Congress’s Rahul Gandhi and other Indian opposition leaders will visit occupied Kashmir today to examine the ground situation following the Indian government’s move to revoke the special status of the valley.
According to reports in Indian media, among the parties that will be part of the opposition all-party delegation that will land at Srinagar are Congress, Rashtriya Janata Dal, Nationalist Congress Party, Trinamool Congress and the Dravida Munnetra Kazhagam, Press Trust of India reported.
Ghulam Nabi Azad and Anand Sharma are other Congress leaders other than Gandhi that will visit the valley.
The Indian opposition leaders will also visit some other parts of the valley, however, authorities in occupied Kashmir have not allowed any Indian leader to enter the valley.
Speaking to the media before boarding the flight, the opposition leaders said they wanted to assess the situation in the valley which has been under lockdown for three weeks now.
This would be the second attempt to visit the valley by opposition leaders and the first by Gandhi after Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s abolished the special status of the valley.
At least 400 Kashmiri leaders have been under house arrest since August 5 with the lockdown entering its 20th day in the valley on Saturday. Those arrested include politicians Farooq Abdullah, Omar Abdullah, Mehbooba Mufti, Ghulam Ahmed Mir and Shah Faesal.
The jails and police stations have run out of space and many detainees have been lodged in makeshift detention centres.
No communication and strict curfew have also led to an acute shortage of baby food and vital medicines.
