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Srinagar: General Officer Commanding (GOC) 15 Corps, Lieutenant General BS Raju on Saturday said that 250-300 militants are ready to infiltrate at launching pads established on the other side of Line of Control (LoC).

He said that Court of Inquiry (CoI) into Amshipora Shopian fake encounter has been completed and the process to the next level will reach soon.

GoC 15 Corps who was talking to reporters on the sidelines of the passing-out-cum attestation parade at JAKLI centre at Rangreth in Srinagar outskirts said that “Pakistan has failed to mend its ways of helping militants to infiltrate into this part of Kashmir but Army is enough skilled to teach a lesson to neighboring country”.

“Pakistan is continuously helping militants to infiltrate into Kashmir with an aim to destabilize peaceful atmosphere in the region”, GoC said and added around 250-300 militants are ready at launching pads  to infiltrate into this side.

He however admitted that few ceasefire violations are reporting at Line of Control (LoC) but maintained situation is “under control”. He said Army needs peoples support to frustrate the designs of Pakistan who is continuously pushing infiltrators to Kashmir.

Lauding the efforts of Army while foiling the infiltration bids at Line of Control (LoC), GoC said that effective counter infiltration mechanism has declined the attempts of infiltration by militants this year.

“This year we have stopped infiltration bids to large extend. Last year till October 126 militants had managed to enter into this part of Kashmir however this figure during current year witnessed a decline and the number reached to just 30”, he said.

GOC, according to news agency KINS, said this morning Army foiled a weapon smuggling bid into Kashmir across the KishanGanga River and recovered four AK rifles. He said army is containing the situation and has recovered cache of arms as effective surveillance mechanism has been put in place.

He added that anti-militancy operations are on across valley during which militants are being killed continuously both in the hinterland and on Line of Control (LoC). “This morning, Army killed two militants including a foreigner in south Kashmir’s Kulgam district and added it has been seen where foreign militants got killed the area witnessed peace afterwards.

GoC said that after six months the local recruitment into militant ranks went up again last month. “During last six months there was a decline in local recruitment but it went up again in last month”, he said.

To a query about surrender policy, GOC said that several youth who had joined militant ranks are giving up now as such things are being kept hidden for several reasons. “Local boys who were swayed and taken up arms have started to come back. They are being given every change to surrender and such things are being kept into secret”, GoC said while replying to a query.

When asked about the comparison of south Kashmir to northern parts, GOC said that there is no doubt that recruitment is south Kashmir is little high than in north Kashmir but situation is comprehensively under control.

To a question about Panchayat elections, GOC said that as the Government of Jammu and Kashmir has already given nod to its conduct, we are hopeful that people from all areas will come forward for the development of their respective areas.

On Shopian fake encounter, he said the Court of Inquiry (CoI) has been completed and on the basis of the inquiry who found some wrong were been committed. “We have ordered a summary of evidence and have covered some distance. Hopefully, we will reach the next stage soon”, he said.

When asked whether there is any indication of assistance by China into infiltration bids at LoC, Army officer maintained that so far there is no such evidence of direct strategic or logistic support from China but as far as CPEC is concerned, the reports cannot be ruled out.

He also added that economic activity has also been started in Kashmir and apple and paddy cultivation has also started. GOC further added that Army along with people are containing the Covid-19 pandemic situation meticulously. (KINS)

Srinagar: Food Safety Department Saturday fined people for smoking at public places.

An official told news agency Kashmir Indepth News Service (KINS) that a special drive to implement section 4 of cigarettes and other tobacco product act was conducted in and around major hospital premises of district Srinagar by a team of food safety officers headed by Assistant Commissioner Food Safety Srinagar.

“The hospitals which were covered include SMHS, Super Speciality Hospital, Lalla Ded and G B Panth. An amount of Rs 4400 was recovered from those who were found smoking at these public places. Commissioner Food and Drugs administration Shakeel Ur Rehman has directed the enforcement officers to strictly implement the provisions of COTPA and has appealed the general public to desist from smoking as it adversely impacts the health of active as well as passive smokers,” official said.(KINS)

Srinagar: Senior NC leader and member of Parliament M Akbar lone on Saturday said that centre has no right to impose property tax here in J&K.

While talking exclusively with PTK, lone said if there would have been legislative Assembly and such issues should have been decided by them not by Centre.

He said that on what ground they have imposed property tax hete, when the market value of property here is very low.

Govt must re-consider its decision and revocate this decision immediately so that locals who have been going through tough times already must feel a sigh of relief.

According to the recent order the property tax shall be levied at such percentage not exceeding fifteen per cent of the taxable annual value of land and building or vacant land or both, as the Government may, by notification, from time to time specify.

These laws also empower the government to exempt certain classes or categories of persons or lands and buildings, or vacant lands or both from the payment of the property tax.

They also define methodology for determination of property tax.

“Subject to the provisions of section 86 and rules, if any, made by the Government in this behalf, the taxable annual value of land and building or vacant land assessable to taxes under this Act shall be calculated by multiplying the corresponding unit area value with the total built-up area of a building or the total area of land, as the case may be, minus depreciation, at such rates as may be prescribed, depending on the age of the building,” reads the laws.(PTK)

Srinagar: Army on Saturday said the gun was not a solution to any problem and claimed that recruitment of militants has gone down in Kashmir.

“Recruitment of militants has gone down which is a good sign. We appeal Kashmiri youth to look after their families and focus on their studies,” Sector commander of Army’s 9 RR regiment, Brigadier V S Thakur told reporters as per news agency Kashmir Indepth News Service (KINS).

This he stated after the Army killed two militants in South Kashmir’s Kulgam district. “Two militants have been killed. One is a local youth Tariq Mir and another is a Pakistani. The operation was launched by RR after receiving specific information from the police. It was a successful operation with no loss of life or property,” he said.

“Gun is no solution to any problem. The youth in Kashmir should focus on their studies and help in bringing peace in the valley,” he added.
Meanwhile, General Officer Commanding 15 Corps, Lt General B S Raju said that there are inputs that about 250-300 militants are waiting to cross to this side of Line of Control. “But we have been successful to some extent in blocking their infiltrations,” he said during a press conference here.

He said 130 militants infiltrated last year and the number is 30 this year so far.

He said that the situation on LoC is under control and only a few ceasefire violations are being done by Pakistan to initiate the infiltration.

On the Shopian fake encounter, he said, “We have ordered a summary of evidence which is halfway done and we expect it to be completed at the earliest so that further steps can be taken.”

Srinagar: At least four militants were killed on Saturday in two separate encounters with security forces in Kulgam and Pulwama districts of South Kashmir.

Security forces launched a cordon and search operation in Chingam area of Kulgam district of south Kashmir late Friday night following specific inputs about the presence of militants there.

An official said the search operation turned into an encounter after militants fired upon a security forces party, who retaliated.

The slain militants have been identified as Tariq Ahmad Mir, resident of Zangalpora Divsar Kulgam; and a Pakistani national identified as Sameer Bhai alias Usman, resident of Punjab Pakistan, and an “A” category militant, the official said.

Sector commander of Army’s 9 RR regiment, Brigadier V S Thakur as per news agency Kashmir Indepth News Service (KINS) termed Kulgam encounter a “successful operation without causing any damage to life and property of civilians”.

“Two militants have been killed. One is a local youth Tariq Mir and another is a Pakistani. The operation was launched by RR after receiving specific information from the police. It was a successful operation with no loss of life or property,” he said.

An official said both militants were affiliated with Jaish-e-Mohammad outfit. The official said an M4 rifle and a pistol have been recovered from the site of the encounter.

In another operation in Dadoora area of Pulwama district of south Kashmir, two militants were killed, the official said.

The police said the encounter started after security forces cordoned off the area and launched a search operation there following information about the presence of militants. Two AK rifles have been recovered from the encounter site, the official added.(KINS)

Srinagar: Jammu & Kashmir Government on Friday said that 25,000 vacancies in the Union Territory will be filled soon, adding the number includes those 10,000 jobs advertised already by the Government.

According to Kashmir News Service (KNS), Lieutenant Governor Manoj Sinha said the Government is working on fulfilling the assurance given by the Prime Minister Narendra Modi about 50,000 jobs to the unemployed youths in Jammu and Kashmir.

Taking micro-blogging site Twitter LG Sinha said, “A Comprehensive Plan is in offing for filling up of 25,000 vacancies with 10,000 posts already advertised.The UT Government is also working on fulfilling the assurance of 50,000 jobs given by the Hon’ble Prime Minister @narendramodi”.

In his another tweet, Sinha said that recruitment rallies for Central Armed Police Force (CAPF), Paramilitary Forces and Jammu & Kashmir Police shall also be conducted across the region.

“Central Armed Police Force, Paramilitary Forces and JKP recruitment rallies shall also be conducted across the UT. The Government is laying special focus on connectivity to every village and every household,” he further tweeted. (KNS)

Srinagar: Although total casualties in Kashmir Valley are likely to cross 1000 mark due to Covid-19, no district from Kashmir Valley has been categorized as ‘Red-Zone’.

Government has designated Lakhanpur Containment Zone and either side of Banihal Tunnel as ‘Red Zone’ while all districts except Kishtwar have been declared as ‘Orange Zones’.

Kishtwar is the only district in Jammu and Kashmir that has been declared as ‘Green Zone’.

Pertinently, the total casualties in Jammu and Kashmir due to Covid-19 have reached 1314 while the number of positive cases stands at 81793. (KNT)

Of the 66 top bureaucrats in Muslim-majority J&K at this time, 38 are from other states. Of the 12 sitting judges at the high court, only two are Muslim. And there is not a single Muslim officer in the LG’s secretariat.

Srinagar: An officer of the Kashmir Administrative Service (KAS) has alleged that Kashmiri and Muslim officers have been deliberately sidelined or kept away from key positions since June 2018, when Mehbooba Mufti, the last chief minister of Jammu and Kashmir, lost power.

“This process picked up pace when the Union government abrogated Article 370 last year,” said the KAS officer who serves at the Civil Secretariat, Srinagar, on the condition of anonymity.

According to the officer, after August 5, 2019, when the Union government stripped J&K of its special status and split the erstwhile state into two union territories (UT), local Muslim officers disappeared from key positions in the secretariat.

“Today when you go into the secretariat you find non-Kashmiris and non-Muslims holding important meetings, making decisions and keeping the Muslim and Kashmiri officers away,” the officer added.

Once a state, J&K is now a Muslim-majority union territory. According to the 2011 census, Muslims constitute 68.31% of J&K’s total population of 12.5 million people and Hindus comprise 28.43%. Muslims form the majority in 17 out of the 20 districts of J&K, yet the number of local officers in the UT’s administrative services is very low.

For example, Lieutenant Governor Manoj Sinha’s secretariat does not have even a single Muslim officer. All the 13 officers in the Raj Bhavan family (members of the LG’s secretariat) are non-Muslims and non-Kashmiris. Sinha is a former Union minister and senior BJP leader from Uttar Pradesh.

Similarly, there are no Muslim officers among the senior staff of chief secretary B.V.R. Subrahmanyam, director-general of police (DGP) Dilbagh Singh and Chief Justice Gita Mittal.

Of the four advisers to LG Sinha, two are Muslims, but they do not have roots in Kashmir Valley. Not one of the divisional commissioners or the police chiefs of J&K is a Muslim or even from the Kashmir Valley.

The last Muslim DGP in J&K was Ghulam Jeelani Pandit, who retired in December 1989. The last Kashmiri Muslim chief secretary was Mohammad Iqbal Khandey, who retired in 2015. Only two Kashmiri Muslims have served as DGP in Kashmir’s history.

Where are the locals?

On February 6 this year, the Union government abolished the J&K state cadre of the civil services and made it part of the Arunachal Pradesh, Goa and Mizoram union territories.

Many senior Indian Administrative Service (IAS) and KAS officers believe that this may demotivate Kashmiri candidates from appearing in the competitive exams for the civil services, with the result that Kashmiris may completely disappear from the administration.

The number of local officers in the IAS state cadre of J&K has seldom been high. For example, of the 58 IAS officers who had formed the state cadre of the erstwhile state of J&K in 2018-19, only seven had been Kashmiri Muslims. These included Dr Shah Faesal, who had resigned from the service in January 2019, bringing down the number to six.

Today, of the 66 top bureaucrats in J&K, including those from the civil secretariat and the LG’s secretariat, 38 are from other states.

At the civil secretariat, key departments such as home, power, finance, revenue, health and environment are headed by non-Muslim officers.

The only bureaucrat from Kashmir currently in charge of a vital department is Asgar Hassan Samoon, principal secretary for school education.

According to J&K’s general administration department, there are currently five commissioner secretaries, of whom only two are Muslims. There are eight principal secretaries, but only one is Muslim. The commissioners of finance, revenue, health and medical education are all non-Muslims. Thus, of these 16 officers, only three are Muslim. And in the J&K UT at this time, of the 66 top bureaucrats, 38 are from other Indian states.

According to figures available with the J&K government, of the 20 districts of J&K, nine have Muslim deputy commissioners, but only four of them are from the Kashmir Valley.

Meanwhile, in the high court, the last Kashmiri to hold the position of chief justice was Bashir Ahmed Khan in 2007. At present, of the 12 sitting judges at the J&K high court, only two are Muslims. “This is the first time in my career of 15 years that I have seen only two Muslim judges here,” a senior advocate told The Wire. “The J&K high court should have a 50-50 ratio of Muslim and non-Muslim judges,” he added.

Of the seven deputy inspectors-general of police in J&K, two are Muslim but none are from J&K. J&K has 23 police districts, seven of which have Muslim superintendents of police (SSPs), of whom only three are from the Kashmir Valley.

And in June 2019, the then governor’s administration had sacked J&K Bank’s Muslim chairman Parvez Ahmed about four months before the end of his term, replacing him with R.K. Chibber, a Hindu. Ahmed had been accused of nepotism, financial irregularities and illegal appointments in the bank, but rejected all the accusations.

Out of balance

In an exclusive interview with The Wire on September 23, former chief minister of J&K Dr Farooq Abdullah, today a member of parliament from Srinagar constituency, had said: “Today, you have the LG who is Hindu, the DG and the two IGs are Hindus. But during our time we had representation from both communities. When we were in power – be it my father, me, my son, Mufti Sahab or others – Hindus and Muslims were equally distributed in the bureaucracy. Today, that balance is not there. There is a total wipeout. Do you think only one community has the brains and the other community does not have any brains at all?”

Six months ago, social media in Kashmir trended a photograph released by the office of former J&K LG Girish Chandra Murmu. The photo depicted Murmu holding a meeting with a battery of bureaucrats. Of the 19 officials in the photo, there was just one local Muslim officer – Farooq Ahmad Lone, a former IAS officer. This photograph, according to Kashmiri social media users, showed that the Union government was deliberately making demographic changes in the predominantly Muslim Kashmir Valley.

Last week, senior BJP leader Muhammad Maqbool War even claimed that in coming days, all the posts in the UT’s civil and police administration would be held by BJP supporters. He made this claim in a party convention in the Sumbal area of North Kashmir’s Bandipora district.

However, Ashok Koul, the BJP’s general secretary in J&K, denied that his party had any plan to change the demography of J&K. “The LG of J&K has clearly said that he will bring good officers in the administration and there is no mention of Muslim or Hindu. Go and see – you will find Muslim commissioner secretaries in the administration,” said Koul.

Irfan Amin Malik is a The Wire’s Srinagar-based reporter.

With inputs from The Wire

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