India tightens restrictions in Kashmir after Imran Khan's UN address
Following an address to the UN General Assembly by Pakistan’s Prime Minister Imran Khan, who condemned India’s behavior in Kashmir, authorities in the region have tightened restrictions on people’s movements.
Police vans fitted with speakers made public announcements on Saturday in some parts of the main city of Srinagar about the restrictions.
Access to the main business center of the city was blocked with razor wire.
“This was necessitated after protests across Srinagar city last night soon after Imran Khan’s speech,” Reuters quoted an unnamed police official as saying.
On Friday, Khan condemned the Indian lockdown that was imposed on the Himalayan region in order to prevent large protests against India’s decision to revoke the region’s special status on August 5.
While warning of the consequences of lifting what he described as an “inhuman curfew,” Khan urged India to free all detainees.
He also warned of a bloodbath once India lifts its restrictions in Kashmir.
Soon after the speech, hundreds of protesters poured out onto the streets of Indian-controlled Kashmir, chanting slogans in support of Khan and calling for the independence of the Muslim-majority region.
The Indian Defense Ministry spokesman, Lieutenant Colonel Devender Anand, said at least three fighters had been killed in clashes in Ganderbal, about 19 kilometers north of Srinagar. Another three were killed in Batote, located on the highway connecting Jammu and Srinagar.
The New Delhi government has eased some of the movement curbs, but none of the prominent detainee has been freed. Mobile and internet connections remain suspended.
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