J&K HC Bar body had asked Centre to hold dialogue with Hurriyat leaders

NEW DELHI: The Supreme Court asked the Union government on Friday to facilitate talks between separatists and Kashmiri lawyers, paving the way for the first attempts to defuse tension in a region where nearly 100 people have been killed in waves of violence since last year.

PTIKupwara attack martyr Capt Ayush Yadav’s mortal remains arrive in Kanpur on Friday. The army paid floral tributes to three of its personnel who were killed in the Thursday attack.

The bench, headed by chief justice JS Khehar, told the representatives of the J&K High Court Bar association to use their influence in the region to open a dialogue with separatist Hurriyat leaders, the “first step to bring normalcy” to the Kashmir valley. During the hearing, the government ruled out engaging with the Hurriyat leaders, the political face of the anti-India movement in the region claimed by Pakistan as its territory.

The meeting, the bench told attorney general Mukul Rohatgi, should be facilitated only if the rules allowed it.

“The Centre is aware of the situation there and is taking all the measures,” Rohatgi told the court, objecting strongly to the HC bar association’s arguments that NDA government should hold “unconditional talks with the jailed Hurriyat leaders.”

The AG also said it was not for the court to commence a dialogue, but for the political parties.

The SC did not “appreciate” AG’s aggressive stand, saying, “what they say is that we are the bar association and we should be allowed to talk to them (separatists). Let them meet and talk. Court can always be a facilitator, though the solutions are somewhere else”.

The court said if Rohatgi felt the court had no jurisdiction then it would not hear the petition by lawyers’ body seeking a direction to stop the use of pellet guns by security forces in Kashmir. “The leaders are under house arrest by the state government who would be told what the SC has asked for. If a request is made, then the state shall take a decision as per the rules”, Rohatgi told HT, when asked about the next step.

Allegations of human rights violations – including a video of a man tied to an army jeep – have soured relations between locals and security forces in the Valley amid increasing incidents of stone pelting and civilian deaths.

The apex court said it was disturbed to see photographs presented by the petitioners of people injured by pellet guns. But it told the Kashmiri lawyers that no progress was possible unless the protests abated.

“We can put it (pellet firing) off provided there is some reasonableness on both sides. You tell us what you would do if we direct the government not to use pellets for two weeks.”

Senior lawyers from the association demanded the government hold a dialogue, which the court ruled out for the time being, and also declined their plea to remove the army from the Valley. “If we do that everything will finish.” “Most worrisome aspect is that children are getting involved. Girls are coming on the streets,” the bench told the advocates

DARBAR MOVE Vyas had been serving as principal secretary to chief minister for the past one year; replaces Braj Raj Sharma

JAMMU : On the last day of the Darbar Move office in Jammu, chief minister Mehbooba Mufti during a cabinet meeting on Friday appointed Bharat Bhushan Vyas, a 1986-batch IAS officer, as the new chief secretary of Jammu and Kashmir.

He replaced Braj Raj Sharma, who will now serve as an advisor to the chief minister.

Vyas had been serving as principal secretary to the chief minister for the past one year. He has also served as principal secretary to J&K governor and former chief minister Omar Abdullah, besides holding other positions, including principal secretary (finance).

Darbar Move offices closed here on Friday and shall reopen on May 8 in Srinagar.

OTHER CHANGES

Apart from this, the government also made some other major reshuffling in the administrative set up.

Krishan Ballabh Agarwal is posted as principal secretary (coordination) in the Resident Commission, J&K government at New Delhi.

Shaleen Kabra, principal secretary school education, is now the chairperson of J&K special tribunal.

Farooq Ahmad Shah, secretary tourism, floriculture, parks and gardens department, will hold additional charge of administrative secretary school education.

Navin Kumar Choudhary, commissioner secretary finance, will hold additional charge of administrative secretary, labour and employment.

Pawan Kotwal, divisional commissioner Jammu, is posted as commissioner secretary health and medical education. Mandeep Kumar Bhandari, commissioner health and medical education, is posted as divisional commissioner, Jammu.