The government has decided to directly buy apples from apple growers in Jammu and Kashmir under the Direct Benefit Transfer (DBT) scheme that offers direct transfer subsidies to the bank account of individuals. The apple procurement for the current season will be completed by National Agricultural Cooperative Marketing Federation of India Ltd (NAFED) by December 15 and the money will be transferred into the bank accounts of the apple growers.

According to a notification, NAFED will complete the procurement through designated state government agencies. The government said that the procurement will be made directly from genuine apple growers.
The notification stated that all categories of apples, i.e A, B and C will be procured from all the apple producing districts in Jammu and Kashmir as well as designated mandis in Sopore, Shopian and Srinagar.

The prices will be fixed by the Price Committee that also includes a member from the National Horticulture Board. Fair prices for various categories will be levied by the committee. The Quality Committee will ensure proper grading of varieties of apples.

The notification also stated that the implementation and coordination committee at the state level will be chaired by the Chief Secretary. “Ministry of Agriculture, Ministry of Home Affairs and other Central agencies will oversee smooth implementation of the Scheme,” it added.
Last week, Srinagar district magistrate Shahid Choudhary said, “Exciting news for apple growers. The NAFED is set to buy in all three grades at an impressive price. Every single fruit will bring in greater value, enhanced income at no transportation hassles.”
With revenue of around Rs 1,200 crore a year, apple cultivation is the backbone of the Kashmir economy. It has taken a hit following the abrogation of Article 370. Kashmir and Himachal Pradesh account for three-quarter of India’s apple crop.
IANS

United Nations, Sep 10 : Departing from the Security Council debate topic of peacekeeping operations, Pakistan has raised the Kashmir issue asking the Security Council to look at strengthening the UN observer operation there.

Pakistan’s Permanent Representative Maleeha Lodhi said on Monday that it was important for the Council to start “exploring options to strengthen” UN Military Observer Group in India and Pakistan (UNMOGIP) because of the developments there since India rescinded its special constitutional status last month.

UNMOGIP is not a peace-keeping operation and of its 116 personnel, the majority are civilians with only 44 drawn from militaries and designated as experts.

India considers the UMOGIP created in 1949 to monitor the ceasefire between the neighbours redundant because of the 1972 Simla Agreement by which the two countries declared that their disputes are bilateral matters and also defined the Line of Control, superseding the ceasefire line that the observers were mandated to monitor.

But the UNMOGIP continues to operate in Kashmir because the Council has not rescinded the mandate given to it. It was originally known as the UN Commission for India and Pakistan.

Toughening its stance against it, India asked the UNMOGIP in 2014 to leave the building on Purana Qila Road that it had given it rent-free and it moved its Delhi office to a private premise in Vasant Vihar.

Lodhi told the Council that “UNMOGIP’s role and importance has increased dramatically” since August 5 when India ended Kashmir’s constitutional special status, which she asserted was “illegal de facto annexation.”

UNMOGIP’s “efficacy has also become consequential due to mounting ceasefire violations by Indian forces, which necessitates regular and formal reporting to the Council,” she added.

However, in keeping with its policy that the UNMOGIP is irrelevant, India stopped reporting Pakistani ceasefire violations in 1972, treating them as bilateral matters.

Lodhi also said that the Council should “ensure that India also allows it the requisite freedom of access and movement, in order for it to fulfil its mandate”.

Apart from the signature deviation about Kashmir in the debate on peacekeeping operations, Lodhi spoke about the problems common to countries contributing troops to UN peacekeeping operations.

As they are among the biggest troop contributors, India and Pakistan share views on some of the issues facing peace-keeping and she made some points similar to those that India’s Permanent Representative Syed Akbaruddin had made earlier in the debate.

Lodhi criticised the use of caveats by some countries that restrict how and where personnel or equipment can be used.

She also questioned the lack of clear policies that sometimes expected peacekeepers negotiate political solutions or “enforce peace”.

She said that the UN Secretariat should provide a “pragmatic and realistic analysis of the situation”, which should be “reflected by the Council in mandates”.

Akbaruddin had criticised the “culture of caveats that bedevils peacekeeping” and also said that troop-contributing should be associated in a “predictable manner in the decision-making”.

“Peacekeeping is in a ‘no-man’s land’, between trying to keep the peace in fragile environments and trying to enforce the maintenance of peace, where there is none to keep,” he said.

Agencies

Patiala House Court on Monday granted interim protection from arrest to activist Shehla Rashid in connection with a recent FIR lodged against her under sedition charges.

The FIR was lodged by Delhi Police on a complaint filed by Supreme Court lawyer Alakh Alok Srivastava who sought her arrest for allegedly spreading fake news on Twitter against the Army and Government of India regarding the situation in Jammu and Kashmir in wake of revocation of Article 370.
Considering all the facts, court’s additional session judge Pawan Kumar Jain granted interim relief from arrest to her as police have not issued a notice to the accused. However, Rashid has maintained that she is ready to join the investigation.

The public prosecutor of the court also submitted that police have not received any complaint from the Army and need at least six week time to investigate the complaint.Hearing on the matter is scheduled for November 5.

The FIR under Sections 124A, 153A, 153, 504 and 505 of the Indian Penal Code (IPC) was registered by police on September 3. “Her tweets are completely false. She didn’t give any evidence and named anyone… At that time, international media had quoted her tweets which had impacted India’s image. I am satisfied that Delhi Police has registered this case.

They will soon arrest her because the charges included in the FIR are serious,” Alakh Alok Srivastav, the lawyer, had told media here.The complaint states that Rashid is deliberately and intentionally spreading the aforesaid ‘fake news’ with the intention to ‘incite violence in the country’.It says that she is doing so to “malign the image of our revered Indian Army nationally as well as internationally.”It further mentions that Rashid is trying to create unrest in Jammu and Kashmir and trying to promote disharmony, enmity, hatred and ill-will between different groups.In a series of tweets, Rashid had said, “People are saying that Jammu and Kashmir Police has no authority on law and order situation. They have been rendered powerless.

Everything is in the hands of paramilitary forces. One SHO was transferred on complaint of a CRPF man. SHOs carrying batons. Service revolvers can’t be seen on them.”The Army had rejected Rashid’s allegations regarding situation in Jammu and Kashmir and termed them “baseless”.

Azaan Javaid

Srinagar: The security establishment in Jammu & Kashmir, which has mostly been able to maintain law and order in the Valley since the abrogation of Article 370 on 5 August, faces a new test as devotees will look to mark Muharram Tuesday amid curfew-like restrictions in some areas.

Tuesday marks Ashura, the 10th day of Muharram in the Islamic calendar, which is one of the holiest days for followers of the religion.

During the first 10 days of the Islamic month of Muharram, Shias mourn the tragedy of Karbala (modern-day Iraq), where the grandson of Prophet Muhammad is believed to have been killed along with his companions and family members in 680 AD.

Shia mourners across the world take out processions to commemorate the tragedy every year, but major processions have been officially banned in Kashmir since the eruption of the insurgency in 1989.

The last three days have witnessed minor processions in several locations in downtown Srinagar that have ended in clashes with the J&K Police.

The clashes themselves have been a regular part of Muharram observance over the years, but local residents claim the blowback is stronger this time.
On Saturday, four journalists sustained injuries during an alleged police assault while they tried to cover a Muharram procession, and residents claim police used pellets during these encounters.

On Sunday, the state administration enforced massive curbs on civilian movement — with the media fraternity’s travel restricted despite being in possession of curfew passes.

Some of the curbs were eased Monday in a few areas, but downtown remained under lockdown, with security forces manning all entry and exit points.

Speaking to ThePrint Saturday, a senior government official said maintaining peace during the last days of Muharram was the top priority for the security forces, but Valley residents, particularly Shias, have been left angered by what they term a “crackdown” on their religious rights.
‘Anger will be vented in other ways’
Tanveer Pathan, who was elected a corporator in the urban local body elections of 2018, said the “crackdown” will only force people, especially the youth, to vent their anger in “other ways”.

“Even before Muharram, they started arresting religious leaders. Last week, more than 40 received pellet injuries. Most of them refused to go to hospital for treatment as they fear police will record their names and accuse them of participating in protests,” he said.

“We treated them ourselves. What impact will all this have on younger people? If this continues, militancy in Srinagar will be worse than what you see in south Kashmir,” he added.

Hassan Ahmed, a sexagenarian, said that this was the first time in his life time that such “harsh curbs” had been put in place during Muharram.

“We have seen some bad times during the early days of the militancy. The processions were banned but they would allow us to at least take out some in our locality… But this time even that seems impossible,” he added. “There are police and CRPF personnel after every few feet.”
‘Muharram is beyond politics’
Three organisations usually lead as many major Muharram processions in the Valley, which invariably end in clashes and detentions.

“The processions are attended by our Sunni brothers as well as Sikhs of Kashmir. They give donations for the poor,” said Afaaq, a shopkeeper based in Hasanabad. “We carry out donation drives too. Muharram is beyond politics,” he added.

The three processions are organised by the All J&K Shia Association, Anjuman e Sharia, and Ittehadul Muslimeen, organisations with a close affiliation to political leaders such as Imran Ansari, Agha Syed Hassan and Abbas Ansari, all of whom have different political ideologies.

While Ansari is a mainstream politician, the other two are senior leaders in separatist outfits. All of them are currently under house arrest. A senior religious leader named Agha Syed Ejaz was also arrested in the last week of August.

There are apprehensions aplenty ahead of the ritual processions and, as a result, Zadibal, where the procession draws lakhs from across Kashmir every year, is under a massive lockdown.

So are other localities with a predominant Shia population, such as Hasanabad and Khomeni Chowk and so on.

Local residents said it was unfair to restrict followers from observing a festival that held deep meaning for them.

“Muharram is not supposed to be about Indo-Pak talks. Imam Hussain (grandson of Prophet Muhammad) represents the essence of Islam. He represents defiance and sacrifice which are values that every human in the world, be it a Muslim or non-Muslim, should imbibe,” said Khalid Hussain, a resident of Hasanabad, which has a predominantly Shia population.

“To tell us we cannot commemorate his martyrdom, his life and his principles is attacking our soul. We won’t forget this,” he added.

Hussain (40) claimed more than two dozen youth had been detained for questioning by police since Saturday.

“The only response of the local SHO (station house officer) has been abuse and pellet-firing. This is oppression, brute oppression,” said Zaffar Ahmed of Hasanabad, where the journalists were allegedly assaulted Saturday.

When asked if people would attempt to take out processions Tuesday, he said, “No one can tell us not to do so. We will try. Whether we will be allowed to do so, that is a different thing. But we will try.”

Asked how he thought Tuesday and the coming days would play out, Ghulam Hussain, 70, a retired government employee, “Whatever will happen will be the will of God. Neither you nor me can say for sure what will happen.

“But I hope better sense prevails,” he added. “And that people don’t lose their temper.”
The Print

Srinagar: Gulham Mohammad Ganai, a sarpanch of PatanShirpura Bagel village in Baramulla district, cannot recall the number of times he has had to visit the Jammu and Kashmir secretariat in the last nine months. Sitting outside the office of the rural department last week with some papers in his hand, he was seen rehearsing a few lines for the official sitting inside.

Ganai, 59, is one among 730 people who are yet to be notified as sarpanchs of their respective villages, after being elected during the J&K panchayat polls held in November-December 2018. They had received a certificate from the Election Commission of India acknowledging their new positions and were imparted training too.

But until notified, these people cannot officially hold the post of a sarpanch, start work, receive government funds or even get their monthly salary of Rs 2,500.

“If they did not want to allot us as sarpanchs, why did they do this drama of conducting elections?” Ganai asked.

The order to notify sarpanchs had come in December, soon after the poll results were announced. “But 730 names weren’t there. Is this how the authorities plan on empowering their sarpanchs? What is the point of Home Minister Amit Shah meeting a delegation of sarpanchs? I doubt if the government really wishes to hear our problems,” he said.

The panchayat elections were held across Jammu and Kashmir from 17 November 2018 to 11 December 2018.
Sarpanchs can’t be notified until their panchayats elect panchs
Explaining the delay in notifying sarpanchs, Sheetal Nanda, Secretary to Government, Rural Development & Panchayati Raj, said it happened since there “were no panchs from those areas”.

In a panchayat, the sarpanch is the mukhiya (head). There are 5 to 11 panchs — who are heads of wards — and work in association with the sarpanch in running the panchayat administration. A village is divided into 5-11 wards, each headed by a panch.

“It is a joint effort. To have a full panchayat, along with the sarpanch, there has to be panchs. The 730 sarpanchs represent their wards alone with no panch to assist them. Hence, we couldn’t constitute the panchayat and officially notify them as sarpanchs,” Nanda said.

The solution, Nanda said, is re-election to appoint panchs which will be held soon after polls to the block development councils — that are to be completed by the end of October 2019.

In panchayat elections, people cast two votes — one for the sarpanch and another for the panch of their ward. Both are direct elections. The re-elections will be carried out only to elect panchs.

“There will not be any re-election for sarpanchs. Once panchs of all wards are elected, we will notify the 730 sarpanchs. But until they are notified, the sarpanchs will not get any benefits,” Nanda said.

Calling this reasoning “delaying tactics”, the sarpanchs said it was high time the problem was sorted.

“The government is now going to hold elections to block development councils, while the sarpanchs’ problems have been kept pending,” said Gulwar Bhat, a sarpanch from Tral who has been notified but is extending support to the 730 elected sarpanchs waiting for notification.

He said the authorities should have conducted the panch re-elections first, before going for the block development council polls.

‘Unable to show our faces to locals’
The sarpanchs say they are now “left in the lurch”, after contesting the elections despite threat to life from militants.

Ganai said he participated in the elections because he was “convinced” that the government would bring money and development to the region.

“We were urged to contest the panchayat polls by the government. Local residents did not want to take part in it. Who wants a bullet to their head? But I dared. All 730 of us had dared. Today, we have been left in a lurch,” he added.

Ganai contested unopposed in his village and garnered 800 votes.

“We are stuck from all sides. The militants, the local residents and now the government. We had faith in the government and thought people will eventually have faith in us when they see development in their villages. Now, we are unable to show our faces to them. They taunt us and say that we should never have trusted this government,” he said.

He also rued how locals now call them “traitors”. “The militants will shoot us anyway for siding with the government and participating in the election process. The government has abandoned us too.”

Courtesy : The Print

New Delhi, Sep 9 (PTI) Amid reports of Pakistan’s plans to raise the Kashmir issue at the UN Human Rights Council, the Congress on Monday said with what face will that country talk about Kashmir after releasing JeM chief Masood Azhar, who is issuing threats to Indian security forces.

The Congress’s attack on Pakistan came after reports that Islamabad has released Jaish-e-Mohammed chief Azhar to carry out terror attacks in India.

Asserting that Pakistan has “no locus standi” on Kashmir, senior Congress leader Shashi Tharoor said that after what Pakistan has done by changing the status of Gilgit-Baltistan and Pakistan-occupied Kashmir (PoK), how can it raise a finger at India.

“Pakistan has nothing to do with whatever happens within India. Whatever happens in India is our issue. We are in the Opposition, so we can criticise the government, but we are united outside the country and will never yield even an inch to Pakistan,” he said on the sidelines of a party event here.

Asked about Pakistan Foreign Minister Shah Mahmood Qureshi’s plans to raise rights issues in Jammu and Kashmir following abrogation of its special status, Congress spokesperson Pawan Khera said, “As we speak, Maulana Masood Azhar is issuing threats to the Indian forces and openly advising security forces to attack our security forces. With what face will the Pakistani foreign minister speak to the UNHRC about anything on Kashmir.”

“Pakistan stands exposed all over again today with Masood Azhar’s release and his statements. The entire international community will have to understand what is Pakistan’s real face and what is its role on the Kashmir issue. And how Pakistan says something else overseas and acts differently,” he said.

Meanwhile, Tharoor, while speaking with reporters, also criticised the government over restrictions and detention of politicians.

Farooq Abdullah has been detained and he was not allowed to participate in the parliamentary debate, people do not have telephones, internet, parents are scared to leave their children at school as they would not have any information if something happens, Tharoor said, adding that none should be subjected to such a life.

“We are with the government at the UNHRC, but such type of things cannot be allowed in the country,” he said.

Anti-Corruption Bureau Kashmir today on 9th of September-2019 registered a Case FIR No 03/2019 under section 5(1)(d) read with 5(2) J&K PC Act Svt. 2006 and Sections 465, 468, 471 & 120-B RPC.

2.       The registration of the instant case is the outcome of a verification conducted by this Bureau which looked into the allegations of illegal appointments in Medical Block Gurez, District Baramulla (now Bandipora) revealed that the many appointment orders issued by then Chief Medical Officers of District Baramulla and Dy. Director Health Services Kashmir in favour of Mohammad Yaqoob Nasir (as Junior Assistant), Farooq Ahmad Sheikh (as Nursing Orderly), Mohammad Sartaj Akhoon (as X-Ray Boy), Mohammad Shahnawaz Sheikh (as Nursing Orderly), Feroz Ahmad Lone (as Graded Safaiwalla), Ghulam Qadir Akhoon (as Class IV) and Mohammad Anwar Lone (as Nursing Orderly) respectively do not coincide/exist in the records of the office of Chief Medical Officer Baramulla as well as in the Directorate of Health Services Kashmir, thus were found to be fake and fabricated, fraudulently managed by the said beneficiaries. The probe further revealed that the initial appointment/engagement orders issued by the then Chief Medical Officers of District Baramulla in favour of Shamsudin Nasir (as Cleaner), Abdul Rahim Sheikh (as Class IV) and Maqsood Ahmad Lone (as Class IV) too are also fake/fictitious managed by the beneficiaries fraudulently.

3.       During the course of verification it further surfaced that the then Block Medical Officers of Medical Block Gurez namely Dr. Gh. Mohi-u- din Wani, Dr. Bashir Ahmad Malik and Dr. Ali Mohammad Hajam and others by abuse of their official positions and in furtherance of criminal conspiracy hatched with the above named illegally appointed beneficiaries prepared/attested the service books during their tenure without verifying the legitimacy of appointment orders which ultimately paved way for their status as of genuine/permanent employees by illegal and fraudulent means.