Srinagar, July 30: Hakeem Yaseen, Chairman of the Jammu and Kashmir People’s Democratic Front (JKPDF) and former minister, on Tuesday urged the Centre to “refrain from lowering the prestige of Kashmir” by stripping it of administrative powers through recent amendments, specifically the recent amendment to the Transaction of Business of the Government of Union Territory of Jammu and Kashmir Rules, 2019.
The amendment aims to delegate more powers to the Lieutenant Governor concerning decisions on police, officers of all-India services, and sanctioning prosecutions in various cases.
Addressing a public gathering at Tangnar, Doodhpathri, Yaseen criticised the amendment, saying it undermines the authority of the elected government and diminishes the role of the Chief Minister in Jammu and Kashmir. Such changes could be counterproductive and futile in the long run, he said.
Hakeem urged on the Centre to respect the sentiments of the people and not diminish their esteem through these amendments. He reiterated the need for the government to honour Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s promise to remove “Dil Ki Doori – Dilli se Doori”.
The former minister appealed to Home Minister Amit Shah to restore statehood to Jammu & Kashmir in its original form, conduct early assembly elections and restore all constitutional guarantees. “The people of Jammu & Kashmir have been deprived of their elected assembly and democratic rights for the past nine years, which has led to a political and social vacuum,” he said.
Yaseen also cautioned against opportunistic political parties which, he said, have compromised the people’s self-respect for power over the past 70 years, sowing seeds of suspicion and alienation towards the mainstream. “This contributed to the eruption of militancy in 1990,” he said.
“The suffering due to this turmoil has resulted in the loss of thousands of lives, widowed many and orphaned numerous children, besides destroying property worth billions,” he said.
Meanwhile, the PDF chief criticised the Tourism Development Authorities (TDAs) of Tossamaidan, Doodhpathri and Yusmarg for “failing” to build basic tourism infrastructure at these resorts. He appealed to Chief Secretary Atal Dulloo to direct the Tourism Department to create an integrated tourism development plan for these areas to boost tourism activities and create job opportunities for the unemployed youth.
