Tens of thousands of protesters protested in Hong Kong, police seen chasing some away

Srinagar A woman coolly walks past security personnel after making some purchases in Srinagar on Saturday

Srinagar: The eagerness of China to raise the removal of Jammu and Kashmir's special status to the United Nations Security Council at the behest of Pakistan drew sharp reactions on social media on Saturday.

Twitter users sought to highlight Beijing's silence on the violent clashes that have crippled life across Hong Kong for the past several days. Nearly 750 people had been arrested until Friday. Protests by pro-democracy supporters have entered 11th week.

By contrast, J&K has remained peaceful despite Pakistan's relentless efforts to stoke unrest in the Valley. All its attempts, including the close-door meeting at the UNSC with the help of China, have come to nought.

Questions are being asked on China siding with Pakistan to internationalise Kashmir, an integral part of India, while using brute force to crush dissent in Hong Kong, Tibet and the Uyghur Muslim-dominated region.

"The only principles that #Pakistan shares with #China is the barbaric cleansing, incarceration and killing of minorities in #Baluchistan #Xinjiang and more. And both were isolated in that room [UNSC]," tweeted Samir Saran, president of think tank Observer Research Foundation.

Another Twitter user wondered, "If China wants to interfere in Kashmir, should India demand democracy in Tibet and Hong Kong?"

Meanwhile, China's paramilitary forces on Saturday practised crowd control moves in Hong Kong, a semi-autonomous territory that UK handed over to Beijing in 1997.

Ironically, China's ambassador to the UK has warned British leaders against interfering in Hong Kong's affairs.