In a tweet posted on Tuesday Mr Warner said, “While I understand India has legitimate security concerns, I am disturbed by its restrictions on communications and movement within Jammu and Kashmir.”
“I hope India will live up to its democratic principles by allowing freedom of the press, information, and political participation,” said Senator Warner.
The Senate India Caucus is a coalition of senators from different parties. It aims to bring “national attention to domestic and international issues that affect our economies and security.”
India imposed restrictions on August 5 when it scrapped the special status of Jammu and Kashmir and bifurcated it into two union territories Jammu and Kashmir and Laddakh.
India has always maintained that Kashmir is its internal matter.
When Turkey and Malaysia raised the issue at the United Nations General Assembly, Indian authorities asked both countries to desist from making any comments.
Indian official says most of the restrictions have been removed and the normalcy is returning to the region. On Monday, Indian authorities said that they would lift the travel advisory in Kashmir and tourists will be welcomed.
According to the Hindustan Times Governor of Jammu and Kashmir Satyapal Malik directed on Monday that the advisory be lifted immediately. “This will be done with effect from October 10,” statement released by the J&K administration said.
However, Anjum Rafiqi, a Kashmiri living in Sydney, says, the people are living under fear and threat.
“There is a self-imposed curfew in some parts where the government has not imposed a curfew. Crackdowns are commonplace; people are intimidated and living in fear. In a first Indian state machinery had upped the intensity quotient on psychological warfare on the population,” claims Mr Rafiqi.
Several members of the international community have also expressed concerns over the situation.
Another US democrat senator and presidential candidate Elizabeth Warren tweeted, “The US-India partnership has always been rooted in our shared democratic values.”
“I’m concerned about recent events in Kashmir, including a continued communications blackout and other restrictions. The rights of the people of Kashmir must be respected,” Ms Warren tweeted.
Australia respects the Indian position on the issue.
“The Indian government said this is its internal matter. We respect the Indian position on that. Australia’s long-held view on Kashmir has been that it should be resolved bilaterally by India and Pakistan,” Australia High Commissioner Harinder Sidhu had told the Indian media.
Mr Rafiqi says the inability of the international community to call out India for the situation is a testimony to India’s clout in the global sphere.
“While muted voices of concern are being heard from almost all over, there is a clear unwillingness to vocalize a significant shift in policy,” Mr Rafiqi told SBS Hindi.
Kashmir is divided between India and Pakistan. Both claim the territory in full. According to Reuters news agency, more than 40,000 people have been killed in an insurgency in the Indian part of Kashmir since 1989.
