Islamabad, 13 Oct 2023: Indian Illegally Occupied Jammu and Kashmir (IIOJK) has encountered profound disturbances in its socio-political, religious, and cultural identity since the Narendra Modi-led Indian government abrogated its special status in August 2019, as indicated by a new report. The findings, published by the Kashmir Institute of International Relations (KIIR) and sourced from Kashmir Media Service, disclose a somber depiction of the current situation in the occupied territory, underscoring a climax in lawlessness, unprecedented exploitation of resources, and continued suffering of innocent civilians amidst a crackdown on free expression and suppression of dissent.

The report, titled ‘4 years of annexation of Indian occupied Kashmir’, conveys that the IIOJK populace has persistently borne the burden of state terrorism, where state instruments have unremittingly suppressed dissent and exacted reprisals against human rights defenders and objectors. Numerous Kashmiri prisoners, which include journalists, human rights defenders, and political activists, remain in jails and detention centers across IIOJK and India. The employment of black laws, namely the Public Safety Act (PSA) and Unlawful Activities (Prevention) Act (UAPA), by Indian authorities as tools to persecute Kashmiris and extend detainee holding periods is notably criticized.

The report argues that the removal of special status and subsequent legislation has precipitated further marginalization and disenfranchisement of the indigenous population. This extends to the redrawing of political landscapes, which under the ostensible banner of delimitation, has resulted in the exclusion of the region’s Muslim majority from political representation and decision-making processes in the legislative assembly. Furthermore, it indicates that the forced annexation of IIOJK with India by the Modi regime has fueled the BJP’s project of erasing the region’s distinct identity as a Muslim majority area and rewriting its history.

Economic aspects have also been prominently impacted according to the report, with an unemployment rate in Kashmir escalating to 23.1% in 2023 and over 218,600 Kashmiri individuals losing their jobs in a mere four months subsequent to the region undergoing a debilitating siege following the abrogation of Article 370. The economy of occupied Kashmir has reportedly incurred a loss amounting to 1789 billion rupees, with the agriculture and fruit industries, which substantially sustain the local population, nearing collapse, and the tourism sector, which constitutes 6.98 per cent of the state’s GDP, plummeting to its lowest point.

Concluding, the report maintains that the Modi-government has endeavoured to divert global attention away from these pressing issues and mask the disconcerting realities on the ground in IIOJK through propelling a false narrative of normalcy in Kashmir. The document, while acknowledging the general lack of international recognition due to global political maneuverings detached from moral and ethical considerations, urges the international community and potent global governments to hold India accountable for its actions in IIOJK.