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Srinagar: In yet another setback to India’s bid to designate Masood Azhar as a “global terrorist”, China on Wednesday put a technical hold on a proposal in the UN Security Council to ban him.

The proposal to designate Azhar under the 1267 Al Qaeda Sanctions Committee of the UN Security Council was moved by France, the UK and the US on February 27, days after a suicide bomber of the Jaish-e-Mohammed (JeM) killed 44 CRPF soldiers in Jammu and Kashmir’s Pulwama, leading to a flare-up in tensions between India and Pakistan.

The Al Qaeda Sanctions Committee members had 10 working days to raise any objections to the proposal. The no-objection period deadline was scheduled to end at 3 PM local time (New York) Wednesday, (12:30 AM IST Thursday).

Just before the deadline, China put a “technical hold” on the proposal, a diplomat at the UN said.

The diplomat said China asked for “more time to examine” the proposal.

All eyes were on China, which has in the past blocked India’s bids to get Azhar listed as a UN-designated global terrorist thrice.

According to the listing rules of the Al Qaeda Sanctions Committee, if no objection is received by the end of the no-objection period, the decision will be deemed adopted.

As it has done in the past, Beijing put a technical hold on the proposal just as the deadline was about to end.

An inkling of China’s stand on the issue came during Foreign Ministry Spokesperson Lu Kang’s press conferences on Monday and Wednesday in Beijing when he was asked about the proposal to list Azhar as a global terrorist by the UNSC.

“The UN Security Council and its subsidiary bodies are run on strict rules. We already stressed China’s position on the listing of terrorist organisations and individuals in the UN Security Council 1267 Committee on many occasions,” Lu said on Monday.

“China will continue to adopt responsible attitude and participate in the deliberations in the UNSC 1267 Committee,” Lu said on Wednesday.

On the issue of listing Azhar, he said, “I want to say that China always adopts a responsible attitude, engage in consultations with various parties and properly deal with this issue.”

“The discussions, I want to say must follow the rules and procedures of the relevant bodies and only the solution that is acceptable to all sides is conducive for resolving the issue,” he said, indicating that Beijing may again block the move to list Azhar as a global terrorist.

It said the government has been taking over the control of the mosques, seminaries and other institutions of the banned organisations in the province.

Pakistan authorities on Thursday sealed the Lahore headquarters of Hafiz Saeed-led Jamaat-ud-Dawa (JuD) and its charity wing Falah-i-Insaniat Foundation (FIF) as part of the ongoing crackdown against the banned organisations.
“Under the National Action Plan (NAP), the government has taken complete control of the banned JuD and FIF headquarters in Lahore and Muridkey,” said a statement issued by the Punjab Home department Thursday.

It said the government has been taking over the control of the mosques, seminaries and other institutions of the banned organisations in the province.
“We have intensified action against the banned organisations,” it said.
A senior government official told PTI that the authorities have sealed the Jamia Masjid Qadsia, the Lahore headquarters of the JuD and FIF.
The official said the government has also taken over the complete control of the JuD headquarters in Muridke, some 40-km from Lahore. However, the home department did not confirm it.
The official further said that Saeed and his supporters did not protest when the administration and police reached there to take over the control of the building.
“Saeed along with his supporters left for his Jauhar Town residence,” he said. The whereabouts of Saeed was immediately not known.
Saeed was listed under UN Security Council Resolution 1267 in December 2008. He was released from house arrest in Pakistan in November 2017.
According to officials, JuD’s network includes 300 seminaries and schools, hospitals, a publishing house and ambulance service. The two groups have about 50,000 volunteers and hundreds of other paid workers.
Meanwhile, a total of 121 members of the proscribed groups have so far been taken into “preventive detention” across Pakistan, the Interior Ministry announced Thursday.
The new figure of 121 came two days after the ministry said Jaish-e-Mohammed (JeM) chief Masood Azhar’s son and brother were among 44 members of the banned militant outfits taken into “preventive detention”.
Ministry of Interior Secretary AzamSuleman Khan said on Tuesday that HamadAzhar and Mufti Abdul Raoof were among those detained. Hamad is the son of Masood Azhar while Raoof is his brother.
In a notification, the Interior Ministry said the provincial governments have taken over the management and administrative control of 182 madaris, 34 schools/ colleges as part of the National Action Plan (NAP) to “combat terrorism.”
The Ministry of Interior said law enforcement agencies had taken 121 people into preventive detention as of Thursday in compliance with the NAP, formulated after the attack on an army school in Peshawar in 2014 that killed nearly 150 people, mostly students.
Provincial governments across Pakistan have also taken over five hospitals, 163 dispensaries, 184 ambulances and eight offices, Geo News quoted the notification as saying.
Meanwhile, Information Minister Fawad Chaudhry said the government has decided that it will decide on its larger strategy on how to act against proscribed organisations after discussing the matter with other parliamentary leaders.
Addressing a press conference, he said that the leaders of major parties will be taken into confidence on major decisions on banned organisations in the country.
Chaudhry said that a consensus had been built in the country in recent days in response to the “Indian aggression” and the government wanted this consensus to be sustained rather than see it break “over small things”.
He said that these were matters of national interest and the government wanted to move forward with the Opposition, similar to the way it had with various other institutions.

SRINAGAR: Traffic police Thursday said vehicles parked on roadsides in the city will be seized under law.

“In compliance to the directions of the Hon’ble High Court of Jammu and Kashmir passed in PIL No. 458/2003 dated 19.04.2017, regarding the menace of wrong parking of vehicles, all motorists are hereby informed not to park their vehicles on the roadside and ensure that the vehicles are parked only at designated parking places,” said the police, in an advisory.

“All those vehicles which are found to be parked in violation of the directions of the Hon’ble High Court of Jammu and Kashmir issued in PIL No. 458/2003 dated 19.04.2017 shall be seized under law and will be released by the Hon’ble Court only.”

Last month, the administration had passed a slew of directions it said will “greatly help” decongest traffic in this summer capital city, after drawing flak from the Jammu and Kashmir High Court over the issue.

The court had asked administration to file a detailed compliance report regarding its directions on streamlining of traffic in Srinagar, and ordered personal appearance on March 19 of five top officers including Divisional Commissioner Kashmir and Inspector General of Police Traffic Kashmir in case of their failure to do so.

On February 19, Divisional Commissioner Kashmir Baseer Ahmad Khan had convened a meeting here to review traffic decongestion measures across the city.

A new mechanized car parking will “greatly help” decongest traffic in the summer capital city, an official spokesman had quoted Khan as saying.

In order to minimize traffic jams across city, the Divisional Commissioner had also directed Commissioner SMC to start intense drive along with Police, traffic personnel to remove all road side vendors from Hari Singh High Street, Batmaloo and other places and shift them to designated Vendor Zones which were already developed for them.

Police, Traffic Police and Chief Enforcement Officer SMC were directed to keep 24X7 tight vigil on all city roads and ensure that no vendor can display their goods on roads or car parking sides. “Violators will be dealt strictly as per prescribed law,” the spokesman said.

Traffic department was asked to start intense and strict document checking of every type of vehicles and immediately seize those vehicles which lack requisite vehicle documents.

SRINAGAR: Finance Minister Arun Jaitley on Thursday slammed the members of a fringe group who targeted Kashmiri students in Uttar Pradesh, saying India’s fight is against the separatists and militants, and not against the people of Kashmir.

Taking to Twitter, the Union Minister posted a message in which he expressed full support to the Kashmiris amid reports of attack on them in a few parts of the country.

The attack on innocent Kashmiris is condemnable. Our fight is against the separatists and terrorists. We need the people of Jammu and Kashmir with us in the fight against terror.

“The attack on innocent Kashmiris is condemnable. Our fight is against the separatists and terrorists. We need the people of Jammu and Kashmir with us in the fight against terror,” his post read. (PTK)

‘Final decision to be announced from New Delhi, parties pitch for simultaneous elections’

Srinagar, March 05: The Election Commission of India who were on two-day visit to Jammu and Kashmir Tuesday that conducting elections in the state is challenging. On concluding their visit to the state, the ECI team headed by Chief Election Commissioner (CEC) Sunil Arora said while addressing a presser in Jammu said the final decision on holding polls in Jammu and Kashmir will be taken in Delhi.

“Representatives of all the parties have demanded that both parliamentary and Assembly polls be held together citing successful Panchayat elections in the state,” they said as per KNO Correspondent. “Regarding security concerns, the Commission is indeed mindful of the specific challenging law and order situation in the State of J&K and especially in certain Assembly segments given their location and concerns,” Chief Election Commissioner Sunil Arora said.

Arora as per KNO correspondent also said that Commission will look into due security arrangements while deciding on the timing and phasing of the elections and they will also keep in view the desire for restoring democratically elected government in the State.

“The Commission is aware that Elections have been conducted in the past under trying circumstances in the State. J&K elections do attract global and national attention more than any other State.” Arora said. Arora was accompanied by Election Commissioners Ashok Lavasa and Sushil Chandra alongwith the team of officers from Election Commission of India. “We have received the feedback and will take all these into consideration. The final decision of holding polls, and how will be announced through a presser from New Delhi,” he said.

According to Arora representatives from all Political Parties emphasized that due security arrangements be made to provide adequate security to voters and candidates so as to instill confidence in them for conducive environment for forthcoming elections.

The Commission is committed to deliver free, fair, peaceful, transparent, ethical and inclusive elections, they said, adding the Commission attaches prime importance to ensuring conducive environment for conducting elections in the State keeping in view the specific concerns of the State.

“As regards the specific concern pointed out for M Forms for Migrant Voters, it was explained to the Party representatives also that to facilitate registration,voting and other issues/grievances, at present there are three AERO-Migrants (Assistant Electoral Registration Officers) who also perform duties of AROs as well as BLOs (Booth Level Officers) appointed specially to register the Kashmiri migrants.

Special camps were conducted at the migrant camps during SSR 2019 which resulted in addition of 4988 Kashmiri migrant voters during last one year. Two more Special Camps are being organised on 6th and 7thMarch, 2019 for migrant voters in all 26 special polling stations,” he said.

Similarly to facilitate Voting, Three Assistant Returning Officers (Migrants) are appointed, one each for Jammu, Udhampur and Delhi. 26 Special Polling Stations are setup for voting by migrants at Jammu, Udhampur and Delhi. Dedicated EPIC printing facility has been provided in the office of Relief Commissioner J&K.

Due publicity for these special arrangements shall be scaled up for benefit of all concerned. After Special summary revision 2019 following status of electoral roll has emerged: Total No. of Electors: 78,50,671,Male Electors: 40,37,993., Female Electors: 37,39,951, Service Voters: 72,727, Total marked Electors: 916.(KNO)

MHA officials holding deliberations whether to take the step

Srinagar, March 04: The ban imposed by Centre on the Kashmir’s socio-religious organisation, Jamaat-e-Islami has triggered uproar across the Valley as JeI has at least 500 schools and orphanages under it where more than five lakh children are enrolled.

The Government of India announced that Jamaat had been working “to carve out an Islamic State out of Jammu and Kashmir” while disputing the accession with the union of India and that the ban would stay for five years.

Rumour mills are rife that whether GoI would hit Hurriyat Conference after Jamaat as there seems to be a well-carved out plan to ensure smooth elections in the trouble-ravaged J&K.

Some call it as a “Doval doctrine”, a plan framed by the national security advisor of India, Ajit Doval, for ensuring the hassle free crucial Lok Sabha and Assembly polls due for the State any time this year.

At least 100 Jamaat activists and leaders including its chief Dr Hameed Fayaz has been arrested while properties of scores of old and new Jamaat leaders sealed by the police on the directions of deputy commissioners of various districts of Kashmir in the wake of Centre’s ban order.

“Jamaat ban is second of its nature. This time it has been imposed by BJP led regime in the Center and in the past, it was announced by the then chief minister of J&K, Sheikh Muhammad Abdullah,” said Muhammad Sultan, a JeI worker told KNO.

“We were telling people not to participate in polls may be that is the reason why we were banned for five long years. Otherwise, our activities are purely social and religious in nature and there seems to be no other reason for the ban.”

Gossip lounges across Kashmir are rife with the rumours that whether the next step of GoI would be to be ban Hurriyat—both Hurriyat led by Syed Ali Geelani and the Hurriyat led by Mirwaiz Umar Farooq.

“For the electoral gains, the GoI can resort to anything. From raiding the residences of Hurriyat leaders, seizing their electronic gadgets to mobile phones, banning Hurriyats seems to be no exception,” said a Hurriyat leader, wishing not to be banned.

Sources in the MHA told KNO that the Ministry of Home Affairs was weighing options for ensuring smooth Lok Sabha and Assembly polls in Kashmir. “If there is a consensus on banning the Hurriyat in the Cabinet Committee on Security, the MHA would announce the decision without waiting for a moment,” a top source in the MHA said.

What remains to be seen is that whether Election Commission of India (ECI) that is presently on J&K visit, would announce that Lok Sabha and Assembly polls would be held jointly or they would first go ahead with Parliamentary polls only.(KNO)

Jammu, March 03: J&K Government Spokesman,Rohit Kansal this evening made it clear that schools, mosques and orphanages have been kept outside the scope of seizures and sealing in the wake of the ban imposed by the Government of India on Jamaat-e-Islami, J&K.

“Action is being taken against offices, assets, properties and other equipment of the banned organisation,” Kansal said in a statement adding that the ban is for 5 years and subsequent orders to do so have been issued by the State Government and the Deputy Commissioners.(KNO)