Srinagar: The All Parties Hurriyat Conference (APHC) has firmly rejected the unilateral actions taken by the BJP-led Indian regime in the Indian Illegally Occupied Jammu and Kashmir (IIOJK) since August 2019, declaring these actions as illegal and void given the United Nations-recognized disputed status of the region.

According to Radio Pakistan, APHC Spokesman Advocate Abdul Rashid Minhas issued a statement in Srinagar denouncing the abrogation of Articles 370 and 35A. He described changes to the domicile laws as part of a systematic strategy by the Modi-led BJP-RSS regime aimed at altering the Muslim-majority character of Jammu and Kashmir. The APHC has called on the United Nations and the United States to intervene, seeking a just resolution of the Kashmir dispute to bring peace and stability to the troubled territory.

In a related development, a gathering in New Delhi, which included Indian and Kashmiri political leaders, civil society members, and former bureaucrats, demanded the restoration of Jammu and Kashmir’s special status. This meeting, coinciding with the Indian Parliament’s monsoon session, was organized by the Forum for Human Rights in Jammu and Kashmir. The speakers at the meeting deemed the 2019 decision unconstitutional, highlighting the need for a reversal of the actions taken by the Indian government.

Separately, the Indian government has acknowledged the economic difficulties faced by farmers in IIOJK. India’s Agriculture Minister Shivraj Singh Chouhan admitted in the Lok Sabha that farmers are being compelled to sell their produce below the cost of production, which is exacerbating their financial struggles and pushing them deeper into poverty.