Tolga Akmen—AFP
Protesters gather outside Indian embassy and demand Britain intervene to protect Kashmiri rights
Several thousand people protested on Thursday outside the Indian embassy in London against New Delhi’s move to strip India-Occupied Kashmir of its autonomy.
The protesters held up signs reading “Kashmir is bleeding” and waved Kashmiri and Pakistani flags. Police separated them from a smaller pro-Indian counter-demonstration. AFP reporters saw police making at least one arrest.
“Everybody has to stand up. This is a turning point,” said Shazad Ahmed, a 36-year-old IT worker from Pakistan-administered Kashmir, who was attending the protest with his wife and two daughters.
Mohammed Beshir, 76, also from the Pakistani part of Kashmir, said: “We want the British people to intervene.”
Kashmir is split between arch-rivals India and Pakistan. The Indian-controlled parts of Kashmir have been in lockdown since Aug. 4, with freedom of movement restricted and phones and the internet cut. A day later, New Delhi scrapped Article 370 in the Indian constitution that granted Kashmir special autonomy.
The United Nations Security Council is scheduled to discuss the issue at a closed-door meeting on Friday.