Kashgil News
A series of protests began in the Indian state of Kashmir on Sunday over the attack on Iran and the killing of the Supreme Leader.
A large number of Sunnis also participated in the anti-American demonstrations held by Shia communities in Srinagar and several other districts.
Given the intensity of the protests, the government imposed security restrictions on Monday and did not allow demonstrations. In many areas, people tried to demonstrate despite the restrictions, on which the police used force to disperse them.
On Tuesday night, the police announced that the security restrictions would continue. The authorities have also announced that teaching and learning in schools, colleges and universities will be suspended until March 7.
Meanwhile, the ban on mobile internet was partially lifted on Wednesday morning and the police said that 2G services will remain available until the situation returns to normal.
Police arrested dozens of youths in raids in several areas on Tuesday night to stop the protests. Member of Parliament Tanveer Sadiq demanded their release, saying in a statement that “a large number of them are minors and their parents are suffering from mental stress due to the detention of their children.”
However, the police have registered a case against MP Agarwalullah and former mayor Junaid Azeem Matoo for “inciting violence” and “disturbing public order.” The two prominent figures had shared pictures of the protests and clashes between police and protesters on Tuesday on social media.
In separate statements, Ruhullah and Matoo claimed that their personal security personnel have also been removed. Junaid said, “This was done because I had spoken out against the killing of Ayatollah Ali Khamenei and the silence of the BJP government on it.” All this has been done to silence me but I will continue to raise my voice for the rights of the citizens of my country.’
Agha Ruhullah wrote on X that ‘Some people in the Jammu and Kashmir Police and Civil Administration think that by removing security and suspending my Facebook account, they can stop me from condemning their atrocities.’
Over the past two days, the police have also closed the social media accounts of leading English newspapers ‘Greater Kashmir’, ‘Kashmir Life’ and ‘Rising Kashmir’ for publishing news of protests despite security restrictions.
‘Kashmir Life’ in a statement quoted a brief statement from Meta which said that ‘these handles have been suspended under Section (B)(3)79 of India’s Information Technology Act, 2000.’
These restrictions have been termed by various political circles as a restriction on the constitutional freedom of expression. Former Chief Minister Mehbooba Mufti said, “When credible and popular voices in the media are silenced, a vacuum is created which is filled by unreliable and incompetent voices. The government should immediately stop this cycle of censorship.”
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