The Kashmir (Policy & Strategy) Group (KPSG), headed by Senior Advocate Ashok Bhan, held an extraordinary executive meeting in Delhi to take stock of the Kashmir imbroglio after the Supreme Court Constitution bench verdict on the validity of the abrogation of Article 370 of the Constitution.
Bhan, the KPSG Chairman, said the broad message from the court was loud and clear: Move forward and focus on the future of Jammu and Kashmir rather than brood over its sordid past!
Bhan said the history of Jammu and Kashmir has been distorted by self-serving myths and rival political interests. Only by ridding these filters by revisiting history, without prejudice on the real issues involved, can only help in the search for a brighter tomorrow for Jammu and Kashmir.
Bhan said KPSG has been continuously holding Kath-Bhaat, a dialogue through intra-civil society webinars, meetings and interactions through social media platforms, emphasising on the dire need for giving a closure to the sordid and brutal phase of societal devastation, death and destruction that has engulfed the larger south Asian region in general and Jammu & Kashmir, in particular.
While delivering the unanimous verdict on the jurisprudence on the inoperability of Article 370 of the Constitution, one of the Judges has empathically held a view that social fabric is waning and inter-generational trauma has already fractured Kashmiri Society. In order to heal the wounds and make a forward movement and restore coexistence, tolerance, mutual respect and communal & societal harmony; a Truth & Reconciliation Commission should be set up expeditiously. The Commission will investigate and report on the human rights violations by non-state and state actors perpetrated in Jammu & Kashmir at least since 1980s and recommend measures for reconciliation.
Bhan said the KPSG unanimously welcomes the finding and the command of the Supreme Court and urged the Union government to act upon the commandment of the Supreme Court in this regard urgently.