Over 20 foreign envoys arrive in J&K, security stepped up
The diplomats will interact with local politicians, civil society organisations and visit key projects
SRINAGAR, NEW DELHI: A group of 24 foreign envoys began a two-day visit to Jammu and Kashmir on Wednesday under a government initiative to showcase efforts to restore normalcy and boost development in the Union territory formed in 2019 after the erstwhile state was divested of its special status with the effective revocation of Article 370 of the Constitution.
This is the third group of diplomats to visit Jammu and Kashmir since January 2020 and the first since the government’s efforts to take envoys to the region was interrupted by the Covid-19 pandemic.
The visit has been organised following the conduct of District Development Council elections in November-December and restoration of 4G internet earlier this month.
The group includes European Union (EU) ambassador Ugo Astuto, and ambassadors of key European states such as French envoy Emmanuel Lenain, Italy’s Vincenzo de Luca, Sweden’s Klas Molin, Ireland’s Brendan Ward and Marten Van den Berg of the Netherlands.
The neighbourhood was represented by Bangladeshi envoy Muhammad Imran.
People familiar with matter said on condition of anonymity the group represents various geographical regions such as Africa, South America and the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (Asean), and included envoys of Brazil, Cuba, Estonia, Finland, Tajikistan, Portugal, Malawi, Eritrea, Cote d’Ivore, Ghana, Senegal, Malaysia, Bolivia, Belgium and Kyrgyzstan.
Tight security arrangements were put in place for the visit. A spontaneous shutdown was observed in Srinagar, and all commercial areas were closed.
Soon after their arrival in Srinagar, the envoys headed for Magam in Budgam district on the outskirts of the city, where they met DDC and panchayat members and local residents. The envoys also witnessed “Block Diwas”, a public outreach organised every week by the local administration, and were briefed on people-centric schemes being implemented by the government.
“The visit to Budgam provided the envoys an opportunity to interact and hear directly from the public and local representatives about the functioning and empowerment of grassroots democratic institutions, devolution of power, developmental activities, and grievance redress mechanisms,” said one of the people cited above.
The DDC chairman of Budgam, Nazir Ahmad Khan, who met the envoys with a group of DDC and panchayat members, said he briefed the group about the panchayat system and the recent DDC elections.
“I expressed appreciation for the civil and police administration for the peaceful conduct of the elections and the restoration of grassroots democracy,” he said.
The envoys spent more than an hour at the Degree College in Magam. However, a group of DDC and panchayat members of the PAGD were not allowed by the administration to meet the envoys.
“We are also elected members but we were not allowed to move out from our rooms to convey our viewpoint to the envoys,” said a DDC member from Budgam, requesting anonymity.
In the afternoon, the envoys met different groups at the Sher-e-Kashmir International Conference Centre (SKICC) on the banks of the Dal Lake.
The group also visited the Hazratbal shrine and met journalists in the evening to make a first-hand assessment of the situation.
A cultural event was also organised for the envoys.
NEW DELHI: A 30-year-old car air-conditioning mechanic from north-west Delhi’s Swaroop Nagar was arrested for swinging swords and dancing with the weapons at the Red Fort on Republic Day, acts that “motivated” protesters to cause “more mayhem” at the monument, the Delhi Police said on Wednesday.
Pramod Kushwaha, deputy commissioner of police (special cell), said the accused, Maninder Singh, was arrested after being identified in a video that showed him wielding the two swords. “We have recovered the two 4.3-feet-long swords from his home,” said Kushwaha in a press note.
The Red Fort was one of the epicentres of violence and vandalism on Republic Day after a tractor march planned by the farmers protesting against the three farm laws descended into chaos with the protesters clashing with the police at several locations in central, east Delhi and north-west Delhi, and a large group storming the Mughal-era fort. As many as 89 police personnel were injured in violence at Red Fort.
Three others have already been arrested in connection with the vandalism and violence at the Unesco World Heritage site. These include Deep Sidhu, an actor-turned-activist who was arrested on February 8, for allegedly instigating protesters at the monument and destroying property. Sidhu remains in police custody for interrogation.
Sidhu was arrested after the Delhi Police announced a total reward of R6 lakh for information leading to the arrest of eight men, including Sidhu, gangster-turned-activist Lakha Sidhana and Jugraj Singh. The latter is accused of hoisting a religious and a farmers’ body flag at the Red Fort.
Police teams are continuing to carry out raids in Punjab and Haryana to arrest Sidhana and Singh. Kushwaha said Singh was “radicalised” by watching various “provocative” videos on Facebook and was “motivated” by speeches made by leaders at the Singhu border, a protest site frequented by him.
“Singh motivated six other residents of Swaroop Nagar to accompany him to the tractor rally. On Republic Day, Singh and the six other men rode motorcycles along with the tractor rally from Singhu border to Red Fort. He carried his two swords with him,” said Kushwaha.
The seven men and others entered the Red Fort with several other unidentified persons, said the officer. “Inside, Singh danced with his swords. The sword dance motivated the violent protesters to cause more mayhem at Red Fort,” said Kushwaha.
Kushwaha also that Singh ran a sword training centre from a vacant plot near his home.Referring to the evidence against Singh, Kushwaha said there was a long video of him swinging swords at the venue in his mobile phone. The police are questioning Singh to identify others present at the monument that day.