As Kashmir remains under an indefinite security lockdown after the government decided to strip the state of its special status, Malala Yousafzai, Nobel laureate and a UN Messenger of Peace, on Thursday made an appeal to the international community, saying that the ‘focus must be on peacefully resolving the Kashmir issue.’
The Pakistani education activist, who came to prominence when she was shot in the head in 2012 for her campaign against Taliban’s efforts to deny women education, in a tweet said, “I care about Kashmir because South Asia is my home –a home I share with 1.8 billion people, including Kashmiris… And I believe we all can live in peace.”
She further expressed concern about the safety of Kashmiri women and children, who she said, are most vulnerable to violence and 'most likely to suffer losses in conflict'.
The people of Kashmir have lived in conflict since I was a child, since my mother and father were children, since my grandparents were young. pic.twitter.com/Qdq0j2hyN9 — Malala (@Malala) August 8, 2019
The youngest Nobel Laureate’s tweets came days after Article 370, that grants special status to Jammu and Kashmir, was scrapped and the state was downsized into two Union Territories.
More than 7 million people in the Kashmir Valley have been under lockdown after the government shut off most communication with it, including internet, cellphone and landline networks. Thousands of additional troops were deployed to the region out of fear the government's steps could spark unrest.
Former chief ministers Omar Abdullah of the National Conference and Mehbooba Mufti of the Peoples Democratic Party have been detained at Hari Niwas on Srinagar’s Gupkar road as a precautionary measure.
Prime Minister Narendra Modi is likely to address the nation on Thursday during which he is expected to explain government’s decisions on abrogating special status to Jammu and Kashmir and splitting the state into two union territories, sources have said.
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