NEW DELHI – India faces an international blow over the Occupied Kashmirissue from the International Commission of Jurists (ICJ).
ICJ has strongly condemned the legislative steps taken by India in occupiedKashmir and urged the Indian government to “respect, protect and fulfillthe human rights of people in Jammu and Kashmir.”
India rushed through a presidential decree on Monday to abolish Article370, which revoked the special status granted to occupied Kashmir and madethe state a Union Territory with the legislature.
The move followed days of uncertainty in the region that began last weekwhen New Delhi ordered tourists and Hindu pilgrims to leave “immediately”.
“The Indian Government’s revocation of the autonomy and special status ofJammu and Kashmir violates the rights of representation and participationguaranteed to the people of Jammu and Kashmir under the Indian Constitutionand in international law and is a blow to the rule of law and human rightsin the state and in India,” the ICJ said in a press release.
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“The Indian Government pushed through a legislative package effectivelyeliminating the special status accorded to Jammu and Kashmir under Article370 of the Indian Constitution, which granted autonomy to Jammu and Kashmirand limited the Indian Government’s legislative powers in the state.
The move was preceded by a communication blackout, arbitrary detention ofpolitical leaders, banned movement and meetings of people, and increasedmilitary presence, purportedly to quell protests.
