Kashmir leader says the region lacks democracy and asks India to restore its special status

By SHEIKH SAALIQ
Associated Press

NEW DELHI (AP) — Kashmir’s top pro-India politician says the disputed region lacks democracy four years after Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s ruling Hindu nationalist party stripped its statehood. Kashmir’s separate constitution and inherited protections on land and jobs were also removed with the decision. In an interview Friday with The Associated Press, Omar Abdullah said India’s 2019 decision pushed the territory into a democratic void and led to a clampdown on civil liberties. Abdullah is a top leader of the National Conference, the party that has governed Indian-controlled Kashmir for decades. He said he’s optimistic that India’s top court would reverse the decision after it began hearing petitions challenging the move’s constitutionality. Abdullah’s party is one of the petitioners in the case.