In a development signifying the changed scenario in Jammu and Kashmir, six separatist and terrorist organisations did not even appear before a tribunal to challenge bans imposed on them under the Unlawful Activities Prevention Act (UAPA) by the Centre this year.
The organisations once struck fear in J&K with their call for hartals and stone-pelting, and triggered wide-scale protests after the killing of Burhan Wani, the Amarnath land row and death of two women in Shopian.
The Centre, noting that the outfits worked on instructions from Pakistan, banned four factions of Jammu and Kashmir Peoples League (JKPL), Muslim Conference Jammu & Kashmir (Bhat), and Muslim Conference Jammu and Kashmir (Sumji faction). The ban was upheld by a UAPA tribunal after analysing the evidence.
The outfits did not even appear before the tribunal to give their defence despite many opportunities, apparently accepting their fait accompli. Detailed judgements of the tribunal issued recently have been reviewed by CNN-News18.
What Centre Told the Tribunal
The Centre submitted before the tribunal that the separatist leaders and their activists had created “such terror in the minds of public that the general public, which even did not support their cause, feared to oppose them or to report to the police against various incidents and even feared to depose or give evidence against the said separatist leaders”.
“Thus, this led to a non-cooperative atmosphere for the police investigating agencies in the cases registered against the said separatist organisations or its leaders. The investigation further slowed thereafter due to COVID which had brought all the routine activities to a standstill as a complete lockdown in the entire nation was imposed. Hence, the investigation in the cases registered against them could not be investigated at the pace it should have been,” the Centre told the UAPA Tribunal.
The Centre also said it is a matter of public knowledge that since more than three decades, the erstwhile state of Jammu and Kashmir has been adversely affected by the acts and deeds of separatist groups and their leaders.
“From 1989 to 2016, the situation in the erstwhile State of Jammu and Kashmir remained volatile and disturbed due to the circumstances created by terrorist groups camouflaged as Separatist Groups/Political Parties or self-styled political leaders who instigated and provoked the general public at large against the lawfully established governments with the help of foreign state and non-state actors having interests inimical to the interest of the country,” the Centre submitted.
No Challenge by Banned Organisations
The judgments record that ample opportunity was afforded by the tribunal to the factions concerned of the six organisations and their office-bearers to appear before it and give their versions.
“This tribunal even held public hearings in Srinagar to enable members of the factions concerned or member of the public, to participate in the proceedings of the Tribunal. However, the said opportunity was not availed of by the factions or any of its office bearers,” the judgment says.
The tribunal still made an “objective determination” of the evidence placed on record by the Centre, as mandated in the judgment of the Supreme Court delivered in Jamaat-e-Islami Hind case, to confirm bans on all six separatist organisations.
What the Banned Organisations Are Accused Of
The Centre said these organisations, after the killing of Burhan Wani and acting on the instructions of Pakistan and its Inter- Services Intelligence (ISI), exploited the situation intensely and actively provoked, incited and lured the youth of Jammu and Kashmir for violence to disrupt the peace in the Valley and keep the anti-India pot boiling.
“They announced hartal calls and issued protest calendars which resulted in the death of 86 persons and injuries to 8,932 civilians. Two Police Jawans were martyred and 8,370 police or security forces personnel got injured,” the Centre said.
The Centre also accused the organisations of fanning the sentiments of the people against the government over the Amarnath land row through their misinformation campaign and by spreading false information which caused large-scale violence and damage to public and private properties.
“They also played a pivotal role in coordination, facilitation, organising and addressing mobs across the Valley during Muzaffarabad Chalo call given by separatist organisations.”
The Centre said the organisations also portrayed the death of two women in Shopian in the year 2009 as rape and murder perpetrated by the security forces.
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