💙In her presidential address on January 31 President Droupadi Marmu told the parliament that after the abrogation of Article 370, there is a conducive environment for development in Jammu and Kashmir.
ᩚᩚᩚᩚᩚᩚᩚᩚᩚ𒀱ᩚᩚᩚOn Feb 4, unknown militants shot dead Manzoor Ahmad Wagay near his house in South Kashmir’s Kulgam district. Wagay was a former territorial army man who had retired in 2021.
💙In her presidential address on January 31 President Droupadi Marmu told the parliament that after the abrogation of Article 370, there is a conducive environment for development in Jammu and Kashmir.
🅠"Both the Lok Sabha and Vidhan Sabha elections were conducted in a peaceful manner in Jammu and Kashmir. The people of Jammu and Kashmir deserve commendation for this achievement," the president said.
🧸While the BJP often leaves no platform without talking about "benefits of revoking Article 370 outside Jammu and Kashmir," claiming it has brought prosperity and peace to the region, rising unemployment and security concerns contradict its assertions.
༒On Feb 4, unknown militants shot dead Manzoor Ahmad Wagay near his house in South Kashmir’s Kulgam district. Wagay was a former territorial army man who had retired in 2021.
🅠In the attack, his wife and niece were wounded. Since the killing, security forces have allegedly rounded up 500 youths from Kulgam, Shopian, and Anantnag districts.
ꦍPolitical leaders in Kashmir called the detentions as "collective retribution."
🔥After a day of lull, on the morning of Feb 6, news spread across the Valley that a civilian truck driver was killed in a firing involving Army personnel on the Srinagar-Jammu national highway near Sopore in Kashmir.
𒀰The army said the truck jumped a checkpoint, after which it was chased for over 23 km. According to the Army statement, its personnel fired at the tyres of the truck to deflate them, and the truck came to a halt. Later, the army said, they took the wounded driver to a hospital where he was declared dead.
🐓The driver was Waseem Ahmad Mir, a 32-year-old resident of Sopore’s Bommai village of Sopore. Shocked locals sought an investigation into the killing. With Kashmir’s highways extensively monitored by CCTV, residents insist they have a right to see what transpired.
🍌"How strange that after chasing the truck for over 23 km, they claim to have fired at the tyres but somehow misfired at him instead. Are Kashmiri lives so cheap? How long will you justify this unbridled impunity by pointing everyone with the needle of suspicion?" PDP leader Iltija Mufti said.
𓃲The Army’s Chinar Corps swiftly issued a statement saying, "On Feb 5, 2025, based on a very specific intelligence input about the movement of terrorists, a Mobile Vehicle Check Post (MVCP) was established by security forces. One speeding, suspicious civilian truck was spotted, and when challenged, the truck didn't stop despite repeated warnings. Instead, (it) accelerated further while crossing the check post."
ꦡ"Alert troops pursued the vehicle for over 23 km. Shots were fired, aiming at the tyres to deflate (them), which forced the vehicle to halt at Sangrama Chowk. Consequent to detailed search, the injured driver was immediately evacuated to GMC Baramulla by security forces, where he was declared dead," the statement said.
🐎According to the Army, the "fully loaded truck" was sent to the nearest police station. "Detailed search of the truck in police custody is underway, and an investigation on antecedents of the suspect is in progress," it said.
ಞOn the morning of Feb 6, a 25-year-old man, Makhan Din, was found dead at his home in Perody area of Billawar in Jammu’s Kathua district after he was questioned for being an Over Ground Worker (OGW) of militants.
Chief Minister Omar Abdullah 💛on Feb 6 evening stated that he has seen the reports of excessive use of force and harassment of Makhan Din in police custody in Billawar Kathua leading to "his suicide" and "the death of Waseem Ahmed Malla, shot by the army under circumstances that are not entirely clear."
♚"Both these incidents are highly unfortunate and should not have happened. J&K will never be completely normalised and free of terror without the cooperation of & partnership with the local population. Incidents like these risk alienating the very people who we need to carry with us on the road to complete normalcy," Omar said, adding that he has taken up these incidents with the Union Government and insisted that both incidents are inquired into in a time bound, transparent manner.
💮"The Government in J&K will also order its own inquiries," Omar said.
ꦦFormer Chief Minister Mehbooba Mufti, however, said, "Makhan Din, aged 25 from Perody, Billawar, was detained by the SHO of Billawar on false charges of being an Over Ground Worker (OGW). He was reportedly subjected to brutal thrashing and torture, forced into a confession, and tragically found dead today. The area has been sealed off, and internet services have been cut, leading to widespread panic. There's an ongoing crackdown, with more individuals being picked up. This incident appears to follow a troubling pattern of targeting innocent youths on fabricated charges," she said, urging the DGP to initiate an immediate investigation.
🅺Later addressing a press conference, Iltija criticised the government for failing to provide a sense of safety and security to the people of Jammu and Kashmir, despite being elected with a massive mandate in the October 2024 elections. "People gave you this responsibility because they felt that in the last few years, especially since Article 370 was removed, there is no accountability. Neither do people have a sense of safety nor security," Iltija said.
🐷Iltija also questioned BJP’s claims of "emotional integration of Jammu and Kashmir with the rest of India after the abrogation of Article 370." "You say integration happened here after the removal of Article 370. So what kind of integration is this, Where is the emotional integration when you look at us with such dirty suspicion?" she said.
Earlier, responding in Parliament 💫to the President bringing up Article 370 in her address, National Conference MP Aga Ruhullah Mehdi said the country was being misled by the narrative surrounding the revoked special status.
💯"It is surprising how this country is fooled. This is not the first time that Assembly election and Parliamentary election have been held in Jammu and Kashmir. It used to happen even when Article 370 was in place. You (BJP) removed Article 370 illegally, and even after illegal abrogation of Article 370, people continue to show faith in democracy," Mehdi said.
༒Mehdi said before the revocation of Article 370 on August 5, 2019, Jammu and Kashmir ranked sixth on the Human Development Index (HDI), surpassing states like Gujarat, Haryana, Uttar Pradesh, Madhya Pradesh, and Bihar in terms of HDI scores. Mehdi said despite Article 370, Jammu and Kashmir had lower poverty rates, higher life expectancy, and better educational enrolment ratios compared to these states.
ℱRegarding the deaths in Kashmir this week, Mehdi said that while the nation, including the opposition parties in Parliament, is concerned about the handcuffing and deportation of the Indian citizens in America, "two civilians in Jammu and Kashmir got killed by security forces during the last 24 hours, soon after the meeting for the security review of Kashmir conducted by the Home Minister of India in Delhi."
♏With inquiries into such killings often remaining inconclusive, the incidents challenge the BJP’s narrative of a peaceful Kashmir. This time, the party cannot pin blame on the ruling National Conference, as law and order fall under Lt. Governor Manoj Sinha, a senior BJP leader.
🔥At the same time, the National Conference, which has a strong mandate from the people, cannot evade responsibility either.