Protecting Article 370 top priority: Akbar Lone

After winning the Baramulla Lok Sabha seat, NC’s Mohammad Akbar Lone is looking forward to defend Article 370 and take steps to find a resolution to the Kashmir issue. Lone spells out his priorities and goals. As the NC will be representing all three Lok Sabha seats from Kashmir in Parliament, what will be your priorities? Our biggest priority will be to safeguard Articles 370 and 35A of the Constitution in Parliament. Our party will also strive for the resolution of the Kashmir issue…this has been our motive always. What…

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Never said J&K conflict was ‘Hindu India versus Muslim Kashmir’: Mirwaiz Umar

Mirwaiz Umar Farooq , chairman of the Hurriyat Conference and the chief cleric of the Valley’s main mosque, spoke about the separatist body’s position on a peaceful resolution for the Kashmir problem, the difference in approach between the Vajpayee and Modi governments, and why the Hurriyat has failed to make headway.  When Narendra Modi became Prime Minister, you were hopeful of forward movement on Kashmir citing your experiences under (late former PM) Atal Bihari Vajpayee era. Does that hope still exist? There has been a change in policy as far…

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You can’t buy land in Himachal, Sikkim, so why target J&K? M Y Tarigami

‘The BJP wants to find an excuse to polarise people.’ ‘Whatever rights J&K has got from the Constitution of India, they want to snatch it.’ ‘By doing so, they are harming J&K as well as India.’ A Delhi-based NGO, We The Citizens, and a few individuals recently filed pleas in the Supreme Court challenging the Constitutional validity of Article 35A of the Constitution, which gives special rights and privileges to the people of Jammu and Kashmir. At the same time, several interlocutory petitions have been filed in support of Article 35A by…

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BJP not into government formation: Ram Madhav

Bharatiya Janata Party’s Kashmir point man Ram Madhav said on Thursday that his party was making no attempt to work out numbers needed for forming a government in the state, after it withdrew from the coalition with PDP. “No, not from our side,” Madhav said when asked whether BJP will try to work for a new political formation to avoid midterm elections in the state. In an exclusive interview with Kashmir Post, Madhav said his party has numbers in Jammu but “doesn’t have any say” in Kashmir. “Show me the…

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It was a rainbow alliance: Ram Madhav on why BJP split with PDP

In an interview BJP general secretary Ram Madhav explains why the party ended its alliance with Mehbooba Mufti’s PDP in Jammu and Kashmir, and what comes next Ram Madhav is a national general secretary of the BJP, who played a key role in stitching up an alliance between his party and the Peoples Democratic Party of Mufti Mohammad Sayeed. Madhav worked closely with Sayeed and then with his daughter, Mehbooba Mufti Sayeed, steering the alliance through a difficult course between 2015 and now. He spoke about the reasons that led…

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There is no solution now for Kashmir: AS Dulat

If politicians fail to engage then military and intelligence chiefs of India and Pakistan and indeed the people of the two countries must carry the engagement forward, suggests the former RAW chief Indo-Pak relations may improve but there is no solution in Kashmir under the present circumstances, says AS Dulat, who has been in the news ever since he jointly ‘authored’ a book with Lt General Asad Durrani, a former head of Pakistan’s ISI and Aditya Sinha. Moderated by Sinha, Dulat, a former chief of Research & Analysis Wing (RAW)…

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Kashmiris are not Secessionists or Terrorists: Mohammad Shafi Pandit

‘The people of the state can be won over by love, and not by swords’ Mohammad Shafi Pandit’s soft-spoken erudition flows through the telephone line from Srinagar. It is only later I learn that militants had tried to assassinate him in September 1995. He was then the additional chief secretary, finance, Jammu and Kashmir, and was visiting his sister’s home in Pampore, 12 km south of Srinagar. Once he entered, within minutes, the house was surrounded by 30 armed militants. One militant came in and demanded three things from the civil servant: A…

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Long lasting conflict in Kashmir is a big hurdle for economic growth: Ambassador Sabit Subasic

Youth in Kashmir are capable to select the best leaders: Ambassador Sabit Subasic  Bosnia and Herzegovinian Ambassador Dr. Sabit Subasic believes the intractable conflict in Kashmir valley has drastically affected the state’s economic growth and that the tourism sector has been a victim of negative publicity. Dr. Subasic spoke about his impressions from his recent visit to the state. What was purpose of your visit to Kashmir? Jammu Kashmir is a state in India that I had never visited. Being ambassador of Bosnia and Herzegovina (BH), it is my duty…

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De-link Kashmir from Indo-Pak talks: Ram Madhav

A former RSS pracharak and, now, one of the most influential BJP leaders, Ram Madhav spoke to Kashmir Post about Centre’s recent peace overtures in the Kashmir Valley. Fifty-three-year-old Ram Madhav is the go-to man in the BJP for Kashmir-related affairs, northeast and internal security matters. A former RSS pracharak and, now, one of the most influential BJP leaders, Madhav spoke to Kashmir Post about Centre’s recent peace overtures in the Valley. The BJP general secretary said Kashmir and dialogue with Pakistan needed to be de-linked. Excerpts from the interview:…

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There can be no solution under the shadow of the gun: Dineshwar Sharma

The special representative to initiate dialogue in Kashmir on what led to unrest in the Valley and the way forward On October 23, Home Minister Rajnath Singh announced the appointment of former Intelligence Bureau (IB) chief Dineshwar Sharma as a special representative to “initiate” and “carry forward a dialogue” with elected representatives and various individuals in Jammu and Kashmir. Mr. Sharma is a 1979 Indian Police Service officer of the Kerala cadre. He served as Director of the IB from 2014 to 2016. After his retirement, the Centre was keen…

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