NEW DELHI – Occupied Kashmir lockdown by India is unprecedented anddistinct in history of region, International Agency has claimed.
Rights group Amnesty International said the crackdown was “distinct andunprecedented” in the recent history of the region and the detentions hadcontributed to “widespread fear and alienation”.
“The communication blackout, security clampdown and detention of thepolitical leaders in the region hasmade it worse,” said Aakar Patel, headof Amnesty International India.
The report contains data from the 13 police districts that make up theKashmir Valley, the most populous part of the Himalayan region where themain city of Srinagar is located.
The largest number of arrests have been in Srinagar, the data shows, atnearly 1,000. Earlier unrest often centered in rural areas.
Of the detained political leaders, more than 80 were from the People’sDemocraticParty, formerly in coalition in Jammu and Kashmir state with the rulingBharatiya Janata Party.
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About 70 are from the National Conference, which has for years dominatedpolitics in Indian Kashmir, and more than a dozen from India’s mainopposition Congress party.
Police also arrested more than 150 people accused of association withmilitant groups fighting Indian rule.
An Indian official said it was likely that more than 1,200 people werestill held, including all the high-profile politicians and separatistsmentioned in the report, while dozens more are being arrested every day.
In the 24 hours before the report was compiled, more than two dozen peoplewere arrested, mainly on suspicion of throwing stones at troops, the datashowed.