MUZAFFARABAD: On the call of Jammu and Kashmir Liberation Front (JKLF), Kashmiri people are marching towards the Line of Control here on Sunday to cross the de facto border.
Hundreds of Kashmirs earlier gathered for the march titled “Freedom March” in Muzaffarabad and then started marching towards the LoC to protest India’s decision of abrogating Article 370 and placing occupied Kashmir under curfew and communications blackout since Aug 5.
The call for the march had been given by a JKLF’s faction led by Yasin Malik.
Meanwhile, the military curfew and communication blackout has entered 63rd day on Sunday in the occupied Kashmir.
India has snapped television, telephone and internet links to deter protests over its scrapping of special constitutional status for the region.
In Srinagar, armed police were stationed every few hundred meters as a ban on gatherings of more than four people in public places continued since Aug 5. Educational institutions and most shops in residential neighborhoods were shut.
Shopkeepers said they were running out of stock after days of panic buying.
“No provisions are left in my shop, and no fresh supplies are coming,” said grocery store owner Jehangir Ahmad.
Last month, the chief justice of India had said that he would visit occupied Kashmir, if needed, to check allegations of illegal detention of children by Indian forces in the valley.
Ranjan Gogoi, the chief justice, made these remarks while hearing a petition filed by Enakshi Ganguly, a child rights expert, and Professor Shanta Sinha, the first Chairperson of the National Commission for Child Rights (NCPCR) against illegal detention of children by Indian forces in occupied Kashmir since Aug 5 lockdown.
The petition also stated that children and teens aged between six and 18 years were facing hardships due to military lockdown in the valley.
The counsel for the petitioners replied that it was difficult to approach the local High Court in the valley due to lockdown, when the chief justice instructed him to consult the concerned court.
On Sept 15, a petition against illegal detention of children by Indian forces in occupied Kashmir was filed in the Supreme Court.
