Srinagar, Nov 25 (KNS): The Concerned Citizens Group (CCG) led by former union minister Yehswant Sinha Monday concluded its four-day visit to Kashmir during which they held deliberations with people from all walks of life.
However, the group was not allowed to meet three former chief ministers – Dr Farooq Abdullah, Omar Abdullah and Mehbooba Mufti – who are undergoing detention since August 5 when the Center abrogate Jammu and Kashmir’s special status under Article 370 and bifurcated the erstwhile state into two union territories.
The five-member prominent civil society activists group that comprises Sinha, former Chief Information Commissioner Wajahat Habibullah, former Vice Marshal Kapil Kak, journalist Bharat Bhushan and Sushoba Bharve had arrived in Srinagar on Friday and met a cross-section of people in Srinagar. However, they could not visit Kulgam, Shopian and Pulwama in south Kashmir as authorities had asked them to refrain from going there due to “militant threats.”
“We held discussions with a dozen delegations in Srinagar, covering intellectuals and civil society members. We were not allowed to visit south Kashmir as we were told that we can’t leave Srinagar jurisdiction. Despite we met a broad range of people in Srinagar,” Kapil Kak told KNS.
He said that economy was the big issue in Kashmir and the Valley suffered losses worth thousands of crores after August 5. “It was discussed as to how it could be ensured that Kashmir’s economy does not collapse. We got vital inputs from the people we met during the last four days. People here are in shock and pain due to the abrogation of Kashmir’s special status,” he added.
On the first day of their visit, the group, who was on a visit to Kashmir to assess the ground situation, had belied the Center government normalcy claims in Kashmir post abrogation of Article 370.
While commenting on normalcy claims, Yeshwant Sinha, who was a minister in Atal Behari Vajpayee government, said that when political leaders, including three former chief ministers were under detention for the last three and half months, “how come situation was normal.”
“The statement made by Union Home Minister Amit Shah in the parliament is totally averse to the ground situation in Kashmir. Normalcy picture presented in Parliament is incorrect,” Sinha, a former BJP leader, asserted.
Earlier, the group had tried to visit Kashmir in early September but were sent back by the authorities. Their latest visit was marked by a fresh shutdown in Kashmir from Thursday. Earlier, for a week, semblance of normalcy was witnessed in Kashmir after more than three months. (KNS)