Kashmir: 20 arrested, including artist, over Palestine protest

SRINAGAR, Jammu and Kashmir

At least 20 people in Indian-administered Kashmir have been arrested for taking part in a "solidarity protest for Palestine" which has come under heavy assault by Israel.

The Kashmir range Police Chief Vijay Kumar on Saturday confirmed the arrests of those who had taken part in a pro-Palestine protest.

On Friday, people in the region had taken to the streets to show solidarity with the Palestinians. A video that went viral on social media platforms showed graffiti of a Palestinian woman with the caption "We are Palestine".

Local sources told Anadolu Agency that police has also arrested a local artist, Mudasir Gul, a resident of the Capital City, Srinagar for painting the woman graffiti on a bridge.

“The police raided our home and took Mudasir out asking him to climb the bridge again. He was asked to deface the graffiti with black paint,” his brother Badr-ul-Islam told Anadolu Agency.

He added that his brother has not done anything wrong. “If showing solidarity or raising your voice for people who are being killed for no reason is a crime, then we cease to be humans.”

On Saturday in a press statement, the police chief said they are “keeping a very close watch on elements who are attempting to leverage the unfortunate situation in Palestine to disturb public peace and order in the Kashmir valley.”

“We are a professional force and are sensitive to public anguish. But regional police has a legal responsibility to ensure law and order as well. It, however, wouldn’t allow cynical encashment of the public anger to trigger violence, lawlessness and disorder on Kashmir streets,” said Kumar, adding, “Expressing opinion is a freedom but engineering and inciting violence on streets is unlawful."

However, he cautioned the social media users for legal action if they post comments that results in actual violence and breaking of Law including COVID-19 Protocols.

Disputed region

Kashmir is held by India and Pakistan in parts and claimed both in full. A small sliver of Kashmir is also held by China.

Since they were partitioned in 1947, the two countries have fought three wars -- in 1948, 1965 and 1971 -- two of them over Kashmir.

Some Kashmiri groups in Jammu and Kashmir have been fighting against Indian rule for independence, or unification with neighboring Pakistan.

According to several human rights organizations, thousands of people have reportedly been killed in the conflict in the region since 1989.