Rights body demands immediate announcement of Assembly elections in Jammu and Kashmir
Delay in announcing the dates has led to speculation about whether election would be held at all, the Forum for Human Rights in Jammu and Kashmir says
A polling staff mark their voter at a polling station in north Kashmir. File.
| Photo Credit: NISSAR AHMAD
The Forum for Human Rights in Jammu and Kashmir led by a group of concerned citizens has called for an immediate announcement of dates of Legislative Assembly elections in J&K much before the Supreme Court’s deadline of September 30, arguing that “that security should not be a consideration given that elections have been held in far worse security situations”.
The Forum was formed after August 5, 2019, when the special status of J&K under Article 370 of the Constitution was revoked by the Parliament and the former State was divided into two Union Territories — J&K and Ladakh, the latter without an Assembly. Former Union Home Secretary G.K Pillai and Radha Kumar, former member, Group of Interlocutors for J&K, chair the Forum.
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The members of the Forum include Justice Ruma Pal, former judge of the Supreme Court of India; Justice A.P. Shah, former Chief Justice of the Madras and Delhi High Courts; Justice Bilal Nazki, former Chief Justice of the Orissa High Court; Nirupama Rao, former Foreign Secretary; Major-General Ashok Mehta (retd), Air Vice-Marshal Kapil Kak (retd), abd Lieutenant-General H.S. Panag (retd) among others.
“Delay in the announcement of election dates has given rise to speculation that the legislative assembly might be postponed beyond the Supreme Court’s deadline of September 30, 2024, possibly on grounds of rising militant attacks. Analysts point out that delay would be counterproductive. It will increase alienation and might play into the hands of spoilers,” the Forum said in its report Jammu and Kashmir: A Human Rights Agenda for an Elected Administration.
J&K has been under Central rule since June 2018 when the PDP-BJP alliance collapsed. Assembly elections were last held in 2014.
The report said that after decades of peace, the bordering areas of Poonch and Rajouri districts in the Jammu division re-emerged as a locus for militancy with cross-border infiltration from Pakistani-held territories of the former State. “Armed attacks on civilians and security forces have now spread through Poonch-Rajouri to Doda and Kathua and further, to bordering districts of south Kashmir such as Pulwama. The forest belts connecting these districts have been traditional routes of infiltration since the 1948 invasion by Pakistani tribals supported by the Pakistan army,” the report stated.
The Forum expressed dismay over the pre-election grant of overweening powers to the Lieutenant-Governor. “There are worrying indications of pre-emptive actions to limit an elected administration’s capacity to/govern even before legislative assembly elections are held. The new administrative rules issued on July 12, 2024, allocate key powers over the police, bureaucracy, attorney-general and prosecutorial services to the L-G, setting up a potential standoff between the elected administration on one side, and a nominated authority, civil and police services on the other, as happened in Delhi,” the report said.
It added that the new rules also cast doubt on whether Statehood will be restored, when and in which form. “The new rules suggest the Union administration is contemplating a Delhi-type hybrid instead.”
The Forum pointed out that targeted attacks on Kashmiri Pandits and migrant workers — both Hindu and Muslim — continue. The number of civilian lives lost due to armed attacks and counter-insurgency operations is much the same as in the previous year (20 between August 1, 2023- July 20, 2024). The number of security forces casualties, including police and Central Reserve Police Forces (CRPF), continue to be unacceptably high (33 between August 1, 2023-July 20, 2024). As a result of growing militancy in Jammu, village defence guards (VDCs) have also been targeted.
The Forum said that arrests of students, journalists, lawyers and even a businessman under legislation such as the Unlawful Activities (Prevention) Act (UAPA) and the Public Safety Act (PSA) continue, despite judicial attempts to limit their application. Over 2,700 people were booked under the UAPA and PSA between 2020 and December 2023, 1,100 of them as ‘overground workers’ or facilitators of armed insurgents. “One ray of hope is rising trend of judges quashing arrests and/or granting bail in 2023-2024, a far higher number than in the previous four years,” the report said.
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At 10% for April 2023-March 2024, unemployment for all ages is 4 percentage points higher than the all-India average of 6.65; youth unemployment is as high as 18.3%. The Forum’s 2023 report had pointed out that unemployment and drug abuse were closely related in Jammu and Kashmir, as they are in Punjab. “According to the union ministry of health, J&K Kashmir is among the top two States and Union Territories for drug abuse, with an estimated 900,000 habitual drug users, roughly 1 in 130,” the Forum said.
It added that the Union Finance Ministry’s 20% cut in import duties on walnuts and apples has led to lower-priced walnuts being imported from China, Turkey and the United States (U.S.), further impacting Kashmiri walnut farmers, whose prices are higher due to the cost of labour and lack of irrigation facilities. “Similarly, the ministry’s slashing of the import duty on Washington apples from 70 to 50 % has constituted a further setback for apple growers. Kashmiri saffron has also suffered due to the tax-free import of Iranian saffron, leading to a large reduction in Kashmiri saffron production,” the report said.
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