ISLAMABAD: As thousands of residents from Azad Kashmir march toward the militarized Line of Control (LoC) to protest the curfew in Indian-administered Kashmir, Prime Minister Imran Khan made an appeal in a Twitter post on Saturday, cautioning protesters from playing ‘into the hands of the Indian narrative.’
The prime minister’s words of caution, come a day after the emotionally charged Kashmiris from different parts of Azad Kashmir set out in vehicular and motorcycle rallies to Muzaffarabad to show solidarity with the besieged people of Indian-administered Kashmir.
“I understand the anguish of the Kashmiris in AJK seeing their fellow Kashmiris in IOJK under an inhumane curfew for over 2 months. But any one crossing the LoC from AJK to provide humanitarian aid or support for Kashmiri struggle will play into the hands of the Indian narrative,” he said.
That narrative, he explained in a separate tweet, took attention away from the legitimate struggle of Kashmiris under lockdown from Indian security forces, and instead labeled it “Islamic terrorism” driven out of Pakistan.
“It will give India an excuse to increase violent oppression of Kashmiris in IOJK & attack across LoC,” he said.
Earlier on Saturday, a grenade attack injured 10 people in the southern city of Anantnag in Indian-administered Kashmir, which marked the first attack near a government office since the region’s special status was revoked. On Twitter, police in Kashmir blamed “terrorists” for the attack.
On Friday, in Muzaffarabad, Azad Kashmir, police officials appealed to people to avoid getting too close to the LoC, in the interests of their safety.
Anger and resentment have been rising in the region since Aug.5, when India flooded the valley with troops, imposed a communications and assembly lockdown and abrogated the special autonomous status of Indian-administered Kashmir. The clampdown entered its 62nd day on Saturday.
