Won’t talk to separatists, govt tells SC Kashmiris find ways to beat social media gag
J&K HIGH COURT BAR ASSOCIATION MUST USE INFLUENCE IN THE REGION TO OPEN A DIALOGUE WITH SEPARATIST HURRIYAT LEADERS, SAYS SC
The Supreme Court asked the Union government on Friday to facilitate talks between separatists and Kashmiri lawyers, paving the way for the first attempts to defuse tension in a region where nearly 100 people have been killed in waves of violence since last year.
The bench, headed by chief justice JS Khehar, told the representatives of the J&K High Court Bar association to use their influence in the region to open a dialogue with separatist Hurriyat leaders, the “first step to bring normalcy” to the Kashmir valley.
During the hearing, the government ruled out engaging with the Hurriyat leaders, the political face of the anti-India movement in the region claimed by Pakistan as its territory.
The meeting, the bench told attorney general Mukul Rohatgi, should be facilitated only if the rules allowed it.
“The Centre is aware of the situation there and is taking all the measures,” Rohatgi told the court, objecting strongly to the HC bar association’s arguments that NDA government should hold “unconditional talks with the jailed Hurriyat leaders.”
The AG also said it was not for the court to commence a dialogue, but for the political parties.
The SC did not “appreciate” AG’s aggressive stand, saying, “what they say is that we are the bar association and we should be allowed to talk to them (separatists). Let them meet and talk. Court can always be a facilitator, though the solutions are somewhere else”.
The court said if Rohatgi felt the court had no jurisdiction then it would not hear the petition by lawyers’ body seeking a direction to stop the use of pellet guns by security forces in Kashmir.
“The leaders are under house arrest by the state government who would be told what the SC has asked for. If a request is made, then the state shall take a decision as per the rules”, Rohatgi told HT, when asked about the next step.
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Kashmiris are turning to freely available technology to beat a government ban on websites such as Facebook and Twitter, undermining efforts to tamp down on the spread of videos and images that, officials believe, fan tension.
“Even before the ban was announced, we knew that there are alternative ways of accessing social media. It is common knowledge here as such internet bans were implemented earlier as well,” said Kashmir University staffer Zahoor Ahmad, one of many accessing Facebook on Friday, two days after the ban was ordered.
The alternative methods Ahmad refers to are virtual private networking (VPN) tools and encrypted messenger services such as Signal, available as open source software on the Internet.
VPN applications are gaining popularity in the Valley since the government directed service providers on Wednesday to block 22 websites and services, including popular messaging application WhatsApp.
Srinagar-based blogger Muhammad Faysal shared a list of more 12 applications that beat the ban in a tweet.
The government said the clampdown was necessary for ‘public safety’ after several viral videos depicting alleged abuse of civilians by security forces sparked protests.
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