Weeks after Senator Chris Van Hollen mooted an amendment in a crucial report ahead of the annual Foreign Appropriations Act for 2020, that allocates federal funds for furthering American foreign policy, a hearing on Kashmir by the US House of Representatives’ Foreign Affairs Committee (HFAC) offered a rare insight of the US Kashmir policy and concerns of individual Congressmen.
The Asia Sub-Committee actually grilled the State Department officials and heard many people from diverse backgrounds on contemporary Kashmir. Their interventions indicated that the Kashmiri Americans have been quite active educating them about the happenings in Kashmir. The final takeaway was that Trump administration is not opposed to the abrogation of the special status and the downgrade of the state of Jammu and Kashmir to a remotely ruled Union Territory. However, it wanted the bilateral talks between India and Pakistan to resume and is keen to take a position on “whether Kashmiris can live in dignity, and have a full economic and political life.”
Against an expectation that the Committee would take care of the entire South Asia, the Sub Committee Chairman Brad Sherman ruled at the outset that the focus would be Kashmir. He actually said the entire world is “focused today on what is happening in Kashmir.”
“Since the August 5 revocation of Articles 370 and 35A of the Indian Constitution, we have urged the Indian government to balance its security priorities with respect for human rights,” Assistant Secretary of State for Democracy, Human Rights and Labour Robert Destro told the Sub-Committee according to Press Trust of India (PTI). “In August, Prime Minister (Narendra) Modi announced a plan to return the region to normal order, which is something we would welcome.
Denne historien er fra October 27-November 02, 2019; THE URDU UMPIRE; Issue 30 Vol 11;-utgaven av Kashmir Life.
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Denne historien er fra October 27-November 02, 2019; THE URDU UMPIRE; Issue 30 Vol 11;-utgaven av Kashmir Life.
Start din 7-dagers gratis prøveperiode på Magzter GOLD for å få tilgang til tusenvis av utvalgte premiumhistorier og 9000+ magasiner og aviser.
Allerede abonnent? Logg på
Before The Kabul Retreat
Described as the ‘Graveyard of Empires’, Afghanistan was always termed to be at peace when it was at war. But the land-locked desert country that was always in turmoil and one of the worst targets of the Great Game suffered immensely throughout, especially in the last 40 years, Masood Hussain writes
FINGERS CROSSED
Almost everybody in academia and politics that Khalid Bashir Gura spoke to, the response over Kabul happens was simple – wait and watch
Parliamentary Committee In Srinagar
The visiting 28-member Parliamentary Standing Committee on Home Affairs have had detailed interactions with top civil administration and discussed developmental scenario and people’s welfare measures in Jammu and Kashmir. It is on a 4-day visit. Congress leader and MP Anand Sharma is heading the committee.
MUSIC IN MUD HOUSE
Deep into north Kashmir, Faheem Mir meet a small community that sings and lives on folk music but is facing a tense situation in the last few years
THE KABUL SPILLOVER?
Security experts are divided over the possible impact of the Kabul situation on Kashmir. But the dramatic Taliban triumph has altered the region’s geopolitics, for the time being, writes Riyaz Wani
Durga Bhawan At Katra
To enhancing facilities for the convenience of the Vaishno Devi pilgrims, Lt Governor Manoj Sinha laid the foundation for the Durga Bhawan, a high utility pilgrim-centric facility worth Rs 24.4 crore. The facility will accommodate 4000 pilgrims.
Women Empowerment
In the first, 480 talented girls from Jammu and Kashmir were included in the degree and diploma courses of the Pragati Scholarship. Jammu and Kashmir has also got nine scholarships under the Saksham Scheme for Persons with Disabilities.
‘SOME HISTORIANS BELIEVE THAT AFGHANISTAN CONFLICT IS THE OUTCOME OF INDIA AND PAKISTAN KASHMIR STAND-OFF'
Foreign policy expert and editor of HardNews magazine, Sanjay Kapoor believes that Taliban 2.0 has more legitimacy unlike in the past as it had signed a deal with the US and negotiated with other countries of the region, but the final verdict can be passed only after it manages ticklish issues involving half of its population, the women
Boredom Is Creative?
Getting bored is not as boring as it gets, writes Azra Hussain
LG In Bangus
Lt Governor, Manoj Sinha inaugurated the Bungus Awaam Mela amidst grand arrangements for village games, exhilarating local performances, and other activities to celebrate the 75th year of Independence.
