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ISLAMABAD: Pakistan Prime Minister Imran Khan asked Sunday if the international community was just standing by as Indian Hindu nationalism spread into Muslim-majority Kashmir, saying it was the same as appeasing Hitler.
His outrage on Twitter came as tensions simmered between the two countries over the divided Himalayan region after New Delhi last week rescinded years of autonomy enjoyed by the Indian-ruled part and gave full control to the central government.
Kashmir has been under virtual lockdown since shortly before the move, with a curfew across the region, and phone and Internet lines cut — ostensibly to prevent unrest.
Huge numbers of troops are patrolling the streets of major centers, and security forces used tear gas Friday to break up a demonstration against the government’s move by about 8,000 people.
Tensions also remain fraught in the mountainous Ladakh region, where a local activist told AFP dozens of protesters took part in rallies on Thursday, Friday and Saturday, with at least 10 people injured by security forces using tear gas and sticks.
State police chief Dilbagh Singh said late Saturday that “not a single incident of violence was reported from anywhere” in Kashmir, although this conflicted with independent sources.
Kashmir has been split between India and Pakistan since their independence in 1947.
They have fought two wars over the former kingdom, while an insurgency against New Delhi’s rule in Indian-administered Kashmir has claimed tens of thousands of lives in the past three decades.
Khan tweeted Sunday that the “ideology of Hindu Supremacy, like the Nazi Aryan Supremacy, will not stop” in Kashmir.
Describing the move as “the Hindu Supremacists version of Hitler’s Lebensraum,” he said it would lead to “the suppression of Muslims in India & eventually lead to targeting of Pakistan.”
“Attempt is to change demography of Kashmir through ethnic cleansing,” he tweeted. “Question is: Will the world watch & appease as they did Hitler at Munich?“
He referred specifically to the Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh (RSS), the ultra Hindu nationalist volunteer movement considered the parent of the ruling Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) of Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi.
Khan also telephoned Iranian President Hassan Rouhani on Sunday “as part of his outreach to world leaders on the Kashmir situation,” a statement issued by his office said.
“Muslims of Kashmir must be able to use their legal rights and interests to be able to live in peace,” Rouhani was quoted as saying.
Officials said Khan would visit the Pakistan administered part of Kashmir this week to show solidarity.
Residents in Indian administered Kashmir, meanwhile, said they were struggling to celebrate the major Muslim festival of Eid Al-Adha because of the security crackdown.
A mother who gave her named as Razia said she tried to explain to her daughter that she would not be able to buy her clothes to mark the occasion, as her husband fretted about feeding the family.
“What sort of Eid is this?” asked the 45-year-old in Srinagar.
“We are not even allowed to move outside. My husband is a daily wage laborer but hasn’t made any money for the last eight days.”
A sheep trader at a Srinagar market, who gave his name as Maqbool, said the number of people buying sacrificial animals for the holiday was sharply lower and he had gone from “huge profits” to a “big loss” this year.
Indian premier Modi insisted last week the decision to strip Kashmir of its autonomy was necessary for its economic development, and also to stop “terrorism.”
He said with Kashmir now fully part of the Indian union, the region would enjoy more jobs and less corruption and red tape, adding that key infrastructure projects would be expedited.
Previously, under its constitutional autonomy, Kashmiris enjoyed special privileges such as the sole right to own land or take government jobs and university scholarships.
Islamabad has been infuriated by New Delhi’s moves and has expelled the Indian ambassador, halted what little bilateral trade exists and suspended cross-border transport services.