Kashmir shuts down to protest India's new land laws

Kashmiris walk in a closed market area during a strike called by separatists in Srinagar, Indian controlled Kashmir, Saturday, Oct. 31, 2020. Kashmir’s main separatist grouping called the strike to protest new land laws that India enacted on Tuesday, allowing any of its nationals to buy land in the region. Pro-India politicians in Kashmir have also criticized the laws and accused India of putting Kashmir’s land up for sale. The move exacerbates concerns of Kashmiris and rights groups who see such measures as a settler-colonial project to change the Muslim-majority region’s demography. - AP

SRINAGAR, India (AP): Shops and businesses were shut in several parts of Indian-controlled Kashmir on Saturday as separatists challenging Indian rule called for a general strike to denounce new laws that allow any Indians to buy land in the disputed region.

Government forces in riot gear patrolled streets in Kashmir’s main city of Srinagar in anticipation of anti-India protests. Public transport also stayed off the roads.