SRINAGAR: On the second day of their visit to the Union Territory, the group of 24 foreign envoys on Thursday met Lieutenant Governor Manoj Sinha at Raj Bhavan in Jammu. The diplomats also met the Chief Justice of J-K High Court, Pankaj Mittal and were briefed by the Jammu and Kashmir Police in Srinagar about the various programmes including community engagements and counter-radicalisation.
“Community engagements, counter-radicalisation, the police initiatives in sports, employment opportunities, counselling, and community bond schemes for potential terrorist recruits, “Senior Superintendent of Police (SSP) Anantnag, Sandeep Chaudhary told a group of foreign missions on the second day of their visit to the Union Territory.
“How police dealt with challenges posed by the COVID-19 pandemic, maintaining a balance between addressing people’s problems and enforcing COVID-19 restrictions,” Superintendent of Police (SP) East Srinagar, Sheema Nabi, who hails from Kashmir, briefed the delegation on the second day of their visit to Jammu and Kashmir.
“Jammu and Kashmir Police (JKP) reached out to local people, addressed their issues, and got their cooperation. Human touch and outreach helped the JKP to deal with unprecedented challenges,” Nabi added.
The briefing also discussed the issues like 72 surrenders in 2020, infiltration from Line of Control (LOC) and support of Pakistan Army in helping infiltration, harbouring terrorists, training camps, seized weapons supplied by Pakistan, killing of moderate Kashmir voices by terrorists, the sources said.
As per the sources, other issues discussed in the meeting were Post 370 – no loss of life in Special Forces’ actions, marked reduction in stone pelting, peacefully conducted District Development Council (DDC) elections, initiatives of citizen connect, and outreach to the public, 44 Army goodwill schools having 10,000 students in Jammu and Kashmir and Ladakh, assistance to the population of far-flung areas, glimpses of tourism, culture, and achievements of Kashmiri people.
On Wednesday, the delegation had interacted with representatives of civil society and the government in Srinagar.
Foreign diplomats from Chile, Brazil, Cuba, Bolivia, Estonia, Finland, France, Ireland, Netherlands, Portugal, Belgium, Spain, Sweden, Italy, Bangladesh, Malawi, Eritrea, Cote d’Ivoire, Ghana, Senegal, Malaysia, Tajikistan, Kyrgyzstan, and the European Union are on a two-day visit to Jammu and Kashmir.
The latest visit of foreign envoys comes in the backdrop of District Development Council polls, which saw huge participation and restoration of 4G mobile internet in the entire region after 18 months, which many see as a return of full normalcy in the Union Territory.
This is the first visit by foreign diplomats to Jammu and Kashmir since the outbreak of the COVID-19 pandemic. Two batches of foreign diplomats had earlier visited Jammu and Kashmir in January and February last year after the abrogation of Article 370 in August 2019.
Fair, free elections
Lieutenant Governor Manoj Sinha on Thursday assured that after the Delimitation Commission completes its work, elections will be conducted in a free and fair manner in the region.
“The delimitation process is on. Prime Minister Narendra Modi and Union Home Minister Amit Shah have assured the country that after the delimitation process is completed, the assembly elections will be held. After the Delimitation Commission finishes its work, I assure, elections will be conducted in a fair and free manner,” Sinha said.
The delegation of foreign envoys visiting Jammu and Kashmir met Lieutenant Governor Manoj Sinha at Raj Bhavan in Jammu on Thursday.
The Delimitation Commission comprising of Chairperson Retired Justice Ranjana Prakash Desai, Ex-Officio Member Sushil Chandra (Election Commissioner) and ex-officio member, KK Sharma (State Election Commissioner, J-K) held a meeting today in New Delhi with the Associate members from J-K, for seeking their suggestion/views on the process of delimitation with respect to the union territory.
An overview of the process of delimitation based on the Jammu and Kashmir Reorganization Act, 2019 and Delimitation Act, 2002 was presented before the members detailing various Sections of these Acts related to the delimitation exercise of Jammu and Kashmir.
“The two Associate Members appreciated Commission’s efforts and suggested that delimitation of constituencies shall be as far as practicable, be for geographically compact areas and while delimiting them regard shall be given to physical features; existing boundaries of administrative units; facilities of communication and public convenience,” read the press release by Election Commission today.
They also suggested giving special attention to the difficult terrains while carrying out the delimitation exercise in Jammu and Kashmir.
On August 15, 2020, PM Modi said that the ‘delimitation process’ is underway in Jammu and Kashmir and added that polls will be conducted soon in the Union Territory soon. (ANI)