Category: Union Territory

NEW DELHI – The National Conference on Tuesday attacked the government in Lok Sabha for abrogation of special status of Jammu and Kashmir saying it was a historical blunder and has not brought down militancy.

Speaking on the Motion of Thanks to the President’s address in Lok Sabha, NC member Hasnain Masoodi said despite the Centre abrogating Article 370 and withdrawing special status, a senior police officer was caught “hand in gloves” with militants.

“Abrogation of special status, Article 370 has been a historical blunder and not less than misadventure…. The basic value of truthfulness was murdered,” Masoodi said.

He said that the Centre has unilaterally breached the commitments made to the people of Kashmir in 1947, 1952 and 1975 and this will only widen the divide in the state.

He asked the Centre to “undo” the abrogation and acknowledge that it was a mistake.

The Centre on August 5 revoked Article 370 provisions which gave special status to Jammu and Kashmir and proposed that the state be bifurcated into two Union territories, Jammu and Kashmir and Ladakh.

Last month Jammu and Kashmir’s Deputy Superintendent of Police Davinder Singh was caught ferrying militants in a car in the Valley.

Participating in the debate, Samajwadi Party leader Akhilesh Yadav said the BJP government talks about ‘Sabka Sath, Sabka Vikas’, but it neither took everyone along nor was there any development.

Rather “it is only creating doubts in the minds of people”, he said.

Yadav said the government forgot to mention about river Ganga in the President’s address. He said that the government has not acted to clean Ganga.

Cleaning Ganga is only possible when you clean the polluted river Yamuna, he said.

Source: NDTV

National-award winner Zaira Wasim, who was last seen in the critically acclaimed movie “The Sky Is Pink”, posted a long note on Instagram on Monday and said that Kashmir continues to “suffer and see-saw between hope and frustration”. The 19-year-old – born in Jammu and Kashmir- further wrote: “Kashmiris continue to exist and suffer in a world where it is so easy to place restrictions on our liberty”.
Jammu and Kashmir has been under severe restrictions since August after centre scrapped its special status under Article 370 of constitution.

In her post, Ms Wasim said that frustrations of locals in J&K “find no outlet”. “The authority doesn’t make the slightest effort to put a stop to our doubts and speculations but Stubbornly tend to go their own way to confine our existence mired in a confused, conflicted and a paralysed world (sic),” she wrote.

View this post on Instagram:

View this post on Instagram

Kashmir continues to suffer and see- saw between hope and frustration। There’s a false and uneasy semblance of calmness in place of escalating despair and sorrow। Kashmiris continue to exist and suffer in a world where it is so easy to place restrictions on our liberty. Why do we have to live in a world where our lives and wills are controlled, dictated and bent? Why is it so easy to have our voices silenced? Why is it so easy to curtail our freedom of expression? Why aren’t we ever allowed to voice our opinions, let alone our disprovals, to decisions that are made contrary to our wishes? Why is it that instead of trying to see the cause of our view, our view is just condemned ruthfully? What is so easy to curb our voices so severely? Why can we not live simple lives without always having to wrestle and remind the world of our existence. Why is that life of a Kashmiri is just about experiencing a lifetime of crisis, blockade and disturbance so abundantly that it has taken away the recognition of normalcy and harmony from the hearts and minds? Hundreds of questions like these-unanswered; leaving us bewildered and frustrated, but our frustrations find no outlet. The authority doesn’t make the slightest effort to put a stop to our doubts and speculations but stubbornly tend to go their own way to confine our existence mired in a confused, conflicted and a paralysed world. But I ask the world, what has altered your acceptance of the misery and oppression we’re being subjected to? Do not believe the unfair representation of the facts and details or the rosy hue that the media has cast on the reality of the situation. Ask questions, re-examine the biased assumptions. Ask questions. For our voices have been silenced- and for how long….none of us really know!

A post shared by Zaira Wasim (@zairawasim_) on Feb 3, 2020 at 11:10am PST

Kashmir continues to suffer and see- saw between hope and frustration। There’s a false and uneasy semblance of calmness in place of escalating despair and sorrow। Kashmiris continue to exist and suffer in a world where it is so easy to place restrictions on our liberty. Why do we have to live in world where our lives and wills are controlled, dictated and bent? Why is it so easy to have our voices silenced? Why is it so easy to curtail our freedom of expression? Why aren’t we ever allowed to voice our opinions, let alone our disprovals to decisions that are made contrary to our wishes? Why is it that instead of trying to see the cause of our view, our view is just condemned ruthfully? What is so easy to curb our voices so severely? Why can we not live simple lives without always having to wrestle and remind the world of our existence. Why is that life of a Kashmiri is just about experiencing a lifetime of crisis, blockade and disturbance so abundantly that it has taken away the recognition of normalcy and harmony from the hearts and minds? Hundreds of questions like these-unanswered; leaving us bewildered and frustrated, but our frustrations find no outlet. The authority doesn’t make the slightest effort to put a stop to our doubts and speculations but Stubbornly tend to go their own way to confine our existence mired in a confused, conflicted and a paralysed world. But I ask the world, what has altered your acceptance of the misery and oppression we’re being subjected to? Do not believe the unfair representation of the facts and details or the rosy hue that the media has cast on the reality of the situation. Ask questions, re-examine the biased assumptions. Ask questions. For our voices have been silenced- and for how long….none of us really know!

The Kashmiri teen, who won wide praise for her portrayal of a younger Geeta Phogat in the blockbuster biopic – “Dangal” on the wrestling champ, last year had announced her “disassociation” from the field of acting, saying she was not happy with the line of work as it interfered with her faith and religion.

After centre’s big announcement on Jammu and Kashmir on August 5, she had tweeted: “This too shall pass! #Kashmir (sic).”

Apart from scrapping J&K’s autonomy, centre had also divided Jammu and Kashmir into two union territories – Jammu and Kashmir and Ladakh.

Broadband and 2G mobile Internet connectivity services across the union territory were restored last month after a shutdown for over five months.

The extended Internet blackout in Jammu and Kashmir had drawn condemnation from rights activists and agencies across the world.

The decision to relax the restrictions came after the Supreme Court, in response to a petition , on January 10 ordered an immediate review. “Suspension of free movement, Internet and basic freedoms cannot be an arbitrary exercise of power,” the court had said then, adding that Internet connectivity is integral to an individual’s right to freedom of speech and expression.

Several political leaders, including former chief ministers Omar Abdullah and Mehbooba Mufti, are under detention since August 5 decision and Army is on high alert in the border areas.

(This story has not been edited by Kashmir Today staff and is published from a syndicated feed.)

Srinagar, Feb 03 : Financial Commissioner health and Medical Education Atul Dullo today said that there is nothing to panic as no Corona virus case has been detected in Jammu and Kashmir.
Speaking to KNS , Dullo said that the simples of the 10 persons who had come from China were screened and none of them was detected positive.
He said that all the 10 samples were sent for test in which report of one test has come and the report is negative.
He further said they are monitoring the situation continuously and have also ordered the all Deputy Commissioners to regularly hold meetings regarding this. He added that helpline was established; control rooms were established at Jammu and Srinagar besides rapid response teams at district levels.
“A special team of doctors is deputed at Srinagar and Jammu airport. We are also regularly in touch with railways authorities,” he said.
He also said that state is well equipped to deal with the disease and special wards have been setup in big hospitals.

Srinagar, Feb 03: In the wake of World Health Organization’s declaration of China’s coronavirus outbreak as an international emergency, Doctors Association Kashmir (DAK) on Monday has advised hospitals in Kashmir to prepare for dealing with potential cases of the deadly infection.

“If the virus sneaks into the valley, public safety will depend on hospital preparedness,” said DAK President Dr Nisar ul Hassan.
“Hospitals should be prepared to identify, isolate and treat patients to prevent the spread of the disease,” he said.

Dr Nisar said the two designated hospitals, SKIMS and SMHS should have specially designed “negative- pressure” isolation rooms for suspected or confirmed cases. The negative pressure of the room would prevent contaminated air from escaping the room. These rooms should have dedicated ventilators and they should be fitted with HEPA filters that would reduce the risk of transmission of the virus.

“These rooms should have separate entrance so that infected patients don’t risk other patients and staff in the hospital,” he added.
He further said doctors and paramedics should be trained for screening, testing and treatment of this novel (new) virus.
“Hospitals should ensure standard infection prevention and control measures like hand washing, cough etiquette and disinfection of surfaces, Dr Nisar said adding “they should ensure availability of personal protection equipment (PPE) and diagnostic kits.PPE includes face masks, gowns, head caps, googles and shoe-covers.”
“With the virus likely to become a pandemic, we must start preparing now,” he said.

“The clinical manifestation of the virus are cough and fever and in severe cases difficulty in breathing. Anyone having these symptoms and has a history of travel to the affected area or has been in contact with a suspected or a confirmed case should be screened for the novel virus.

At least 361 people have died and more than 17,000 people have been infected with this deadly strain so far,” said Dr Nisar.

SRINAGAR – As the PDP chief Mehbooba Mufti continues to be detained following New Delhi’s withdrawal of Article 370, her party is fast falling apart with many of its leaders leaving it to form a new political outfit which doesn’t challenge withdrawal of J&K’s autonomy. The party recently expelled eight of its senior leaders for hobnobbing with the government in violation of “interests of the state, official position and core beliefs of the party”.

This has confronted the PDP and Mehbooba herself with a moment of reckoning. Once a vaunted political outfit which was the single largest party in the last Assembly, the PDP has now reduced to fewer members. That is, if they too don’t abandon the party in near future.

An indication of this happening inevitably has come from the criticism of Mehbooba by the party’s founding leader and former J&K Deputy Chief Minister Muzaffar Hussain Beigh. In a recent press conference at Jammu, Beigh blamed Mehbooba’s “provocative statements” for forcing the centre to downgrade J&K’s constitutional status.

One such statement, he said, is Mehbooba telling centre that ”nobody would be there to shoulder the national flag if Article 370 was abrogated’.

However, import of Beigh’s statement is deeper. It shows he too is either on way out of the PDP or trying to gain control of the party in the absence of Mehbooba. Both hold a fraught prospect for the PDP and Mehbooba. This could lead to end of the PDP as a viable political entity.

But it won’t be easy to replace Mehbooba. She may have been the daughter of late Mufti Mohammad Sayeed, a former home minister of India and J&K Chief Minister, but she has worked her way up through the Valley’s streets. She built her political stock brick by brick and incarnated a leader who was relatively more credible mainstream political proponent of a shade of Kashmiri nationalism willing to settle for a decent political deal within Indian constitution.

In fact, she lived up to this image when after her father’s sudden demise in January 2016, she held out for three months before agreeing to renew the alliance with her ideologically anti-thetical ally BJP. But from the moment she resumed the alliance without BJP giving in to any of her demands, the quick unravelling of Mehbooba began.

In power, she quickly lost her political standing by presiding over the killing of around 100 protesters in 2016 but her opposition to revocation of Article 370 and consequent detention has largely restored her credibility. After her release, she can hope to find great support among people.

It remains to be seen whether the centre will release her and the other detained leaders in near future. And whether these parties will participate in the future Assembly polls. It will be interesting to see how the mainstream parties like National Conference, the PDP and Congress will approach the electoral politics. The three parties had recently boycotted the block development council (BDC) polls, making the BJP the only major party to contest the election.

Should the PDP and the NC decide to participate in Assembly polls it will be seen as an endorsement of the withdrawal of the Article 370 and which they don’t want to do as of now. The continued detention of the political leaders is in part also because they have so far refused to sign on to New Delhi’s line on Article 370. So, political parties face a tough dilemma.

At the same time, it would be tricky for them to avoid the elections. Not participating will once again leave the field open to the BJP and the new political actors in the Valley, letting them control the future government. As things stand, the saffron party is likely to not only sweep the elections in Jammu but also, in the absence of a competition, make inroads into Kashmir Valley where it has nurtured a significant cadre over the past several years. The NC and the PDP will have thus no option but to participate in the electoral process. And should this happen, Mehbooba could very well emerge as one of the strong contenders for power.

Jammu, Jan 30: An informal meeting of some of the senior political leaders, academicians, legal luminaries, social activists and some like-minded people took place in Jammu on January 29, 2020.
The meeting took stock of the present socio-economic and political situation in Jammu and Kashmir.
Declaring the situation in Jammu and Kashmir as unprecedented, it said the situation needs to be addressed through extraordinary measures.
“It was seriously felt that people of the Jammu and Kashmir are caught in a difficult day-to-day situation and have been left at the mercy of an unresponsive administration.” The demands put forth by a group of political leaders led by Syed Mohammad Altaf Bukhari before the Lieutenant Governor Girish Chandra Murmu on January 7, 2020 were also taken up for discussion. Some of the measures taken up by the government in light of its memorandum-like release of some political prisoners, restoration of 2G-mobile internet service were termed as “insufficient”.
The participants in the meeting demanded a time-bound implementation of other demands put forth before the Lieutenant Governor which are within his jurisdiction.
The meeting also underlined urgency for release of all political prisoners, including three former chief ministers, lawyers, businessmen, trade leaders and youth, irrespective of their political affiliations, who have been under detention in J&K or rest of the country.
The meeting vehemently advocated for full restoration of mobile Internet speed as well as broadband services in Jammu and Kashmir.
Taking serious note of the present dismal economic situation, an immediate relief for the Agriculture, Horticulture, Handicrafts, Tourism, Hoteliers, Business, Trade, Houseboat owners and Transport community in Jammu and Kashmir was demanded in the meeting.
The participants in the meeting also expressed their concern with regard to interruption in implementation of other demands put forth in their memorandum and chalked out a future course of action for a vigorous follow-up through all available channels.
“It was unanimously decided that a group of the members led by Mr. Syed Mohammad Altaf Bukhari should call on the Honb’le Prime Minister and the Honb’le Home Minister of the country and pursue other demands like restoration of Statehood, Purpose Oriented Domicile Rights (for Land and Jobs) etc. which fall within the jurisdiction of the Government of India and the Parliament.
“The meeting also evolved a consensus for a need to provide the people of Jammu and Kashmir with a viable, democratic political alternative. Hectic deliberations were also held to reach out to the people for mobilizing a democratic grass roots movement aimed at developing strong local structures on the ground.
“During the course of meeting two committees were framed. One that will deliberate on the nuances of constitutionality required for formation of any political set-up. The second committee will reach out to the intellectuals, academicians, social activists, chamber of commerce, tradesmen and other representatives of the society to explore all possibilities through which the people of J&K are taken out from the socio-economic and political quagmire.”

Srinagar, Jan 29: Following the recent outbreak of the novel (new) coronavirus in china which has infected almost 6000 people and claimed at least 132 lives so far, Doctors Association Kashmir (DAK) on Wednesday has urged health authorities in Kashmir to prepare for the potential spread of the virus in the valley.
“In today’s connected world, an outbreak anywhere can be a risk everywhere,” said DAK President Dr Nisar ul Hassan.
“We have to prepare in advance to deal with the virus,” he said adding “advance planning and preparedness are critical to help mitigate the impact of any eventuality.”
Dr Nisar said the virus is on the move with reported cases in at least five other countries. We have to expect that we will get cases in Kashmir too. We should be prepared for surveillance, early detection, infection prevention and control, logistics and in particular hospital preparedness in terms of isolation and ventilation management of severe cases.
“The best way to prevent the virus is to stop it from coming in as once the virus enters the community it is difficult to control it,” he said.
“Passengers at Srinagar international airport and Lower Munda Qazigund should undergo thermal screening and screening for any other symptom of the illness,” he added.
Dr Nisar said the new coronavirus is believed to have animal origin. Human-to- human transmission has been confirmed.
“When the virus is new, we do not know how it affects people.
The most frequently reported symptoms of confirmed cases were fever, cough, muscle aches and difficulty in breathing. Cases of severe infection resulted in pneumonia and death. A quarter of those who died had underlying medical conditions like diabetes, hypertension and heart disease,” he informed.
“There is no specific cure or vaccine for the virus. People should take simple precautions that would help prevent spread of the virus. Washing your hands with soap and water and covering your mouth and nose while coughing and sneezing will keep you and people around you healthy and well. Avoid close contact with anyone who has fever and cough and avoid unprotected contact with live wild or farm animals,” advised Dr Nisar.

GURGAON – The CRPF has carried out a mega audit of its over three lakh personnel to check for any possible “subversive” elements in the wake of a Jammu and Kashmir Police officer being caught with militants recently, the chief of the paramilitary force said here on Tuesday.

CRPF Director General (DG) A P Maheshwari said the incident involving Deputy Superintendent of Police Davinder Singh was “grave” and an “area of extreme concern” for the forces, adding that all should see that these things don’t occur.

So it was “common sense” to carry out such an audit of its manpower, deployed as the lead force for counter-militancy and anti-Naxal operations across the country, when any incident like this take place, he said.

“If something happens somewhere, it is a case to revisit ourselves and that is what we have done. We have no doubts about our personnel,” the CRPF chief said.

A senior official said the counter-intelligence units of the force were recently asked to check the credentials of the personnel after obtaining data from all available sources and they have been asked to be kept on “active mode” for some more time.

“No security grid should be allowed to be weakened by such episodes. So, all forces have to keep an internal watch,” he said on the arrest of DSP Singh.

“All forces should maintain vigilance so that there is no such type of subversion or some sort of intrusion within the force…,” the DG told reporters here.

JK Police had arrested Singh at Mir Bazar in Jammu and Kashmir’s Kulgam district along with Hizbul Mujahideen militants Naveed Baba and Altaf, besides a lawyer on January 11.

Maheshwari said that somebody from a security force trying to collaborate with adversaries is a “serious matter”. However, he added that a lone incident cannot be used to “brand” the entire force which has done onerous work in the past.

“An isolated incident should not be taken as branding of any particular force. The JK Police has tremendous contributions in normalising the situation (in Kashmir),” the DG said at a force camp here.

One incident should not be used to cast “aspersions on the dignity of the force, on the strength of the force, and therefore I don’t buy this is theory that there can be more such elements, but yes it is a matter of concern and all should see that these things don’t occur,” said the DG, a 1984-batch IPS officer of Uttar Pradesh cadre who took over the reins of the force on January 15.

“We are further strengthening our systems… which were already in place,” he said referring to the vigilance and intelligence checks conducted on their personnel in Kashmir valley and other places.

“When something happens in neighbourhood, then it is common sense to do it (check against subversive elements) quickly again,” he added.

The Central Reserve Police Force has deployed close to 70,000 personnel in Kashmir Valley for counter-militancy and law and order duties.

It is the country’s largest Central Armed Police Force (CAPF) with 3.25 lakh personnel in its ranks and is categorised as the lead national internal security force.

SOURCE: FIRST POST

NEW DELHI – In a random move, the Tamil Nadu unit of the BJP mocked former Jammu and Kashmir Chief Minister Omar Abdullah for his long beard in a sarcastic tweet before deleting it within an hour.

The tweet had a photo of an Amazon order of five razors dispatched in Abdullah’s name to his Gupkar Road residence in Srinagar.

The tweet read: “Dear Omar Abdullah, it is very disheartening to see you like this while most of your corrupt friends are enjoying life outside.”

It went on to state: “Kindly accept our sincere contribution, in case of any assistance feel free to contact your counterpart INC for further help in this regard.”

Within an hour, the tweet vanished.

However, within that short time, it had 517 retweets and 1,272 ‘likes’. Sources say, the central leadership did not find the tweet in good taste.

Just a day before R- Day, on January 25, the former Jammu and Kashmir Chief Minister’s latest photograph wearing a woollen cap and sporting a long white beard surfaced on social media and went viral.

Omar was seen smiling with snow in the backdrop. The photo has a retro touch to it. According to sources the photograph was genuine.

The National Conference leader, who has been in detention since August 5, when Article 370 was abrogated in the state, appears to have not shaved since.

In October, a different photo of Omar had surfaced, in which he was sporting a smaller beard.

SRINAGAR – Former PDP Minister Altaf Bukhari, who had met Jammu and Kashmir Lt Governor G.C. Murmu along with other political leaders earlier this month, on Tuesday denied reports that he was floating a new political party.

In a statement, he dismissed such reports as a “figment of imagination”.

“This news seems to have been floated with a single-minded agenda to mislead and confuse,” a spokesperson for Bukhari said.

He said as already informed to media, a “significant number of like-minded friends and political colleagues are in touch with each other and in this context, informal meetings are often convened”.

“These meetings are aimed at reviving the emerging political situation and should not be misconstrued as formation of any political party.”

Earlier this month, Bukhari led a group of former legislators which met Murmu in Jammu and presented a memorandum with a list of demands for restoring political activity in Jammu and Kashmir.

Bukhari stressed that Jammu and Kashmir cannot perpetually “mourn” the abrogation of Article 370.

In an exclusive interview with IANS, Bukhari had said the time has come to look beyond Article 370 and explore other achievable options for Jammu and Kashmir.

“The pain of loss of Article 370 will never go, but we have to come out of it,” he said. “Life goes on; we must try for things that we can get.”

He said the way forward is domicile rights for residents and restoration of the statehood to Jammu and Kashmir. (With Inputs From Agencies)