Excelsior Correspondent
Srinagar, Nov 23: Former Union Minister, Yashwant Sinha, and his associates were not allowed to move out of Srinagar by police today and they remained confined to hotel where few delegations met them.
Sinha along with other members of the delegation this morning were intending to visit Pulwama district in South Kashmir to meet people and assess the ground situation but they were not allowed by the Police to move out.
A letter addressed to Yashwant Sinha from the security wing of the Jammu and Kashmir Police was handed over to them in the morning and they were asked to restrict their movement.
“As per your verbal communication, it’s learnt that your good self accompanied by Sushobha Barve, Wajahat Habibullah, Kapil Kak and Bharat Bhushan are intending to take a journey to some terrorism prone villages in distt Pulwama. Keeping in view the volatility of the area and an impending terrorist threat, I am directed to strongly advise you to refrain from taking any such journey which would jeopardize your safety and security. Your cooperation in this regard would be highly appreciated”, reads a letter from the SSP Security Kashmir.
Later, the delegation wanted to visit Chadoora area of Budgam but they were not allowed. “We asked them that if there is security problem in Pulwama, let us visit Chadoora in district Budgam. They said that we will ask our seniors but later we were told that we can’t move out of Srinagar”, Bharat Bhushan, a member of delegation, told Excelsior.
They were not allowed to meet the detained politicians including former Chief Ministers Dr Farooq Adullah, Omar Abdullah and Mehbooba Mufti. ”We had sent a written communication to Deputy Commissioner asking for permission to visit Farooq Abdullah, Omar Abdullah, Mehbooba Mufti and M Y Yousuf Tarigami. But we were told we can’t meet these leaders,” said one of the members.
He said the police told him they were free to move in Srinagar with the knowledge and permission of the authorities. ”This is to stop us from going to these places and seeing the situation for ourselves,” he said.
Concerned Group of Citizens (CGC) headed by former Union Minister Yashwant Sinha and comprising former Chief Information Commissioner, Wajahat Habibullah, journalists Bharat Bushan and Sushoba Bharve are on four day visit to Kashmir to assess the ground situation. They arrived here yesterday and during their visit met few delegations in their hotel which is guarded by security.
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