J&K: Omar Abdullah, Mehbooba Mufti put under house arrest
Amid growing uncertainty in Jammu and Kashmir, the government in a late-night move put former Chief Ministers Omar Abdullah and Mehbooba Mufti as well as Sajad Lone under house arrest. Panic in the northernmost state took a worse turn after Section 144 of the CrPC was imposed in Srinagar. On the recent developments, Abdullah tweeted "it doesn't look good". Here are more details.
Backstory: Understanding how the turmoil started and what speculations suggest
On Friday, last week, the state government issued a notification asking Amarnath yatris and tourists to leave Kashmir, citing terror threats. This move came amid heightened security and heavy deployment of troops, sparking speculations that BJP-led Centre might be working towards abrogation of Articles 370 and 35A. These Articles grant special status to J&K and abolishing them has been BJP's long-standing promise.
Placed under house arrest, Mufti said voices being muzzled
As the Centre didn't directly speak on J&K's prevailing situation, Abdullah, Mufti, and other leaders met to "warn" Centre against tinkering the state's special status. Hours later, they were put under house arrest. Mufti tweeted, "How ironic that elected representatives like us who fought for peace are under house arrest. The world watches as people & their voices are being muzzled in J&K. (sic)"
Please stay calm, Abdullah urged people
Similarly, NC leader Abdullah said he didn't know what was coming Kashmir's way, but he believes Almighty Allah has something better in store. "Good luck to everyone, stay safe & above all PLEASE STAY CALM (sic)," he wrote. He also re-tweeted a post of his political rival Mufti in which she wrote, "We are in this together & will fight it out."
This wasn't the India J&K acceded to, claimed Abdullah
Public gatherings disallowed, Internet services snapped
Further, Section 144 was imposed from Sunday midnight and will remain in place until further orders, a government advisory said. The government barred public meetings. Schools and colleges have also been shut down. Meanwhile, Kashmir University and the Central University of Kashmir postponed all exams scheduled till August 10. Internet services were entirely snapped in some parts of the valley.
But, Governor said no one discussed anything with him
Sensing something unprecedented, locals queued up at ATMs, petrol pumps, and stocked their homes with essentials. As everyone looked towards Governor Satya Pal Malik for some clarity, he said he was also clueless. "Whatever somebody is saying — there will be trifurcation, Article 35A, 370 — nobody has discussed with me these things, either the PM or the home minister," Malik reportedly said.
In Delhi, Shah met top security and government officials
To note, Delhi was also abuzz with movement on Sunday. Union Home Minister Amit Shah presided over a meeting of top officials of security and intelligence. NSA Ajit Doval, Union Home Secretary Rajiv Gauba and other senior officials, attended this hour-long meeting. Furthermore, the Union Cabinet is expected to meet at 9:30 AM on Monday at the residence of Prime Minister Narendra Modi.
