August 5 anniversary: CCG bats for multi-level dialogue process in J&K

JAMMU: Ahead of August 5 anniversary, the Concerned Citizens Group (CCG) comprising of former union foreign Minister Yashwant Sinha has called for multi-level dialogue process with all those affected by the Centre’s decision to abrogate article 370 and bifurcate erstwhile state Jammu & Kashmir into two Union Territories (UTs).
The CCG recommended the lifting of curbs on all peaceful political activity and Compensate Kashmiri farmers as well as businessmen for their economic losses which were the direct result of unilateral action by the government. The group also recommended the bank loan deferment and facilities to J&K businesses as in the rest of the country.
The group after assessing the ground situation has submitted its recommendation to the centre.
The other recommendations made by the group are not to push through laws in the absence of a legislature, restoring land rights of the local inhabitants to prevent demographic change, stopping the intimidation of media personnel, restoring constitutional position of J&K as it when an elected government was in power in June 2018, releasing forthwith Mehbooba Mufti and all Kashmiris who were taken into preventive detention under Public Safety Act (PSA) and restoration of 4G internet.
Claiming that a year after the decision of August 5, J&K continuously reel under to be in a social, economic, political and communication lockdown, as well as none of the stated goals of the government - of bringing Kashmir closer to India, ending militancy, bringing development to the state – have been achieved, the group said that the Kashmiris have lost any faith they had in the Indian political leadership and the judiciary.
The other members of CCG groups included Wajahat Habibullah, former Chairman of Minorities Commission, Air Vice-Marshall (Retd) Kapil Kak, Bharat Bhushan, Journalist and Sushobha Barve, Social and Peace activist.
“The Supreme Court has still not found time to take up the petitions challenging the legal and constitutional validity of the J&K Reorganization Act. While many political, business leaders and lawyers have been released in the recent past, many continue to be in detention, the most prominent among them being former Chief Minister Mehbooba Mufti,” reads the statement issued by CCG.
The statement of CCG further reads, that the Centre’s action internationalised the Kashmir issue to the detriment of India and the government was criticised for human rights violations and stoking Islamophobia.
“Security experts point out that the changes in the status of J&K also prompted Chinese incursions in Ladakh,” reads the statement.