Srinagar
In Indian illegally occupied Jammu and Kashmir, not even a single prominent political, trade or civil society group was invited by the authorities to meet the 24-member foreign delegation during its New Delhi-controlled two-day visit to the territory.
The National Conference spokesman, Imran Dar told media in Srinagar that neither the NC nor the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) was invited.
Sheikh Ashiq, the leader of Kashmir Chamber of Commerce and Industry (KCCI), the largest trade body in IIOJK, said that it too was not invited. Muhammad Yasin Khan, president of Kashmir Traders and Manufactures Federation (KTMF), which represents over 2.5 lakh shopkeepers, said no invitation was received from the government.
The President of Kashmir Hotel and Restaurant Owners Association, Abdul Wahid Malik, said he was not invited. “I am in Maharastra for tourism promotion, and no one has invited us,” he told media men.
Even not any member of the Kashmir Press Club, the largest body of journalists in Kashmir, was invited. President of the Editors Guild of Kashmir, Sajad Hyder said, the body was not invited either. “Names were sought from us to meet with the delegates. We suggested some names but received no call,” Hyder said.
Jag Mohan Singh Raina, provincial president of the Apni Party and Chairman of All Party Sikh Coordination Committee, a representative body of 35 Sikh groups, said he met the delegation in the capacity of a social worker, nothing else.
“I met them individually in capacity of a social worker, and nothing else,” he told media. “And I was invited by the administration. He said there were other groups of people who met the delegation, but they were all unknown to him.
“During my meeting I informed the delegation about the destruction caused by the political problem to the economic landscape of Kashmir. I told them that educated youth remain jobless because of it,” he said.—KMS
