More Than 40 Days, Students in Kashmir Yet Attending to Schools

Karachi, MINA – The youngest Nobel Peace Prize in the world, Malala Yousafzai, said that for more than 40 days students in Jammu and Kashmir have not been able to attend school.

“I am very concerned about the reports of 4,000 people, including children, who were arbitrarily arrested and jailed, students who have not been able to go to school for more than 40 days, girls who are afraid of leaving their homes,” Malala said as quoted by Anadolu Agency (AA) on Sunday, September 15.

He urged world leaders who will attend the upcoming UN General Assembly (UNGA) session in New York to help students in the region return safely to school.

He also expressed concern over the worsening situation for Muslims in Jammu and Kashmir, following the decision of the Indonesian Government to withdraw special status granted to the region.

Malala is an activist who was shot in the head by Taliban militants in 2012 because he likes to campaign for education for women in Pakistan. Malala survived and lived in England, before finally winning the 2014 Nobel Peace Prize for her work in the struggle for women’s education.

Meanwhile, several human rights groups including Human Rights Watch and Amnesty International have repeatedly called on India to lift restrictions and release political prisoners.

From 1954 to 5 August 2019, Jammu and Kashmir enjoyed special status under the Indian constitution, which allowed it to enact its own laws.

The provisions also protect the territorial citizenship law, which prohibits outsiders from settling and owning land in the area.

India and Pakistan both have territories in Kashmir, the two countries have fought twice over the area. Meanwhile, China also controls some of the contested areas. (T/Sj/P2)

Mi’raj News Agency (MINA)