The Kashmir Pulse

PULWAMA — Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) candidate for the Srinagar Parliamentary seat, Waheed-ur-Rehman Para on Saturday said that the BJP-led government at the Centre should not repeat the 1987 rigged election, saying it will have disastrous consequences.

The elections were allegedly rigged by Congress alongside the National Conference in Kashmir, spurring armed militancy in the Valley a year later.

Talking to the news agency KNO, he said that his party did not demand any support from the Central government but was seeking free and fair elections.

He said that the government shouldn't support those who are misleading them, alleging Apni Party chief Altaf Bukhari has been misleading Prime Minister Narendra Modi and Home Minister Amit Shah. He alleged that his workers are being detained at the behest of Bukhari and named him the “chief of political Ikhwan”.

He said that people must vote for those who they really think can raise their voices in the parliament as people in J&K have been living under constant fear since August 2019.

Para said that there has been silence since August 2019 in J&K and nobody dares to speak here. “We want to break the silence and we can save our identity, land and resources that are under threat,” he added.

He claimed that his party, especially President Mehbooba Mufti, is the only leader who has been very vocal against the policies of the Government of India since 2019 while other leaders have maintained silence.

According to Para, people in large numbers must vote to keep those away from power who have been misleading the Government of India.

SRINAGAR — The Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) candidate for the Srinagar constituency, Waheed-ur-Rahman Para, is the poorest candidate in the fray with a house valued at a mere Rs 32 lac and a monthly earning not exceeding Rs 40,000. However, his opponent from Apni Party Muhammad Ashraf Mir is much richer than Para, having almost Rs 31 crore net worth.

The poll affidavit Para has submitted before the Returning Officer in Srinagar reveals that he has not been able to earn anything from the year 2020 to 2022 for being under detention.

According to the news agency KNO, Para, in his poll affidavit, has declared that FIR No. 05/2020 at NIA Jammu Police Station and FIR No. 31/2020 at CIK Srinagar Police Station are registered against him.

The sections under which Para has been charged include Sections 18, 19, 20, 23, 38, 13, 17, 18, 39, 40 of the UAPA Act (Unlawful Activities Prevention Act), UAPA read with 7/25 of the Arms Act, Section 120/B, 3/04 of ES Act, Section 121/A, 124/A of IPC (Indian Penal Code).

In 2022-23, his income was Rs 4,51,270, while in 2023-24, it was Rs 4,70,310. His monthly earnings are not more than a mere 39 thousand rupees. He has Rs 1 lac cash in hand. He doesn't have any savings or fixed deposits. However, he has ancestral land valuing approximately Rs 2 crore. He has immovable assets worth 18 lac and an ancestral house in Pulwama, valuing Rs 32 lac.

Furthermore, as per the affidavit, he has completed a Master's in International Relations (Peace and Conflict Studies) from the Islamic University of Science and Technology (IUST).

On the other hand, Jammu and Kashmir Apni Party candidate for the Srinagar Parliament constituency, Mohammad Ashraf Mir, in his poll affidavit, has declared details of both movable and immovable assets, including those of his spouse and dependents.

The movable assets include a total value of Rs 97 lac for Mohammad Ashraf Mir and Rs 1,57,25,528 for his spouse. As far as immovable assets are concerned, Mohammad Ashraf Mir has declared a total value of Rs 1,54,00,000 as per the present market value, including agricultural land.

Additionally, he has declared a total current market value of approximately Rs 30.15 crore for residential buildings, including apartments. Mir's assets include movable assets such as personal vehicles, immovable assets such as residential buildings and agricultural land, as well as financial assets such as savings deposits and investments in companies/mutual funds.

The candidate's highest educational qualification is a Master's in Business Administration (MBA) in Personnel Management from BMS College of Engineering in 1995. He owns a Toyota Fortuner and a Mahindra Scorpio. Based on the provided document, Mir has Rs 5,00,000 in cash in hand and a savings deposit of Rs 1,25,528 in J&K Bank.

SRINAGAR — Jammu and Kashmir Apni Party on Monday announced its support in to Sajjad Gani Lone-led Peoples Conference (PC) in the Baramulla Lok Sabha segment.

The announcement, as per a local news agency, was made by Jammu and Kashmir Apni Party President Syed Mohammad Altaf Bukhari during a press conference in Srinagar.

The extension of support by the Apni Party has come after Peoples Conference chairman Sajjad Gani Lone sought support from the former 'to put an end to anti-NC vote fragmentation,' which, as per Lone, has historically helped the National Conference.

It is pertinent to mention here that the Jammu and Kashmir Peoples Conference has announced party Chairperson Sajjad Gani Lone as its candidate for the North Kashmir seat.

SRINAGAR — The Jammu and Kashmir Apni Party has declared its candidates for the upcoming Lok Sabha elections, vying for seats in the Anantnag-Rajouri and Srinagar segments.

In a press conference held in Srinagar, Dilawar Mir, Chairman of the Parliamentary Affairs Committee, announced the party's decision.

Mir stated that Zaffar Iqbal Manhas will contest from the Anantnag-Rajouri constituency, while Mohammad Ashraf Mir will represent the party in Srinagar.

This move marks the Jammu and Kashmir Apni Party as the first political entity to announce its candidate for the Srinagar seat.

This announcement comes after the National Conference named Mian Altaf and DPAP declared Ghulam Nabi Azad as their respective candidates for the Anantnag-Rajouri seat.

SRINAGAR — In a significant development, members of the District Development Council (DDC) Srinagar have moved a no-confidence motion against the incumbent chairperson of the council.

As per details available with the news agency KNO, at least 10 members have submitted the no-confidence motion against Chairperson Aftab Malik. Malik is associated with the Apni Party.

The no-confidence motion has been moved days after Jammu & Kashmir Government came up with the rules to remove chairpersons and vice-chairpersons of the councils.

SRINAGAR — Apni Party President Syed Muhammad Altaf Bukhari on Thursday said that every officer involved in demolition drives will have to answer once elections are held in Jammu and Kashmir.

“We will make them (officers) accountable. They have to answer. Their bossism won’t work then,” Bukari said in response to a question about the ongoing eviction and demolition drive.

He said he supports all and every citizen of Jammu and Kashmir irrespective of their religion, case or colour. “We don’t believe in regionalism and discriminating people on the basis of religion. For me, everyone is equal. It is the administration that divides the people on regional and religious basis as it reaps fruits,” he said, adding that for him, a man losing his hut or a man losing his showroom are equal and he feels their pain.

In response to a question, Bukhari said that it is natural to get sentimental once you lose your home or shop. “Administration should think about it. Officers have their homes also and they should feel the pain when people react to their demotion drive,” he said.

Altaf Bukhari said that all are minnows in Kashmir and there is no big fish. “Administration tries to present minnows as big fish. I ask the administration to stop this drama,” he said, adding that once there will be elections, officers will be questioned from day one.

SRINAGAR — In the past three years, seven new political parties, including a few little-known groups, from Jammu & Kashmir have been registered by the Election Commission of India (ECI).

The ECI records accessed by the news agency KNO show that since 2019, seven political parties have been registered by the Commission after they completed the requisite formalities.

According to the documents, National Awami United Party, National Democratic Party (Indian), Aman Aur Shanti Tehreek-e-Jammu & Kashmir, Voice of Labour Party (Jammu & Kashmir), Haq Insaaf Party, Jammu and Kashmir People's Movement and Jammu & Kashmir Apni Party have been registered by the ECI after 2019.

While details are not available about office-bearers of five of these parties, Jammu & Kashmir People's Movement and Jammu & Kashmir Apni Party were respectively floated by IAS officer Dr Shah Faesal and former minister Syed Altaf Bukhari.

Faesal, who had floated the Jammu and Kashmir People's Movement (JKPM) in 2019, was detained under the Public Safety Act after the abrogation of Article 370. After his release, Faesal made exit from both politics as well as JKPM. He was recently reinstated and posted as Deputy Secretary in the Union Ministry of Culture.

The Jammu & Kashmir Apni Party, headed by Altaf Bukhari, came into existence after the abrogation of Article 370 and the reorganization of Jammu & Kashmir. Comprising more than 20 former legislators, the JKAP was formally launched in March 2020 and was registered by the poll body ahead of the District Development Council elections in 2020.

The ECI records show that Jammu & Kashmir Nationalist People's Front headed by Sheikh Muzaffar Ahmad has submitted an application this year for its registration.

It is worthwhile to mention that former chief minister Ghulam Nabi Azad launched a new political party on Monday.

A look at the history of Kashmir’s regional parties reveals that National Conference and People's Conference are among the oldest regional political parties which are currently part of the electoral process.

While NC came into existence in 1939, the People's Conference was formed in 1978. Jammat-e-Islamia, which was banned in 2019 by the Government of India, was also participating in the electoral process before 1987.

Awami National Conference was founded by former chief minister late Ghulam Mohammad Shah after his split with the National Conference in 1984. On the other hand, the People's Democratic Party came into existence in 1999.

SRINAGAR — With Jammu and Kashmir polls in mind, Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) these days is too busy attracting the attention of the people.

Arvind Kejriwal has dispatched a special ‘observer’ team that is camping in Valley and Jammu. AAP is confident of ‘victory’, if not in Kashmir, but in Jammu, it can challenge the BJP in its strong bastions.

AAP’s Co-Observer for Jammu Kashmir, Salahuddin Khan who hails from New Delhi told news agency Kashmir News Trust that they are keenly observing the ground situation both in Kashmir and Jammu. “We have been meeting a cross-section of society. Their valuable inputs have really been helping us. It's very important to know who is who in the political arena and who is commanding more respect,” he said.

“We won Punjab showcasing our Delhi Model. AAP is hopeful that it will make a mark in Jammu and Kashmir,” he said, adding that people with a good reputation are always welcome in party-fold.

A senior party member and district president Shopian, Advocate Ieshan said that AAP’s impressive performance and its upright and pro-people policies are connecting people with the party. “AAP will emerge a force to reckon with,” he said with confidence.

Recently AAP’s impressive roadshow in Chenab Valley saw spontaneous participation of people.

“We will contest all 90 Assembly seats across Jammu and Kashmir,” Salahuddin maintained, adding that the party has seriously arrived in J&K.

To a question that AAP is reluctant to welcome turncoats and politicians with not a good reputation, founder member of the AAP in Kashmir and General Secretary Younis Naik said that Arvind Kejriwal welcomes all but at the end of the day, he believes in people and seeks their guidance and help when it comes to the dispersal of tickets for the Assembly segments.

In response to a question about the presence of the Aam Aadmi Party in Jammu and Kashmir, President Apni Party, Syed Muhammad Altaf Bukhari says having more and more options is always in the interest of the people. “Presence of so many political parties implies that people have alternatives and that is very good,” Bukhari said.

Another Apni Party leader who wished not to be named said that AAP will really threaten the BJP in Jammu. “The presence of AAP has already frustrated the BJP leaders in Jammu,” he said.

Recently, BJP National General Secretary, Tarun Chugh while addressing party workers in Udhampur termed the AAP leaders as ‘opportunists.

In a veiled attack on Aam Aadmi Party, he called upon the BJP workers to launch a crusade against opportunist and 'anti-national forces' while questioning AAP’s statement on ‘The Kashmir Files’ the one day and the next day the same party announced a comprehensive penetration program in Jammu & Kashmir.

“BJP doesn’t want penetration of AAP in Jammu and Kashmir, especially in Jammu,” political leader Er Nazir Itoo said.

Reports from Jammu suggest that there are many known faces in local politics including former ministers, MLAs, MLCs who have reportedly expressed their wish to join AAP.

“To every action, there is an equal and opposite reaction. AAP works for people and people will certainly want this party to grow in Jammu and Kashmir,” Salahuddin Khan said.

SRINAGAR — The political parties in Jammu and Kashmir criticized the directions issued by the Ministry of Home Affairs (MHA) with regard to the constitution of Village Defense Guards (VDGs) in the Union Territory.

Pertinently, the Ministry of Home Affairs has ordered the formation of Village Defence Guards in Jammu and Kashmir.

Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) president and former J&K chief minister, Mehbooba Mufti said the formation of VDGs is contrary to the Government of India’s claims regarding normalcy in J-K.

In a tweet, she also stated that such a move will create a wedge between the communities here.

“MHAs move to form Village Defence Committees across J&K is another addition to a slew of decisions that contradict GOIs much-touted normalcy claims. Clearly, J&K is far from any semblance of normalcy. It will also create a wedge between communities,” Mehbooba tweeted.

National Conference (NC) spokesman, Imran Nabi Dar told the news agency Kashmir News Observer (KNO) that the move is a stark acceptance by the Government of India that the situation is not good in Jammu and Kashmir. “The government has accepted that there is large-scale militancy in J&K and that’s why they are finding a need to form a particular group,” he said.

“The other important thing is that the group should not be formed in a way that would put communities against each other as has happened in the past. We are witness to incidents earlier wherein some VDC members used their weapons against their own persons. Therefore, the move will have repercussions and the government needs to come up with better alternatives and they need to accept that everything is not good as is being claimed,” Dar said.

Apni Party spokesman, Javid Hassan Beig told KNO that the government should have instead strengthened the security grid rather than providing weapons to the civilians.

“To curb militancy, such measures are being taken, but at the same time, there is every possibility of repercussion when a civilian is being asked to take a weapon. I believe that it is the belt and uniform that makes a person accountable, but in the case of civilians, there is hardly any possibility of accountability,” he said, adding that the government should have focused on strengthening the security grid by coming up with fresh recruitments in police and other forces.

Peoples Conference (PC) spokesman, Adnan Ashraf termed it as a disturbing development as the actions of VDCs in the past are known to all and it creates a perception that one community is being armed and supported by the government, which in result may not be conducive for maintaining peace in mixed populations.

“We have seen in the past how VDC members committed atrocities on people of that region and the reason behind banning VDCs in the past was the excesses of these people. I think the government should revisit its decision to create VDGs and if the law and order in such areas are not under control, the state police force has enough manpower and ability to maintain law and order. The creation of VDGs is an unnecessary step and it will only lead to a negative perception among the minority communities in those regions that these groups have been formed against them,” he said.

CPI (M) senior leader and former Kulgam legislator, Muhammad Yousuf Tarigami said that the decision must be revisited as it is unwarranted amid the government claims about normalcy and decline in violence.

“There are reportedly dozens of cases registered in police stations against the misconduct of many of VDCs, which were constituted at a time when the militancy was rising and now when the government claims that violence has come down and normalcy is restored, then what is the necessity of reconstitution of these VDGs,” he said.

He added, "One wonders as this is in contradiction to the government claims. CPI (M) strongly feels that such measures are unwarranted at this time and must be revisited,” he said, adding that priority should be to provide relief to the people and ensure that restrictions imposed on the movement of political, social activities must be withdrawn."