US leaders up ante on Kashmir issue
Six US Congressmen have written to the Indian ambassador asking some uncomfortable questions.
New Delhi: Days after the US government sought a roadmap from India on political and economic normalcy in Kashmir and asked the Indian government to immediately release all the political detainees, six US Congressmen have written to the Indian ambassador asking some uncomfortable questions.
In a letter to Indian envoy Harsh Vardhan Shringla, the American lawmakers have said that many of their constituents have portrayed a much different picture in Kashmir compared to what the Indian ambassador had told them on October 16, when he briefed members of the House Foreign Affairs Committee.
The six US Congressmen — David N Cicilline, Dina Titus, Chrissy Houlahan, Andy Levin, James P McGovern and Susan Wild — have asked the Indian government if 100 per cent landlines have been restored in Jammu and Kashmir or there are any remaining outages. They also asked when mobile networks, including Internet, will be restored. The lawmakers also asked about the number of people detained under the Public Safety Act.