In Indian-occupied Jammu and Kashmir, Hurriyat parties have vehemently condemned the "forced and deliberate" closure of the Srinagar-Jammu highway for apple-laden trucks, calling it an attack on the region's horticulture industry and the livelihoods of thousands of families. According to Kashmir Media Service, in separate statements issued in Srinagar, the Jammu and Kashmir Young Men’s League (JKYML), Peoples League, Muslim Youth Forum, Jammu Kashmir Peoples Resistance Party, Jammu  and Kashmir Democratic Movement, and several civil society members said the prolonged disruption of truck movement on the only all-weather road link between Kashmir and the outside world was “no accident” but part of a “deliberate strategy to cripple the Kashmiri economy.” 

They pointed out that hundreds of vehicles carrying perishable fruit remain stranded for days, causing massive losses to growers and traders during the peak marketing season.  The Hurriyet organizations also lashed out at the LG-led puppet regime in Indian occupied Jammu and Kashmir, accusing it of abandoning farmers and toeing New Delhi’s line.  “Instead of safeguarding the interests of growers, this administration has chosen silence while our fruit rots on the roadside,” the statements read. 

The parties warned that the blockade had not only disrupted trade but also inflicted psychological and financial distress on tens of thousands of families dependent on Apple farming.  They cautioned that unless immediate measures were taken to clear the backlog of trucks and ensure smooth movement of consignments, the state’s economy could suffer irreversible damage.  Calling for international attention to what they described as the “economic strangulation” of Kashmir, the statements urged global human rights bodies and trade organizations to take note of the crisis. 

They demanded urgent compensation for growers and traders already suffering losses and insisted that the highway be opened without delay under a transparent and accountable mechanism.  The Srinagar Jammu highway, which falls under the jurisdiction of occupier India’s Ministry of Road Transport and Highways has remained frequently closed or partially open in recent weeks on the pretext of “repair works” and “landslides.”  Fruit growers and transporters, however, allege that the closures are a result of discrimination and deliberate mismanagement aimed at undermining Kashmir’s horticulture the backbone of its economy.

Credit: Independent News Pakistan (INP)