Two well-known figures in Indian-controlled Kashmir, the former Chief Minister of Jammu and Kashmir, said they and their families were under house arrest.
More than a year and six months after New Delhi took action to revoke the autonomy of the predominantly Muslim state of Jammu and Kashmir and end Article 370 of the Indian Constitution, there are reports of the house arrest of two prominent Kashmiri figures.
Omar Abdullah, who served as the caretaker Prime Minister of Jammu and Kashmir from 2009 to 2016 and is currently the Vice President of the Jammu and Kashmir National Conference, tweeted that his Indian government, the 83-year-old father’s family and Her sister’s family has placed her under house arrest.
Farooq Abdullah is the father of Omar Abdullah, chairman of the Jammu and Kashmir National Conference Party and a longtime and current member of parliament.
Former Jammu and Kashmir Chief Minister Omar Abdullah tweeted a photo of security and military vehicles in front of the entrance to his private home in Srinigar, the capital of Kashmir.
He sharply criticized the actions of the government of Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi and the ruling party, wrote: “This is a new Jammu and Kashmir in which we are imprisoned in our homes without any explanation. “The worse thing is that they imprisoned my father, who is a current member of parliament, in my house, as well as my sister and her children in their house.”
“Your new model of democratization means that we should be imprisoned in our homes without any explanation,” Omar Abdullah added.
In addition to Omar Abdullah, another Jammu and Kashmir chief minister also strongly criticized the Indian government’s actions and pressure on political figures in the region and announced his house arrest.
“As usual, I was placed under house arrest,” said Mahboubeh Mufti, leader of the People’s Democratic Party of Jammu and Kashmir, who served as state minister from 2016 to 2018.
Jammu and Kashmir, an Indian-controlled part of the larger Kashmir region disputed between India, Pakistan and China.
According to the controversial decision of the Government of India, Article 370 of the Constitution of the country was repealed, which, except for defense, foreign and financial issues, delegated the rest of the powers of Jammu and Kashmir to the local parliament. This has been the case in Jammu and Kashmir since the 1950s.