300 arrested in Jammu and Kashmir as ‘Bangladeshis’, move underway to push them back
After a crackdown on Rohingya refugees in Indian administered Jammu and Kashmir, the local administration has now moved to identify so called Bangladeshi nationals and send them back. Government sources said a plan is underway to push in about 300 people in the first phase.
Strict action against “illegal intruders” has grown in the Kashmir Valley and the Jammu region in recent times. BBC News Urdu quoted government sources and reported that a high level committee of India’s Home Ministry said last May that about 600 so called illegal migrants from Bangladesh had lived in the area for several years.
Officials claim these people entered India without valid papers. They have already split about 300 people into two groups and handed them to the Border Security Force (BSF) of India. This is part of the process of sending them back to Bangladesh.
India’s ruling BJP and the local administration claim that unauthorised migrants put pressure on the local economy and on people’s livelihoods. The administration also points to security risks.
Human rights activists have strongly criticised such steps. Journalist and analyst Mr. Haroon Reshi said the international law principle of “non refoulement” bars sending anyone to a country where their life or freedom may be at risk. He also reminded readers that the Supreme Court of India has, at various times, stressed the protection of basic human rights of foreigners under Article 21 of the country’s Constitution.
