ISAMABAD – According to an order issued by the Indian Ministry of HomeAffairs, a total of 72 units of the Central Armed Police Forces (CAPFs)have been ordered to “revert” immediately to their locations across thecountry. One such unit has about 100 personnel.
These units are drawn from the CRPF, BSF, ITBP, CISF, and the SSB and weresent to the Kashmir Valley in Indian-occupied Kashmir after Delhi abrogatedArticle 370 provisions.
On 11 December, the Indian parliament passed a controversial bill allowingcitizenship for religious minorities, including Hindus, Buddhists, Jains,Christians, Sikhs, and Parsis, facing persecution in neighbouring states.The opponents see the bill as discriminatory in what critics say is a freshattempt to side-line the nearly 200-million-strong Muslim minority.
The bill triggered major protests in the country that have resulted in 22people killed, over 50 security officers and thousands of people injured. Aweek later, the Indian Supreme Court refused to suspend the implementationof the citizenship law as amended, despite the ongoing unrest in thecountry.
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Tensions between India and Pakistan increased in August when IndianPresident Ram Nath Kovind signed a decree revoking Article 370 of theIndian Constitution, which had ensured the special status of Jammu andKashmir, the Indian title for Indian-occupied Kashmir, for decades. Underthe government’s new initiative, Jammu and Kashmir was divided into twounion territories that are under New Delhi’s control.
Pakistan reacted angrily to India downgrading the Muslim-majority region toa territory and promised to protect Kashmiris. It expelled the Indianambassador, halted bilateral trade, and promised to raise the issue withthe International Court of Justice.
