive state’s constitutional autonomy and split it into two federal territories.

Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s decision in August to change Indian Occupied Kashmir’s status and tighten its grip over the reigion has stoked anger and resentment while a three-decade armed revolt rages.

Just after midnight on Wednesday, the federal government’s orders went into effect, dividing up the old state of occupied Jammu and Kashmir into two union territories - one Jammu and Kashmir, and the other the Buddhist-dominated high altitude region of Ladakh.

Both will be directly ruled by Delhi, and new lieutenant governors were due to be sworn in at a high-security governor’s premises later on Thursday.

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“The unfulfilled dream of integrating Jammu and Kashmir has been accomplished,” said Home Minister Amit Shah, who is leading the political strategy to deal with Kashmir.

India is hoping that by opening up property rights in occupied Kashmir to people from outside the region it can reignite economic growth, create jobs and turn the focus away from the militancy in which more than 40,000 people have died.

On Thursday, there was little traffic on the streets of Srinagar, the main city, except for children going to school to complete hastily arranged exams. Many children have been kept out of school since the August clampdown.

Shops were shut as a mark of opposition against occupied Kashmir’s new status.

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Authorities deployed additional paramilitary forces in parts of Srinagar where small protests have erupted in the past since the August 5 announcement of the change of status.

Former occupied Jammu and Kashmir chief minister Mehbooba Mufti, one of the scores of politicians in detention to prevent large protests from breaking out, said the federal government must engage with Kashmiris before they become even more alienated.

“GOI (government of India) has left Kashmiris in the lurch and shown disregard for their rights. But if you consider them as your own, reach out and engage with them before it’s too late,” she said in a Twitter post which is being handled by her daughter Iltija.