Indian Jammu and Kashmir’s regional People’s Democratic Party (PDP) vowed to carry out protests on the first anniversary of the abrogation of Article 370, withdrawing the special status of the erstwhile state, PDP spokesperson Harbaksh Singh told reporters in Srinagar on Monday.
“We do not accept the fraud on Kashmir, Jammu and Ladakh by revoking the special status. On 5 August, we will protest, and would share our programme with the media,” said Harbaksh Singh.
The PDP Chief and former State Chief Mehbooba Mufti is still under preventive custody, under the stringent Public Safety Act in effect since 5 August 2019. She is among the 20-odd political leaders who are still being detained, while two other former State Chiefs – Dr Farooq Abdullah and Omar Abdullah –have been set free.
The Jammu and Kashmir administration meanwhile extended the lockdown till 5 August, presumably due to the ongoing COVID-19 situation. Shops were closed in Srinagar, while there also were restrictions on the movement of vehicles.
Meanwhile, a report by the federal home ministry has claimed that incidents of terrorism in the territory have declined by about 36 percent since the abrogation of Article 370. From January to July 2019, a total of 188 terror-related incidents took place in Kashmir, while this year during the same period only 120 such incidents were recorded, claimed the report.
New Delhi abrogated the temporary provision in the Constitution providing special status to the erstwhile state on 5 August 2019. It also divided the state into two federally administered regions – Jammu and Kashmir, and Ladakh.