The newly-elected Jammu and Kashmir Assembly faced chaos on the first day after opposition member Waheed Parra of the People’s Democratic Party (PDP) moved a resolution against the scrapping of Article 370.

The erstwhile state lost its special status and was bifurcated into two union territories after the Narendra Modi-led Union government abrogated Article 370 in August 2019.

Soon after Parra began reading the resolution, BJP lawmakers protested vehemently and created a din. The Speaker adjourned the House amid the uproar to meet again for Lieutenant Governor  Manoj Sinha’s address.

Jammu and Kashmir Assembly convened for its first session in six years on Monday, November 4, and will conclude on November 8. Besides the L-G’s address, the Assembly will take up obituary references for former legislators who have passed away since the last session of the erstwhile J&K Assembly. 

The Contentious Resolution

The Speaker of the House, Rahim Rather of the ruling National Conference, however, said he had not admitted any resolution as yet.

“This house opposes the revocation of special status of J&K and constitutional disempowerment of Jammu and Kashmir through the J&K reorganisation Act, 2-19 and calls for its complete rescinding,” the resolution reads.

“House further resolves to strive for the restoration of special status and all constitutional guarantees granted to Jammu and Kashmir in their original pristine form,” it read.

PDP president Mehbooba Mufti congratulated Parra for moving the resolution. 

“Proud of Waheed Parra for introducing resolution in JK Assembly opposing the revocation of Article 370 and resolve to restore the special status. God bless you [sic],” she said in a post on X.

Who is Waheed Parra?

Waheed Parra, the MLA from Pulwama, lost the Lok Sabha Election 2024 from the Srinagar parliamentary seat. He is the President of PDP’s youth wing and was nominated as a Peace Fellow at the Yale International Leadership Centre in 2023 but could not attend as he was denied a passport. 

The National Investigation Agency (NIA) arrested Parra in a military-related case three days after he filed his nomination for the District Development Council (DDC) election from a Pulwama constituency in November 2020. He won the election from jail.

He was granted bail on January 9, 2021, but was again arrested outside the prison by Counter Intelligence Kashmir, a special cell of the J&K Police, for allegedly having links with militants and separatists. He was finally released on bail in June 2023. 

Senior National Conference leader and former minister Abdul Rahim Rather was elected speaker of the Jammu and Kashmir assembly, which convened in Srinagar on Monday, November 4, for its first session in six years.

The Union Territory’s Minister for Agriculture Production, Rural Development, Panchayati Raj, and Cooperatives, Javid Ahmed Dar, moved the motion to elect Rather as the speaker of the 90-member house.

After his election, Rather was escorted to the chair by the Leader of the House, Omar Abdullah, and BJP’s Sunil Sharma, the Leader of the Opposition.

Rather had earlier held the post of the Speaker in the legislative assembly of the erstwhile State of Jammu and Kashmir. He was also the Leader of the Opposition from 2002 to 2008, when the PDP-Congress coalition government ruled the State.

All eyes will be on the Lieutenant Governor of Jammu and Kashmir, Manoj Sinha‘s address scheduled at 11:30 am. The session will continue for 5 days.

All eyes on Article 370 resolution

The NC, which won the UT’s assembly polls in alliance with the Congress party, is expected to move a resolution on Article 370 to ‘register a protest against the Centre’s measures taken on August 5, 2019’.

Prime Minister Narendra Modi-led Union government’s move in 2019 not only abrogated the special provision but also split the erstwhile state into two Union Territories – Jammu and Kashmir and Ladakh.

Chief Minister Omar Abdullah, also NC vice president, had pledged to bring a resolution on Article 370 in the Assembly in its first session.

The NC has the support of 55 MLAs in the 90-member Assembly, which was elected in September-October after a 10-year gap. Jammu and Kashmir was under the President’s rule from 2018 until the latest assembly elections.

Abdul Rahim Rather’s election as Speaker symbolizes a new chapter in Jammu and Kashmir’s legislative history.

The Assembly’s first session started on November 4 and will conclude on November 8. Besides the L-G address, obituary references for former legislators who passed away since the last session of the erstwhile J&K Assembly are also scheduled to be taken up.

As per the schedule, the Motion of Thanks on the L-G’s address will be discussed on November 6 and 7.

People’s Democratic Party (PDP) chief Mehbooba Mufti has said Jammu and Kashmir is bearing the brunt of the animosity between India and Pakistan. Reconciliation between the two nations is the only way to stop terror incidents in the Union Territory, the former chief minister said.

The remarks came days after seven people – a local doctor and six non-local labourers – were killed and five injured when terrorists attacked their camp in Gund in Ganderbal district of Kashmir. The labourers were working on a tunnel project.

“The people of J&K are stuck in the animosity between the two countries. Their lives and their property are getting destroyed because the two countries are fighting each other,” Mufti said after visiting the residence of Dr Shahnawaz Dar, who was killed in Sunday’s attack, in Naidgam village of Budgam district on Wednesday.

Bearing the brunt

“J&K is bearing the brunt and the poor non-local labourers are also suffering because of that,” Mehbooba told reporters in Budgam

The former Lok Sabha MP said Dar was serving the people and was an honourable man but suffered because of the animosity between the two countries.

“Until both the countries sit together, talk in a cordial manner and take the path of reconciliation like (former prime minister Atal Bihari) Vajpayee, the people of J&K and the rest of the country will continue to witness such incidents,” she said.

Dar was posted at the tunnel construction site by APCO Infratech, the infrastructure company he was working for.

Mehbooba’s remarks are in sharp contrast with her party’s rival National Conference leader Farooq Abdullah who on Monday lashed out at Pakistan for perpetrating terror attacks in Jammu and Kashmir, saying Islamabad will have to stop terror incidents here if it wants to have friendly relations with India.

Until both the countries sit together, talk in a cordial manner and take the path of reconciliation, the people of J&K will continue to witness such incidents.

Every person in J&K wants this violence to end… we get out of this bloodshed.

“Every person in J&K, not just Mehbooba Mufti, wants this violence to end and that the two countries sit together and talk so that we get out of this bloodshed,” Mehbooba said when asked about comments by Abdullah.

Kashmiri separatist leader Yasin Malik, currently serving a life sentence in Tihar Jail for his involvement in a terror funding case, has recently submitted an affidavit to the Unlawful Activities (Prevention) Act (UAPA) tribunal.

In this document, Yasin Malik asserts that he has renounced violence and embraced a peaceful approach to resistance. He stated, “I gave up arms, I’m a Gandhian now,” highlighting his transformation since 1994.

According to India Today, Yasin Malik in his affidavit has explained his decision to abandon violence was aimed at promoting a “united, independent Kashmir” but through peaceful means.

Embraced the Gandhian Philosophy: Yasin Malik

As the founder of the Jammu and Kashmir Liberation Front-Yasin (JKLF-Y), Malik played a significant role in advocating armed militancy in the Kashmir Valley during the 1990s.

In his affidavit, he expressed a commitment to following the “Gandhian way of resistance,” indicating a profound shift in his ideology. This statement aims to reflect his current stance on conflict resolution and political activism.

Yasin Malik, currently serving a life sentence in Tihar Jail following his conviction in a terror funding case, is a key accused in the 1990 murder of four Indian Air Force personnel in Rawalpora, Srinagar.

Earlier this year, witnesses identified him as the primary shooter in that incident. Furthermore, in May 2022, he received a life sentence related to a terror financing investigation conducted by the National Investigation Agency (NIA).

In his affidavit, Malik asserted that during the early 1990s, several state officials guaranteed him that the Kashmir issue would be addressed through “meaningful dialogue”, India Today reported.

Yasin Malik claimed he was promised that if he called for a unilateral ceasefire, all charges against him and members of JKLF-Y would be dismissed.

UAPA Review of JKLF-Y Ban

Yasin Malik‘s affidavit comes as the UAPA tribunal reviews the ban on JKLF-Y, which has been a prominent player in the armed struggle in Kashmir. His declaration of non-violence seeks to influence the tribunal’s assessment, potentially impacting the future of the organization.

In a recent order published in the official gazette, the UAPA tribunal classified JKLF-Y as an “unlawful organization” for the next five years under the Unlawful Activities (Prevention) Act of 1967. The ruling highlighted the group’s connections to prominent political and governmental figures since 1994, raising concerns about its legitimacy.