Hundreds of students in Pakistan-held Kashmir protest against India

Demonstrators in Pakistan-held Kashmir have protested against India's removal of the special, semi-autonomous status of India-controlled Kashmir.

MENA

2 min read

The New Arab

27 August, 2019

Thousands have been detained in India-controlled Kashmir [AFP]

More than a thousand students gathered in the capital of Pakistan-held Kashmir to denounce India's revocation of the special status of India-controlled Kashmir.

The demonstrators on Tuesday chanted "we want freedom" and denounced human rights violations in Indian-administered Kashmir.

The Muzaffarabad rally came a day after Pakistani Prime Minister Imran Khan vowed to highlight the issue of Kashmir on the world stage.

The Pakistani premier, who will address the UN General Assembly about the issue next month, has already offered a sharp response to India's downgrading of the contested region's special status earlier this month.

He has slammed Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi, comparing the move by the Hindu nationalist premier to Nazism.

Kashmir has long been an issue of violent contention between India and Pakistan, and tensions have soared since India revoked the semi-autonomous status of the Kashmiri territory it controls.

Since then, Indian-administered Kashmir has been under effective lockdown, with communications extremely limited and a heavy security presence amid continued protests.

At least 4,000 people have reportedly been detained in the restive region since the crackdown began.

US President Donald Trump earlier this month said he was ready to step in to mediate tensions between Pakistan and India over Kashmir.

But Trump said on Monday he saw no need to intervene as Modi "really feels he has it under control".