MIRPUR – The Indian Occupied Jammu & Kashmir Socio Economic CoordinationCommittee (JKSECC) on Saturday expressed serious concern on the undeclaredeconomic war against Kashmiris as a result of which economic activities inthe Indian occupied Kashmir (IoK) had come to a standstill.
The JKSECC is an amalgam of various trade, industrial, travel, tour,tourism, horticulture, educational, contractors, pharmaceutical, houseboat,bakers, transport and other civil society formations based in IoK.
According to a report reaching here from across the Line of Control, ameeting of the amalgam was held in occupied Srinagar in the backdrop oflarge scale tourist cancellations, frequent closure of the highway andharassment of Kashmiri traders across outside states all of which havebadly impacted various industrial and service sector activities in thebleeding valley, according to the report.
The representatives of prominent tour and travel associations informed themeeting that almost 90% cancellations had taken place. The tourists, whohad booked their packages to the troubled valley in next three months, hadcancelled their visits.
They revealed that the major tour operators in various states, besides theprominent anti Kashmir politicians, had launched a rigorous negativecampaign advising tourists to visit destinations other than those in theheld valley.
The representatives of major hotel and houseboat associations confirmed inthe meeting that more than 90% room bookings in valley hotels andhouseboats till May 2019 had been cancelled where 10% were in pipeline.
JKSECC, the report continued, strongly condemned the violent attacks andharassment of small Kashmiri traders in various Indian states by fanaticHindus / hooligans forcing them to return back to the valley. Many of thosetraders had returned without realization of huge payments receivable fromtheir customers in these Indian states.
The members of JKSECC observed on this occasion that cancellation oftourist travel as also the harassment of traders was part of the largescale campaign against Kashmiris.
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The members said only a handful of incidents out of thousands of cases ofbeating and harassment of students, traders and others were reported in themedia like recent the most incident in Lucknow after which FIR against“unknown” perpetrators was lodged under very mild and bail-able provisionsof law only for an eyewash.
It is pertinent to mention that all these incidents gained momentum aftersome speakers in January this year at a so called conclave on trifurcationorganized in Hindu-majority occupied Jammu city openly advocated forcreating fear psychosis among Kashmiri Muslims in various Indian states.
“Ironically no action was taken by the puppet-Governor administration ofthe held state against any of these perpetrators of hate in our own state”,regretted the members.
The road blockade of highways in the occupied state during the currentwinter has been unprecedented in past seven decades, observed the membersof JKSECC. There has hardly been any smooth traffic movement during wholeof the winter which has tremendously impacted the industrial and othereconomic activities in the valley, stated the members, according to thereport.
JKSECC demanded of the state “government” to feel obliged to come clean onthe three-pronged economic war aimed at crushing the people of valleyeconomically. The amalgam in consultation with all stakeholders will devisea strategy to counter, what they declared, these mean anti Kashmir plans,the report concluded.