Shehla Rashid Shora
Some of the things that people coming from Kashmir say about the situation:
1) Movement within Srinagar and to neighbouring districts is more or less permitted. Local press is restricted.
2) Cooking gas shortage has started to set in. Gas agencies are closed.
3) Gas stations open after 7 pm. Petrol & diesel is available in the city area. On highways, filling stations are open in some places.
4) Supplies available so far. You find baby food with difficulty. People have started running out of medicines now.
5) People are missing interview notifications because of total communication blackout. I’ve personally sent people to the homes of some candidates whose interview notices have arrived. Their friends can’t download it for them, because that requires an OTP that comes via text.
6) People who had satellite TV could watch the news till now. D2H subscriptions are expiring, and the only way to recharge is from outside the state. I’ve myself recharged D2H connections for a few people.
7) Officials going to different districts to review healthcare facilities
8) People are saying that J&K Police has no authority on law & order situation. They’ve been rendered powerless. Everything is in the hands of paramilitary forces. One SHO was transferred on complaint of a CRPF man. SHOs carrying batons. Service revolvers can’t be seen on them.
9) Armed forces are entering houses at night, picking up boys, ransacking houses, deliberately spilling rations on the floor, mixing oil with rice, etc.
10) In Shopian, 4 men were called into the Army camp and “interrogated” (tortured). A mic was kept close to them so that the entire area could hear them scream, and be terrorised. This created an environment of fear in the entire area.
This piece is a compilation of Shehla’s tweets. In a series of tweets shehla had on Sunday said about the current situation of Kashmir. Shehla Rashid is a Kashmiri politician and activist. She joined Jammu and Kashmir People’s Movement political party, founded by Shah Faesal on 17 March 2019. Shehla was vice-president of the Jawaharlal Nehru University Students’ Union (JNUSU) in 2015-16.
