KASHMIRIS 'PALESTINIANS-BLISTERING' KARMAH?!

KASHMIRIS are facing a multitude of problems, stemming from the communication blockade put in place by India.

Thousands remain incarcerated under flimsy pretenses. Speaking about the communications blackout, the Indian Foreign Minister has given the lame excuse that social media and the Internet are being used to 'radicalise' people in IHK.

This will convince few as the real reason New Delhi has blocked out the Internet is to prevent the Kashmiris from telling the world of their plight.

In fact, as reports point out, India has even cracked down on some of its loyal supporters in IHK, locking them and treating them with utter contempt.

WITH the passage of four months since New Delhi put India held Kashmir under a total lockdown, another grim milestone has been passed.

While the people of the forsaken Valley suffocate under India's stifling restrictions, there is no sign that those who call the shots are willing to relent.

As point out by Pakistan's Foreign Office recently, the situation in IHK is getting worse, as millions of Kashmiris continue to live in an open-air prison.

In fact it would not be wrong to compare the situation is occupied Kashmir to the miserable plight of the Palestinian enclave of Gaza, where similar restrictions on fundamental rights are enforced by the Israeli military machine.

Perhaps this is not coincidental, as an Indian diplomat in the US was recently quoted as saying that his country should follow the ''Israeli model'' in Kashmir, it is evident that quite a few of Tel Aviv's brutal tactics are being replicated by Hindutva-infiused government in New Delhi.

The UN and other global bodies must speak up for the rights of Kashmiris and the Palestinians. India is mistaken if it thinks it can use brutal tactics to silence the people.

Kashmiris have had enough of its suppressive tactics, and despite the restrictions, the desire for freedom will only grow and grow. As India seeks to ape Israeli's repression in Palestine, those who rule from New Delhi should realise that Tel Aviv's violence has resulted in even greater Palestinian resistance.

If India wants to avoid a similar scenario, let it approach the Kashmiris with respect and let hem exercise their democratic rights of self - determination.

The World Students Society thanks Dawn, for the editorial.