Srinagar, August 04, 2021 (PPI-OT): In Indian illegally occupied Jammu and Kashmir, the People’s Alliance for Gupkar Declaration (PAGD) has said that the hoax of Narendra Modi-led Bharatiya Janata Party’s (BJP) so-called ‘Naya Kashmir’ has become a joke now as people have started realizing that the August 2019 move only deepened the alienation and sense of insecurity in all the regions of the territory.
PAGD spokesperson Mohammad Yousuf Tarigami, in a statement in Srinagar, today, said that the people have started questioning those in authority as to what they have achieved through the actions taken on 5 August 2019 by the Indian government.
He said that August 5 marks the completion of two years since the unprecedented assault on the Constitution of India was made to nullify Article 370, thereby damaging the very bond of the Kashmiris’ relationship with the Union of India. Referring to the abrogation of Article 35-A that made the status of permanent residents redundant, he said the protection of jobs and land rights was removed arbitrarily which only deepened the alienation and sense of insecurity among the Kashmiri people.
“The economy of J and K has virtually collapsed as tourism, trade, agriculture, horticulture and handicraft sectors were badly hit. Employment opportunities are shrinking. Is corruption any less and governance any better? The fact remains not a single claim stands the test of the scrutiny,” the PAGD spokesperson said.
Tarigami said that a process of throttling of democracy and democratic rights that was initiated post 5 August 2019 continues unabated. He added indiscriminate arrests and harassment of all sections of people, including govt employees on different pretexts, continue and issuing dictates like the recent one not to provide clearance for passport and govt jobs to anyone involved in ‘law and order and stone pelting cases’ is one more addition. He pointed out that the clampdown and continuous restrictions on the movement and association of the people and gagging the media have resulted in forced silence.
Tarigami appealed to the people of J and K to stand united and not to fall prey to the false and slanderous campaigns and divisive attempts aiming at dividing and disarming them. He expressed the hope that at this critical juncture, the Kashmiris will not succumb but continue their struggle in defence of their rights using every opportunity through peaceful and legal means.
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