News Analysis India

Tag: Jammu and Kashmir

  • ‘Some have started leaving’: Kashmiri Pandits fear 1990 rerun as attack on minorities rises in J&K

    By PTI

    SRINAGAR/ANANTNAG: As a spate of targeted killings of minorities rock Kashmir, a Kashmiri Pandit organisation Friday said some employees from the community, who were provided government jobs under a rehabilitation package in 2010-11, have started moving to Jammu quietly fearing for their life, alleging the administration was unable to provide then a secure environment.

    The administration, meanwhile, has given a holiday of 10 days to employees from the minority community, official sources said.

    A woman principal and a teacher were shot dead at point blank range inside a government school in the heart of the city on Thursday, taking to seven the number of civilians killed by militants in Kashmir Valley in five days.

    ​ALSO READ | Priyanka Gandhi condemns terrorist attacks on J&K civilians, urges govt to ensure safety of all

    Of the seven, four were from minority communities.

    With these targeted killings, members of the Kashmiri Pandit community who were provided employment under the Prime Minister’s rehabilitation programme in 2010-11, fear the terror groups would target them too.

    “Around 500 people or more have started leaving from different areas like Budgam, Anantnag and Pulwama. There are some non-Kashmir pandit families who have also left. It is 1990 revisited,” says Sanjay Tiku, president of Kashmiri Pandit Sangarsh Samiti (KPSS) “It may seem invisible but migration is going on and I was anticipating this.

    We had requested appointment from the Lt Governor’s office in June, but have not been given time till now,” Tiku, who has never migrated out of the valley, said. He said such developments are noticed much these days due to social media, and “we are aware of who all have left.”

    The KPSS says it is now evidently clear that the Confidence Building Measure of providing employment to the Kashmiri migrants is not appreciated by the anti-minority forces.

    He also slammed the administration.

    ​ALSO READ | Will smoke perpetrators out, hold them accountable: Naqvi as militants target civilians in J&K

    Vessu migrant camp in Qazigund area of South Kashmir which houses around 380 families became an epicentre of administrative actions Friday morning when Anantnag Deputy Commissioner Piyush Singla along with police officers pleaded the families not to leave the transit camp.

    “He assured us complete security and requested us not to move to Jammu,” said Sunny Raina, President of Vessu camp package employee association.

    The organisation, which has 4,284 employees, had written a letter to the chief secretary expressing fear for their lives.

    “In a state of extreme fear and panic, we bring to your kind notice that the whole of the minority populace of Kashmiri Pandits dispensing their duties in Kashmir feels scared of the emerging grave, anti-minority situation in Kashmir.

    “Due to recent brutal and gruesome selective killings of members of Hindu community, all employees who belong to the same community feel insecure and frightened,” they wrote.

    ALSO READ | Civilian killings in J&K: PDP demands L-G Manoj Sinha’s resignation, says situation is alarming

    “The emerging situation reminds us of the similar situation that of decade 1990s, which led to the mass exodus of Kashmiri Pandits,” the memorandum said, adding the same loss of lives cannot be afforded by the community again.

    Raina argues that while the camps where they stay are completely secure, there are several hundred employees residing outside these camps and have to attend to their duties in far flung areas.

    “It seems that the administration is not capable enough to provide security to all the employees and therefore, we have asked the chief secretary to exempt us from the duties till the situation returns to normal,” he said.

    Raina said that while 20 percent of 380 families had left on Thursday, some families moved out even Friday before the Deputy Commissioner came to the camp.

    Vinod Raina, who is the President of PM package employee’s association at Mattan, an area in South Kashmir’s Anantnag district, says that around 250 people living outside the transit camps have left for Jammu since attack on minority community started a few day back.

    ​ALSO READ | Have we lost ground intelligence or enemy has become sharper? asks Altaf Bukhari on civilian killings

    “When the news of killing of teachers in Srinagar reached, our fellow colleagues belonging to Muslim community escorted us back to the camp.

    The bonhomie between the two communities is strong and I hope it stays like that,” says Raina, who was employed as teacher in 2010.

    He said that some of the migrant employees staying outside transit camps have already shifted their base to Jammu.

    “This is a sad,” says another employee who did not wish to be named.

    “And the pace at which the government has been functioning for the last few years is not encouraging.”

  • Priyanka Gandhi condemns terrorist attacks on J&K civilians, urges govt to ensure safety of all

    By PTI

    NEW DELHI: Congress leader Priyanka Gandhi Vadra on Friday condemned the killing of innocent people in Jammu and Kashmir by terrorists, and urged the central government to take immediate steps for ensuring the safety of all citizens.

    As many as seven civilians have been killed by militants in Kashmir Valley in the last five days.

    A woman principal and a teacher were shot dead at a point-blank range inside a government school on Thursday.

    “The increasing attacks on our Kashmiri sisters and brothers by terrorists are painful and condemnable. We are with our Kashmiri sisters and brothers in this difficult time,” Gandhi said in a tweet in Hindi.

    The central government should take immediate steps to ensure the safety of all citizens, the Congress general secretary said.

  • Amit Shah pulls up officials over J&K civilian killings

    By Express News Service

    NEW DELHI/SRINAGAR : Union Home Minister Amit Shah on Thursday pulled up senior security and intelligence officials over the civilian killings in Jammu and Kashmir, directing them to ensure better law and order to prevent possible targeted killings in the future, sources said. 

    Shah chaired a high-level meeting to review the security in Jammu and Kashmir where as many as seven civilians have been shot dead in the first week of October alone.  The meeting was attended by Union Home Secretary Ajay Kumar Bhalla, National Security Advisor Ajit Doval, the chiefs of Intelligence Bureau, Central Reserve Police Force, Border Security Force and other senior officials of the security establishment. 

    Shah directed the top brass to identify the gaps which could have led to the increase in civilian killings in the Valley and also ordered for enhancement of security in areas where minorities have a sizable presence, said a senior security  official who was in know of the meeting. 

    Back in Jammu and Kashmir, Lieutenant Governor Manoj Sinha also undertook a meeting to review the security situation in the newly carved out Union Territory. Sinha condemned the killing of two teachers belonging to minority communities on Thursday, saying a befitting reply would be given to the perpetrators of the terror attack. 

    Sinha said the terrorists and their patrons would not succeed in disturbing peace in the Union Territory. Sources said Sinha would be reaching the national capital on Friday to discuss the security situation with Amit Shah.

    Jammu and Kashmir police DGP Dilbagh Singh said the targeted killing of civilians, particularly minorities, in the Valley was aimed at creating an atmosphere of fear and damaging the age-old communal harmony. The people who are targeting humanity, brotherhood and local ethos would be unmasked soon, Singh told reporters at the site of the latest militant attack. 

    “We regret the back-to-back attacks in which civilians have been killed. We are working on the previous cases and the Srinagar Police have got many clues and we will soon get the people behind such terror and barbaric attacks, he said.

  • Have we lost ground intelligence or enemy has become sharper? asks Altaf Bukhari on civilian killings

    By PTI

    SRINAGAR: With Kashmir witnessing a spate of civilian killings by militants, Jammu and Kashmir Apni Party (JKAP) chief Altaf Bukhari on Thursday said there is a need to ponder whether the ground and human intelligence has failed or the enemy has become sharper and more organised.

    Bukhari, a businessman-turned-politician who has been spearheading political activities in Jammu and Kashmir since the abrogation of its special status by the Centre, warned that any further “delay in revival of grassroots democracy will only lead us to mayhem, which we have started witnessing.”

    The strong statement from Bukhari came after the killing of three civilians, including prominent chemist Makhan Lal Bindroo, on Tuesday, with The Resistance Front, believed to be a shadow of the banned Lashker-e-Taiba terror group, claiming responsibility for the attack.

    ​ALSO READ | Civilian killings by militants aimed at spreading fear, damaging communal harmony: J&K DGP

    “My head hangs in shame. I do not know how to face the family of Bindroo. I do not how to face the vendor (Virender Paswan) or the person killed in Bandipore. This is simply inhuman.”

    “If you ask me, we need to ponder on this: Has our ground intelligence, human intelligence failed or is the enemy sharper and more organised than us?” Bukhari said.

    His remarks came on a day militants shot dead two government school teachers in Srinagar.

    The killing of the teachers took the number of civilians killed in the Kashmir Valley in the last five days to seven, including four from the valley’s minority communities.

    The JKAP chief also said that the time has come for politicians to step in to revive grassroots democracy in the union territory and warned that any further “delay in revival of grassroots democracy will only lead us to mayhem, which we have started witnessing.”

    He said it was a time of grief for everyone in Jammu and Kashmir but “having said so, we have to see how to come out of this situation. I see a lack of communication between a common man and the administration”.

    ​ALSO READ | Civilian killings continue in Srinagar as militants gun down two govt school teachers

    “I think that is our first priority that the channel of communication with common people should be restored, maybe through police or civil administration — all have to keep their eyes and ears open and listen to common man.”

    To a question about the party’s assessment of the situation since it was formed in March 2020, Bukhari said, “If you ask me how do I feel…..It has been three years since the central rule was imposed, what we had thought or what we had anticipated in terms of development or in terms of corruption being under control or common man being heard, I am sorry to point out that on all these parameters on a scale of 1 to 10, the results are not more than 2. So naturally we are not satisfied to the level what our expectation was.”

    He, however, said Prime Minister Narendra Modi and Home Minister Amit Shah would be reviewing everything and “I am sure we will see light at the end of the tunnel.”

    While bailing out Lt Governor Manoj Sinha who, he said, is a seasoned politician and is tirelessly working to uplift Jammu and Kashmir, Bukhari noted he would like “to point out that probably people at the helm of affairs in the administration are not aware of intricacies of Jammu and Kashmir”.

    “Had Jammu and Kashmir been any other state of the country, probably their experience and administrative acumen would have been sufficient to change things on the ground. Unfortunately, Jammu and Kashmir has its own historical, geographical and political identity which only people who have had insight into the minds and psyche of the people can handle better.”

    He said tough times are ahead but he has been advising his leaders and workers to take more responsibility and become a link between communities, regions and sects who reside here.

    “The enemy within us will have to be exposed and contained irrespective who he or she is. If there are black sheep within us, they will have to be exposed or within the administration or the security forces, they need to be weeded out so that common man reposes faith in the system of this country.”

    “I will be honest my workers feel suffocated, my leaders feel suffocated because they are not allowed free movement…..but if political workers are not allowed to work for people, the whole gamut of democracy looks a farce,” he said, adding that “it seems there are forces inimical to peace within the administration also who are becoming roadblocks in free flow of communications between a common man and our workers.”

    Bukhari said the killing of Bindroo was a setback to efforts to convince Kashmiri Pandits to return to their homes and start life with all.

    “I pose a serious question to myself, how can I convince a Kashmiri Pandit, living in Jagti (migrants camp) to come back to Srinagar when we could not save Mr Bindroo, who did more human service then anyone of us living in Srinagar,” Bukhari said.

  • Civilian killings by militants aimed at spreading fear, damaging communal harmony: J&K DGP

    The killing of the teachers took the number of civilians killed in the Kashmir Valley in the last five days to seven, including four from the valley #39;s minority communities.

  • Hurriyat Conference condemns killing of pharmacy owner, two others in Jammu and Kashmir

    By PTI

    SRINAGAR: The Hurriyat Conference, led by Mirwaiz Umar Farooq, on Wednesday expressed grief over the killing of Kashmiri Pandit businessman M L Bindroo and two others by militants.

    The separatist amalgam appealed to the international community to intervene in putting an end to the daily violence and tragic loss of life in Kashmir by “pushing for the resolution of the lingering Kashmir conflict, which is the root cause of all this suffering”.

    Slain Kashmiri Pandit businessman Makhan Lal Bindroo’s daughter, Dr Shradda Bindroo says her father was a Kashmiri Pandit and will never die. “You can just kill the body and Makhan Lal Bindroo will be alive in the spirit”.@NewIndianXpress@khogensingh1https://t.co/0wcToZhY7Y
    — Fayaz Wani (@iamfayazwani) October 6, 2021
    “Hurriyat Conference led by Mirwaiz, who continues to be under illegal house arrest, expressed shock and condemned the killing of Bindroo, a leading pharmacist of the valley who had been dedicatedly serving the people of the valley for the last many decades, and two others yesterday evening,” a statement said.

    It strongly condemned all the killings, which are acts of pure violence against fellow humans and humanity.

    “Hurriyat Conference extends its heartfelt condolences and sympathies with the bereaved family of Bindroo and others who have been pushed to perpetual grief at the loss of their dear one,” the statement added.

    Bindroo (68), the owner of Bindroo Medicare, was shot at by the assailants from point-blank range while he was at his pharmacy, a police official said, adding he was rushed to a hospital where he was declared dead.

    Barely a few minutes after the killing of Bindroo, militants gunned down a roadside vendor identified as Virendra Paswan, a resident of Bhagalpur in Bihar, who used to earn his livelihood by selling ‘golgappa’ and ‘bhelpuri’.

    Almost simultaneously, militants shot dead Mohammad Shafi Lone at Naidkhai in Bandipora district of north Kashmir, officials said.

  • Welcome Centre’s decision to start Beat the Retreat ceremony at Suchetgarh: PDP chief Mehbooba Mufti

    By PTI

    SRINAGAR: PDP president Mehbooba Mufti on Sunday welcomed the Centre’s decision to start the Beat the Retreat ceremony at Suchetgarh on the Indo-Pak border, saying it will give a fillip to tourism and also improve cross-border ties.

    Jammu and Kashmir Lieutenant Governor Manoj Sinha on Saturday inaugurated the retreat ceremony at the Octroi Post, Suchetgarh, on the international border.

    “Welcome GOIs decision to start Beat the Retreat ceremony at Suchetgarh. Will certainly give a fillip to tourism and hope its taken further by using it as a trade and travel route between Suchetgarh and Sialkot,” Mehbooba wrote on Twitter.

    The former chief minister of the erstwhile state said such confidence building measures improve cross-border ties and benefit both the sides economically too.

  • Army recovers 30 kg of ‘drug-like’ substance along LoC in Jammu and Kashmir’s Uri

    By PTI

    SRINAGAR: The Army has recovered around 30 kg of a contraband substance worth about Rs 25 crore in the black market along the Line of Control (LoC) in Jammu and Kashmir’s Uri sector, police said on Sunday.

    “On Saturday, alert Indian troops deployed along the LoC in Uri sector in Baramulla district of north Kashmir observed some suspicious movement.

    “Upon a search of the area, it was found that a contraband-like substance, most likely drugs, was dropped there,” Senior Superintendent of Police (SSP), Baramulla Rayees Mohammad Bhat told reporters in Baramulla.

    He said the peddlers trying to smuggle the drugs into the Indian side of the LoC ran away after observing the movement of troops.

    The SSP said two bags with Pakistani markings containing approximately 25-30 kg of a drug-like substance were recovered.

    “The exact nature of the heroin-like substance is being ascertained through the authorities concerned. The value of the suspected contraband is around Rs 20-25 crore in the black market,” he added.

    A cap, a couple of backpacks and a couple of gunny bags were also recovered from the spot, the SSP said.

    He said legal proceedings have been initiated after the suspected contraband was handed over to the police and a case has been registered under the relevant sections of law.

    “The huge drug haul along the LoC showcases the nefarious designs of the Pakistan-based narco-terror nexus and its inimical intent to abet terrorism and finance terror in India. This drug bust is a huge setback to the nexus,” the officer said.

  • Cross-LoC trade case: NIA conducts searches at multiple locations in Jammu and Kashmir

    By PTI

    JAMMU: The National Investigation Agency (NIA) on Sunday conducted searches at nine locations in Poonch district in connection with a five-year-old case related to misuse of money generated from cross-LoC trade for fomenting terrorism in Jammu and Kashmir, officials said.

    The raids were carried out with the assistance of the Jammu and Kashmir Police, Central Reserve Police Force (CRPF) and the Indo-Tibetan Border Police (ITBP) in the case registered by the NIA on December 9, 2016, under section 17 of the Unlawful Activities (Prevention) Act, a spokesperson of the NIA said.

    On April 18, 2019, India indefinitely suspended cross-LoC trade at two points along the Line of Control (LoC) in Jammu and Kashmir, following reports that it was being “misused” by elements from across the border to smuggle weapons, narcotics and fake currency.

    The LoC trade across Chakan-Da-Bagh in Poonch district of Jammu region and Salamabad in Baramulla district of north Kashmir was intended as a confidence-building measure (CBM) for the population living in Jammu and Kashmir and across the LoC in Pakistan-occupied Kashmir (Pok).

    “LoC trade was started in the year 2008 as part of confidence-building measure between J-K and PoK. The trade was based on barter system and third party origin goods were not allowed.

    “The instant case is related to the large scale transfer of funds from Pakistan to India through the import of California almonds and other items via the cross LoC Trade Facilitation Centres (TFCs) located at Salamabad and Chakkan-Da-Bag,” the NIA said.

    The spokesperson said these funds were purportedly being used for fomenting terrorism and separatism in Jammu and Kashmir.

    “Investigation into the case revealed that some of the traders having excess imports were channelising the surplus profits generated to terror organisations, while others are suspected to have links/connections with proscribed terrorist organisations,” the NIA said.

    During the searches conducted at multiple locations, the spokesperson said documents, digital devices and other incriminating material have been recovered from the premises of the suspects.

    “Further investigation in the case is underway,” the NIA said.

  • Placed under house arrest again, claims ex-Jammu and Kashmir CM Mehbooba Mufti

    By PTI

    SRINAGAR: PDP president Mehbooba Mufti on Wednesday claimed that she has been put under house arrest again as she had planned to visit Pulwama district of Jammu and Kashmir.

    The former chief minister had on Tuesday alleged that Army personnel had thrashed a family in Tral town of Pulwama and injured a female member.

    Mufti said she was going to meet the family on Wednesday.

    “Locked up in my house today yet again for attempting to visit the village in Tral allegedly ransacked by army. This is the real picture of Kashmir that visiting dignitaries must be shown instead of GOIs sanitised & guided picnic tours,” Mufti tweeted.

    The Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) chief also posted a picture of a security forces vehicle allegedly blocking the main gate of her residence on Gupkar road.

    On Tuesday, Mufti had tweeted: “Army from Yagwani camp in Tral ransacked homes & ruthlessly thrashed a family last night. The daughter owing to her serious injuries was admitted to hospital. Not the first time that civilians from this village have been beaten up by army in this area.”