Muzzling Media

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Farzana Mumtaz/ Rameez Makhdoomi

 

Many believe and state that media especially local media in Kashmir is being muzzled. In dramatic turnaround of events, On Sunday, 2 October, 2016 , the J-K government ordered ban on the publication of English Daily Kashmir Reader. The ban order issued by Deputy Commissioner Srinagar Farooq Ahmad Lone read that the newspaper contains “material and content which tends to incite acts of violence and disturb public peace and tranquility”. An official release issued by the Director Information Chowdhary said the ban order was issued a week after a notice was served to the newspaper, asking it to explain its position on a series of stories published by it.

Curbs on media in Kashmir has enraged one and all. From activists, Journalists to Media associations all are aghast over muzzling of media in Kashmir and are on roads protesting the move.

Irony could have been much evident in Kashmir as October 2 is World Non Violence Day on account of Gandhi Jyanti and ban on Kashmir Reader was announced on same day.

The Kashmir Editors Guild (KEG) termed the ban on Kashmir Reader as “against the spirit of democracy and freedom of press”, sought intervention of the Press Council of India and warned of “direct action” if the government failed to revoke the ban immediately

On gagging of media and other censorship, the Jammu and Kashmir Young Journalists Association stated –“ on one hand tall claims of ‘Digital India’ are being made on different platforms, but on the other hand freedom of expression was completely restricted in Kashmir, adding, it was unfortunate on part of government to ban mobile internet and prepaid mobile services which is mandatory for a scribe in present modern times to perform his/her professional duties.”

 

Commenting over the ban on the publication of a local daily JKYJA said it was highly deplorable that the ruling dispensation was indulging in such activities which were totally anti-democratic and amounts to muzzle the voice of people in Kashmir.

Arshie Zuhar, a young lawyer and activist states – “The Jammu and Kashmir Government  in continuation of the unholy murderous war against the civilians of the state have axed the leading daily “Kashmir Reader”, citing ‘incitement of violence’ a reason.  The moments of thought, reason and logic, have as a matter of fact no qualified claimants in the alleged state government ( for nothing works except police).  The press like a common citizen enjoys freedom of speech and expression and the same is guarded and protected by the constitution of India. The argument of ‘reasonable restriction’ is also as important as the right itself. The conflict of ‘reasonable restrictions’ and ‘arbitrary restraint’ is as conflicting as twilight is to light.  A ‘Normalcy’ hungry , civilly defunct government would in no point of imagination be in a position to Order ‘ Reasonable restriction’ and as a result of such defunct setup, the hawkish order of ban  must be questioned and every presumption raised of it being at war with reason.

Freedom of Press highlights the collective freedom of society and refers to the privileges, freedom and liberty a nation enjoys. Banning a Newspaper for reporting the facts as they are, must in every sense of reason, give a picture of the state machinery. The state order of banning Kashmir Reader is punitive not only to the press but to the existence of humanity and truth. Reporting facts of state sponsored violence should never have invoked the Ban on Kashmir Reader as it could more appropriately be termed as “Selective Targeting” since all leading dallies have been reporting the same stories of alarming state violence. This arbitrary and undemocratic state behavior should be countered by rule of law and such irresponsibility be answered with the intense condemnation.”

As a matter of fact, The right to freedom of expression is recognized as a human right under article 19 of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights and recognized in international human rights law in the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights (ICCPR). Article 19 of the ICCPR states that “everyone shall have the right to hold opinions without interference” and “everyone shall have the right to freedom of expression; this right shall include freedom to seek, receive and impart information and ideas of all kinds, regardless of frontiers, either orally, in writing or in print, in the form of art, or through any other media of his choice.

But here in Kashmir it seems very fundamentals are attacked and resultantly Media is being muzzled.

 

 

Growing Stress in Kashmir

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save Owing to the volatile and violent situation in Kashmir over the past three months the masses in valley have been hit hard by the phenomenon of mental stress. The relatives of people injured, blinded and killed are the worst affected by this, followed by those who are incurring losses or joblessness due to the ongoing agitation. .Doctors say conflict in the region is the main cause for depression cases in Kashmir. Nearly half the population of adults is suffering from stress in Kashmir. A huge chunk of Kashmir population is suffering from depression, according to a recent survey.The survey, conducted by Medecins Sans Frontieres or MSF,

 

The study says that nearly 1.8 million adults equaling 45 per cent of adult population suffers from mental distress in Kashmir valley and a majority of people have experienced or witnessed conflict-related trauma. Nearly three decades long political conflict and deadly violence has made valley of Kashmir a hotbed of mental trauma.

We need to ensure proper treatment and aid to patients so that they fight this mental tension and distress. As a matter of fact, The World Health Organization defines psychological first aid as “humane, supportive and practical assistance to fellow human beings suffering serious crisis events.” It is recognizing people in distress, listening to whatever they have to say, and linking them to the services and support they need immediately, whether food, shelter, communication with loved ones or something else. It’s a response that was developed in contrast to “psychological de-briefing” – making a victim recount the details of their experiences – which Doctor Roudaut says has been linked to the later development of PTSD.

Ending conflict and proper treatment can only save Kashmir from Mental Distress.

 

India- Pakistan Relations Collapse

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News Kashmir Analysis

India – Pakistan relations are on the verge of total collapse. Pertinently, the nearly three month long Kashmir agitation which has killed 88, 13000 injured and hundreds blinded coupled with URI attacks resulting in death of 19 Indian soldiers had plummeted relations between India and Pakistan.

With now India claiming that it has carried surgical strikes on militant camps killing scores the relations between India and Pakistan has collapsed.”Significant casualties have been caused to terrorists and those trying to shield them. We don’t have a plan to further conduct such strikes. India has spoken to Pakistan,” DGMO Lt Gen Ranbir Singh said.

 

On the otherhand, many countries have expressed serious concern over the growing tension between India and Pakistan in the wake of Uri militant  attack.

Recently, Pakistan Prime Minister Mr.  Nawaz Sharif devoted much of his 20-minute speech at the U.N. General Assembly session to Kashmir and the current situation in the Valley and said Pakistan “fully supports the demand of the Kashmiri people for self-determination.”

He demanded an “independent inquiry into the extra-judicial killings” and a U.N. fact-finding mission to Kashmir “so that those guilty of these atrocities are punished.” He further glorified slain Hizbul commander Burhan Wani as a “young leader”.

India after few days hit back at Pakistan. External Affairs Minister Sushma Swaraj asked the world community to hold countries that “nurture, peddle and export” terrorism to account, taking forward India’s campaign to diplomatically isolate Pakistan. A unified global strategy can defeat terrorism, “and if any nation refuses to join this global strategy, then we must isolate it,” she said, speaking in Hindi.

Countering Mr. Sharif, who had accused India of human rights violations, at the UN last week, Ms. Swaraj sought to turn the table on Islamabad. “The brutality against the Baloch people represents the worst form of State oppression,” she said, referring to the ethnic minority in Pakistan.

Bilal Bashir Bhat, a Journalist and Political Analyst stated – “The Indian – Pakistan relations have taken a worrying downslide and nothing seems to be going right for both the countries in terms of envisaging cordial relationship between the two arch rivals . Be it agitation going on in Kashmir, Uri attacks and the claims of Surgical attacks by India in Pakistan administered Kashmir the tensions seem to be spiraling out of control. The saner heads should prevail and ease the situation and try to find out some sort of headway amid these gloomy times.”

While on the otherhand of the spectrum, Trade ties, cultural ties, humanitarian relations have suffered a setback . The fears especially among the populace living in border areas are growing in wake of these escalating tensions among India and Pakistan.

Pertinently, the India and Pakistan relations are collapsing and the times ahead would be full of curiosity and tension.

 

 

Surgical Strikes

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In response to URI attack which killed 19 soldiers, India has claimed that it carried surgical strikes across what it called Terror Camps causing enormous causalities. As a matter of fact,  a surgical strike is a military attack which results in, was intended to result in, or is claimed to have resulted in only damage to the intended legitimate military target, and no or minimal collateral damage to surrounding structures, vehicles, buildings, or the general public infrastructure and utilities.

 

Precision bombing is another example of a surgical strike carried out by aircraft – it can be contrasted against carpet bombing, the latter which results in high collateral damage and a wide range of destruction over an affected area which may or may not include high civilian casualties.

“Significant casualties have been caused to terrorists and those trying to shield them. We don’t have a plan to further conduct such strikes. India has spoken to Pakistan,” DGMO Lt Gen Ranbir Singh said.

On its part, The Pakistani military confirmed the deaths of its soldiers yet dismissed the Indian claim of ‘surgical strikes.’

“There had been cross border fire initiated and conducted by India which is [an] existential phenomenon,” said an ISPR statement released shortly after the Indian Director General of Military Operations held a press conference making claims about surgical strikes.

What will be the ramifications of these surgical strikes on regional situation remains to be seen. But, we are heading for tense and volatile times.

Operation Crush Down (Noted Human Rights Defender Khurram Parvez Detained Under PSA)

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Rameez Makhdoomi

Recently,  noted human rights activist, Khurram Parvez  has been booked  under the infamous Public Safety Act (PSA).Sessions court in Srinagar had ordered the release of human rights activist Khurram Parvez, who was taken into preventive detention for allegedly posing an imminent threat of breach of peace, but he was later allegedly booked under the Public Safety Act.

While the state government has resorted to arrest spree, and profuse use of PSA to crush dissent and protest in wake of massive civil agitation 2016 in Kashmir  , invoking PSA on world known human rights defender Khurram Parvez has come as shock for one and all.

Pertinently, Khurram is the Chairperson of Asian Federation Against Involuntary Disappearances (AFAD) and Program Coordinator of Jammu Kashmir Coalition of Civil Society (JKCCS). Khurram is a recipient of the prestigious 2006 Reebok Human Rights Award.

From Activists to Political voices all are aghast over slapping of PSA on Khurram Parvez.

While commenting on Public Safety Act being applied  on Khurram Parvez; Sarah Hayat Shah , Additional Spokesperson of Jammu & Kashmir National Conference  stated : ” The detaining of Khurram Parvaiz, globally acclaimed human rights defender is unfortunate . On the one hand the present government talks about “Digital India”, “Mann Ki baat” and on the other they are caging people who dare to speak. The same people once bragged about “Battle of Ideas” and “Agenda for Alliance”, and today they are chopping the wings of those who have an ideology of their own. This is so unfortunate. Democracy and denial to “Freedom of expression” can’t go together.”

Co-coordinating Ambassador (OYW) for Kashmir on Peace and Human Rights and eminent activist Shahzad Hamdani stated ,  “Slapping of PSA on Khurram Parvez has indeed highlighted the real face on Indian system  which on one side highlight themselves as preachers of democracy  and human rights but cannot digest those voices which are raised against the brutality unleashed by their forces in the valley. India should understand that slapping PSA   on a Human Rights defender has brought shame to democratic credentials of Indian state  which is now turning frustrated.”

Earlier, Fifty two top world academics, activists, lawyers and writers have issued an open letter appealing for immediate release of human rights activist Khurram Parvez .

Voices of sanity in unison are condemning detention of Khurram Parvez under PSA. Mushtaq ul Haq Ahmad Sikander, activist and writer stated – “ The slapping of PSA on noted human rights activist Khurram Parvez, is the worst form of state terrorism and a clear manifestation that state is turning totalitarian with least tolerance for dissent. The order of detaining Khurram under the draconian law makes it clear  that state wants to make an example out of him to deter others from raising their voices against human rights violations. We all need to condemn and start a movement for promotion of dissent. The local feudalist political party People’s Democratic Party along-with Hindutva BJP have now decided to have no tolerance about dissent, freedom of speech, political opposition and human rights activism.”

PSA being used as a weapon to scuttle dissent is drawing sharp criticism from rights organizations to human rights defenders and masses.

 

Weakening PDP

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Farzana Mumtaz

The downslide  in ruling party People’s Democratic Party is evident, with the resigning of PDP Member Parliament Tariq Hamid Karra both from Parliament and basic membership of party , political watchers are   seeing it as severe blow to PDP.

The grassroots of PDP with the unrest emerging post Militant Commander Burhan Wani killing are showing enough fissures .Bastion of PDP South Kashmir is on fire and anger ,rage against party is at all time high. Many analysts had predicted Waterloo for PDP once it decided to have an alliance with the BJP. Since past few months  with every killing and every pellet blindness, injury caused has eroded the PDP support base .

 

Gulzar Ahmad, a commoner stated , ” PDP has committed immense blunder by first bagging votes in the name of keeping BJP away from Jammu and Kashmir and then breaking the promise by forming government with the BJP. What has transpired in the past two months of agitation in Kashmir has been gross mishandling of situation, highhandedness by government forces and callous response to people struggle and all this has hit hard the image of PDP among masses.”

 

The words used by Tariq Karra while resigning aptly define the plight of PDP .Tariq Hameed Karra says:

“Today, in the present tragic circumstances, when the people of my homeland are being subjugated to the highest degree of brutalities by a party which was floated to safeguard the life, property, honour, dignity, self-respect and their political aspirations—made a turn around and treated its subjects much worse than the Nazi forces—I feel still continuing with them would be equally subscribing to their administratively inhuman and politically unethical blunders.”

“Every single day Kashmiris are being butchered, fathers carrying coffins of their young loved ones, hundreds being blinded, and thousands being injured. The number of injured is out numbering hospital capacities and the number of arrested is outnumbering lockups.”

“Kashmiri blood is being spilled on walls, lanes and drains of Kashmir. For the first time in the history of Jammu and Kashmir, people of Kashmir were forced not to offer Eid prayers.”

“My apprehension that by PDP’s facilitation, (the) RSS-backed BJP would even impose religious ingression, stands unfortunately vindicated today. Though I was all along feeling suffocated due to PDP’s alliance with RSS-backed BJP, my conscience was shaken during the last two months, especially due to PDP’s newly-acquired avatar during the present upheaval by the treatment meted out in the hands of Central and State Government, especially by PDP.”

“My conscience cannot take it any longer. My heart is bleeding and my soul is crying for the people of my homeland. Hence taking a call of my conscience and as a mark of protest on moral grounds against the brutal policies of BJP at Centre and State Government’s complete sell-out and surrender before them, I have decided to disassociate myself from the primary membership of Peoples Democratic Party and from the membership of Parliament to which I was elected from Srinagar Parliamentary Constituency in 2014 on PDP ticket.”

“In this regard, I shall be forwarding my resignation letter to the Hon’ble Speaker of the Parliament as well. Today the Central and State Governments’ policies of unabated genocide in the worst form of inhuman brutality, continued denial mode towards the dangerous ground realities, their insensitive and adhocist approach towards Kashmir issue and for their continued blatant and open policy of dealing with Kashmiris by way of Oppressive, Repressive and Suppressive majors are other reasons for registering my protest.”

“I am leaving it to the conscience of all other Members of Parliament, Members of Legislative Assembly and Legislative Council, to decide whether they would like to side with their helpless people or let this bloodshed continue (to be) perpetrated by RSS-driven BJP and facilitated by PDP. Furthermore, I would hand-foldedly request the aforementioned public representatives that we are placed at a very critical juncture and remaining silent would be equivalent to facilitate the fascist forces for more death and destruction and decimation of our distinct identity.”

“Whatever was agreed, to be done, was not done. And whatever was agreed not to be done, was done. Be it contesting validity of Article 370 and challenging Article 35A of Constitution of India, issue of State Flag, issue regarding banning beef, burning of two innocent Kashmiri truckers at Udhampur, harassing and lynching of Kashmiri students studying in different States, Dadri lynching of Akhlaq Khan, Himachal episode on beef, Haryana CM’s inflammatory statement against Muslims, rabid statements of Sakshi Maharaj, Sadhvi Niranjana Jyoti, Sadhvi Prachi, Giriraj Singh, raking up of alleged forced Hindu migration from Muslim dominated Kariana town in UP, forced feeding of Muslim Manager of Maharashtra Sadan in Delhi, while he was fasting, beating of MLA Langate, Er Rasheed, open refusal of our State’s BJP Minister to accept a Muslim as a District SP.”

Tariq Karra used other strong words while resigning. Many feel that if the situation continues to remain gloomy more prominent faces might quit PDP. Undoubtedly , the ruling PDP is witnessing a downslide

Address Kashmir Pain

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Kashmir is currently witnessing quiet painful situation. More than 75 protesters have been shot dead by security forces and about 10000 are injured and hundreds have been blinded by the pellets. Shutdown has crossed 65 days with most of the days having been marked by crippling curfew. Just few days back a high powered All Party Delegation lead by Home Minister Rajnath Singh visited the trouble hit Kashmir valley. It was painful to observe that even this visit by All Party Delegation failed to achieve anything that can be termed optimistic or concrete.

Coercion and oppressive measures can no longer be an answer to quell the political sentiment of Kashmir and time has come to recognize Kashmir as political problem and offer political solution. The painful situation in Kashmir has also been termed by many intellectual voices of India as a blot to “Indian democracy “.

All those who have caused this bloodshed should be punished but unfortunately State has never shown a will in past three decades to act tough against security forces responsible for innocent killings as a result anger, rage and alienation has been increased.The need of the hour is to stop bloodshed in Kashmir and initiate a meaningful , result oriented dialogue process with all stakeholders.

Blinded Eid

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Farzana Mumtaz

Eid al-Adha (, “Festival of the Sacrifice”), also called the “Sacrifice Feast” or “Bakr-Eid”, is the second of two Muslim holidays celebrated worldwide each year, and considered the holier of the two. On this eid, pain and gloom have engulfed Kashmir as on every nook and corner suffering is visible. Protesters shot dead by Government forces and above all those blinded by pellet guns represent the tyranny faced by Kashmir . Kashmir valley has been turned into valley of blind via brutal use of pellets .

The SMHS hospital that receives only critical patients from 10 districts and caters to the city patients, is overwhelmed with cases of pellet injuries since July 9, a day after Hizb-ul-Mujahideen leader Burhan Wani was killed.

More than  15 per cent of those injured by pellets since July 9 are below the age of 15 and face complicated surgeries.

More than three  hundred protesters have been partially or completely blinded  in Kashmir due to use of  lead-pellet guns by security forces to quell the worst violence in the region for six years.

The  victims like  eight-year-old Asif Rashid and 13-year-old Mir Arafat, both of whom were hit by pellets fired by government forces to disperse protesters in Khanabal area of Anantnag  have represented the tyranny caused by pellets  .

Few weeks back, Hundreds of pellets penetrated Arafat’s body, from his face to the lower abdomen. The pain of pellet victims is immense .“Please, father, do something. I am dying with pain,” shouted Arafat, weeping in the intensive care unit of Shri Maharaja Hari Singh Hospital here in Srinagar.

On the global radar, Insha Mushtaq, young school going girl has represented the sufferings and blinding caused  to people of Kashmir.

She  has lost both her eyes after security forces lobbed a pellet grenade inside her house in south Kashmir’s Shopian district’s Sedow Village.

Insha Mushtaq was admitted to Surgical Intensive Care Unit (SICU) of Shri Maharaj Hari Singh (SMHS) Hospital here for several weeks and doctors are battling to remove over hundreds of  pellets which had gone deep into her brain and before few weeks she was shifted to AIMS at Delhi.

Insha’s father Mushtaq Ahmad Lone, while Speaking to News Kashmir from Delhi stated – “We have gone through immense pain since Insha was injured badly due to pellets, even after so many days pellets are being taken out from different organs. On this painful day when she got hit by pellets she had entered her room and just after opening window got hit by volley of pellets fired by Government forces. Her vision has been shattered and our world has come to halt.I had dreamt of making her achieve big in career, we are in deep pain.”

Without an iota of doubt, Eid Fervor this time around is dampened in Kashmir  among killings, sufferings, maiming, blinding and suffocations.

We as a society need to start standing up against the male objectification and entrapment of women: Richa Tyagi

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Richa Tyagi is a youthful activist championing diverse causes of women, She along with her friends is the architect of concept “OwntheNight” the idea that came to them from the need that women need to claim their right to public spaces at night and own it.
In an exclusive interview with the News Kashmir Richa Tyagi talks to Rameez Makhdoomi.

How did the idea of own the night came up?
We are a group of students pursuing masters/bachelors in Eng literature/Sociology. We are all from Delhi and met at Breakthrough’s 2016 summer internship.
During the internship we were given sessions on campaign designing and we were required to choose a particular profile we were interested in for field work. We decided on the profile of a 34 year old single woman living in Delhi. And this particular need to talk about the safety of women who travel alone for different purposes at night came up. We were also interested in doing this campaign because we too face similar problems and the fact that despite all attempts from the government, and despite all those protests, the situation in Delhi has aggravated. The name OwntheNight came from the need that women need to claim their right to public spaces at night and own it. Also this hashtag is used by a vodka company making it an interesting subversion.
Why are the roads of India so unsafe for women?
The roads are unsafe for women because we as a society have assigned gender roles, a woman in the household and man the bread-earner. This is a carefully constructed power structure controlled by men both in private and public spheres. Women only fit in here as wives and mothers subjugated to societal demands. We don’t like the idea that women have created space for themselves within these limitations and therefore, we make sure to somehow scare them off the streets.
Is it true that Feminism is not showing desired results as a campaign as it is elitists centric?
Our campaign does not talk about feminism; we don’t aim to make it exclusivity for the elite who identify themselves as feminist. But we do want to target patriarchy and this makes us feminists, there are people who don’t want the feminist tag but they champion the cause for basic rights and equality and freedom for every person irrespective of their gender, sex or sexual orientation. Feminism is definitely taking the world by the storm these days but there are different brands of feminism out there. If you are against violence against women you are a feminist :/
What are future plans of your own the night campaign ?
We have a lot of online/offline activities lined up for future. We aim to initiate a dialogue on safety of all women irrespective of their age, social/economic/religious background. We also intend to bring up the issue of safety of women with disability, trans women, sex workers. We are also working on different posts where we will talk about how we need to tackle this problem and engage people in conversations on the road ahead.
Your role model?
Well my role models are not just people who are held in great esteem by everyone, but the people around me like that woman who stood up against domestic violence left her home and found the courage to look after herself and her four children despite limited means and absolutely no idea how to deal with the problems that she encountered. But if i have to choose one I will pick Malala Yousofzai and her words never fade out of my memory “We cannot succeed when half of us are held back”.

Don’t you believe by every passing moments the situation for women is getting tough in India?
The situation for women in terms of violence against women is getting worse but if we talk in general, women have definitely managed to create space despite limitations and become a force to be reckoned with through their own intelligence, acumen and endeavour. We as a society need to start standing up against the male objectification and entrapment of women and stand in solidarity against the stranglehold of men on discourse of economy, gender, sexuality and desire.
Any campaign you aim that can senestivize men towards women issues ?
Our campaign aims to sensitize men on women issues and we are going to post messages and articles from men’s perspective on this issue and also engage them in dialogues on various issues in future.

APD Visit Ignites Cautious optimism in Kashmir

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Farzana Mumtaz

It was on September 20, 2010 that a 39-member all-party delegation visited Kashmir to assess the situation in the wake of violence that claimed more than 120 lives  .Pertinently, valley wide protests had broken out in 2010 after killing of teenager Tufail Ahmad Mattoo by security forces .

As a matter of fact, currently after killing of popular militant commander Burhan Wani in an encounter at Kokernag, unrest and agitation has erupted again in 2016 killing so far 70 people, injuring more than eight thousand and blinding scores due to infamous pellet gun.

Now again, an all-party delegation led by Union Home Minister Rajnath Singh is scheduled to visit Kashmir on September 4 and September 5.But many a voices are calling to follow up the recommendations of 2010 all party delegation visit to achieve the desired results.

 

From National to Local political voices it is urged that Central Government should walk the talk on Kashmir issue .Pertinently,  AIMIM chief Asaduddin Owaisi recently  stated that  the Narendra Modi government should adopt a consistent approach on Jammu and Kashmir and take follow-up action after the proposed visit of all-party delegation to the border state.

The Hyderabad MP said now that peace is returning to Kashmir, the central government should not give up the efforts to find a solution so that the cycle of violence does not return to kashmir.

Former Jammu and Kashmir Chief Minister Omar Abdullah also observed that  MPs who want an all-party delegation to visit the Valley, should have ensured implementation of the recommendations of an earlier such deputation. “I wish MPs pushing for another All Party Delegation had been this keen about pushing the implementation of the earlier one’s recommendations,” Omar wrote on Twitter.The NC leader said the MPs should have at least ensured tabling, in Parliament, the report of the three interlocutors appointed by the UPA government in 2010 in the wake of similar street protests in the Valley.At the very least they could have ensured the tabling of the report of the J&K interlocutors in Parliament, Omar said.

Pertinently, The report submitted to the Government by the group of interlocutors, comprising eminent journalist Dileep Padgaonkar, academician Radha Kumar and former Central Information Commissioner M M Ansari, was based on their visit to the state in  the aftermath of 2010 civil agitation and deaths .

Ajaz War, a journalist stated -” All party delegations have visited Kashmir from time to time and mostly on those occasions when Kashmir has been on fire .We witnessed All Party Delegation visiting Kashmir during 2010 unrest which cooled the tempers to large extent  .But, these delegations have never implemented their own recommendations and forgot Kashmir when so called normalcy has been achieved .New Delhi remembers Kashmir only when it burns is a well -known reality, to achieve success it is hoped that this  time around All Party Delegation Visit will prove fruitful and they will make constructive recommendations and follow up actions to solve Kashmir once for all.”

Nutshell Analysis is that All Party Delegation visit to Kashmir has raised what can be safely dubbed as cautious optimism in Kashmir .