ISLAMABAD – Amnesty India has called upon the Indian government to ensurethat the Kashmiri people do not face targeted attacks, harassment andarbitrary arrests in the wake of the Pulwama suicide attack that left 44Indian soldiers dead last week.
The international human rights organisation’s India unit said this in apress release issued on its official website on Tuesday.
Amnesty India said it came to their knowledge through media reports thatKashmiri university students and traders in northern states, primarilyUttarakhand, Haryana and Bihar, have been beaten, threatened, andintimidated by some Hindu nationalist groups.
“Many students are reported to have fled their universities in fear. Twocolleges in Dehradun and one in Moradabad have stated that they will notadmit new Kashmiri students,” says the press statement.
“We are at a dangerous moment, and authorities must do everything they canto uphold the rule of law,” said Aakar Patel, head of Amnesty India.
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“Ordinary Kashmiris across India who are only seeking to improve theirlives should not be singled out for violence simply because of where theycome from.”
The mobs who use patriotism as an excuse to hound Kashmiris out of theirhomes, hostels and shops are corroding the basic values of the constitutionof India. Authorities must investigate all allegations of threats andviolence, and bring those responsible to justice.”
