The Indian Panorama

Tag: PoK

  • Protests in PoK consequence of Pakistan’s policy of systemic plundering of resources: India

    Protests in PoK consequence of Pakistan’s policy of systemic plundering of resources: India

    NEW DELHI (TIP): India on May 17 said the protests witnessed in several parts of Pakistan-occupied Kashmir (PoK) are a “natural consequence” of Islamabad’s continued policy of systemic plundering of resources from the region that remains under its “forcible and illegal” occupation. India also asserted that the entire Union territories of Jammu and Kashmir and Ladakh “have been, are and shall always remain integral parts of India”.

    Violent protests erupted in PoK over rising costs of food, fuel and essential utilities as Pakistan reels under a severe economic crisis.

    “We have seen reports on protests in several areas of Pakistan-occupied Jammu and Kashmir,” external affairs ministry spokesperson Randhir Jaiswal said at his weekly media briefing.

    He was responding to a question on the protests in PoK.

    “We believe that it is a natural consequence of Pakistan’s continued policy of systemic plundering of resources from these territories which remain under its forcible and illegal occupation,” Mr. Jaiswal said.

    “Such exploitative policies deny the local people rights over their own resources and the benefits thereof,” he said.

    “We reiterate that the entire Union territories of Jammu and Kashmir and Ladakh have been, are and shall always remain integral parts of India,” he added.

    Two days ago, External Affairs Minister S. Jaishankar asserted that Pakistan-occupied Kashmir was, is and will always be part of India.

    “I have no doubt in my own mind that someone living in PoK is comparing their situation with someone actually living in Jammu and Kashmir, saying that how is it that people today are actually progressing there,” he said.

    Earlier this month, Defense Minister Rajnath Singh said India will never give up its claim of PoK but it won’t have to capture it with force because its people, on their own, would want to be part of India after seeing the development in Kashmir.

    “I think India will not have to do anything. The way the ground situation has changed in Jammu and Kashmir, the way the region is witnessing economic progress and the way peace has returned there, I think demands will emerge from people of PoK that they should merge with India,” he said.

    “We will not have to use force to take PoK as people would say that we must be merged with India. Such demands are now coming,” he said.

    The defense minister asserted that “PoK was, is, and will remain ours”.
    (with inputs from PTI and ANI)

  • India lodges protest as Beijing builds infra in PoK’s Shaksgam

    India lodges protest as Beijing builds infra in PoK’s Shaksgam

    New Delhi (TIP)- India has lodged a strong protest with China for carrying out construction activities in Shaksgam Valley, which the Ministry of External Affairs (MEA) said was an illegal attempt to alter the situation on the ground.
    Shaksgam Valley is a strategically key region that is part of Pakistan-occupied Kashmir. “We consider Shaksgam Valley our territory and we have never accepted the so-called China-Pakistan agreement of 1963 through which Pakistan unlawfully attempted to cede the area to China. We have always rejected this and have protested to China not to alter the facts on the ground,” said MEA spokesperson Randhir Jaiswal. Terming Shaksgam Valley imbroglio as a vexed issue, he said India had the right to take required steps. “We further reserve the right to take necessary measures and will take all possible steps to safeguard our interests. It is our territory. We have been protesting as and when required. We have taken a very strong stand on it,” he underlined. Asked what the prospect of resolution of the standoff on the border in Ladakh was, Jaiswal said these were serious issues and, therefore, were bound to take time. “The next round of engagements will take place soon to take things forward,” he said.
    Over the past several years, China has kept up military pressure on India through its incursions across the Line of Actual Control (LAC). While this fact has been recognised by the international community, a study by Northwestern University shows that China’s incursions were strategically planned to make a permanent Chinese presence in these areas.
    Border transgressions and incursions are well documented in all three sectors of the 3,488-km-long border that India officially shares with China, which has developed military infrastructure and roads in the disputed region, presenting a threat to India.

  • Protests in PoK as locals grapple with flour crisis

    Muzaffarabad (PoK) (TIP): Frustrated residents in the illegally-occupied region of Muzaffarabad staged a protest against the spike in the prices of flour, according to a Pakistan media report.

    Trade associations and other groups have warned the government if the prices do not come down, they will launch a movement after January 19, it said. The flour dealers have rejected the government’s plan to form municipal committees to control the supplies.

    Pakistan is facing its worst-ever flour crisis, with parts of the country reporting a shortage of wheat and stampedes reported from several areas in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa, Sindh and Balochistan provinces. Tens of thousands spend hours daily to get the subsidised bags of flour that are already in short supply in the market, according to another report.

    The residents also suffered an electricity shortage. People in Muzaffarabad took to the streets to protest against increasing load-shedding hours. In Hanza, residents and trade unions were protesting against no electricity, no water, no doctors in hospitals and no medicines in the area. (ANI)

  • UAE to roll over $2 bn loan: Pak PM office

    Islamabad (TIP): The United Arab Emirates (UAE) on January 12 agreed to extend an existing loan of $2 billion and provide an additional loan of $1 billion to help cash-strapped Pakistan tackle its economic woes, including the fast-depleting foreign exchange reserves.

    Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif’s Office made the announcement after his meeting with UAE President Sheikh Mohammed bin Zayed Al Nahyan in Abu Dhabi. The two leaders discussed bilateral relations and explored ways to further strengthen these ties, especially in the fields of trade, investment and energy. They also had an exchange of views on regional and international issues of mutual interest.

    While on one hand, the government supply of subsidised wheat has nearly stopped altogether, the prices of other essentials have skyrocketed on the other. Stores and grocery shops are running out of kitchen staples. The shortage of wheat flour has led to an increase in the prices of bread and bakery items too.

    The desperate situation has triggered chaos and some clashes among people were also seen in the region in the past few days. The locals blamed the government for the situation. “We will continue to protest till our demands are met. The scope of this protest can also increase, it can go from one district to another. We can protest in the entire PoK region. If the poor people yearn for bread, we are not responsible for it. It is the responsibility of the government,” said a protester in Muzaffarabad. /ANI

  • Imran Khan’s PTI wins most seats in PoK election marred by irregularities, violence

    Islamabad (TIP): Prime Minister Imran Khan’s Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf party is set to form the next government in Pakistan-occupied Kashmir (PoK) as it emerged as the largest political party in the legislative assembly election in the region which was marred by allegations of irregularities and violence, local media reported, citing unofficial results.

    The Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf party (PTI) has won 23 seats while Pakistan People’s Party (PPP) was second with eight seats and the incumbent Pakistan Muslim League-Nawaz (PML-N) secured just six seats, the state-run Radio Pakistan reported. Muslim Conference (MC) and Jammu and Kashmir Peoples Party (JKPP) were successful on one seat each.

    However, Geo TV reported that PTI won 25 seats, followed by PPP with nine and PML-N six. One seat each was won by Muslim Conference and Jammu and Kashmir Peoples Party.

    Thus, PTI got a simple majority to form the government without support of any other party. It is for the first time that it will form a government in PoK.

    Traditionally, the ruling party in the country wins the elections in PoK.

    The assembly has a total of 53 members but only 45 are directly elected, while five seats are reserved for women and three are meant for technocrats.

    The 45 members directly elected include 33 residents of PoK and 12 refugees who came over the years from Kashmir and settled in various cities of Pakistan. (PTI)

  • Modi and Kashmir: The story so far

    Modi and Kashmir: The story so far

    In politics, Jammu and Kashmir is a thorny issue. The issue of Jammu and Kashmir or the Kashmir issue as it commonly referred to is more or less a consequence of the British design of the partition of India in 1947.

    It was complicated by Pakistan’s invasion of Kashmir two months after the partition that led to merger of Jammu and Kashmir (that also included the Union Territory of Ladakh) with the Union of India, and the first India-Pakistan war.

    The war ended with a ceasefire line separating the two armies. This line became the Line of Control (LoC) that placed a huge part of Jammu and Kashmir and Ladakh under Pakistan’s occupation.

    However, LoC has not remained a constant through over seven decades. During 1950s and 1960s, China took advantage of the situation and captured Aksai Chin.

    Successive governments have tried to maintain status quo since then reiterating India’s claim on Pakistan-occupied Kashmir (PoK) and Gilgit-Baltistan. In 1990s, Parliament passed a resolution affirming India’s commitment to take back occupied territories of Jammu and Kashmir and Ladakh.

    This status quo policy changed under the Narendra Modi government.

    Two-and-a-half months into power, the Modi government stunned Pakistan by calling off diplomatic talks after its high commissioner met Kashmiri separatist leaders in Delhi ahead of official talks. It was a sharp departure from earlier approach. The Modi government accused Pakistan of interfering with internal affairs of India.

    The J&K govt: 2015-2016

    Election held in 2014 yielded a hung assembly.

    –              Ideological rivals, the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) and the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) joined hands to form government.

    –              Mufti Muhammad Sayeed became the chief minister. He died in January 2016.

    –              His daughter Mehbooba Mufti became chief minister in April 2016.

    July 2016

    –              Terror outfit Hizbul Mujahideen’s top commander Burhan Wani was killed in an encounter with the security forces. Protests erupted across the Kashmir Valley leading to violent clashes with security forces, and imposition of curfew. Several people died. Curfew was lifted after over 50 days.

    September 2016

    –              This marked another major departure from status quo policy.

    –              Terrorists attacked the Uri army base,18 soldiers died.

    –              India carried out surgical strikes across the LoC in response.

    –              The government went public with the punitive action — a first in official record.

    Fall of Mehbooba government

    –              In June 2018, the BJP pulled out of the Mehbooba Mufti government.

    –              Mehbooba was accused of going lenient on trouble-makers in Kashmir.

    –              Mehbooba Mufti charged, in turn, the Modi government of adopting a ‘muscular policy’ in Kashmir as against status quoist ‘conciliatory policy’ adopted by previous governments.

    Clampdown on separatists—2016-2019

    –              The Modi government made a subtle change in policy towards the separatist leaders in Kashmir. They openly propagated anti-India views but they enjoyed perks and privileges from the government. This was questioned. By 2019, their security cover and financial assistance were gradually withdrawn. Their links to terror funding was investigated.

    February 2019: Pulwama attack and Balakot strike

    –              On February 14, a convoy of security forces was targeted at Pulwama in Kashmir killing 40 soldiers. The Modi government responded — in a reminder of the surgical strike of 2016 — with an air strike hitting a terror camp in Pakistan’s Khyber Pakhtunkhwa province.

    August 2019: The Kashmir decision

    –              The Modi government through an executive decision made Article 370 inoperative. Article 370 had a history and accorded special status to Jammu and Kashmir state. The decision stripped Jammu and Kashmir of its special status.

    –              The Modi government brought Jammu and Kashmir Reorganisation Bill, which split Ladakh from Jammu and Kashmir.

    –              Both units were made Union Territories. It was the first occasion when a state in India was turned into a Union Territory.

    –              Jammu and Kashmir was to have an assembly.

    –              The number of assembly constituencies was increased from 107 to 114 including 24 earmarked for PoK.

    –              Most mainstream leaders including former chief ministers Farooq Abdullah, his son Omar Abdullah and PDP chief Mehbooba Mufti were put under house arrest. Separatist leaders were arrested.

    DDC polls: 2020

    The government created a new elected body called the District Development Council for each of the 20 districts of Jammu and Kashmir. It was the first election since Jammu and Kashmir was stripped off the special status.

    Delimitation

    –              The increase in assembly seats in 2019 required delimitation of constituencies. It is a process of reorganising territorial boundaries of existing constituencies for election to various bodies.

    n             A delimitation commission under Justice (retired) Ranjana Desai was announced in early 2020. The process is underway and the commission was given an extension of one year in March this year.

                    Source: India Today