On Eid, Modi govt likely to ease security measures to gauge mood of Kashmir Valley: Report

This Friday will be the first test of the security personnel deployed in Kashmir Valley. In a post Article 370 era, the central forces will get to know the real mood of the citizens of the Valley. According to a Times of India report, the Narendra Modi government is likely to issue some relaxation in the stringent security clampdown, which were put in place before the revocation of the Article 370 that granted special status to Jammu and Kashmir.

So far, due to unprecedented lockdown, there have been no real news coming in from the people of the Valley. The TOI report said there was one incident of stone-pelting in Srinagar, other reports say that many people are yet to receive the information about what happened in New Delhi.Easing out the security measure is likely to continue till Eid, which will be observed on August 12. However, this will only mean less number of security personnel on streets.

The communication clampdown will continue. A conservative estimate suggests that there are around 2 lakh troops in Jammu and Kashmir. The intense lockdown came in the wake of Centre's move to scrap the Article 370 and 35A in Jammu and Kashmir. On Wednesday, National Security Advisor Ajit Doval was seen interacting with locals in Shopian, which is known as the hotbed of terrorism. Doval also addressed CRPF personnel in Shopian and praised them for the immense resolve, supreme sacrifice and courage shown across the country. It was perhaps the first interaction of the NSA with CRPF personnel post Pulwama terror attack on February 14. Later, Doval interacted with J&K Police and army personnel posted in Shopian.Top political leaders including Mehbooba Mufti and Omar Abdullah are under arrest.

On Tuesday, the resolution scrapping Article 370 of the Constitution which granted special status to Jammu and Kashmir was passed in the Lok Sabha by division of votes with 351 members in support and 72 against it. One member abstained from voting. The House also cleared the Jammu and Kashmir Reorganisation Bill, 2019, by 370 "AYES" and 70 "NO" on Tuesday. The J-K Reorganisation Bill seeks to bifurcate the state into two Union Territories (UTs) of Jammu and Kashmir and Ladakh. Parliament also approved another bill to extend 10 per cent reservation to economically weaker sections in Jammu and Kashmir. The notification also made it clear that all the provisions of the Constitution as amended from time to time, shall apply in relation to the state of Jammu and Kashmir and the exceptions and modifications subject to which they shall so apply.