Kashmir leader says the region lacks democracy and asks India to restore its special status
Kashmir’s top pro-India politician says the disputed region lacks democracy four years after Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s ruling Hindu nationalist party stripped its statehood
NEW DELHI (AP) — Kashmir’s top pro-India politician had a stark message Friday — the eve of the fourth anniversary since India revoked the disputed region’s special status, throwing the Himalayan territory into political chaos:
“Democracy stops where the boundaries of Jammu and Kashmir begin.”
In an interview with The Associated Press, Omar Abdullah said India’s 2019 decision to strip the region’s statehood, its separate constitution and inherited protections on land and jobs have pushed the territory into a “democratic void” and led to a clampdown on civil liberties.
“It’s a very abnormal calm that exists” in the region, Abdullah, a top leader of the National Conference party that has governed Indian-controlled Kashmir for decades, told the AP.
