No civilian casualties; will announce 50,000 jobs: J&K Governor
Jammu and Kashmir Governor Satya Pal Malik on Wednesday apprised the media about the current situation in Kashmir. At a press conference, he announced the creation of 50,000 government jobs in the near future. He also claimed that there has been no loss of life or property in the region since the abrogation of Article 370. Here's more on what he said.
Malik announced 'largest single recruitment drive'
Calling it the "largest single recruitment drive" in J&K, Malik said that the government is planning on creating 50,000 jobs for the people of Kashmir over the next three months. He said, "Our exercise has found that we have 50,000 government jobs and we will fill those. We appeal to the youth that they participate to fill these vacancies."
Soon, PoK will want to be like Kashmir, says Malik
Malik also added that the government has major development projects in the pipeline for the state. He said, "In the next six months, so much will happen that the other Kashmir (Pakistan occupied Kashmir) will say that we want to be like them."
Malik claims communications clampdown was to stop 'anti-national elements'
Addressing the communications clampdown, Malik said that phones and the internet can be misused by anti-national elements for "mobilization and indoctrination." He said they are "weapons used against us so we have stopped it." He said services will not be restored for some time, adding that mobile phone connectivity will be restored in Kupwara and Handwara districts of Kashmir.
No civilian casualties; it's a matter of achievement: Malik
Further, claiming that he has been meeting a team of officials from the Centre every day, Malik said that the administration has tried to prevent any casualties while imposing necessary restrictions. He admitted that pellet guns were used by security personnel while dealing with protests in the Valley, however, said that there have been no civilian casualties, which is a "matter of achievement."
'Every Kashmiri life is valuable to us'
Malik said, "Every Kashmiri life is valuable to us, we don't want loss of even a single life. There has been no civilian casualty, only the few who got violent are injured, they also have below the waist injuries." He assured normalcy will return soon.
"Politicians' detainment will help their careers"
Meanwhile, speaking about the detainment of politicians, Malik quipped, "Don't be sad about the detention of political leaders, it will help them in their political careers." He also denied having spoken to any political leaders in J&K. Earlier, reports emerged that Malik might have spoken to former J&K CMs Omar Abdullah and Mehbooba Mufti, who were detained after the state's special status was revoked.
SC to review constitutional validity of abrogation of Article 370
Earlier today, the Supreme Court issued a notice to Centre after hearing pleas on the Kashmir situation. The SC bench, headed by Chief Justice of India Ranjan Gogoi, said that it will review the constitutional validity of the abrogation of Article 370. After the Centre repealed J&K's special status on August 5, several Opposition leaders had condemned the move, deeming it undemocratic and unconstitutional.
