SRINAGAR (Kashmir English): Political leaders and activists from across the aisle have said that the Modi-led Indian regime’s so-called anti-drug campaign in occupied Jammu and Kashmir is increasingly being used to defame Kashmiris’ legitimate freedom struggle and impose collective punishment.
According to Kashmir Media Service, they said that under the guise of anti-narcotics operations, Kashmiri youth are being targeted, detained, and politically stigmatized.
“The anti-drug campaign is fast emerging as a tool of collective punishment against Kashmiri families,” one leader said, adding that demolishing homes and seizing properties cannot be justified as anti-narcotics policy — it only deepens fear and alienation.
Leaders and activists noted that India is attempting to portray Kashmiris’ political resistance as criminality to undermine the legitimacy of the self-determination movement, while the anti-drug narrative is also being used to malign Pakistan through unsubstantiated allegations and political propaganda.
“What is being framed as an anti-drug drive reflects the architecture of a surveillance state in IIOJK,” a rights activist said.
Kashmiri youth
The so-called campaign is being used to criminalize Kashmiri youth and stigmatize an entire generation, with property demolitions and asset seizures systematically weakening Kashmiris’ economic foundations.
Leaders stressed that targeting homes, land, and livelihoods reflects a broader strategy of economic coercion in the territory. “Anti-drug laws are being weaponized to expand surveillance and normalize arbitrary detentions in IIOJK,” they said, adding that the campaign is part of a larger effort to malign Kashmiris’ struggle and silence their legitimate political aspirations.
“India must know that collective punishment and coercive laws can’t erase Kashmiris’ demand for justice, dignity, and freedom,” the leaders and activists asserted.
