Washington, January 22

Pakistan’s leadership has “limited options” to respond to India’s decision on Jammu and Kashmir as many analysts view that Islamabad has “little credibility” on the issue given its long history of covertly supporting militant groups there, according to a US Congressional report.

The Congressional Research Service (CRS) in its second report on Kashmir in less than six months said Pakistan’s ability to alter the status quo through military action had been reduced in recent years, meaning that Islamabad likely must rely primarily on diplomacy.

CRS is the independent research wing of the US Congress which prepares periodic reports on issues of interest for US lawmakers so that they can take informed decisions inside the Congress. Currently, two resolutions are pending in the House of Representatives, one of which is being sponsored by Indian-American Congresswoman Pramila Jayapal.

In its report dated January 13, CRS said post August 5, Pakistan “appeared diplomatically isolated”, with Turkey being the only country to offer solid and explicit support for Islamabad’s position.

Ties between India and Pakistan came under severe strain after New Delhi revoked Jammu and Kashmir’s special status and bifurcated it into Union Territories on August 5, evoking strong reactions from Islamabad.

Pakistan has been trying to rally international support against India on the issue. However, India has maintained that the move was “entirely an internal matter”.

The 25-page report said Pakistan called for a UNSC session and, with China’s support, the Council met on August 16 to discuss Kashmir for the first time in more than five decades, albeit in a closed-door session that produced no formal statement.

“Many analysts view Islamabad as having little credibility on Kashmir, given its long history of covertly supporting militant groups there. Pakistan’s leadership has limited options to respond to India’s actions, and renewed Pakistani support for Kashmiri militancy likely would be costly internationally,” it said.

“Pakistan’s ability to alter the status quo through military action has been reduced in recent years, meaning that Islamabad likely must rely primarily on diplomacy,” the CRS said.

“Given also that Pakistan and its primary ally, China, enjoy limited international credibility on human rights issues, Islamabad may stand by and hope that self-inflicted damage caused by New Delhi’s own policies in Kashmir and, more recently, on citizenship laws, will harm India’s reputation and perhaps undercut its recent diplomatic gains with Arab states such as Saudi Arabia and the UAE,” it said.

According to CRS, the long-standing US position on Kashmir is that the issue should be settled through negotiations between India and Pakistan while taking into consideration the wishes of the Kashmiri people.

“The Trump Administration has called for peace and respect for human rights in the region, but its criticisms have been relatively muted,” it noted.

With key US diplomatic posts vacant, some observers worry that the US government’s capacity to address South Asian instability is thin, and the US President’s July offer to “mediate” on Kashmir may have contributed to the timing of New Delhi’s moves, it said.

The United States seeks to balance pursuit of a broad US-India partnership while upholding human rights protections, as well as maintaining cooperative relations with Pakistan, the report said.

CRS said that following India’s August 2019 actions, numerous members of the US Congress went on record in support of Kashmiri human rights. H Res 745, introduced in December and currently with 40 co-sponsors, urges the Indian government to end the restrictions on communications in Jammu and Kashmir, it said.

An October hearing on human rights in South Asia held by the House Subcommittee on Asia, the Pacific and Nonproliferation included extensive discussion of developments in Jammu and Kashmir. In November, the Tom Lantos Human Rights Commission held an event titled ‘Jammu and Kashmir in Context’.

US policy, it said, sought to prevent conflict between India and Pakistan from escalating, and the US Congress supported a US-India strategic partnership that had been under way since 2005, while also maintaining attention on issues of human rights and religious freedom.

CRS in its report told lawmakers that over the past decade, Washington appeared to have grown closer to India while relations with Pakistan appeared to continue to be viewed as clouded by mistrust.

The Trump Administration “suspended” security assistance to Pakistan in 2018 and has significantly reduced non-military aid while simultaneously deepening ties with New Delhi. It viewed India as a key “anchor” of its “free and open Indo-Pacific” strategy, which some argued is aimed at China, it said.

“Yet any US impulse to “tilt” towards India is to some extent offset by Islamabad’s current, and by most accounts vital, role in facilitating Afghan reconciliation negotiations. President Trump’s apparent bonhomie with Pakistan’s prime minister and offer to mediate on Kashmir in July was taken by some as a new and potentially unwise strategic shift,” it said. PTI

Our Correspondent

Jammu, January 20

A national integration, educational and motivational tour has been organised by the Army in Jammu for the children of remote border areas.

The tour was organised by Tiger Division from January 20 to 30th in which 15 schoolchildren were selected. The children will visit New Delhi, Agra and Jaipur where they will get an exposure to historical monuments, educational institutes and war memorial.The tour was flagged off by Brig KK Singh, Commander Chenab Brigade in presence of Sub Division Magistrate, Anil Thakur and Principal Neetu Gandhotra.

These children belong to remote areas of Pargwal region of Jammu district and have been selected to give them an exposure of rich Indian heritage and culture. “This novel initiative will bring these underprivileged children living in remote border areas of Pargwal into the mainstream and encourage them to contribute positively towards nation building.”the Army spokesperson said.

Tribune News Service

Jammu, January 20

The Jammu and Kashmir Police has finally begun the process for recruitment to create two exclusive women constable battalions in Jammu and Kashmir.

In this context, the Police Recruitment Board conducted the tests of candidates from border districts of Poonch and Rajouri at Gulshan Ground Jammu, with females showing great enthusiasm to join the police force.

As per the detailed schedule for the conduct of the physical endurance test (PET) and physical standard test (PST) in respect of candidates belonging to the Jammu province, the candidates from Doda district will appear in tests tomorrow, while the applicants of Ramban and Kishtwar districts will undergo tests on January 22.

Similarly, the applicants of Samba district will be put to test on January 23. The candidates from Udhampur and Reasi districts will give tests on January 24 and 25.

“The test for the candidates of Jammu and Kathua districts will begin on January 27 and conclude on January 31,” an official spokesperson said.

Srinagar, January 21

An Army jawan, a special police officer (SPO) were killed and two militants were gunned down on Tuesday in an encounter in Jammu and Kashmir’s Pulwama district, police said.

The encounter broke out in the district’s Khrew area when the security forces had launched a cordon and search operation, a police official said.

SPO Shahbaz Ahmad was killed on the spot while the jawan was injured during the gunfight and succumbed to the injuries later, he said.

According to reports, police had a specific input about the presence of militants at Zand village of Tral.

The area was cordoned off and a search operation launched. A contact was eventually established with the militants, who were hiding in a house that led to the firefight.

This is the second major encounter in Kashmir in the past two days.

On Monday, three militants were killed in Shopian, including top Hizbul Mujhahideen commander Wasim, Adil Bashir and Jehangir.

Wasim was involved in the killing of eight people, including four security men in the Valley. —Agencies

New Delhi, January 21

Amidst strong opposition by some non-BJP ruled states, the Centre on Tuesday made it clear that the disclosure of information in the National Population Register (NPR) exercise is not mandatory but voluntary.

Union Minister of State for Home G Kishan Reddy also said the NPR was first initiated by the Congress-led UPA in 2010 and it was a constitutional obligation.

“Disclosure of information in NPR is voluntary only,” he told reporters here.

A few state governments have declared that they will not participate in the NPR exercise, saying it is prelude to a countrywide National Register of Citizens

Reddy said since NPR is a constitutional obligation, state governments should not oppose it.

The minister also said the central government will keep sensitising states about various aspects of the NPR exercise that will be carried out along with the house listing phase of the Census 2021 from April 1 to September 30, 2020.

A few state governments have declared that they will not participate in the NPR exercise, saying it is prelude to a countrywide National Register of Citizens (NRC).

West Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee has appealed to her counterparts in the northeast and non-BJP states to carefully study the NPR form, its questions and criteria before taking a decision on updating it.

Dubbing the exercise as “a dangerous game”, Banerjee said the form, which seeks birth details and residential proof of parents, was nothing but a precursor to NRC.

The Kerala government has announced that it will implement the census exercise but will not cooperate with the NPR.

At a recent special cabinet meeting of the Kerala government chaired by Chief Minister Pinarayi Vijayan, it was decided to communicate to the Registrar General of India (RGI) and Census Commissioner about the state’s opposition to the NPR.

“As the NPR is a process that leads to the NRC, there is a sense of fear among the people. If the NPR and NRC are implemented in Kerala, it will lead to widespread anarchy. That is the experience of the state where the NRC was implemented,” said a statement released by the Kerala Chief Minister’s Office.

At a meeting of about 20 opposition parties led by Congress president Sonia Gandhi about a fortnight ago, it was decided that the parties will urge all chief ministers who have decided not to implement the NRC in their states to also consider suspending the NPR enumeration “as this will be a prelude to the NRC”.

The NPR is a register of usual residents of the country. It is being prepared at the local village/sub-town, subdistrict, district, state and national levels under provisions of the Citizenship Act, 1955, and the Citizenship (Registration of Citizens and Issue of National Identity Cards) Rules, 2003.

For the purposes of the NPR, a usual resident is defined as a person who has resided in a local area for past six months or more or a person who intends to reside in that area for the next six months.

The data for NPR was last collected in 2010 along with the house listing phase of the Census 2011. The data was updated in 2015 by conducting door to door survey. The government had then asked details like Aadhaar and mobile number of residents.

This time, the information related to their driving licence and voter ID card may also be gathered. PAN card details will not be collected as part of this exercise.

The law compulsorily seeks to register every citizen of India and issue a national identity card.

Assam has been excluded from NPR because the NRC exercise has already been conducted in the state.

The demographic details of every individual are required for every usual resident: name, relationship to head of household, father’s name, mother’s name, marital status, spouse’s name (if married), sex, date and place of birth, nationality (as declared), present address of usual residence, duration of stay at present address, permanent residential address, occupation, educational qualification.

The Union Cabinet has approved Rs 3,941.35 crore for the NPR exercise. — PTI

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