PDP Says, Won’t Allow Outsiders In Kashmir ‘Sainik Colony’

Challenging Article 35A legally flawed: Beigh

SRINAGAR: Peoples Democratic Party Monday said that not a single non-local soldier working or retired from Indian Army will be allowed to settle in ‘Sanik Colony’ reportedly coming up at Humhama in the outskirts of Srinagar city. 

“If ever a colony will come up, only those soldiers and ex-servicemen will settle there who will be the permanent residents of Jammu and Kashmir. It will be totally against the spirit of special status of Jammu and Kashmir if any non-local soldier will be allowed to settle their permanently,” PDP spokesperson Dr Mehboob Beigh said in an interview adding that settling of Indian soldiers in Kashmir, raising questions over the credentials of Article 370 and challenging Article 35A of the Constitution are all inconceivable and unthinkable metaphors.

Reportedly 173 kanals (21 acres) of land have been identified for the “Sainik Colony (soldiers colony), where serving and retired army personnel will be allotted plots. About 6,000 serving and retired soldiers have so far applied for plots at the colony, proposed on state land behind the Friends Enclave near the main gate of Srinagar Airport.

PDP spokesperson said that wrong information is being spread that non-state subjects working in Indian Army or retired personnel will be allotted plots. “It is dead impossible. A non-state subject cannot settle here and to allot a plot to him or them is out of question. There are people living in Jammu and Kashmir who do jobs in Indian Army and they being the permanent residents of the State have right to settle here,” Beigh said adding that though land for ‘Soldier Colony’ has been identified but the proposal has not been cleared by the State Government.

“Chief Minister Mufti Muhammad Sayeed has categorically asked BJP led Central Government to respect the special status of Jammu and Kashmir and he will not allow any erosion in Article 370,” Dr Mehboob Beigh said.

Responding to a question, Beigh said that the petition to challenge Article 35A that debars a non-state subject from buying land and property in state is legally flawed. “If anybody has challenged this Article in the court of law, we will defend it. No force in India can challenge the Article 370 and Article 35(A) as these are the basic features of the Constitution and are untouchable. The writ petition needs to be dismissed as the grounds on which it has been filed are legally and constitutionally misconceived,” he said. (CNS)

Geelani Calls Shoora Meet

While out rightly rejecting the plans of the Union government of permanently settling the retired Indian army personnel or their children in Jammu & Kashmir, Hurriyat (G) Chairperson Syed Ali Geelani said that Jammu Kashmir is an “internationally accepted disputed territory” and the decision regarding its future is still pending so the settling or allotting of land to any army personal or any citizen of India on this disputed land is the clear violation of the international rules and it has no constitutional or moral justification.

“Jammu & Kashmir is not any legal part of Indian like the states of Bihar, UP or Maharashtra and its status is totally different from them,” he said in a statement. 

Geelani cautioned that allotting of any land to the retired army personnel of India in Jammu & Kashmir will be a grave mistake on the part of government which will have serious consequences and the pro-freedom people will come on roads to protest against this move.

Hurriyat (G) Chairperson said, “the Hurriyat has called an important meeting of its advisory council (Majlis Shoora) on August 22 on this serious and vital issue which discussed all the aspects of this issue and in which the government was cautioned that this plan will not be allowed to succeed here in any way and if any land is allotted to any Indian army personnel in Jammu & Kashmir, we will launch a public movement against that.”

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