Article 370 Revoked: Pakistani-Americans Protest Outside Indian Embassy Raising Slogans Against IndiaTop Stories

August 07, 2019 22:47
Article 370 Revoked: Pakistani-Americans Protest Outside Indian Embassy Raising Slogans Against India

(Image source from: The Economic Times (Image used for representation purpose only))

The members of Pakistani-American community along with Muslim rights activists held protests outside the Indian Embassy in Washington on Tuesday over revoking Article 370, that gave special status to Jammu and Kashmir.

The Indian government on Monday canceled Article 370 of the Constitution that gave special status to Jammu and Kashmir and allowed it to have its own constitution and flag, among other rights.

The government bifurcated the state into two Union Territories - Jammu and Kashmir, and Ladakh.

The protesters accused India of human rights violations in Kashmir. They sought the intervention of president Donald Trump and the United Nations to solve the vexed issue.

They raised slogans against India and Prime Minister Narendra Modi.

People of Kashmir deserve independence, deserve their rights and deserve justice,” Nihad Awad, national executive director of Council on American-Islamic Relations (CAIR), said during the protest.

There is a humanitarian crisis brewing in the Kashmir valley. The State Department should urge the Indian government to immediately reinstate the protected status, lift the siege, and enter into peaceful negotiations," said Awad.

CAIR is one of the largest Muslim civil rights and advocacy organization in the United States.

The protest was organized by supposedly pioneering Muslim-media organization of North America - Chicago-based Sound Vision.

Members of other Muslim organizations, including Islamic Leadership Institute of America, Burma Task Force which is working among Rohingya Muslims, and those representing Palestine groups, also took part in the demonstration.

Ghulam Nabi Fai, the separatist Kashmiri leader, announced to hold a large protest rally against India on Saturday in front of the Indian embassy and the White House. Fai has earlier served sentence in federal prison in the United States on charges of lobbying on behalf of ISI.

In March 2012, the U.S. court sentenced Fai to two-year imprisonment for "conspiracy to defraud the U.S." by concealing transfer of funding from Pakistan's ISI for his illegal lobbying efforts on Kashmir.

A large numbers of Pakistanis in the United States, including office bearers of the U.S.-chapter of the ruling Pakistan Tehrik-I-Insaaf (PTI) party, also raised slogans against PM Modi.

The protest was also held by Muslim activists outside the Indian Consulate in Chicago.

By Sowmya Sangam

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Article 370  Washington