Tag: mehbooba mufti house arrest

Amid Heightened Security, Foreign Envoys Assess ‘Normalcy’ in J&K After Clampdown

While a select group of journalists spoke of their freedom, another group of journalists, who were waiting outside the venue of the roundtable meetings, were denied permission to talk with the envoys.

Srinagar: When Nazir Ahmad Khan, the chairperson of Budgam district development council (DDC), took the dais on Wednesday morning to brief the foreign envoys about the “remarkable changes” happening in Jammu and Kashmir (J&K) post August 5, 2019, his deputy, Nazir Ahmad Jahra, had completed three days in detention.

Jahra who is affiliated with the National Conference told The Wire on Thursday over the phone that the party’s DDC members have been “treated like criminals”.

“Eight of my colleagues have been detained by the police at different locations. Some of us were picked from our homes and kept at a hotel without any detention order. The delegation is now in Jammu but still they are not releasing us,” he said.

However, the treatment meted out to Jahra and others didn’t reflect in Khan’s speech. He was speaking at a government college in Budgam’s Magam college – where the delegation of nearly two dozen foreign envoys, who are in J&K for a two-day visit, was present.

On the contrary, Khan sounded generous in his praise of the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) government’s decision of “starting the decentralisation of developmental process to empower common man to plan and execute development plan”.

“Over the last few years,” Khan said in his speech, reading from a paper that seemed to have been prepared for him, “especially after August 2019, remarkable changes have been happen (sic) on ground to realise dreams of the people.”

Earlier this month, Khan emerged as the unlikely winner of the election for the chairperson of Budgam DDC.

But, the election was reportedly shadowed by allegations of rigging and partisan role of the Union Territory administration. The National Conference had won eight out of 14 seats in Budgam district, giving it a simple majority. With the support of one PDP (Peoples Democratic Party) candidate, the party was expected to sail through to bag the chairperson’s post.

However, there was a tie, according to an official statement by the J&K government which didn’t give more information. The “tie” prompted a “draw of lots” and Khan who contested DDC polls as an ‘independent’ was declared as the winner. He was previously affiliated with the PDP but has recently warmed up to a local party that enjoys the blessings of the BJP, according to sources.

Also read: From One Year of the Gag to the Next, ‘Normalcy’ in Kashmir Comes at a Price

Days after the loss, National Conference leader Omar Abdullah posted a picture on Twitter with his party’s eight DDC members, stating that the party was going to challenge the election of Khan. “Talk about murdering democracy in J&K. I met 8 of our DDC members of Budgam district. There is at least 1 more alliance member …. so 9 out of a total strength of 14 & yet in an “election” an independent member was made the chairman.”

 

Roundtable discussion

Besides the envoys, Khan’s audience at the college comprised of top J&K bureaucrats and police officers, members of the DDC and panchayat institutions, district heads of various government departments and other employees posted in the district.

However, the animated scenes inside the Magam college sharply contrasted the pin-drop silence outside. A spontaneous shutdown was observed by traders in Magam who began their day late in the afternoon on Wednesday after the delegation had left for Srinagar.

In Srinagar, the cavalcade of foreign envoys drove into The Lalit, a mesmerising property tucked in the lap of Zabarwan hills, which offers a panoramic view of Srinagar’s iconic Dal Lake. A roundtable conference was set up and a number of delegations sat down with the visitors to “share ideas” and “discuss the situation” in Kashmir.

A delegation of 24 foreign ambassadors on Srinagar visit. Photo: PTI

Srinagar’s mayor Junaid Azim Mattu briefed the envoys about the recently concluded DDC elections. He claimed that the visiting dignitaries were “apprised of the landmark elections and all of them agreed it was a free and fair process.”

“They wanted to know the ground realities. Elected representatives from all political opinions and parties participated. The key issue discussed was the decentralisation of power, and planning and empowerment of the grassroots representatives,” said Mattu, who recently joined former J&K minister Altaf Bukhari’s Apni Party.

Also read: J&K DDC Polls: Apni Party Emerges as Essential Lynchpin in ‘Admin-Aided Horse Trading’

‘Press freedom’

Among those who participated in the roundtable were the DDC and panchayat members from Srinagar and other parts of Kashmir, officers of the civil administration, and more than a dozen editors and correspondents of local and national newspapers and television networks.

“We told them that press freedom has been restored in Kashmir,” one editor, who didn’t want to be named, said. “We also underlined the need of starting the political process in J&K by holding assembly elections at the earliest.”

As the select group of journalists spoke of their freedom, another group of journalists, who were waiting outside the hotel, were denied permission to talk with the envoys.

“Normally, police would stop us at the main gate of the hotel. But this time they didn’t allow us to even reach the gate. We were kept some 300 metres away due to which we couldn’t even shoot,” said Sajad Bhat, who works as a video journalist with a regional TV network.

Barely a few hundred metres from the venue of the roundtable meetings, dozens of boatmen, rendered jobless by the security restrictions in Srinagar, were basking in the afternoon sun.

“Thank you for visiting Kashmir,” Omar Abdullah tweeted, “Now please send some real tourists from your countries to visit J&K.”

‘Ground reality’

After winding their talks with the government representatives and journalists, the envoys left the hotel for Hazratbal shrine. Hours before the visit, dozens of Srinagar Municipal Corporation workers were deployed to clear mounds of dirty snow from the streets of the shrine which houses a relic of Islam’s most revered Prophet Mohammad.

The shrine too was off-limits for journalists as well as locals, barring few workers of the shrine. In the evening, the last leg of the envoys’ programme started at Sher-e-Kashmir International Convention Centre where they held a brief interaction with a small group of Kashmiri artisans, poets and writers. Sources said the list of the participants in the interaction was vetted by the security agencies.

“Forget asking questions to envoys, we were not even allowed to go near them. They were accompanied by a media team from Delhi who distributed the footage among all the TV networks. Our networks didn’t even use the footage we had sent,” said a TV journalist, who didn’t want to be named.

This was not surprising. Many interesting events took place in Kashmir ahead of the two-day visit facilitated by the Union Ministry of External Affairs to showcase the “progress” made by the Narendra Modi-led government in J&K after the reading down of the special status.

Also read: J&K: In 2nd Attack on ‘Non-Locals’ This Year, Militants Shoot at Srinagar Dhaba Owner’s Son

First came the sudden announcement of the restoration of high speed internet in J&K, reportedly under pressure of the new US administration led by President Joe Biden. Two days before the envoys landed in Srinagar, orders to restrict the movement of two former chief ministers – Mehbooba Mufti and Omar Abdullah, were withdrawn. But none of them was invited to the meet the envoys.

A day before the visit, Sheetal Nath temple in Srinagar’s downtown opened for the first time since the onset of militancy in the Valley when Kashmiri Pandits migrated to Jammu and other parts of the country, and their places of worship were closed. A three-year-old CRPF bunker on a strategic road that brings visitors to Srinagar from its only civilian airport was demolished.

Once the delegation had landed in Kashmir on Wednesday morning, a ‘wall of kindness’ came up on the Gupkar Road out of nowhere, prompting Omar Abdullah’s sister, Safiya Abdullah, to wonder whether the wall was meant to “offer warm clothes to the EU delegation!”

The irony of all this was not lost on many Kashmiris who took to social media to express their thoughts. “Will bunkers appear again after two days. Just asking,” wondered Younis Bashir, a Facebook user based in Kashmir.

Meanwhile, even though public and private transport was plying normally across Kashmir, a complete shutdown was observed in parts of Srinagar, including Lal Chowk, the largest marketplace of the Valley, where all the business establishments were shuttered, away from the gaze of the visiting envoys.

Normal life resumed in Kashmir on Thursday as the delegation left for Jammu where they held meetings with the lieutenant governor of J&K, Manoj Sinha, and the security establishment, including the officers of J&K Police and the Indian Army.

It was a repetition of past practices, and it does not deserve Kashmiris’ attention, said Aga Ruhullah, three-time legislator and former J&K minister.

“Those who came on the sponsored and controlled visit as part of the delegation should also reflect upon themselves as to how could they allow themselves to be used to present a wrong picture, hiding the facts on the ground,” Ruhullah added.

Mehbooba Mufti Says She Has Been Placed Under ‘Illegal Detention’ Yet Again

The former Jammu and Kashmir chief minister said she was planning to go to Budgam and meet families of forest dwellers who had been evicted when she was not allowed to leave her residence.

Srinagar: The Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) chief Mehbooba Mufti has alleged that she has once again been put under house arrest at her Gupkar residence ahead of her proposed visit to meet familes of a tribal community that have been evicted.

Mehbooba Mufti, while told The Wire that she wanted to meet the families who have been evicted by the authorities in “this harsh chill and winters”, including a 108-year-old woman. “But as I tried to move out of my residence, I was not allowed to do so,” she said.

Earlier, on her official Twitter handle, Mehbooba Mufti wrote, “Illegal detention has become GOIs favourite go to method for muzzling any form of opposition. Ive (sic) been detained once again because I wanted to visit Budgam where hundreds of families were evicted from their homes.”

“GOI wants to continue inflicting oppression & zulm (atrocities) on the people of J&K without any questions asked,” she added in another tweet.

She was referring to the action by forest department officials to chop down apple trees in Budgam. The officials had claimed that a large chunk of forest land was illegally encroached by locals, which includes traditional forest dwellers (Kashmiri speaking people) and Scheduled Tribe gujjars, according to the Greater Kashmir.

In a recent press conference, when The Wire asked state election commissioner K.K. Sharma about Mufti’s frequent detention, he had said, “Mehbooba Mufti is a former chief minister of Jammu and Kashmir and needs proper protection. There is a protocol in place for the movement of former chief ministers.”

Mufti did not sound convinced about this reasoning. She said, “On the one hand, BJP politicians are given full security cover and other facilities to undertake a journey of their choice to every nook and corner of the valley. When it comes to me, I am being placed under house arrest. All the time, they say ‘upar se order hai‘ (we have an order from the higher ups).

Mufti also criticised the eviction of tribal families, saying the communities have lived in those places for hundreds of years.

Earlier on November 27, Mufti had claimed she was “illegally detained yet again”. She alleged that her daughter Iltija had also been placed under house arrest.

However, the police later denied her claims.

The residence of Peoples Democratic Party chief Mehbooba Mufti. Photo: Jahangir Sofi/The Wire

When The Wire asked Mufti if she was being selectively targeted when it comes to her programmes or events, the former chief minsiter said, “I don’t know why they are doing this to me. Every time the SP comes, she says ‘orders have come from higher ups’. I don’t know who is giving these orders.”

“Whenever I propose any programme, it is more likely that permission will not be given citing ‘security’ as an excuse. When I say I will use private transportation, they start detaining me and lock the gates,” said Mehbooba Mufti.

In a video that Mufti had uploaded along with her tweet, she can be seen requesting the security forces to allow her to go out or produce the warrant for her house arrest.

However, there was no official confirmation from the authorities on her detention or arrest.

In November, Mufti was able to visit South Kashmir, where she met some nomadic families in Pahalgam who were evicted from their homes in the forests by the government.

Mehbooba Mufti Claims She Has Been Put Under ‘Illegal Detention’

The former CM says she has been detained to prevent her from visiting the family of Waheed ur Rehman, the PDP’s youth wing president who was arrested by the NIA.

Srinagar: People’s Democratic Party president Mehbooba Mufti was on Friday morning put under “house detention” to restrain her from visiting the family of her party’s youth president, Waheed-ur-Rehman Parra, who was arrested by the National Investigation Agency on Wednesday for alleged links to militant groups. The move comes barely 24 hours before Jammu and Kashmir will vote for the first phase of the district development council election in which the Gupkar Alliance is locked in a direct contest with the Bharatiya Janta Party and Apni Party.

In a series of tweets, Mehbooba claimed that she has been detained yet again to prevent her from visiting the family of Waheed-Ur-Rehman Parra.

The former chief minister said for the past two days, the J&K admininstration has refused to allow her to visit Parra’s family in Pulwama. “BJP ministers & their puppets are allowed to move around in every corner of Kashmir but security is a problem in my case,” she tweeted.

The former CM was released last month after spending more than one year in detention in the aftermath of the Centre’s decision to dilute Article 370 on August 5, 2019.

She said she is not being allowed to console Waheed’s family after arresting him on “baseless charges”. “The cruelty knows no bounds. Waheed was arrested on baseless charges & I am not being allowed to console his family. Even my daughter Iltija has been placed under house arrest because she also wanted to visit Waheed’s family,” she tweeted.

Parra was arrested by the NIA for alleged militant links days after he filed nomination papers for contesting in the district development council polls in his native Pulwama district.

In 2016, Rajnath Singh, then Union home minister and the current defence minister, had praised Parra’s efforts to promote sports in Kashmir.

Waheed Parra. Photo: Twitter/@parawahid

On her Twitter handle, Mehbooba also shared communications from security agencies advising against her planned visit to Pulwama.

The agencies have advised that the visit be deferred, claiming that neither anti-sabotage check nor proper route sanitisation has been done due to the engagement of its manpower in election-related duties.

Talking to The Wire, Iltija Mufti said that everything is being criminalised in Kashmir by the BJP.“We were trying to visit the family of Waheed for the past two days, but they are not allowing us to move out. The superintendent of police in Pulwama is advising against our visit there. How can the police tell us to sit at our home as they cannot provide us with security? It is the duty of the police to provide security,” she said.

Mehbooba has been put under “house detention” just a day before voting will take place for the first of eight phases of the DDC polls.

Since the State Election Commission unveilled the schedule for the polls, the administration of the J&K Union Territory, as well as the Central government, have come under criticism from the opposition parties for not allowing their candidates to campaign.

The Peoples Alliance for Gupkar Declaration, a conglomerate of six parties including the National Conference, the People’s Democratic Party, People’s Conference, has repeatedly castigated the government for impeding the movement of their candidates.

Also Read: J&K: Are ‘Security Restrictions’ Being Used to Give BJP DDC Candidates an Upper Hand?

The alliance even sought the intervention of the State Election Commission for doing away with these restrictions and impediments.

“A strange and unique feature has come to the fore. Candidates put up by the PAGD are immediately whisked away to “secure locations” in the name of security and confined to those “secure locations”. They are not allowed to canvas, they are completely out of touch with those from whom they are supposed to seek votes,” read a letter from PAGD chairman Farooq Abdullah to the SEC.

SC Issues Notice to J&K on Plea Challenging Mehbooba Mufti’s Detention Under PSA

The dossier on the former Jammu and Kashmir chief minister is “manifestly biased slanderous, libellous”, the court was informed.

New Delhi: The Supreme Court on Wednesday sought response of the Jammu and Kashmir (J&K) administration on a plea challenging former chief minister Mehbooba Mufti’s detention under the Public Safety Act (PSA).

A bench headed by Justice Arun Mishra also asked Iltija Mufti, daughter of the PDP chief, to give an undertaking stating that she has not filed any other petition before another judicial forum, including the high court, challenging the detention of her mother.

Iltija had filed a habeas corpus (bring the person) petition in the apex court challenging the government’s order issued on February 5 for invoking the PSA provision against Mehbooba Mufti to keep her in detention.

Habeas corpus is a writ seeking production of a person, who has allegedly been in illegal detention, before a court.

The bench has now posted the plea for hearing on March 18.

During the brief hearing, lawyer Nitya Ramakrishnan appearing for Iltija, said the impugned dossier, which formed the basis for invocation of the PSA, was “manifestly biased slanderous, libellous” against the former Jammu and Kashmir chief minister.

Also read: Shah Faesal Is Not a Gunda, PSA Charges Were a Bad Surprise, Says His Family

She also said that a person cannot be deprived of fundamental freedom and personal liberty on these grounds.

The bench asked the lawyer to give an affidavit as to whether Iltija or somebody else has filed any other petition in the high court against the detention order.

The lawyer replied in negative and undertook to file an affidavit in this regard in a day or two.

She also said that Mehbooba Mufti has been accused of creating fear among the majority of the population and playing “cheap politics”.

She said that not a single incident of incitement has been referred in the dossier by the administration and the PDP chief has been wrongly put under detention under the PSA.

Earlier, the same bench had issued notice to the Jammu and Kashmir Union Territory administration on a similar plea filed against the government notification invoking the PSA against former Jammu and Kashmir chief minister Omar Abdullah.

Mufti and Abdullah, besides two political leaders from the National Conference and its arch-rival PDP, were booked under the PSA by the administration on February 6, barely hours before their six-month-long “preventive detention” was to come to an end.

The grounds of detention against Abdullah claim that on the eve of a reorganisation of the state, he had allegedly made attempts to provoke general masses against the revocation of provisions of Articles 370 and Article 35A.

PSA Dossier on ‘Kota Rani’ Mehbooba Mufti Says She ‘Promoted Militancy’

Apart from saying that Mufti’s ‘provocative speeches’ led to ‘incitement of violence’, the dossier also lists the PDP chief’s tweets criticising the Centre’s decisions on Article 370 and triple talaq.

Srinagar: The former Jammu and Kashmir (J&K) chief minister Mehbooba Mufti, who was detained under the controversial Public Safety Act (PSA) last week, has been charged with “glorifying” militancy and “promoting” separatism in Kashmir.

The PSA dossier against Mehbooba, accessed by The Wire, also lists out her stand against the Centre’s scrapping of J&K’s special status, support for the banned socio-religious organisation, Jamaat-e-Islamia, and critical remarks against the Centre, which the document says have the potential to trigger violence beyond Kashmir.

The dossier describes Mehbooba as a “hard headed” and “scheming person.” “The actions of the subject range from speeches glorifying militants…and there have many occasions when the subject promoted separatism,” it reads, pointing to “several confidential and secret reports of very serious nature” prepared by the agencies.

Mehbooba, who is the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) president, was in preventive detention under section 107 of CrPc since August 5 last year, when the Centre scrapped J&K’s special status and imposed restrictions in the Valley.

She was booked under the PSA, a law under which a person can be detained without a trial for up to two years, on February 5 – the day her preventive detention was to end.

The dossier says that for her “dangerous and insidious machination and usurping nature”, Mehbooba is referred to as “Daddy’s girl” and “Kota Rani” by people. A 14th-century queen of Kashmir, Kota Rani “rose to power by virtue of undertaking intrigues ranging from poisoning of her opponents.”

Also read: How the Public Safety Act Continues to Haunt Kashmir

The dossier refers to Mehbooba’s political journey and talks about “incidents” in the past 10 years where she “indulged in inciting violence”, leading to disturbance in the public order.

There is, however, no mention of any incident.

“The subject having a history of making provocative speeches and charged statements leading to incitement of violence on several occasion in her political career is a potential threat to maintenance of public order in view of the prevalent security scenario,” reads the dossier, terming Mehbooba a “vocal voice” against the Centre’s dilution of Articles 370 and 35A.

The dossier also mentions her tweets in the run-up to the dilution of Article 370 where she said the move “hasn’t just made the accession null and void and also reduces India to an occupation force in J&K.”

Former J&K chief minister Mehbooba Mufti and other PDP leaders at a press conference in Srinagar on August 2. Image: PTI

The dossier talks about her “communal and divisive” mindset, quoting another tweet, where she said that the “government of India’s intention is clear and sinister as they wanted to change the demography of the only Muslim majority state in India, disempower Muslims to the extent where they become 2nd class citizens in their own state.”

“A political leader in 21st century so brazenly inciting religion to divide the people that too in an area with sensitive security situation/eco system is indeed a potential threat for maintenance of public order. Such appeals and statements have potential of disturbing public order to an extent leading to massive loss to public life and property. This can also trigger violence in other regions of the country…,” reads the dossier.

It also mentions tweets, where Mehbooba, whose party was an ally of the BJP in the J&K government till June 2018, called for “dignity to militants after death” and accused the Army of “using chemical weapons against them”.

Her opposition to the highway blockade in Kashmir in 2019, following a deadly fidayeen attack by a Jaish-e-Muhammad militant on a CRPF convoy in February that year, in which 40 troopers were killed, is also a part of the dossier.

“The subject has been stoking gullible masses so as to create issues of disturbance in public order and demoralising security forces by making unscrupulous statement vis-à-vis security exercises being undertaken for safety and security of common people,” the dossier says.

Also read: ‘The Arrest Is an Attempt to Break Her Spirit,’ Says Mehbooba’s Daughter

The PDP chief’s opposition to the Triple Talaq Act, which she had termed as “undue interference seemingly to punish Muslims and demonise them” and her criticism of the Central government over cases of lynching are some of the other charges against her.

“Her [Mehbooba’s] divisive approach and potential and its spill over to other parts of the country,” according to the dossier, is reflected in her statement where she said: “(I) fail to understand the need to pass the Triple Talaq Bill especially since the Supreme Court has already declared it illegal. Undue interference seemingly to punish Muslims. Given the current state of economy should this really have been a priority?”

There are charges against the PDP as well in the dossier which describes the party as “dubious”. “The genesis and the approach of the Peoples Democratic Party has been of a dubious nature,” it reads.

The dossier says the PDP has borrowed its election symbol – Ink and Pot – from the Muslim United Front which participated in the 1987 assembly elections in J&K.

“The green flag of the party reflects its radical origin,” mentions the dossier.

The making of Mehbooba Mufti

A law graduate and mother of two girls, Mehbooba began her political career in the shadow of her father, Mufti Muhammad Sayeed, in the Congress in 1996 when she contested and won the assembly election from her home constituency of Bijbehara in south Kashmir.

She went on to play a major role in her father’s victory as the Congress candidate from South Kashmir in the 1998 LS polls. But a major shift in her political career came in 1999 when Sayeed quit the Congress and floated the PDP. Mehbooba was among the handful of people who had committed themselves to realise Sayeed’s dream.

Within three years of its launch, the PDP rose to form a coalition government with the Congress in 2002, bagging 16 seats in the assembly. Two years later she won the Lok Sabha election from South Kashmir.

Also read: ‘How Many Children Have You Detained?’: Mehbooba Asks Amit Shah

In the 2008 state election polls, the party raised its tally to 21 seats in the 87-member assembly under Mehbooba’s leadership. She returned to the erstwhile state assembly from Shopian’s Wachi constituency. However, it was the 2014 elections that constituted a watershed moment in the party’s history – it emerged as the single largest party, bagging 28 seats.

In March 2015, following three months of negotiations, Sayeed decided to form a government with the BJP, a move that dented a blow to the party’s popularity in the Valley. PDP soon became the target of people’s ire.

PDP president and Jammu and Kashmir chief minister Mehbooba Mufti with BJP president Amit Shah at a press conference. Credit: PTI/Files

PDP president and Jammu and Kashmir chief minister Mehbooba Mufti with BJP president Amit Shah at a press conference. Credit: PTI/Files

Mehbooba assumed a central role after Sayeed’s demise on January 7, 2016. J&K came under the governor’s rule as Mehbooba refused to take oath as the next chief minister immediately, demanding some state-specific measures from the Centre.

It was Mehbooba’s “positive” meeting with Prime Minister Narendra Modi on March 23 that year that brought the alliance back on track, paving the way for Mehbooba to become the first woman chief minister of J&K on April 4.

But her stint was cut short by the BJP in June 2018 when the party pulled out of the alliance with the PDP, bringing an abrupt end to her 22-month old government. Her tenure saw a six-month-long uprising in 2016, in which more than 100 people were killed and more than 2,000 were hit by pellet guns by forces in action, blinding many victims – fully or partially.

Mehbooba’s Daughter to Amit Shah: ‘Tell Me Under Which Law I’ve Been Detained’

‘Apologies for not posting this letter, but as you’re aware postal services in Jammu and Kashmir have been suspended.’

New Delhi: Iltija Mufti, younger daughter of People’s Democratic Party leader and former Jammu and Kashmir chief minister Mehbooba Mufti has been under house arrest since August 5 at the family’s Gupkar Road residence in Srinagar.

On August 7, The Wire‘s founding editor, Siddharth Varadarajan, attempted to meet her at the residence but was told by the plain-clothed policemen deployed there that this would not be possible and that they had orders “from above” not to allow Iltija Mufti to meet anyone.

On August 15, Iltija manage to send this letter – addressed to Union home minister Amit Shah – out to The Wire through a trusted aide.

It is being reproduced in full below.

§

Honourable Home Minister,
Shri Amit Shah
North Block,
New Delhi 110001

Dear sir,

I am left with no other option but to write to you since I’ve made several unsuccessful attempts to get a degree of clarity on my detention. Hope and pray that I am not punished/penalised or arrested for raising questions about my fundamental rights.

Kashmir is engulfed in clouds of darkness and I fear for the safety of its people including those who spoke up. We Kashmiris are reeling in despair since the unilateral abrogation of Article 370 on August 5, 2019. My mother, Ms. Mehbooba Mufti, former chief minister of Jammu and Kashmir was detained along with scores of other elected representatives the very same day.

It’s now been over ten long agonising days since this crippling curfew was imposed. The valley is gripped with fear because all forms of communications have been snapped thereby debilitating an entire population. Today while the rest of the country celebrates India’s Independence Day, Kashmiris have been caged like animals and deprived of basic human rights.

Unfortunately, for reasons best known to you, I also have been placed under detention at my residence. We are not even told when visitors are turned away from the gate and I am not allowed to step out either. Odd, since I am not affiliated to any political party and have always been a law abiding citizen.

However, the security personnel have cited my interviews to various media portals and newspapers as the reason for my detention. In fact, I’ve been threatened with dire consequences if I speak up again.

Also watch: Video by Fact-Finding Team Shows Unanimous Anger Against Centre in Kashmir

Pertinent to mention that the recurrent theme of these interviews was unconstitutional abrogation of the Article 370 followed by an unprecedented curfew. I also expressed concern for my mother’s safety, who along with hundreds of political detainees have been jailed since August 5, 2019.

With due respect, I fail to understand why I am being punished for speaking on behalf on Kashmiris whose voices have been smothered. Is it a crime to articulate the pain, torment and indignity we’ve been subjected to?

Does it warrant a detention to describe our plight? I’d be most obliged If you could kindly throw light on the laws under which I’ve been detained and for how long? Do I need to seek legal recourse?

It’s suffocating and humiliating to be treated in this manner. I have to grovel for permission to allow my aged grandmother to visit her son. Is she also a potential threat?

For the world’s largest democracy, doesn’t a citizen not have a right to speak up in the face of unimaginable repression? Satyamev jayate i.e. truth only triumphs has defined the spirit of our country and it’s constitution. It’s a tragic irony that I am being treated like a war criminal for stating the inconvenient truth.

Apologies for not posting this letter but as you’re aware postal services in Jammu and Kashmir have been suspended.

May truth prevail.

Regards,
Iltija Mufti

Article 370 Revoked: J&K Leaders Detained, PM Modi Praises Amit Shah

The debate on two resolutions scrapping Jammu and Kashmir’s special status and making it a union territory are currently under discussion in parliament.

New Delhi: After a hectic day in parliament with Union home minister Amit Shah pushing four bills on Jammu and Kashmir, including reading down Article 370 of the constitution, PDP president Mehbooba Mufti was taken into custody and shifted to Hari Niwas guest house.

National Conference leader Omar Abdullah has also reportedly been detained. Both leaders, along with a few other mainstream leaders, had been put under house arrest last night.

Jammu and Kashmir People’s Conference leaders Sajjad Lone and Imran Ansari have also been arrested, officials said.

While news of the arrests was coming in, Shah took to Twitter in the evening to congratulate the “entire nation” for the decision. “This historic decision will usher in a new dawn of peace and development in J&K and Ladakh region,” he wrote.

Shah accurately highlighted the “monumental injustices” of the past and presented the government’s vision for the people of Jammu and Kashmir in Rajya Sabha, Prime Minister Narendra Modi tweeted late Monday evening.

On Monday, Jammu and Kashmir Reservation (Second Amendment) Bill, 2019, was passed in Rajya Sabha. This Bill is to implement 10% Economically Weaker Section (EWS) quota in Jammu and Kashmir.

The Jammu and Kashmir Reorganisation Bill was also passed in the Rajya Sabha in the evening and will be brought to Lok Sabha tomorrow. Under it, the Centre’s plan envisions two separate lieutenant governors, one for Ladakh and one for J&K.

“The union territory of Ladakh will be without legislature. Further, keeping in view the prevailing internal security situation fuelled by cross-border terrorism in the existing state of Jammu and Kashmir, a separate union territory of Jammu and Kashmir is being created. The union territory of Jammu and Kashmir will be with legislature,” Shah said.

Speaking in the Rajya Sabha on Monday evening, Union home minister Amit Shah said “removing Article 370 is the only way forward for India. Both Article 370 and Article 35A, he said, have done “great damage” to Kashmir. Article 370, Shah said, was anti-woman and hindered development in the state. Poverty in the state, the home minister added, was also because of Article 370.

“Big companies, hotels wants to go to the area. Youth will get jobs, become guides. But changes cannot be made owing to Article 370,” Shah said.

The home minister further said that to uproot militancy, it was imperative to remove the “obstacle” of Article 370. Addressing concerns about bifurcating the state into two union territories, Shah said that J&K could be made a state again “as soon as normalcy returns”.

Shah had earlier in the day announced several cabinet decisions and proposed resolutions affecting the special status granted to Jammu and Kashmir under the Indian constitution. Revoking Article 370, which grants the state special status, has been a longstanding promise of the Bharatiya Janata Party.

Shah first proposed a resolution which read down Article 370’s provisions. It recommends that the president issues an order deleting all the clauses of Article 370, and brings J&K in line with the rest of India instead of being granted special status.

While the debate continued in parliament, 8,000 CRPF personnel were reportedly airlifted to Kashmir. This is in addition to the high military and paramilitary presence already put in place on Sunday. The Indian Army and Air Force are on high alert, ANI reported.

The Ministry of Home Affairs has issued an order to chief secretaries and director generals of police across the country and the Delhi police commissioner, saying that security agencies may be put on maximum alert soon. According to ANI, the MHA asked agencies to take “special care to ensure the safety and security of residents of Jammu & Kashmir, especially the students in various parts of the country”.

National security advisor Ajit Doval and the home secretary are reportedly making their way to Kashmir.

Nationalist Congress Party, meanwhile, decided to abstain from voting on the matter.

Congress P. Chidambaram weighed in on the issue on Monday afternoon, saying: “One of the honourable members has said you have corrected an injustice. History will prove you to be wrong and future generations will realise what a grave mistake this house is making today.” He further requested the Centre not to dismember Jammu and Kashmir, saying it would be a “monumental blunder” and a “cardinal sin”.

Ghulam Nabi Azad of Congress said the NDA government had put an end to all the integration [of people of J&K with the rest of the country] that had been taking place in the past 30-35 years.

In a setback for Congress, Rajya Sabha MP and chief whip Bhubaneshwar Kalita resigned from the membership of the House on Monday opposing the party’s stand on the reading down of Article 370 and bifurcation of the state of Jammu and Kashmir.

Rajya Sabha Chairman M. Venkaiah Naidu announced in the House that he has accepted Kalita’s resignation.

In parliament on Monday morning, opposition leaders tried to make their voices heard as speaker M. Venkaiah Naidu called upon home minister Amit Shah to table the Jammu and Kashmir Reservation (Second Amendment) Bill, 2019 “and other related laws” in the Rajya Sabha.

The J&K reservation Bill, passed by the Lok Sabha on July 1, will allow 10% reservation for economically weaker sections in educational institutions and public employment in the state.

When Shah began speaking in parliament, he said that he was introducing four Bills on Jammu and Kashmir. The first announcement was that the cabinet thinks that Article 370 of the constitution – which grants special status to the state – should be scrapped. The law, he argued, had allowed “three families to loot J&K for decades”.

Shah’s announcement was met with loud protests from opposition leaders in the House.

The government has been careful not to scrap or even amend Article 370 – in any case, the power for that vests only with parliament and with the now defunct constituent assembly of Jammu and Kashmir. Instead, it has made use of the existing power of the president – acting on the advice of the state government – to decide which part of the constitution would apply to the state by saying, through the order, that henceforth the entire constitution would be applicable. What is not clear, legally, is the government’s ability to use a presidential order to add a clause to Article 367 of the constitution. That addition redefines the reference to the constituent assembly of J&K in Article 370 as its state legislature.

The Bahujan Samaj Party will support all of the the government’s resolutions, party MP Satish Chandra Mishra said. The Biju Janata Dal, which claims to follow an equidistant policy with respect to both the national parties, also supports the government resolutions. Prasanna Acharya, BJD MP, said that since “Bharat Mata is supreme for us, we support the resolution”. He also said that no one bothered about the plight of Kashmiri Pandits all this while, and his party is happy that all Kashmiris will get their due following the resolution. The YSR Congress Party and Telangana Rashtra Samithi also supported the resolution, as did the AIADMK, Aam Aadmi Party, Asom Gana Parishad and Bodoland People’s Front.

Other opposition leaders, however, held that the Centre was acting “surreptitiously”.

“If there was anything permanent it was Article 1 of the constitution, what was temporary was Article 370,” said Bhupendra Yadav, a BJP Rajya Sabha MP and national general secretary of the party. He added that Sikkim was integrated into India in 1974 and the parliament passed the resolution in only one day. So why is the government being targeted on the J&K resolution, he asked.

Yadav forgot to mention that it was Article 370 which made Article 1 of the constitution applicable to J&K to the list of states in Schedule 1. Article 370 (1(c)) says: “The provisions of article 1 and of this article shall apply in relation to that State”, i.e. Jammu and Kashmir.

Faizan Mustafa has explained in the Indian Express why it is not correct to call Article 370 “temporary”:

It is the first article of Part XXI of the Constitution. The heading of this part is ‘Temporary, Transitional and Special Provisions’. Article 370 could be interpreted as temporary in the sense that the J&K Constituent Assembly had a right to modify/delete/retain it; it decided to retain it. Another interpretation was that accession was temporary until a plebiscite. The Union government, in a written reply in Parliament last year, said there is no proposal to remove Article 370. Delhi High Court in Kumari Vijayalaksmi (2017) too rejected a petition that said Article 370 is temporary and its continuation is a fraud on the Constitution. The Supreme Court in April 2018 said that despite the headnote using the word “temporary’, Article 370 is not temporary. In Sampat Prakash (1969) the SC refused to accept Article 370 as temporary. A five-judge Bench said “Article 370 has never ceased to be operative”. Thus, it is a permanent provision. …Article 370 is not an issue of integration but of autonomy. Those who advocate its deletion are more concerned with uniformity rather than integration.

“Since J&K is under president’s rule currently, the Centre and parliament reserves the right to bring all these resolutions,” the home minister said. “Congress party has amended [Article] 370 twice in 1952 and 1964 through this route.” Shah was responding to Samajwadi Party’s Ram Gopal Yadav, who asked the government to clarify what powers it had to bring these executive orders as the power to do this rests with the J&K assembly.

President Ram Nath Kovind has issued a presidential order on Jammu and Kashmir, exercising his power under Clause 1 of Article 370. This presidential order has done away sections under Article 35A, which gives the state’s government the power to define permanent residents and give them special rights and privileges with regard to employment, acquiring immovable property, scholarships and other forms of aid in the state.

Responding to the morning’s proceedings, former J&K chief minister and PDP leader Mehbooba Mufti said this was the “darkest day in Indian democracy”.

National Conference leader Omar Abdullah also said that the decision was a “total betrayal of the trust of people of J&K” and will have “dire consequences”, NDTV reported.

Congress leader Ghulam Nabi Azad said that the BJP has “murdered” the constitution and India’s democracy. The Janata Dal (United), a BJP ally, also said it did not want Article 370 revoked and did not support the government. JD(U) MPs walked out of the house to express their dissent.

Left parties called for a protest in New Delhi’s Jantar Mantar against the government decision.

BJP national general secretary Ram Madhav, meanwhile, said this was a “glorious day”.

The Pakistan government has condemned the resolutions. “No unilateral step by the Government of India can change this disputed status [of Jammu and Kashmir], as enshrined in the United Nations Security Council resolutions,” it said in a statement. “Nor will this ever be acceptable to the people of Jammu & Kashmir and Pakistan. As the party to this international dispute, Pakistan will exercise all possible options to counter the illegal steps.”

When Amit Shah was entering parliament, AFP journalist Prakash Singh took a zoomed in photograph of a document he was carrying. It said Prime Minister Narendra Modi will be addressing the nation on August 7. It also said, “All party meeting to be announced, government prepared for possibility of violent disobedience in sections of uniformed personnels and enhanced security measures in states like UP, Bihar, West Bengal, Kerala.”

Hours of dread

Amid reports of cellular, internet, landline and cable TV services being snapped in many parts of the state and political leaders being placed under house arrest, dread had settled over Jammu and Kashmir.

The Union cabinet met at Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s residence on Monday morning. The cabinet normally meets every Wednesday, and the reasons behind convening a meeting on Monday was not disclosed by the government before parliament. Home minister Amit Shah will reportedly be making an announcement in the Rajya Sabha at 11 am and in the Lok Sabha at 12 pm.

At the same time as the cabinet meeting, opposition leaders met in the parliament complex to discuss the situation.

Sources confirmed to the Indian Express that former state chief ministers Mehbooba Mufti and Omar Abdullah have been placed under house arrest. PTI reported that Congress leader Usman Majid and CPI(M) MLA M.Y. Tarigami also claims to have been arrested around midnight.

Curfew in Kashmir. Image: PTI

Authorities clamped prohibitory orders under Section 144 of the Criminal Procedure Code (CrPC) in Srinagar, which prohibits the assembly of more than four people at a time. “There shall be no movement of public and all educational institutions (in Srinagar district) shall remain closed,” PTI quoted an official order as saying. “Identity cards of essential services officials will be treated as movement passes wherever required.”

The authorities have also imposed night curfew in Kishtwar, Rajouri districts and Banihal area of Ramban district, PTI reported. Authorities in Jammu have also reportedly imposed restrictions under Section 144 of the CrPC in the district and banned all types of congregation.

As per the order, there will be no movement of public and all educational institutions shall also remain closed.

Just an hour before the curfew was imposed, National Conference leader Omar Abdullah said that he has been informed that he and several mainstream leaders were going to be “detained” and that an “unofficial curfew” was about to begin.

PDP chief Mehbooba Mufti also tweeted about the curfew. “Hearing reports about internet being snapped soon including cellular coverage. Curfew passes being issued too. God knows what awaits us tomorrow. It’s going to be a long night,” she said.

ANI confirmed internet services have been been partially shut down in the state.

Congress leader Shashi Tharoor tweeted in response to Omar Abdullah’s post, saying that parliament is still in session an that “our voices will not be stilled”.

Union home minister Amit Shah held a meeting with top security officials, including National Security Advisor Ajit Doval and home secretary Rajiv Gauba on Sunday, PTI reported.

The state has been on edge for the past two weeks with additional paramilitary forces being deployed several thousand at a time. Additional paramilitary forces, which arrived in Kashmir in the past few days, have been deployed across the city and in other vulnerable areas of the Valley, officials reportedly said. Several checkpoints and barricades have been set up.

Barricades have been erected on many arterial roads, including the entry and exit points to Srinagar. Riot control vehicles have also been kept on standby in some areas where apprehension of law and order disturbances is more, officials added.

The Amarnath Yatra was also brought to an abrupt halt on Friday after the state government asked all pilgrims and tourists to leave the Valley in the wake of intelligence inputs of ‘specific terror threats’ to the pilgrimage.

Also read: Amidst Kashmir Panic, Political Parties Want Centre to Break the Silence

The state is currently under President’s rule.

The developments in the state have launched much speculation about plans to modify the special status granted to the state under the constitution, strike down Article 35A or tinker with Article 370.

Just on Sunday, Yoga guru Ramdev demanded the withdrawal of Article 370, saying there should be “one constitution, one rule in the country”. He underlined his confidence that Prime Minister Narendra Modi and home minister Amit Shah would scrap the provision.

Also read: Why Article 35A Matters

“I assure you that there is no plan at any level to abrogate Article 35A this time. All what you are hearing are rumours being spread by some people with vested interests,” J&K governor Satya Pal Malik told reporters on July 31.

The Anantnag district administration, in view of “panic stocking”, ordered all fuel station dealers not to sell petrol or diesel without permission from the district magistrate or an authorised officer.

Various educational institutions in Kashmir Valley also directed their students to vacate hostels.

The authorities in Jammu and Udhampur district ordered closure of schools and colleges as precautionary measures. The University of Jammu will remain closed on Monday and all scheduled examinations have been postponed.

Delhi Metro Put on High Alert After Centre Proposes Resolutions on J&K

Commuters will have to go through additional checks by the CISF personnel at many stations, security officials have said.

New Delhi: A ‘high alert’ has been sounded in the Delhi metro network in the wake of the developments related to Kashmir and the forthcoming Independence Day celebrations, officials said on Monday.

A fresh advisory has been issued, over an existing one, to ensure that no untoward incident takes place in the mass-rapid rail network that runs across the National Capital Region, the security officials said.

Commuters will have to go through additional checks by the CISF personnel at many stations, the officials said.

The ‘high alert’ is based on non-specific inputs and it has been issued keeping in mind the latest developments in the Parliament on Jammu and Kashmir and the Independence Day celebrations slated for August 15, according to officials.

Also read: Sensex, Rupee Slump on Yuan Woes and Kashmir Tension

Additional CISF troops, counter-terror reaction teams and security gadgets have been inducted to ensure that passengers face the least hassles while getting frisked and that any emergency situation is responded too quickly, the officials said.

About 28 lakh commuters use over 220 stations of the Delhi Metro Rail Network (DMRC) daily to reach destinations in Delhi, Noida, Ghaziabad, Faridabad and Gurgaon.