Kashmir assembly demands restoration of special status revoked by Modi in 2019

Special Kashmir assembly demands restoration of special status revoked by Modi in 2019
Jammu and Kashmir Chief Minister Omar Abdullah, center, looks on as members of the region’s legislative assembly shout slogans in support of a resolution to restore its special status during a session in Srinagar on Nov. 6, 2024. (AFP)
Short Url
Updated 06 November 2024
Follow

Kashmir assembly demands restoration of special status revoked by Modi in 2019

Kashmir assembly demands restoration of special status revoked by Modi in 2019
  • Kashmir lost semi-autonomy when PM Narendra Modi’s government repealed Article 370 of constitution
  • All parties in the assembly supported the move except for lawmakers from Modi’s Bharatiya Janata Party

NEW DELHI: The newly elected assembly of Jammu and Kashmir passed on Wednesday a resolution requesting the Indian government to start talks for the restoration of the region’s special status.

Kashmir lost its semi-autonomy in August 2019, when Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s government repealed Article 370 of the Indian constitution and downgraded it from state to union territory.

Article 370 acknowledged the special status of the state of Jammu and Kashmir in terms of autonomy and its ability to formulate laws for its permanent residents.

The region has been under direct control of New Delhi since, with India’s Parliament as its main legislator, but last month the territory elected its local legislative assembly, with voters choosing representatives in opposition to Modi’s Hindu-nationalist Bharatiya Janata Party.

The election was the first in 10 years, with the restoration of statehood being a main promise of all contenders, including the BJP.

The National Conference, the oldest party in Kashmir, won the polls and formed a government led by Omar Abdullah, who had earlier served as the chief minister of the state of Jammu and Kashmir between 2009 and 2014.

Wednesday’s resolution was filed by Abdullah’s deputy, Surinder Kumar Choudhary.

“This assembly upon the Government of India to initiate dialogue with elected representatives of people of Jammu and Kashmir for restoration of special status, constitutional guarantees and to work out constitutional mechanisms for restoring these provisions,” the resolution read.

“This Legislative Assembly reaffirms the importance of the special status and constitutional guarantees, which safeguarded the identity, culture, and rights of the people of Jammu and Kashmir, and expresses concern over their unilateral removal.”

All parties in the 90-member assembly supported the resolution except for 29 BJP lawmakers.

After the revocation of Article 370, a series of administrative changes followed, with the Indian government removing protections on land and jobs for the local population, which many in the Muslim-majority region likened to attempts at demographically altering it.

While the restoration of Kashmir’s statehood was on the table, with the region’s New Delhi-appointed lieutenant governor, Manoj Sinha, bringing it up earlier this week, the assembly’s call to restore the special status and protections came as a surprise.

“It was a surprise, but it was expected. It was not expected that this would happen quickly. The NC in its manifesto was committed to do it,” Prof. Noor Ahmad Baba, political science lecturer from the University of Kashmir, told Arab News.

“That is implied that the with the special status statehood, too, would be restored.”

The wording of the resolution, which did not mention Article 370 of the constitution, allowed room for negotiation with New Delhi.

“They have not asked for the restoration of Article 370, they have asked for the safeguarding of culture, identity and rights of the people,” Baba said.

“On the face of it, it looks difficult for New Delhi to accept the demand for special status. But there is also a window open here. It can be a negotiated kind of relationship, which can be symbolically different from Article 370.”

An agreement could also help to improve India’s relationship with Pakistan, he said, and become a “basis for that.”

Indian-controlled Jammu and Kashmir is part of the larger Kashmiri territory, which has been the subject of international dispute since the 1947 partition of the Indian subcontinent into Hindu-majority India and Muslim-majority Pakistan.

Both countries claim Kashmir in full and rule in part. Indian-controlled Kashmir has, for decades, witnessed outbreaks of separatist insurgencies to resist control from the government in New Delhi.


Ukraine’s path into NATO ‘irreversible’: European foreign ministers

Ukraine’s path into NATO ‘irreversible’: European foreign ministers
Updated 57 min 35 sec ago
Follow

Ukraine’s path into NATO ‘irreversible’: European foreign ministers

Ukraine’s path into NATO ‘irreversible’: European foreign ministers
  • The foreign ministers of Britain, France, Germany, Italy, Poland and Spain, and the EU’s foreign policy chief said: “Ukraine must prevail“
  • “We are committed to providing Ukraine with ironclad security guarantees“

BERLIN: Ukraine’s path to eventual NATO membership is “irreversible,” seven European foreign policy chiefs said at a meeting in Berlin on Thursday.
“We will continue to support Ukraine on its irreversible path to full Euro-Atlantic integration, including NATO membership,” said the foreign ministers of Britain, France, Germany, Italy, Poland and Spain, and the EU’s foreign policy chief.
“Ukraine must prevail,” they stressed in a joint declaration after meeting their Ukrainian counterpart.
“We are committed to providing Ukraine with ironclad security guarantees, including reliable long-term provision of military and financial support,” they added.
Germany’s Foreign Minister Annalena Baerbock hosted the meeting as Ukraine’s fight against Russia’s invasion has raged for more than 1,000 days and into its third winter, with Kyiv’s troops under heavy pressure.
The top diplomats vowed to “remain steadfast in our solidarity” and “continue to support Ukraine in its right of self-defense against Russian aggression.”
US President-elect Donald Trump, who takes office next month, has said solving the Ukraine crisis would be his top priority, but there are fears in Kyiv that he could try to force big concessions on Ukraine in return for a ceasefire.
The European ministers meeting in Berlin stressed: “There can be no negotiations about peace in Ukraine without Ukrainians and without Europeans by their side.”
They vowed to “stand united with our European and transatlantic partners to think and act big on European security.”
The group also said they would “continue to support Ukraine on its path toward accession to the European Union.”


UK aims to boost home-schooling safety after British-Pakistani girl’s murder

UK aims to boost home-schooling safety after British-Pakistani girl’s murder
Updated 38 min 14 sec ago
Follow

UK aims to boost home-schooling safety after British-Pakistani girl’s murder

UK aims to boost home-schooling safety after British-Pakistani girl’s murder
  • Ten-year-old Sara Sharif’s father, step-mother were convicted of murdering her this week
  • Months before death, her father had taken Sharif out of school to be taught at home

LONDON: British Prime Minister Keir Starmer on Thursday called for better safeguards for home-schooled children and said there were “questions that need to be answered” after the brutal murder of a 10-year-old girl.

Sara Sharif’s father and step-mother were convicted of murder on Wednesday in a trial that revealed gruesome details of the abuse inflicted on her, and the failure of child protection services to intervene despite warning signs.

Months before her death, her father Urfan Sharif had taken her out of school to be taught at home, after Sara’s teacher reported her bruises to child services.

At the time, child services had probed the incident but did not take any action.

Starmer said the “awful” case was “about making sure that (there are) protecting safeguards for children, particularly those being home-schooled.”

The Department for Education said it was “already taking action to make sure no child falls through the cracks” and “bringing in greater safeguards for children in home education.”

The government plans to “make sure that schools and teachers are involved in safeguarding decisions,” a Downing Street spokesperson said, adding that details would be included in upcoming legislation.

Parents will also need local authority consent for home-schooling at-risk children under the proposed changes, and a register of children who are not in school will be drawn up.

Sara was found dead in her home in August 2023, with extensive injuries including broken bones, burns and even bite marks after being subjected to years of abuse.

She had also been in and out of foster care after Sharif separated from her mother, Olga Sharif, to marry the step-mother Beinash Batool.

Despite previous allegations of abusive behavior against the father made by Olga, Sharif won custody of Sara in 2019, just four years before she was killed.

Children’s Commissioner Rachel de Souza said Sara’s death highlighted “profound weaknesses in our child protection system.”

De Souza said it was “madness” that an at-risk child could be taken out of school, calling for a ban on home-schooling of suspected abuse victims.

According to a child safeguarding report published on Thursday, 485 children in England died or were seriously harmed by abuse or neglect in the year to April 2024.

Urfan Sharif, Beinash Batool and Sara’s uncle Faisal Malik, who was cleared of murder but convicted of causing or allowing her death, are due to be sentenced on Tuesday.


Finland to host EU leaders for defense, immigration talks

Finland to host EU leaders for defense, immigration talks
Updated 12 December 2024
Follow

Finland to host EU leaders for defense, immigration talks

Finland to host EU leaders for defense, immigration talks
  • Discussions will focus on “key issues facing Europe in a tense geopolitical climate,” the government said
  • Finland has accused Russia of orchestrating a surge of migrants

HELSINKI: Finland’s Prime Minister Petteri Orpo will host four high-ranking EU counterparts in late December for talks on security and immigration, the Finnish government said on Thursday.
EU foreign policy chief Kaja Kallas, Swedish Prime Minister Ulf Kristersson, Italian Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni and Greek Prime Minister Kyriakos Mitsotakis will join the summit, which will take place in Saariselka in Finland’s far north on December 21 and 22.
Discussions will focus on “key issues facing Europe in a tense geopolitical climate,” the government said in a statement.
Topics like “European security, defense and preparedness, as well as migration, instrumentalization of migration and border security” will be on the agenda.
“The summit will provide an opportunity to discuss issues confidentially and come up with ideas for new initiatives,” the statement said.
Finland has accused Russia of orchestrating a surge of migrants after nearly 1,000 migrants without visas arrived at its 1,340-kilometer-long (830-mile) eastern border with Russia in the autumn of 2023.
Helsinki dubbed it a “hybrid attack,” but the Kremlin has denied the accusation.
“Europe has to take greater responsibility for its own security,” Orpo was quoted saying in the statement.
“This means that European countries have to be strong leaders, both in the EU and in NATO. Our greatest threat is Russia, which is trying to consolidate power and sow discord in Europe.”


Tusk says no plans to send Polish troops to Ukraine in event of ceasefire

Tusk says no plans to send Polish troops to Ukraine in event of ceasefire
Updated 12 December 2024
Follow

Tusk says no plans to send Polish troops to Ukraine in event of ceasefire

Tusk says no plans to send Polish troops to Ukraine in event of ceasefire
  • Tusk was speaking alongside French President Emmanuel Macron who was visiting Warsaw
  • Diplomats said the idea of sending European troops to Ukraine if there is a ceasefire and peace accord between Ukraine and Russia would be on their agenda.

WARSAW/PARIS: Poland has no plans to send troops to Ukraine, Prime Minister Donald Tusk said on Thursday, amid speculation that Western powers could put boots on the ground if a ceasefire is reached.
Tusk was speaking alongside French President Emmanuel Macron who was visiting Warsaw. Diplomats said the idea of sending European troops to Ukraine if there is a ceasefire and peace accord between Ukraine and Russia would be on their agenda.
“To cut off speculation about the potential presence of this or that country in Ukraine after reaching a ceasefire... decisions concerning Poland will be made in Warsaw and only in Warsaw,” Tusk said. “For now, we do not plan such actions.”
Macron said it was up to Ukraine to decide what concessions it wanted to make for peace, but for Europe to be secure the people of the continent as a whole must take responsibility.
“(We have) the same desire to say to the Ukrainians that... nobody can discuss for the Ukrainians in their name the concessions to be made, the points to be raised, it is up to the Ukrainians to do it, but there is no security in Europe without the Europeans,” Macron told a news conference.
European powers are keen to demonstrate to Donald Trump, who will be inaugurated as US president on Jan. 20, that they are willing to assume their share of the burden to end the almost three-year war in Ukraine.
Finance and foreign ministers from France, Germany and Poland are also meeting on Thursday in Warsaw and in Berlin, just weeks before Poland takes over the rotating EU presidency from Hungary.
The talks in Poland and Berlin will look at how to strengthen financial and military support for Ukraine in the immediate term and how Europe can boost defense financing, including through common debt.


Zelensky visits south Ukraine front line

Zelensky visits south Ukraine front line
Updated 12 December 2024
Follow

Zelensky visits south Ukraine front line

Zelensky visits south Ukraine front line
  • “Let the HIMARS not fail, let them hit enemy targets,” Zelensky said
  • In a video published on his Telegram channel, he was filmed addressing soldiers in a bunker

KYIV: Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky visited troops fighting on the southern front line in the Zaporizhzhia region, he said Thursday in a post on Telegram.
Zelensky said he had visited soldiers from the 27th Rocket Artillery Brigade, dubbed Ukraine’s “HIMARS division” for its use of the US-supplied rockets.
“Thank you for your service and defense of our country and people. Let the HIMARS not fail, let them hit enemy targets,” Zelensky said.
In a video published on his Telegram channel, he was filmed addressing soldiers in a bunker and awarding some state awards.
Russia has occupied part of the Zaporizhzhia region since the first days of its 2022 invasion, and claims to have annexed the full region.
The regional capital, also called Zaporizhzhia, has been pounded with Russian aerial strikes in recent weeks.
Ukraine’s interior ministry said earlier on Thursday that 11 people had been killed in a missile strike on Tuesday, after rescue workers spent more than 46 hours sifting through rubble for bodies.
Another 22 were wounded in the strike, including a girl aged five.