KARACHI: The Indian chapter of Amnesty International has launched a campaign aimed at lifting of the communications blackout being endured by residents of occupied Kashmir, which on Thursday marked one month since imposition of the draconian measures.

A statement posted on the website of Amnesty International India (AII) described the communications blackout in the disputed region as an outrageous and protracted assault on civil liberties of Kashmiris and said its global campaign was an attempt to highlight the human cost of the draconian measures introduced by the Narendra Modi government.

“The blackout has now been a month old and cannot be prolonged any further by the Indian government as it has grossly impacted the daily lives of Kashmiri people, their emotional and mental wellbeing, medical care, as well as their access to basic necessities and emergency services,” said the statement.

Says India is violating its international obligations relating to human rights

“It is tearing families apart,” said the head of AII, Aakar Patel.

The statement said the AII’s global campaign named #LetKashmirSpeak would seek the immediate lifting of the controversial lockdown. “While landline telephones have been announced to be restored, their obsoletion in the recent past (means they) will fall woefully short in facilitating communication for the eight million people of Kashmir,” said Mr Patel.

The statement pointed out that people of the occupied valley of Kashmir were still facing the tough measures but some relief had already been provided to the residents of Jammu. “While the region of Jammu has begun to see easing of the lockdown in many districts, most of Kashmir still remains under a severe communications blackout. Depriving an entire population of their right to freedom of expression, opinion and movement for an indefinite period is akin to taking the region back to the dark ages.

“ ‘Naya Kashmir’ cannot be built without the Kashmiris. The country is yet to hear from Kashmir after a month of being repeatedly told by the Indian government that all is normal. This is not normal. Let Kashmir speak,” said Mr Patel.

Referring to a claim by an Indian minister that some restrictions were required for security reasons, the statement said the human rights organisation “does not believe the current shutdown complies with requirement of necessity, proportionality and legality set out under Article 19 of the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights, to which India is a party”.

“Instead, it deprives the entire population of Kashmir of their right to freedom of expression and opinion and access to crucial information, thus inflicting a form of collective punishment on the eight million people of Kashmir. Lack of transparency on the criteria used to cut off all communication services and what mechanisms are available to challenge the sweeping restrictions puts India in a clear violation of its international obligations,” asserted the statement.

“Sketchy reports coming out of the region have highlighted unattended medical emergencies, mass arrests and detentions, children and youth being picked up in the middle of the night, torture of civilians, indiscriminate use of tear gas, rubber bullets and pellet guns at protesters. All this with the backdrop of heavy military presence and a history of serious human rights violations in the region.

“This adds to the heightening of tensions and feelings of insecurity at a time when families are unable to contact each other and ensure their wellbeing — as many young and aged remain locked in their homes. The attempts to restrict the freedom of press, like in the case of journalist and author Gowhar Geelani who was arbitrarily stopped at the Indira Gandhi International Airport, New Delhi, from boarding his flight to Germany have further compounded the effect of the communication blackout,” added Mr Patel’s statement.

Published in Dawn, September 6th, 2019