US Lawmakers Term Indian Action In Occupied Kashmir As "disaster"

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US lawmakers term Indian action in Occupied Kashmir as

There was huge applause in the house of US representatives whenever there was criticism on Indian action in Occupied Kashmir.

WASHINGTON: (UrduPoint / Pakistan Point News-24th Oct, 2019) A house of US representatives on Thursday declared the Indian Occupied Kashmir (IoK) a major "humanitarian crisis" and "disaster" for the entire region, and held the Indian government accountable, the reports said.

According to the details, the US house of representatives criticized the Indian government in a daylong hearining of the house subcommittee on Asia and the Pacific. The India media, reports showed, also declared it "critical examination" of indian act since the 1998 nuclear tests. The US law makers discussed whether the Indian government's recent action in Occupied Kashmir was the matter of national security or an ultra nationalist and majoritarian agenda, they said. They also said that

Rhode Island Democrat Congressman Civilline asked abouut the role of BJP and RSS in the latest situation of Kashmir that to what extent, the BJP and RSS, ultra nationalists, played role in Occupied Kashmir's present situation. "This is not approperiate way to behave in a demcoracy" said Congressman Civilline. The law makers targettd Modi government for revoking Article 370 of the Indian Constitution and raised a question about the life of Kashmiri people in Occupied Kashmir.

"Article 370 is not our focus, we are just looking into this fact that what kind of life the Kashmiri are experiencing and whether they have full economoc and political life," US Assistant Seccretary of State for South and Central Asian Affairs Alice G Wells said.

The law makers, according to media reports, also discussed the use of pellet guns on Kashmiri people after Article 370 was revoked and special status of Occupied Kashmir was stripped away. Panel Chairman Congressman Brad Sherman said that Kashmir, after the Indian government amendment in Article 370, said that Kashmir was cut off from the rest of the world claiming that it was going to stop cross-border terrorists attacks but whether it was verified or not right at the momen when the special status of Kashmir was changed.

Alice G Wells said that they observed that incidents of "infiltration" declined which contradicted the claim of Indian governmenmt regardidng "cross-border Infilration".

Robert Destro, another assistant of State for Democracy and Human Rights, while answering a question raised by Sheila Jackson said that there was "Humanitarian crisis" in Indian Occupied Kashmir. Jackson Lee, another law maker, said that Pakistan's sacrifices in the war against terror should be recongized.

In the daylong proceeding of the house, Indian-origin-US lawmakers Pramila Jayapal and Congressman Sherman mentioned that a Kashmiri American, Mujahid Shah, whose father, a businessman, was kept in jail despite that he had political links. India was not releasing even those who had received a favourable verdict, Jayapal expressed concerns over violation of court orders in India.

There was huge applause whenever any lawmaker criticized the Indian action in Occupied Kashmir.

Fida Hussnain

Fida Hussnain is a lahore based journalist. He writes on politics, religion, social issues and climate change. He is also a research fellow at University of Gujrat.