News Analysis India

Tag: Jammu and Kashmir

  • Senior delimitation panel official to hold virtual meet with J&K Dy Commissioners in coming days

    By PTI
    NEW DELHI: A senior official of the Delimitation Commission will hold a virtual meet in the next few days with all deputy commissioners of Jammu and Kashmir to discuss various inputs on geographical features of constituencies and the suggestions made by them, sources said.

    Set up in March last year, the Commission is mandated to redraw the constituencies of Jammu and Kashmir which at present is under central rule.

    This year, the panel headed by former Supreme Court judge Ranjana Desai was given one more year to complete its task.

    The delimitation panel had recently sought data on the area of existing constituencies, including geography and facilities available, and had asked the deputy commissioners for their suggestions to make them more “geographically compact”.

    ALSO READ | PDP meeting underway to discuss Centre’s invitation for talks

    Having received the data and suggestions, the Delimitation Commission has decided to hold a virtual meeting with the DCs to take forward the matter.

    “As far as possible, the constituency should be fully geographically compact,” explained a functionary.

    The development comes amid efforts by the Centre to bolster political processes in Jammu and Kashmir.

    Prime Minister Narendra Modi is scheduled to chair a meeting with a select group of political leaders from Jammu and Kashmir next week, which is expected to set the road map for holding assembly elections there.

    Jammu and Kashmir has been under the Centre’s rule since November 2018 and in August 5, 2019, the Centre abrogated its special status and bifurcated it into union territories.

    ALSO READ | PM Modi to meet 14 J&K leaders in Delhi on June 24; first since abrogation of Article 370

    Government officials said the assembly election is likely to be held after the Delimitation Commission redraws the constituencies.

    The Delimitation Commission had asked the DCs whether a constituency is in one district or spread across two.

    They were also asked about details of tehsils.

    As far as possible, not necessarily, one administrative unit should be in one constituency, else developmental work may suffer.

    Moreover, administrative control will be in two hands and not one, the functionary observed.

    All these issues and the suggestions made by the DCs will be discussed in the virtual meet.

    After the delimitation exercise, the number of assembly seats in Jammu and Kashmir will go up from 83 to 90.

    Twenty-four seats of the Assembly continue to remain vacant as they fall under Pakistan-occupied Kashmir (PoK).

  • PDP meeting underway to discuss Centre’s invitation for talks

    By PTI
    SRINAGAR: A crucial meet of the PDP’s political affairs committee (PAC), the highest decision-making body of the party, is underway here on Sunday to discuss the invitation of the Centre to regional political parties of Jammu and Kashmir for talks.

    The meet began at 11 am at PDP president Mehbooba Mufti’s ‘Fairview’ residence at Gupkar.

    The PAC, headed by Mehbooba, includes party leaders Abdul Rehman Veeri, Mohammad Sartaj Madni, Ghulam Nabi Lone Hanjura, Mehboob Beg, Naeem Akhtar, Surinder Choudhary, Yashpal Sharma, Master Tassaduq Hussain, Sofi Abdul Gaffar, Nizam-ud-Din Bhat, Aasiya Naqash, Firdous Ahmad Tak, Mohammad Khursheed Alam and Muhammad Yusuf Bhat.

    ALSO READ | Seven Assembly seats to be added in Jammu & Kashmir: Apni Party leader Ghulam Hassan Mir

    Madni was released from a six-month-long preventive detention on Saturday, hours after Mehbooba received the invitation, over phone, for the meeting.

    While Veeri and PDP chief spokesperson Syed Suhail Bukhari were present physically in the meeting at Gupkar, other leaders joined the deliberations virtually, a party leader said.

    He said the PAC meeting will take a final call on the party’s participation in the meeting called by Prime Minister Narendra Modi in New Delhi on June 24.

    The prime minister’s meeting with all political parties from Jammu and Kashmir is part of the Centre’s initiatives to bolster political processes, including holding assembly elections, in the Union Territory.

    Invitations were sent out to 14 political leaders from Jammu and Kashmir, including four former chief ministers, for participation in a high-level meeting to be chaired by the prime minister, which is expected to set the road map for holding assembly elections in the Union Territory.

    These leaders of eight political parties — the National Conference (NC), PDP, BJP, Congress, Jammu and Kashmir Apni Party, CPI(M), People’s Conference, and the Jammu & Kashmir National Panthers Party — were telephonically invited by Union Home Secretary Ajay Bhalla for participation in the meeting to be held at the prime minister’s residence at 3 pm on Thursday.

    This will be the prime minister’s first interaction with all the political parties of Jammu and Kashmir since August 5, 2019, when the Centre abrogated the state’s special status and bifurcated it into Union Territories.

    The erstwhile state has been under the Centre’s rule since November 2018.

  • Seven Assembly seats to be added in Jammu & Kashmir: Apni Party leader Ghulam Hassan Mir

    Express News Service
    SRI NAGAR: As Delimitation Commission started the delimitation exercise in Jammu and Kashmir, a senior Apni Party leader said of the seven seats that will be added in the UT, four will be in the Valley and three in Jammu. 

    Sources said that the Delimitation Commission has written to all 20 Deputy Commissioners of J&K and asked them to share data of electorate and composition of districts and Assembly constituencies.

    The exercise is being carried out as per 2011 Census.  According to 2011 census, Kashmir’s population was 68,88,475 and Jammu’s population was 53,78,538. At present J&K Assembly has 83 seats – 47 in Kashmir and 36 in Jammu region.

    Senior vice-president of Apni Party Ghulam Hassan Mir said the total number of seats in the  Assembly would increase from 83 to 90. Of the seven seats that will increase after delimitation, four will be in Valley and three in Jammu, he said.

    A senior J&K BJP leader said there should be a “balanced” process. “It should be ensured that all constituencies get equitable number of voters. At present, in some seats there are a few thousand voters, while in my constituency in Jammu, the voters are over one lakh,” he said.

    However, chairman of Jammu-based IkkJutt Jammu, Advocate Ankur Sharma said carrying out delimitation on basis of 2011 census will only consolidate “Muslim hegemony” and perpetuate J&K as a Muslim domain apart from rest of India.

  • Police officer manhandled by Army personnel in J&K’s Poonch, FIR registered

    By PTI
    JAMMU: A police officer was allegedly assaulted by some Army personnel at a checkpoint in Poonch district of Jammu and Kashmir on Saturday, following which an FIR was registered against them, officials said.

    The incident took place at Poshana when the Station House Officer of Rajouri Police station, Inspector Sameer Jilani, was travelling to Kashmir to visit his ailing mother, the officials said.

    They said Jilani was stopped by the Army personnel guarding the checkpoint on Mughal road, an alternative link connecting the twin districts of Poonch and Rajouri in Jammu region with south Kashmir’s Shopian district.

    The soldiers allegedly pounced on the SHO who was in civvies when his private car passed by some waiting vehicles.

    The SHO was allegedly roughed up despite having introduced himself as a police officer, the officials said.

    “In connection with today’s incident of manhandling of a police officer at Poshana check post on Mughal road, FIR No. 234/2021 under relevant sections of law has been registered in police station Surankote against the said personnel,” the police said in a statement.

    It said further investigation and legal proceedings are underway.

  • NC, PDP, Congress say will decide on attending meet with PM after intra-party deliberations

    By PTI
    SRINAGAR/JAMMU: The National Conference, PDP, Congress and the CPI(M) on Saturday said they will take a call on attending a meeting with the prime minister in Delhi after deliberations within their respective parties.

    Fourteen leaders from Jammu and Kashmir have been invited to the meeting that will be chaired by Prime Minister Narendra Modi in New Delhi on June 24 to discuss the future course of action for the union territory.

    The meeting — the first such exercise since the Centre announced the abrogation of Jammu and Kashmir’s special status and its bifurcation into union territories in August 2019 — is likely to be attended by Union Home Minister Amit Shah and other central leaders.

    The PDP will hold a meeting on Sunday to discuss the invitation of the Centre to political parties of Jammu and Kashmir for talks, party president Mehbooba Mufti said on Saturday.

    Mehbooba told PTI, “There is no clear-cut agenda about the talks with New Delhi. However, I have asked my party’s Political Affairs Committee (PAC) for a meeting to discuss the same.”

    The last chief minister of the erstwhile state of Jammu and Kashmir, who had an alliance government with the BJP from 2016 to 2018, she said that the decision of whether to participate in the talks would be taken by the party.

    “There is no agenda for the meeting but I was conveyed that the meeting is being called to review the general situation and how to take the political process forward. There is no clear-cut agenda,” Mehbooba said.

    A National Conference (NC) leader told PTI, “The party president (Farooq Abdullah) received a phone call from Delhi today, inviting him for the meeting with the prime minister on June 24.”

    He said the party will sit and discuss the invitation to the meeting over the course of the next couple of days.

    “To participate or not in the meeting is a matter of discussion. The party leadership will sit soon and discuss the issue. But, at least, there is a realisation in Delhi now and this meeting is a good thing. Dialogue and democracy go hand to hand in Jammu and Kashmir,” he said.

    The NC leader also said after the meeting of the party, the meeting of the People’s Alliance for Gupkar Declaration (PAGD) is likely to take place to discuss the issue.

    The PAGD is an alliance of some parties in Jammu and Kashmir, including the NC and the PDP, that was formed in the aftermath of the Centre’s August 2019 decisions.

    Jammu and Kashmir Pradesh Congress Committee chief spokesperson Ravinder Sharma said its chief G A Mir has also received an invitation for the meeting.

    “The party shall take a view on the issue of participation in consultation with senior leadership in a couple of days,” Sharma said.

    Earlier during the day, Mir said his party had yet not received any invitation from the Centre.

    He, however, added such a step, if taken, was welcome as dialogue with stakeholders was the only way forward.

    Another invitee, senior CPI(M) leader M Y Tarigami, said he would discuss the issue of the participation in the meeting with his party before taking a final call on it.

    The CPI(M) leader, who is also the spokesman of the People’s Alliance for Gupkar Declaration (PAGD), said the meeting is scheduled at 3 pm on June 24.

    According to officials, Union Home Secretary Ajay Bhalla reached out to these leaders to invite them to the meeting.

    Among those invited are four former chief ministers — Farooq Abdullah and his son Omar Abdullah of the National Conference, senior Congress leader Ghulam Nabi Azad, and PDP chief Mehbooba Mufti.

    Four former deputy chief ministers of the erstwhile state — Congress leader Tara Chand, People’s Conference leader Muzaffar Hussain Baig, and BJP leaders Nirmal Singh and Kavinder Gupta — too have been invited to the meet.

    In addition, CPI(M) leader Mohammed Yusuf Tarigami, Jammu and Kashmir Apni Party (JKAP) chief Altaf Bukhari, Sajjad Lone of the People’s Conference, J-K Congress head G A Mir, BJP’s Ravidner Raina, and Panthers Party leader Bhim Singh have been invited to the meeting.

    BJP Jammu and Kashmir unit president Raina said he is confident that all the leaders invited to the meeting will attend the “important” deliberation.

    The meeting convened by the prime minister is in accordance with the wishes of heads of various political parties who have been seeking time from him and demanding such a meeting for a long time, he added.

  • Jammu and Kashmir police bust narco-terror module; 10 held with heroin worth Rs 45 crore, weapons

    By PTI

    SRINAGAR: The police have busted a narco-terror module in Jammu and Kashmir’s Baramulla district and arrested 10 people with a huge quantity of heroin, worth Rs 45 crore, along with arms and ammunition, officials said on Saturday.

    Addressing a press conference in Baramulla district, Senior Superintendent of Police (SSP), Rayees Mohammad Bhat, said ten Chinese grenades, four Chinese pistols along with as many magazines and 20 rounds were also recovered from their possession.

    “A big narco-terror module, which was operating from different places in the union territory as well outside it, was busted by arresting the ten people,” the SSP said.

    He said the police recovered 11 packets of heroin, weighing approximately nine kilograms, with a market value of Rs 45 crore.

    Among the ten people, four were arrested from Jammu.

    Three among the four were from Punjab, he said.

    He said Rs 2.5 lakh cash and a cheque of Rs one lakh were also seized from the accused, Bhat said, adding that the police have also seized four vehicles used in the commission of the crime.

    The senior police officer said it is a big catch and more arrests are expected.

    He said the police has information that the narcotics reportedly came from across the border.

  • PM Modi to meet 14 J&K leaders in Delhi on June 24; first since abrogation of Article 370

    By PTI
    NEW DELHI: As many as 14 leaders from Jammu and Kashmir, including four former chief ministers of the erstwhile state, have been invited for a meeting that will be chaired by Prime Minister Narendra Modi here on June 24, officials said on Saturday.

    Union Home Secretary Ajay Bhalla reached out to these leaders to invite them to the meeting at the prime minister’s residence to discuss the future course of action for the union territory, the officials said.

    Among those invited are four former chief ministers — Farooq Abdullah and his son Omar Abdullah of the National Conference, senior Congress leader Ghulam Nabi Azad, and PDP chief Mehbooba Mufti.

    Four former deputy chief ministers of the erstwhile state — Congress leader Tara Chand, People’s Conference leader Muzaffar Hussain Baig, and BJP leaders Nirmal Singh and Kavinder Gupta — too have been invited to the meet.

    In addition, CPI(M) leader Mohammed Yusuf Tarigami, Jammu and Kashmir Apni Party (JKAP) chief Altaf Bukhari, Sajjad Lone of the People’s Conference, J-K Congress head G A Mir, BJP’s Ravidner Raina, and Panthers Party leader Bhim Singh have been invited to the meeting.

    The meeting — the first such exercise since the Centre announced the abrogation of Jammu and Kashmir’s special status and its bifurcation into union territories in August 2019 — is likely to be attended by Union Home Minister Amit Shah and other central leaders.

    When contacted, Omar Abdullah said that he had received an invitation and would go along the direction of the party chief.

    Sources in the National Conference said that over the next few days, the senior Abdullah will be holding consultations with party leaders.

    The Political Affairs Committee of the PDP would also be meeting on Sunday to take a decision about the talks.

  • Ex-Jammu and Kashmir CM Mufti welcomes release of PDP leader Sartaj Madni

    By PTI
    SRINAGAR: PDP president Mehbooba Mufti on Saturday welcomed the release of her uncle and senior party leader Sartaj Madni from a six-month-long preventive detention and said it is high time all political prisoners and other detainees be let go by the Centre.

    “Relieved that PDP’s Sartaj Madni has finally been released after 6 months of wrongful detention. It’s high time that GOI (government of India) releases political prisoners and other detainees rotting in jails in and outside J&K. A raging pandemic should’ve been reason enough to free them,” Mufti wrote on Twitter.

    Madni, who was under preventive detention at MLA hostel here, was released on Saturday afternoon.

    Madni was detained on December 21 last year, a day ahead of the counting of votes of the District Development Council elections.

  • After Centre’s invitation to Mehbooba for talks, PDP leader released from detention

    Express News Service
    SRINAGAR: After the Centre invited PDP chief and former Jammu and Kashmir Chief Minister Mehbooba Mufti for talks, senior PDP leader Sartaj Madni was on Saturday released after nearly six months in detention.

    Madni, a former PDP vice president and maternal uncle of Mehbooba, was detained by police on December 21 last year, a day before counting of votes for DDC polls in J&K.

    Madni was among the mainstream leaders arrested after abrogation of Article 370 and bifurcation of J&K state into two Union Territories (UTs) by centre on August 5, 2019. He was also among the dozen mainstream leaders including three former CMs Mehbooba Mufti, Farooq Abdullah and Omar Abdullah to be booked under the stringent Public Safety Act. However, his PSA detention was revoked in June last year and he was set free.

    ALSO READ: PDP to discuss Centre’s invitation for talks, other J&K parties yet to receive call

    Madni’s release has taken place after PDP chief Mehbooba Mufti got an invite from the Centre for talks in New Delhi on June 24 on Jammu and Kashmir.

    The Prime Minister is likely to chair the All Party Meeting (APM) of J&K political leaders in New Delhi on June 24 to discuss the restoration of statehood, delimitation process and elections, sources said.

    The Centre’s invite to Mehbooba Mufti for talks came exactly three years after the collapse of the PDP-BJP coalition government headed by her following withdrawal of support by the saffron party.

    On June 19, 2018, BJP had withdrawn support to the Mehbooba led PDP-BJP coalition government citing security failure.

    Mehbooba and her party have been very vocal on the abrogation of Article 370 and demanding restoration of August 4, 2019 position.

    The PDP chief has said she won’t compromise on her stand come what may.

  • PDP to discuss Centre’s invitation for talks, other J&K parties yet to receive call

    Express News Service
    SRINAGAR: The Peoples Democratic Party (PDP’s) Political Affairs Committee (PAC) would be meeting on Sunday to discuss the Centre’s invitation for talks on June 24.

    Party chief Mehbooba Mufti, who headed the PDP-BJP coalition government from 2016 to 2018, said she received a call from the Centre for the meeting in New Delhi on Jammu and Kashmir.

    The Prime Minister is likely to chair the All Party Meeting (APM) of J&K political leaders in New Delhi to discuss the restoration of statehood, delimitation process and elections, sources said.

    PDP spokesman Suhail Bukhari said the party has not yet received any written formal invitation for talks. “However, PDP chief Mehbooba Mufti has been informed about the meeting through phone.”

    He said the PDP’s Political Affairs Committee (PAC) would be meeting on Sunday. “The meeting to be chaired by Mehbooba will discuss the proposed meeting in Delhi. It will be decided what should be the strategy of the party and how we should go ahead.”

    “The decision on participating in the talks will be taken in the PAC meeting,” Bukhari said.

    Senior CPI (M) leader and former MLA Mohammad Yousuf Tarigami told The New Indian Express that he has not received any phone call or formal invitation for the proposed all-party meeting.

    He, however, urged the Centre to inform the parties about the agenda of the meeting. The mainstream parties, he said, have never closed their doors on dialogue with the Centre.

    Apart from Mehbooba, the invitation for the talks may be extended to Farooq Abdullah of the National Conference, Sajjad Gani Lone of the Peoples Conference and Altaf Bukhari of Apni Party, sources said. “BJP and Congress leaders will also be invited for the APM,” said a source.

    Abdullah and Mehbooba were among a dozen mainstream leaders booked under the stringent Public Safety Act (PSA) following the scrapping of Article 370 and bifurcation of J&K state into two Union Territories (UTs) by the Centre on August 5, 2019. Sajjad Lone was also among the mainstream leaders detained after the Article 370 revocation.

    The NC, Apni Party, Peoples Conference and Congress have not received any invite for the talks so far.

    The BJP and Apni Party have called on the Centre to hold a dialogue with political leaders of J&K on restoration of statehood as there is unanimity among parties over its restoration. Even the six-party Peoples Alliance for Gupkar Declaration (PAGD), which met recently, had said it was ready for talks and kept its doors open for dialogue.

    Political commentator Noor Mohammad Baba said the Centre’s change in Kashmir policy may be prompted by both internal and external factors.

    He said something positive is being considered after some persuasion and some work has been done.

    “There has been improvement in relations between India and Pakistan. Both countries are strictly adhering to the border ceasefire now and there have also been some other developments,” he said, adding, “There is also the China factor now.”

    According to Baba, India wants to build closer ties with the US, which might have some concern on the internal front in India, especially in Kashmir.

    On the internal front, he said after August 5, 2019, the Modi government planned to sideline and discredit J&K politicians.

    “It tried to make them redundant and create new leadership. But they have not succeeded in creating an alternative brand of leadership in J&K,” he said.

    Asked whether the change in the Centre’s K-policy is linked to the BJP’s defeat in the West Bengal polls, Baba said, “I don’t think so. If that had been the case, they had all the reason to play tough in Kashmir.”

    “There are more strategic factors. Kashmir is not like any other place in India. It is being watched. There are external agencies. The UN agencies are also keeping an eye on the situation,” he added.