Adding insult to injury: Delhi notifies law allowing Indians to buy land in IOJ&K

ISLAMABAD: As Kashmiris across the world observed a Black Day on Tuesday to mark India’s occupation of Jammu and Kashmir, New Delhi added insult to their injury by notifying a law allowing any Indian citizen to buy land in their occupied homeland.

The Indian Ministry of Home Affairs notified new laws for the occupied territory, called UT of Jammu and Kashmir Re-organisation (Adaptation of Central Laws) Third Order 2020.

The publication reported that the notification allows any Indian citizen to purchase land in the Indian Occupied Jammu and Kashmir. The new law has removed the condition that individuals purchasing land in the occupied territory be a permanent resident of the occupied valley, reports the international media.

Former chief ministers of the occupied territory termed the move “unacceptable amendments to the land ownership laws” of the occupied valley.

National Conference leader Omar Abdullah and People’s Democratic Party (PDPP chief Mehbooba Mufti condemned the Centre’s decision to delimit sale of non-agricultural land in the Indian Occupied Jammu and Kashmir (IOJ&K).

The Centre has announced new rules that allow any Indian citizen to buy land in Jammu and Kashmir, reports the international media.

As per the notification issued by the Ministry of Home Affairs, no domicile or permanent resident certificate was required for purchasing non-agricultural land in Jammu and Kashmir. However, the agricultural land can only be purchased by agriculturalists or people engaged in farm-related activities. Speaking to India Today TV, Omar Abdullah said the new land laws were unacceptable.

“They are intended to change the demography of this place,” Omar Abdullah said. The NC leader claimed that the new land laws were created because the BJP could not tolerate a Muslim majority state in the country.

“Why should the army have the right to notify any land? The country is under a civilian rule, not a military one,” Omar Abdullah said.

He also accused the BJP-led Centre of announcing the decision to influence the upcoming Bihar Assembly elections. PDP chief Mehbooba Mufti said the new land laws were part of the government’s nefarious designs to disempower and disenfranchise people of J&K.

“Yet another step that’s part of GOI’s nefarious designs to disempower & disenfranchise people of J&K. From the unconstitutional scrapping of Article 370 to facilitating loot of our natural resources & finally putting land in J&K up for sale,” the PDP chief said in a tweet. “After failing on all fronts to provide roti & rozgar [food and employment] to people, BJP is creating such laws to whet the appetite of a gullible electorate. Such brazen measures reinforce the need of people of all three provinces of J&K to fight unitedly,” Mehbooba Mufti said in a series of tweets.