US ‘concerned’ about Kashmir, urges India to restore normalcy

Bloomberg

The US has raised concerns about the ongoing detention of residents and political leaders in India’s Muslim-majority state of Jammu and Kashmir amid months-long restrictions on communication and movement across the region.
President Donald Trump’s administration has “closely monitored” the situation in Kashmir after India changed the state’s legal status to create two new union territories — Jammu and Kashmir, and Ladakh, according to a statement made by Alice G Wells, acting assistant secretary, Bureau of South and Central Asia on Tuesday.
“The Department has raised concerns with the Indian government regarding the detentions of local residents and political leaders, including
three former Chief Ministers of Jammu and Kashmir,” Wells told the US House Foreign Affairs committee. “We have urged Indian authorities to respect human rights and restore full access to services, including internet and mobile networks.”
The statement is the strongest reaction from the US since Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s decision on August 5 to end seven decades of regional autonomy in Kashmir. Although post-paid telephone services have been restored, an internet blackout in the valley remains. Kashmir has witnessed three decades of separatist violence, supported by neighbour Pakistan, that has killed more than 40,000 people, according to the Indian government. It also remains at the center of disputes between India and Pakistan, with both nations claiming the Himalayan territory.
The US concerns come amid an escalating trade spat between India and Malaysia over Prime Minister Mahathir Mohamad’s comments to the United Nations last month that India had “invaded and occupied” Kashmir. Since then, Indian buyers of palm oil have been turning to Indonesia for supplies because of concerns that Prime Minister Narendra Modi will curb purchases of the vegetable oil from Malaysia.
Relations between New Delhi and Ankara have also strained over Kashmir. Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan’s speech to the United Nations criticising India’s decision to abrogate the region’s special status prompted Modi to cancel a planned visit to the capital, according to a news report.
Wells raised concerns about violence and discrimination against minorities in India, including cow vigilante attacks against members of the Dalit and Muslim communities and urged the government to protect 1.9 million people in Assam at risk of statelessness after India introduced a national citizens registry there.
The US welcomed Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s plans to hold elections in Kashmir and expressed concerns about reports of local and foreign militants attempting to intimidate local residents and business owners in order to stymie normal economic activity.
Wells’ also appreciated Prime Minister Imran Khan’s statement that terrorists from Pakistan who carry out violence in Kashmir are enemies of both Kashmiris and Pakistan.
She said Pakistan was accountable for the actions of terrorist groups like Lashkar-e- Taiba and Jaish-e-Muhammed, which foment violence across the border.
A dialogue between India and Pakistan is contingent on Pakistan taking sustained and irreversible steps against militants and terrorists in its territory, Wells’ statement said.