ANKARA (AA): The Indian government claimed on Friday that all restrictionshave been lifted from Jammu and Kashmir.
In a submission made to the Supreme Court of India, thefederally-administered government said no-one was killed in police firingsince Aug. 5 when India scrapped special provisions granted to the disputedregion under the Constitution.
The provisions allowed Jammu and Kashmir to enact its own laws andprotected the region’s citizenship law, which barred outsiders fromsettling in or owning land in the territory.
“Orders under section 144 CrPC [prohibitory restrictions] have been removedfrom all 195 [plus 7 in Ladakh = 202] Police Stations. Restrictions areimposed at some places in night,” an official statement issued by thegovernor’s office said.
The Indian government in the past few weeks has eased restrictions on theMuslim majority state. Land lines and post-paid cell phone services havebeen restored.
Internet can be accessed through government-designated kiosks.
However, all key leaders of the region are either under house arrest orbeing held in prisons.
Several rights groups including the Human Rights Watch and AmnestyInternational have repeatedly called on India to lift restrictions andrelease political detainees. Nearly 13,000 people were detained during theperiod, civil society groups claimed.
Read Top Stories
The government added that all schools have been reopened and examinationsare going on as scheduled.
The statement went on to say incidents of stone pelting, a common form ofprotest by residents against what they term Indian occupation, havedecreased.
Since armed resistance began in the region the early 90s, the governmentssaid, 41,866 people were killed.
India and Pakistan both hold Kashmir in parts and claim it in full. Chinaalso controls part of the contested region, but it is India and Pakistanwho have fought two wars over Kashmir.
Some Kashmiri groups in Jammu and Kashmir have been fighting against Indianrule for independence, or for unification with neighboring Pakistan.