Political parties and leaders staged protests across Indian illegally occupied Jammu and Kashmir, demanding the restoration of Articles 370 and 35A to end the ongoing miseries and exploitation of the oppressed people of the territory. According to Kashmir Media Service, the parties including National Conference, People’s Democratic Party, Congress and others joined the demonstrations.

The parties and leaders including senior APHC leader Agha Syed Hassan Al-Moosvi Al-Safavi strongly condemned India’s unilateral and unconstitutional actions of August 5, 2019, stating that repression, mass arrests, and political restrictions cannot bring peace to the occupied territory. Protesters holding black flags and placards raised slogans against the BJP government, demanding immediate restoration of Articles 370 and 35A, and full statehood for Jammu and Kashmir, abrogated under military and police siege on August 5, 2019. 

The protesters said that August 5, 2019, will always be remembered as the day when Kashmir’s Muslim identity was targeted by the Modi-led regime, under a wider agenda of the BJP and RSS to revive a pre-Islamic Hindu civilization in the territory. They asserted that New Delhi’s unilateral and unconstitutional actions were designed to eradicate the Muslim character of IIOJK and settle non-locals to change the territory’s demography.  They said that preserving their unique identity was a matter of life and death for Kashmiri Muslims.

The abrogation of Article 370 was described as an assault on Kashmiris’ honor, dignity, and their legitimate right to self-determination, and the protesters vowed that they would never accept the changes imposed by India.  “You cannot discredit Articles 370 and 35A after decades of their constitutional recognition,” echoed protesters across the territory. A protester told the media, “Unemployment is rising in IIOJK, our local rights and natural resources are being taken away. Many youth are even migrating to other cities for jobs. We will not remain silent.”  

Credit: Independent News Pakistan (INP)