Apex body, KDA call for restoration of internet, public gatherings
LEH
The Leh Apex Body (LAB) has strongly condemned the continued restrictions on public gatherings and mobile internet in Indian Illegally Occupied Ladakh (IIO Ladakh), accusing the administration of intimidating activists and community leaders instead of addressing genuine demands for justice and democratic rights.
According to Kashmir Media Service, LAB Co-Chairman Chering Dorjay Lakrook, while addressing a press conference in Leh, rejected the administration’s claims of “normalcy” as false and misleading. “On the surface, there is an illusion of calm, but in reality, harassment and restrictions continue unabated. True normalcy can only return when curbs on communication and assembly are lifted,” he stated, calling on the Modi regime to end its suppressive tactics.
Lakrook, who also heads the Ladakh Buddhist Association, urged authorities to immediately restore mobile internet services and permit peaceful public gatherings to rebuild public trust and confidence.
The restrictions were imposed following the firing by Indian forces on peaceful demonstrators in Leh on September 24, which left four civilians dead and nearly 100 injured. The city remains under tight security control, with local leaders, including numberdars (village headmen), being interrogated by police.
The Leh Apex Body termed the questioning of community leaders “a direct attack on Ladakh’s culture and social fabric” and demanded an immediate end to the harassment campaign against local representatives.
