India grants 25 thousand Kashmiri domiciles to non Kashmiris since May

India grants 25 thousand Kashmiri domiciles to non Kashmiris since May 18, 2020.

In occupied Kashmir, India has granted domicile certificates to up to 25,000 people since May 18 this year.

India grants 25 thousand Kashmiri domiciles

It raised fears of the beginning of demographic changes in the Muslim-majority territory.

Al Jazeera News posted this report on its website.

The certificate, a sort of citizenship right, entitles a person to residency and government jobs in the region.

Till last year this remained reserved only for the local population.

Last year on August 5, when India revoked the semi-autonomous status of the region, it also scrapped the local special citizenship law, guaranteed under Article 35 (A) of the Indian constitution.

The move has drawn parallel with the occupied West Bank.

Article 35 (A) had barred outsiders, including Indian nationals from other states, from settling in the occupied Kashmir and claiming government jobs there, to maintain its demographic balance.

However, in April this year, amid the coronavirus lockdown, the Indian government notified domicile laws making an unspecified number of outsiders eligible for residency and jobs in the occupied territory.

Meanwhile, the Amnesty International has severely criticized the Indian occupation forces for unlawful killing of a child.

Indian troops killed him during a cordon and search operation in Islamabad district of occupied Kashmir.

Reacting sharply to the killing of a minor boy, the Amnesty said the brutal murder shows utter contempt for human life and the fundamental principles of humanity.

Avinash Kumar, Executive Director, Amnesty International India, said this in a statement in New Delhi.

He further said the authorities must investigate this incident and must bring the perpetrators to justice.

The statement further said killing of civilian is in violation of Article 3 of the four Geneva Conventions of 1949.