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| Accept Kashmir is a Political Issue – NC to Home Minister | | National Conference delegation led by Omar Abdullah submits memorandum to Home Minister |
Srinagar, July 24(Scoop News)- A high-level party delegation of National Conference led by Party Working President Omar Abdullah on Sunday called on the visiting Union Home Minister, Rajnath Singh in Srinagar and expressed its deep anguish, disappointment, grief and sorrow over the loss of lives in the current unrest in Kashmir. The delegation also highlighted the glaring political failures of the Central Government and the State Government and called for immediate political engagement with Pakistan and a cross section of internal stakeholders within Kashmir to pave way for a political solution to a political problem that has claimed thousands of lives.
Omar Abdullah, who led the party delegation, submitted a memorandum to the Union Home Minister on behalf of the party seeking a judicial probe into the circumstances leading to the killings of dozens of civilians in the Valley in the current unrest and called for an immediate restoration of mobile telecommunications and internet services and also a human approach viz-a-viz relaxations in the continued curfew to enable civilians to buy essential commodities. The memorandum also registered the party’s condemnation over the chaotic and repressive assault on local media houses and demanded a judicial probe should be undertaken to fix responsibility over the matter in light of the Chief Minister’s act of disowning her orders.
National Conference also expressed disappointment at how the Central Government’s failure to recognize the problem in Kashmir as a political problem was dangerous and could have serious long term implications for the State in particular and peace and stability in the entire sub-continent in general.
The National Conference Working President reiterated how no amount of economic packages could undermine the political nature of the problem in Kashmir and said New Delhi should initiate immediate talks with all stakeholders to ensure such situations are not repeated in the future.
“The party, while expressing its deepest condolences with the bereaved families and extending solidarity with those who have sustained grievous injuries, strongly and unequivocally condemns a clear pattern of excessive use of force on protesters across the Valley. While the State Government’s failure in dealing with the situation is palpable and shocking, it would be a travesty to simplify the current unrest in the Valley as a pure law and order issue. Also, to blame external forces and vested interests alone would be a dangerous diversion that takes us away from the basis for not only such unrest and agitations in Kashmir but also a prolonged political turmoil that has resulted in the loss of thousands of lives”, the party memorandum submitted to the Union Home Minister added.
Hitting out at the Central Government’s approach towards Kashmir, National Conference said New Delhi’s lack of a political outreach was dangerous and could have adverse long term implications. “J&K National Conference also expresses its deep disappointment at the Central Government’s failure to recognize the problem in Kashmir as a political problem that requires political engagement – both internally and externally. The Central Government’s tried and tested formulations of dealing with the political sentiment in Kashmir operatively and militarily rather than thinking out of the box has further exasperated the situation in Kashmir and created an unprecedented sense of disaffection and cynicism – especially among the youth – that could have adverse long term implications”, the memorandum added.
Hitting out at the abject and monumental failure of the Mehbooba Mufti Government in the State, the National Conference memorandum highlighted serious flaws and contradictions in statements and actions of the Government’s Ministers and Spokespersons in the matter of the last couple of weeks. “The State Government’s abject failure in dealing with the situation in the aftermath of Burhan Wani’s killing in a humane and political manner was further compounded by contradictory statements by Ministers and elected representatives belonging to the ruling dispensation. While senior PDP Leader and Member of Parliament Muzaffar Hussain Baig has blamed “internal rivalry” within certain sections of the J&K Police for Wani’s killing, another PDP Leader and State Finance Minister Dr. Haseeb Drabu has termed Burhan Wani’s killing a case of custodial execution by the State Police while speaking in a Cabinet Meeting. Despite our deep and serious reservations about the State Government’s, inhumane, insensitive and chaotic response to the situation in the Valley, J&K National Conference, as the principal opposition party of the State wasted no time in rising over partisan politics by reaching out to the State Government to lend our support to help and minimize the loss of young lives”, the party memorandum stated.
Lashing out at the State Government and the Chief Minister for choosing to remain absent and invisible for the greater course of the current unrest, National Conference said the State Government made an appearance only through its draconian, repressive act of ordering an assault on media houses, newspaper offices and printing presses in the State.
“National Conference Working President Omar Abdullah made a timely and prompt public appeal to the Chief Minister of the State to lead a political effort to normalize the situation in the Valley. It is tragic and condemnable that the Chief Minister and the State Government did not respond to this appeal and expression of support when a collective, bi-partisan effort could have helped in the non-negotiable goal of preventing the loss of lives. The Chief Minister’s belated realization to convene an All Party Meeting came after dozens of young men had lost their lives, hundreds maimed and blinded and thousands having sustained grievous injuries. For all these crucial days the State Government, the Chief Minister and her Cabinet Colleagues remained unmoved and invisible with the exception of a few of the Chief Minister’s aides who flung into action only to order raids on newspapers offices and implement a media-gag that the Chief Minister then went on to disown”, the memorandum further stated.
“National Conference decided to boycott the All Party Meeting as the party does not want to be a part of an elaborate theatrical charade by the Chief Minister to compensate for her shocking lack of a sense of responsibility to deal with the situation in the State. We remain committed to helping the aggrieved and affected people and also playing an active role in any over-arching effort to normalize the situation in the Valley”, the party memorandum stated on the issue of the all party meeting charade that was enacted by the Chief Minister for cameras and optics.
“The situation in the Valley was further compounded at a great cost to the common man when the Government ordered an unprecedented clampdown on mobile telecommunications and internet services in a bid to crackdown on criticism of the Government and growing dissent against the Administration. This has resulted in untold miseries and suffering in the Valley. The clampdown on mobile telecommunications in the Valley continues without any indications of a restoration of services by the Government. This too has fueled the sentiment of alienation and isolation in Kashmir”, the party stated in the memorandum.
“In another bid to curb criticism of its policies and many failures, the State Government went on to impose an unprecedented crackdown on the fourth estate as local newspapers were ordered to go out of circulation and printing presses raided. State Government’s Spokesperson and Education Minister, Mr. Naeem Akhtar went on record to re-affirm and justify the Government’s media gag. In a typical manner of using confusion as a tool to deflect responsibility, the State Government and the Chief Minister, through her Advisor Dr. Amitabh Mattoo, went on to deny the existence of the media gag while publicly and ironically promising action against those who were responsible for “miscommunication” and “misrepresentation”. If this means possible action against the State Government’s Spokesperson and Education Minister or if this is just another elaborate enacting of the ‘Good Cop – Bad Cop’ trick to isolate the Chief Minister from the ramifications of assaulting the media and curbing the fourth estate – is a question that remains unanswered”, the memorandum stated.
The party memorandum submitted by the high-level National Conference delegation made the following seven broad demands to achieve the over-arching goal of peace, dignity and justice in Kashmir:
The Union Government should initiate a sustained dialogue process with Pakistan as well as internal stakeholders including the leadership of the Hurriyat Conference and other groups in the Valley with an aim to evolve a consensus towards a mutually acceptable solution to the political issue.
A judicial probe should be ordered to probe the State Government’s mishandling of the situation in the aftermath of Burhan Wani’s killing, including the veracity of claims made by its senior leaders including its Member of Parliament for North Kashmir and the State’s Finance Minister.
A judicial probe should be ordered to ascertain if excessive force was used against protesters in the Valley with an aim to initiate legal proceedings in cases where excessive use of force is proven. Timely and visible action should be taken in such instances.
Purportedly “non lethal” weapons that have caused grievous, life-threatening and fatal injuries in the current unrest should be immediately banned and a legal inquiry should be undertaken to fix responsibility where the use of such weapons have resulted in hundreds of young men being maimed and blinded.
. The Central Government should immediately order the complete restoration of mobile telecommunications in the Valley and also the resumption of mobile internet services. Any prolonged clampdown on telecommunications in the present day and age is an archaic, unimaginative and draconian approach to deal with public dissent and anger.
The Central Government should order a judicial probe to fix responsibility for the crackdown on newspaper offices and printing presses now that the Chief Minister has denied her Government’s involvement in this repressive exercise. Legal action should be initiated in this matter and the State Government should extend an unconditional, unequivocal apology to the local media for this unwarranted repression.
. The Central Government should extend all possible medical and financial assistance in the treatment of those civilians who have sustained grievous injuries in the current unrest and those who require specialized treatment not available in the State should be flown to New Delhi with all possible assistance extended to their families for their treatment.
“We hope the Central Government considers the consequences of refusing to acknowledge the political sentiment in Kashmir and takes immediate measures to initiate a sustained political dialogue with Pakistan and internal dialogue with stakeholders and a cross section of leadership in the Valley. A continued failure to address the growing political alienation in Kashmir goes against the interests of the people of India”, the party memorandum added.
The National Conference Working President was accompanied by Senior Party Leaders and functionaries.
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