News Analysis India

Tag: Jammu and Kashmir

  • European Union envoys to visit Jammu & Kashmir  on February 17 to assess situation

    By Express News Service
    SRINAGAR: A delegation of European Union envoys in India will visit Jammu and Kashmir on February 17-18 to assess the ground situation in the region after abrogation of J&K’s special status and peaceful conduct of the first-ever District Development Council (DDC) elections. A 20-member delegation will arrive in the militancy-hit valley on February 17.

    Sources said the visit is facilitated by the Ministry of External Affairs to showcase peaceful conduct of DDC elections and peaceful environment in J&K to the international community. The visiting envoys will interact with newly elected DDC members, leaders of different political parties, traders, citizens, social activists and journalists.

    Sources said they will take a first-hand account of the situation. On February 18, the envoys will visit Jammu and interact with DDC members, politicians, social activists.

  • Former Jammu and Kashmir CM Mehbooba Mufti hits back at Home Minister Amit Shah over his dynastic politics jibe

    By PTI
    SRINAGAR: PDP chief Mehbooba Mufti on Saturday hit back at Home Minister Amit Shah over his allegation of dynastic politics in Jammu and Kashmir till abrogation of Article 370 provisions, saying it “pales in comparison” to ‘Hum do, Hamare do’ approach of the Centre.

    Congress leader Rahul Gandhi had on Thursday stepped up the attack against the government over the three farm laws, alleged that these legislations would damage country’s food security system as also “break the spine of farmers” and that the nation is being run by only four people with a ‘Hum do, Hamare do’ approach.

    On Saturday, Mufti took to Twitter to say, “HM’s allegations that J&K was run by three families pales in comparison to the country being run by ‘hum do humaray do’ (sic).”

    In the Lok Sabha on Saturday, Shah said only three families ruled Jammu and Kashmir until Article 370 was scrapped in August 2019.

    “Article 370’s existence suited them,” he said.

  • Lok Sabha approves Jammu and Kashmir reorganisation amendment bill

    By PTI
    NEW DELHI: A bill to merge the Jammu and Kashmir (J&K) cadre of all-India services officers with the Arunachal Pradesh, Goa, Mizoram Union Territory (AGMUT) cadre was passed by Lok Sabha on Saturday by a voice vote.

    The Jammu and Kashmir Reorganisation (Amendment) Bill, 2021 has already been passed by Rajya Sabha.

    READ| Statehood would be given to J&K at appropriate time: Amit Shah in Lok Sabha

    The statutory resolution, opposing the ordinance which the bill has replaced, was rejected by the House.

    An amendment too was defeated by a voice vote.

  • Statehood would be given to Jammu & Kashmir at appropriate time: Amit Shah in Lok Sabha

    By Online Desk
    Union Home Minister Amit Shah informed the Lok Sabha on Saturday that statehood will be re accorded to Jammu and Kashmir at ‘an appropriate time’.

    Replying to a discussion on the Jammu and Kashmir Reorganisation (Amendment) Bill, he also slammed some opposition members for their claim that the proposed law negates the hopes of the region getting back its erstwhile statehood.

    Lashing out at the Opposition, “We were asked what did we do about promises made during abrogation of Article 370. It has been 17 months since the abrogation & you are demanding an account for it. Did you bring the account of what you did for 70 years? Had you worked properly, you need not have asked us. I have no objection, I will give an account for everything. But those who were given the opportunity to govern for generations should look within if they are even fit to demand an account”.

    The government of India on August 5, 2019, revoked articles 370 and 35A and bifurcated the state of J&K into two UTs.

    Jammu and Kashmir has been a top priority for the current government since it took power in 2014, he said. Shah added the government expects that around 25,000 government jobs will be created in Jammu and Kashmir by 2022.

  • BSP backs govt on J&K bill in Lok Sabha, lashes out at Congress

    By PTI
    NEW DELHI: The Bahujan Samaj Party on Saturday supported the Jammu and Kashmir Reorganisation (Amendment) Bill in the Lok Sabha and lashed out at the Congress for its opposition to the government’s measures that it said are in “support” of the poor, Dalits and other deprived communities in the union territory.

    Its MP Malook Nagar said backward communities like Gujjar and Backarwal had been deprived of their rights in Jammu and Kashmir for long and are now getting their due, a reference to the Modi government’s move to roll out reservation for them in line with the national quota after the erstwhile state’s special status was revoked with the annulment of Article 370 of the Constitution in 2019.

    Mayawati-led BSP had also backed the government on its move to abrogate Article 370.

    Her party is not part of the BJP-led alliance and had contested the 2019 Lok Sabha polls in alliance with the SP against the BJP.

    It has since nuanced its position.

    Participating in the discussion on the bill, Nagar was spirited in support of the government and was equally strong in his criticism of the Congress, saying its leaders Rahul Gandhi and Priyanka Gandhi Vadra eat meals in poor households but oppose the Centre’s pro-poor policies.

    They are not opposing the government but the poor, he alleged.

    He also mocked Rahul Gandhi for his speech during a discussion on the Union budget, saying he delivered his address and then left as a professor does after giving a lecture to students.

    “We (BSP) are also in the opposition but are getting a bad name,” he said, as the treasure benches repeatedly cheered at his remarks.

    What is the harm if good officers from other parts of the country serve Jammu and Kashmir, he asked, supporting the bill that seeks to replace the ordinance to merge the Jammu and Kashmir (J&K) cadre of civil services officer with the Arunachal Pradesh, Goa, Mizoram Union Territory (AGMUT) cadre.

    DMK’s T Sumathy Thamizhachi Thangapandian opposed the bill and alleged that the government has imposed a host of “draconian” laws on the country.

    It is a serious blow to a state’s rights, she asserted.

    BJP’s Satya Pal Singh said the proposed law will help the Centre usher in all-round development of the union territory and push its full integration with the rest of the country.

    This will allow the government to punish those officers who do not act properly by transferring them outside.

    TMC’s Saugata Roy opposed the bill, saying it is against the principles of the Constitution.

    It will also affect the career prospects of the J&K cadre officers, he said.

    He also spoke about the revocation of Article 370, wondering what it has brought to Jammu and Kashmir and noting that for the first time a state was reduced to the status of a union territory.

    Democratic rights of people were taken away, he said.

    YSR Congress’ Chinta Anuradha supported the bill “wholeheartedly”, and said it will allow the government to fill up the big deficiency of officers there and boost development activities.

    JD(U)’s Rajiv Ranjan Singh supported the bill and took a dig at the opposition members who brought up the issue of revocation of Article 370, dubbing it as “vidhwa wilap” (a widow’s cry).

    “Whatever had to happen has happened, and there is no point raking it up now,” he said, noting that his party had also not supported the measure then.

    Development is taking place at a fast pace in Jammu and Kashmir, he said.

  • Mehbooba claims police not allowing her to visit family of ‘militant’ killed in encounter

    By PTI
    SRINAGAR: PDP president and former Jammu and Kashmir chief minister Mehbooba Mufti on Saturday claimed that she was placed under house arrest ahead of her visit to the family of Athar Mushtaq, one of the three alleged militants killed in an encounter in Parimpora locality here in December last year.

    “Placed under house arrest as usual for trying to visit the family of Athar Mushtaq killed allegedly in a fake encounter. His father was booked under UAPA for demanding his dead body. This the normalcy GOI wants to showcase to the EU delegation visiting Kashmir (sic),” Mehbooba said on Twitter.

    She also uploaded a video of her interaction with her security staff at her ‘Fairview’ residence in the Gupkar area here.

    “This reign of suppression & terror in Kashmir is the unvarnished & unpalatable truth that GOI wants to hide from the rest of the country. A 16-year-old is killed & then hurriedly buried denying his family the right & chance to perform his last rites (sic),” she said in another tweet.

    In the video, when Mehbooba asks security officials why she was being stopped from visiting Pulwama, they tell her “there is a security problem”.

    The PDP chief said she was being stopped from visiting different areas of the Valley without being informed about the reasons.

    “Why am I not being allowed to go? Am I a prisoner, or a criminal? What is the reason? Show me the orders, the sections, under which I am being detained,” she told the officials.

    Mehbooba claimed the gate of her house was locked and additional security forces were put outside it to stop her from leaving the residence.

    Referring to the upcoming visit of a delegation of the European Union, Mehbooba asked the officials how can the security forces secure them when they cannot provide security to the people here.

    “When you cannot provide security to me, how are you going to secure the delegation?. Let you keep my security and allow me to go there without the security. You cannot keep the gates of my residence locked always,” she says in the video.

  • Chargesheet filed against two accused in forged bank guarantee bond in Jammu

    By PTI
    JAMMU: The Jammu and Kashmir Police’s Crime Branch on Saturday filed a chargesheet against two accused in a seven-year-old case related to issuance of a forged bank guarantee bond for an amount of Rs 1 crore fraudulently to a New Delhi-based businessman, an official said.

    The chargesheet was filed against Vishal Mahajan of Jammu and Vinay Mittal of Delhi in the passenger tax court here for judicial determination, a spokesperson of the crime branch said.

    He said a written complaint was lodged by branch manager of the J-K Bank, R S Pura branch, Vijay Kumar in the crime branch Jammu in 2014.

    The complaint alleged that one forged bank guarantee bond for an amount of Rs 1 crore was fraudulently fabricated in the name and on behalf of the bank through its branch office R S Pura, Jammu and Mogile Scelta Elettro Limited in favour of Shivam Enterprises of New Delhi, whereas, no such bank guarantee has been issued by the bank.

    It was alleged that the stamp paper used for preparing the fake bank guarantee was purchased in the name of Mahajan and that the officials of Messrs Moglie Scelta Elettro Ltd had not only manufactured and used the forged bank guarantee bond but also forged the signatures and seal of the bank official intentionally in order to cheat the bank and the beneficiary, the spokesperson said.

    On receipt of the complaint, he said a preliminary verification was initiated by the crime branch in Jammu and allegations were prima-facie substantiated.

    “Accordingly, the instant case was registered under the relevant sections of law for an in-depth investigation. During the course of the investigation, both oral, as well as documentary evidence, were collected and offences are fully established against both the criminals,” the spokesperson said.

  • Top TRF terrorist arrested in Jammu and Kashmir’s Samba

    By PTI
    JAMMU: A top terrorist affiliated with The Resistance Front (TRF), wanted in connection with the killing of three BJP workers and a policeman in south Kashmir last year, was arrested in Samba district of Jammu and Kashmir, police said on Saturday.

    Zahoor Ahmad Rather alias “Sahil”, “Khalid” was hiding in Samba district of Jammu region and was arrested on a specific information by Anantnag police, a senior police official said.

    The TRF is an offshoot of Lashker-e-Toiba (LeT) terror outfit and the arrest of Rather comes a week after police arrested self-styled commander of Lashkar-e-Mustafa Hidayatullah Malik alias “Hasnain” from Kunjwani area of Jammu.

    Rather, a resident of south Kashmir, had reportedly moved to Samba to receive an arms consignment from Pakistan and was arrested from his rented accommodation in Bari Brahmana area during a joint raid by Anantnag and Samba police, the official said.

    Terming the arrest of the top terrorist as a “major breakthrough”, he said he was involved in the killing of three BJP workers in Kulgam and a policeman at Furra village in south Kashmir district last year.

    Security officials said Rather had undergone arms training in Pakistan-occupied Kashmir (PoK) in 2004 and infiltrated into India along with five foreign terrorists.

    However, he surrendered in 2006 but got recycled into militancy last year after joining the TRF.

    The interrogation of the captured terrorist is underway and some more arrests and recoveries are expected at his disclosure, the official said.

  • NC, PDP, Congress join hands for remaining DDC polls

    Express News Service
    SRINAGAR:  The election of DDC chairmen in J&K for remaining districts may spring some surprises as in all the six councils, none of the party enjoys a clear majority, but the NC, PDP and Congress combine will attempt to wrest the control with the support of independents. 

    Of the six DDCs, four (Poonch, Rajouri, Kishtwar and Ramban) fall under the Jammu region, while two — Bandipora and Baramulla — belong to the Valley. In three out of four DDCs in Jammu, the NC and Congress combine are in a position to hold the control of the DDCs. It has got nine seats (NC 6, Congress 3) in Kishtwar, Ramban 8 (NC 6, Congress 2) and Rajouri 8  (NC 5, Congress 3) respectively.

    In Rajouri, the alliance has also got the support of the PDP, which has won one seat in the border district.In the Poonch district, independents have won eight of the 14 seats, while the Congress has won four and the NC two. Congress spokesman Ravindra Sharma told this newspaper that the Congress will join hands with like-minded parties, including the NC, to keep the BJP and its allies at bay.

    On the Poonch district, Sharma said: “Two of the independents are from the Congress and our strength in the district is six, and with the support of the NC, we will be able to form the DDC. Our party is also in talks with the independents.”

  • Army shoots dead ‘intruder’ near LoC in J&K’s Baramulla

    By PTI
    SRINAGAR: The Army shot dead an “intruder” near the Line of Control (LoC) in Uri sector of Jammu and Kashmir’s Baramulla district, police said on Wednesday.

    Army troopers killed an intruder near the LoC at Dulanja in Uri in north Kashmir on Tuesday night, a police official said.

    He identified the “intruder” as Sarfraz Mir, 56, a resident of Kundibarjala Kamalkote, Uri.

    “Mir had crossed the LoC in 1990 and then returned in 1992. He surrendered (before the security forces) in 1995 and then went back to Pakistan in 2005,” the official said.

    An identity card issued by authorities in the Muzaffarabad area of Pakistan Occupied Kashmir and a rifle was recovered by the Army, he said.