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India scraps special status for Kashmir amid crackdown

Pakistan terms it as 'illegal steps'


August 06, 2019 00:00:00


Security personnel scrutinising motorbikers on a street in Jammu, India as part of beefed up security measures on Monday — AFP

NEW DELHI, Aug 5, 2019 (Agencies): The Indian government on Monday stripped Kashmir of the special autonomy it has had for seven decades, prompting a furious response from nuclear-armed rival Pakistan and raising fears of further violence in the Muslim-majority Himalayan region.

India's Prime Minister Narendra Modi's Hindu-nationalist party rushed through a presidential decree to scrap from the constitution the Indian-ruled part of the disputed territory's special status.

The bill to reorganise Jammu and Kashmir into two Union Territories sailed through Rajya Sabha Monday, with several opposition parties walking out, bringing down the majority mark, and others siding with the government.

Amid a political storm that started since morning since home minister Amit Shah's announcement in parliament, the resolution was passed through a voice vote - 125 members voted in its favour and 61 voted against it.

Among those that sided with government were Mayawati's Bahujan Samaj Party, Naveen Patnaik's Biju Janata Dal, Jagan Reddy's YSR Congress, N Chandrababu Naidu's Telugu Desam Party and in a surprise addition-Arvind Kejriwal's Aam Aadmi Party. Together with government, that took the number to 117.

In the 242-member Rajya Sabha, the ruling National Democratic Alliance has 107 members, well short of the 121 majority mark.

But Trinamool Congress, which has 13 members walked out and BJP ally Nitish Kumar's Janata Dal United, which has six members, boycotted the voting. Two lawmakers of the People's Democratic Party were suspended for tearing up the constitution in protest against home minister Amit Shah's announcement. There were also reports that several opposition members might skip the voting.

Former Jammu and Kashmir chief minister and PDP chief Mehbooba Mufti was arrested moments after Rajya Sabha passed the bill to bifurcate the state into two Union territories.

The government had earlier revoked the state's special status, provided under Article 370, via presidential order.

Minutes after Mehbooba Mufti was arrested, National Conference leader Omar Abdullah was also taken into custody. Jammu and Kashmir People's Conference leaders Sajjad Lone and Imran Ansari have also been arrested. Some more arrests have been made, officials said, without sharing details.

Mehbooba Mufti has been taken to Hari Niwas - a VVIP state guest house. She was put under house arrest last night as the authorities clamped restrictions under Section 144 of CrPC.

Ahead of the announcements, tens of thousands of extra Indian troops were deployed in the territory, and a security lockdown was imposed overnight Sunday with all telecommunications there cut.

Home Minister Amit Shah, a close ally of Modi, told parliament the president had issued a decree abolishing Article 370 of the constitution, which gives special autonomy to the Himalayan region.

The decree said the measure came into force "at once".

Pakistan's foreign ministry condemned the move as "illegal".

"As the party to this international dispute, Pakistan will exercise all possible options to counter the illegal steps," it said in a statement.

A senior Pakistani security source said that a meeting of the Pakistani military's top commanders had been called for Tuesday.

Kashmir has been divided between India and Pakistan since their independence in 1947.

For three decades the Indian-administered part has been in the grip of an insurgency that has left tens of thousands dead.

Armed Kashmiri rebels and many residents have fought for the region's independence or to join neighbour Pakistan.


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