While calling India‘s restrictions on the Internet in Kashmir as one of the longest shutdowns, a leading UN human rights has drawn attention to the concern that that people are finding it difficult to access health information in the time of coronavirus outbreak.
David Kaye, UN Special Rapporteur tasked with pursuing promotion and protection of the right to freedom of opinion and expression, termed the communications blockade imposed by India in occupied Kashmir as the “most prominent and long-term internet shutdown” in the world.
“It has been reported by healthcare professionals in Kashmir that the limitations imposed by the Government have made access to basic information difficult to obtain,” Kaye said in anticipation of a report.
Entitled: “Disease pandemics and the freedom of opinion and expression”, the report will be submitted to UN Human Rights Council.
The expert renews criticism of the harsh restrictions that India imposed on Kashmir – the only Muslim-majority region under Hindu majority India – on August 5, when it unilaterally changed the constitutional status of the UN-acknowledged disputed territory under its control.
Pakistan administers the other part of the disputed territory while China also controls parts of the Himalayan territory, famous for its natural resources, scenic beauty and strategic location for the region.
“In 2019, the Government imposed what several mandate holders found to be ‘a form of collective punishment of the people of Jammu and Kashmir, without even a pretext of a precipitating offence’,” Kaye writes in the report.
He also questions the justification of actions taken by Prime Minister Narendra Modi‘s Government, often censured for its extreme views abotu Muslims and adherence to the policy of majoritarianism in contravention of Indian secular traditions and constitutional guarantees.
“Early in 2020, the Supreme Court of India found that the Government must periodically justify its continuing actions in Kashmir, but even as of this writing, reporting suggests that people in Kashmir are only able to access limited Internet sites and with extremely limited speeds.”
