Almost two months after New Delhi’s unilateral decision to strip Kashmir of its partial autonomy, the security clampdown and communication blackout continues to alienate the region. RNA - In response to New Delhi’s move, people of Kashmir are observing a protest close down due to which the life in the region has come to a standstill. Kashmiris now pin hopes on the international community to raise the issue at the UNGA later this week.
Amid shutdown and communication blackout, people of Kashmir these days eagerly sit around their TV sets; switching from one channel to another, waiting for the some positive news regarding Kashmir situation.
Unlike past, this time people of Kashmir have shown their anger by closing their businesses, shops, educational institutions in the hope of a response from the international community.
Although Pakistani Prime Minister Imran khan has acted as the whistle-blower since India abrogated Kashmir of its special status in August, the international community has remained by and large unmoved.
The standstill in Kashmir has entered its seventh week and many countries have offered mediation to de-escalate tensions. India has called the abrogation of article 370 of disputed Kashmir an internal matter, something that Pakistan disagrees with.
The UNSC had passed a resolution in January 1948 that offered to assist the resolution of the Kashmir dispute between India and Pakistan. Later the two countries agreed to resolve the matter bilaterally. However, India’s recent move of stripping Kashmir’s special status has one again brought the issue to the limelight and many see it as a trigger to a potential nuclear war between the two rivals.
In the absence of international pressure to resolve the world’s longest pending dispute of Kashmir, the matter has worsened over the years. The war-weary people of Kashmir are seeking international assistance before the two countries once again indulge into full-blown military altercation.
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