NEW DELHI, Aug 6:
As Kashmir remains in a State of shutdown, without mobile and phone connectivity, those with families and friends in the valley are worried about the situation there, desperately waiting to hear from their loved ones.
Kashmiris settled outside the state in India as well as abroad have taken to Twitter to share their anxieties. While some speak about their inability to communicate with their folks in the curfewed state, others are sharing screenshots of their last conversations.
“Somebody From Kashmir Plzz Tell The Ground Situation of Kashmir… We are Worried… Unable to Contact Our Family ??????#StandwithKashmir,” wrote Syed Faizan.
“Communication suspended in @kashmir I want (to) call my family??” wrote another user.
M Junaid whose Twitter bio says he is a cultural anthropologist, in a series of tweets, said the last 24 hours have been the longest for him.
“Friends and family in #Kashmir were sending messages over the last few days asking if India has some sort of a final solution in mind. It was too hard to give comfort or say everything will be fine. Now the messages have stopped coming. The long night has begun #StandwithKashmir.”
In a following tweet he wrote, “Just so that you know, we have still not been able to speak with our families in Kashmir. There are dark whispers being shared about South Kashmir where my folks are. It has been the longest 24 hours, and there seems no end in sight…” (sic)
The Rajya Sabha had on Monday passed a resolution to abrogate provisions of Article 370 that gave Jammu and Kashmir special status. The House also passed a bill to split the state into two union territories — Jammu and Kashmir and Ladakh.
An unprecedented security cover and several restrictions are in place in Kashmir. While police officials in the state have assured that the law and order situation is “totally peaceful”, the lack of communication and interaction has left several anxious.
Another user of the micro-blogging site said he has been getting panic attacks ever since he lost contact with his family.
“I am outside Kashmir and in New Delhi. We are in utter fear and I have anxiety issues and it just worsened. I am having panic attacks and it is getting worse as the moments pass without any contact with the family,” he wrote.
Bollywood actor Huma Qureshi also took to Twitter looking to gather whatever information she could.
“Does anyone know what is happening in #Kashmir ?? Not able to speak to anyone from the family there … I pray that everyone is safe,” she wrote.
The situation has also rendered futile the travel plans of some who were hoping to be home for Eid celebrations on August 11.
“I waited almost 26 months to celebrate this eid with my family back in kashmir and tomorrow is my flight still i m not sure whether to travel or not #KashmirBleeds,” a Najar Zubair who is based out of Riyadh in Saudi Arabia, posted.
Unable to express their pain in words, many simply shared the last conversations they had with their loved ones.
A Delhi-based associate fellow with the Observer Research Foundation Khalid Shah tweeted, “On my last phone call my mother said: “how will you get to know if I die?”
Another user shared a conversation with a college junior who has family in the valley. “A junior of mine from India occupied Kashmir sitting next to me in auditorium was so depressed that he started talking to me today and said, ‘Baba had called me three days back and said itne paise bhej diye hain k aapka mbbs ho jaye, apna khayal rakhna, bohot acche doctor banna, aur kaisi bhi khabar as jaye ghar wapis na ana…’,” he wrote. (PTI)
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