Mark Warner, a powerful US senator, has said that he was concerned by ‘restrictions on communications and movement within Jammu and Kashmir.’ Warner, who is also the co-chair of the Senate India Caucus, urged India to ‘live up to its democratic principles’ by lifting the ban in the valley.
“While I understand India has legitimate security concerns, I am disturbed by its restrictions on communications and movement within Jammu and Kashmir. I hope India will live up to its democratic principles by allowing freedom of press, information, and political participation,” Warner tweeted.
While I understand India has legitimate security concerns, I am disturbed by its restrictions on communications and movement within Jammu and Kashmir. I hope India will live up to its democratic principles by allowing freedom of press, information, and political participation. https://t.co/5xlWTE6ANu
— Mark Warner (@MarkWarner) October 8, 2019
The US senator was reacting to a report by The New York Times over the human sufferings in Kashmir due to the prolonged Indian crackdown. Titled as ‘In Kashmir, a Race Against Death, With No Way to Call a Doctor,’ the newspaper said that local residents in Kashmir were dying due to lack of access to medical treatment due to restrictions imposed by the Indian government.
[Read: Rifat Jawaid’s four-part EXCLUSIVE series from Srinagar. Part 1, Part 2, Part 3 and Part 4]
The Indian government had imposed restrictions on people’s movement in Jammu and Kashmir on 4 August, a day before it revoked Article 370 giving special status to the region. Nearly eight million population of Kashmir has been forced to live without access to public transport, mobile phones or the internet.
Last month, Britain’s Labour Party had passed a resolution at its annual conference in Brighton urging party leader Jeremy Corbyn to seek international observers to enter the region and demand the right of self-determination for the Kashmiri people.