Govt sources said the visit is part of a diplomatic outreach to meet all parties and get a chance to assess the situation ahead of polls in the former state…reports Asian Lite News
Senior American diplomats visited Jammu and Kashmir Monday to meet various political leaders in the Union territory, including National Conference Vice President Omar Abdullah at his Gupkar residence.
This comes ahead of crucial assembly polls in J&K, which will be the first since the Narendra Modi government scrapped its special status by abrogating Article 370 in August 2019. The former state was then broken into the two Union territories of Jammu & Kashmir and Ladakh.
The visit also comes two weeks after US Consul General Jennifer Larson visited All India Majlis-e-Ittehadul Muslimeen (AIMIM) chief Asaduddin Owaisi at his house in Hyderabad.
The American delegation to J&K included Minister-Counselor for Political Affairs at the US Embassy in Delhi Graham Mayer as well as First Secretary Gary Applegarth and Political Counselor Abhiram Ghadyalpatil.
Mayer last visited the Valley in August 2023 and had called on Lieutenant Governor Manoj Sinha at Raj Bhawan in Srinagar.
Government sources said the visit is part of a diplomatic outreach to meet all parties and get a chance to assess the situation ahead of polls in the former state.
The visit by the American delegation comes after Prime Minister Narendra Modi and US President Joe Biden held a phone call late Monday night. It is also days after the fifth anniversary of the abrogation of Article 370 on 5 August 2019.
During his meeting with the diplomats, Abdullah called for a relook at travel advisories for J&K and easing restrictions for visits. Srinagar MP Ruhullah Mehdi was also present.
Apart from Abdullah, the American diplomats spoke with former Srinagar mayor Junaid Azim Mattu. Mattu has met the diplomats multiple times before, including last August. They had discussed “Srinagar’s transformation, prospects of tourism growth and opportunities for investment”, according to a post by Mattu on X.
In August 2021, Mayer and other American diplomats also visited Ladakh where they met Tashi Gyalson, chief executive councilor of the Ladakh Autonomous Hill Development Council. Gyalson lost the Ladakh constituency in the Lok Sabha polls, which he contested from the National Democratic Alliance.
Jailed cleric to contest as Independent
Following the footsteps of incarcerated MP Engineer Rashid, a separatist cleric Sarjan Barkati, currently in jail, has decided to fight the upcoming Assembly elections as an Independent candidate from J&K’s Shopian district.
Known as the ‘Azadi Chacha’ during the tumultuous years of violence when Hizbul poster boy, Burhan Wani was killed in an encounter with the security forces in the Kokernag area of Anantnag district on July 8, 2016, Sarjan Barkati delivered some of the most vitriolic lectures and sermons extolling youth to violence.
Barkati originally named Sarjan Ahmad Wagay, belongs to Reban village of Shopian district.
His daughter told reporters that the family has already held a meeting with the locals who have assured all their support to her father in the Assembly elections.
She is expected to hold a press conference later in the day while the family said they are now moving to file Sarjan Barkati’s nomination paper before the district returning officer.
Barkati was arrested on October 1, 2016, and later released in October 2020.
He was again arrested by the State Investigation Agency (SIA) in August 2023 in a terror funding case and later his wife was also arrested.
His entry into the democratic process is part of the Jamaat-e-Islami religio-political organisation’s decision to field ex-members as Independent candidates in the Assembly elections.
Court orders release of separatist leader Shabir Shah
The Patiala House Court has on Tuesday ordered the release of Shabir Ahmad Shah, a Kashmiri separatist leader, in a money laundering case linked to terror funding.
The court observed that Shah has been in continuous custody since July 26, 2017, and considering that the maximum sentence for the offence under Section 3 of the Prevention of Money Laundering Act (PMLA) is seven years, his ongoing detention exceeds this period.
However, despite being released in the money laundering case, Shabir Ahmad Shah is expected to remain in judicial custody due to ongoing cases registered by the National Investigation Agency (NIA).
The Additional Sessions Judge Dheeraj Mor in an order passed on August 24, said
the accused Shabir Ahmad Shah is facing trial for offence under Section 3 of PMLA punishable under Section 4 of PMLA Act, 2002 and the maximum substantive sentence prescribed for the said offence is 7 years.
He is in continuous custody in this case since July 26, 2017 and since then, more than 7 years have passed. Therefore, the submissions made on his behalf are apparently correct.
Accordingly, in view of proviso to Section 436A CrPC, he is entitled to be released in this case.
Therefore, he is directed to be released from judicial custody in this case. Release warrants be issued. He be released forthwith, if not required in any other case, said the court.
After the order, Shabir Shah Counsels Prashant Prakash and Qausar Khan said, the accused was released from custody due to serving the maximum permissible punishment, which highlights a serious issue in the judicial process.