Demand for district status: JAC suspends agitation in J-K's Nowshera

Normal activities resumed in border town of Nowshera in Rajouri district of Jammu and Kashmir today after the Joint Action Committee (JAC) announced suspending for three months the agitation it had been spearheading for district status to the township.

According to officials, the JAC announced the suspension of the agitation after holding hectic parleys with the district administration led by district development commissioner Shahid Iqbal Choudhary.

Yes, we have suspended the agitation for the time being on the assurance of the district administration that all our genuine demands would be met, state secretary of JAC Jagdish Sawhney told PTI.

He said the talks between the JAC, comprising members of all walks of life including traders, social, political and religious organisations, were fruitful, paving the way for opening of markets and resumption of normal activities in the town after remaining suspended for the last 47 days in support of the district status demand.

People in Nowshera, Kalakote and Sunderbani towns of Rajouri went on an indefinite strike on February 16 to protest the government's decision to appoint Additional Deputy Commissioner (ADC) for nearby Kotranka area and ignoring their demand for district status or permanent ADC posts.

On April 1, accusing the government of failing to address their issues, the JAC had announced that it would hold a sit-in outside Parliament soon.

The state government, on March 9, had announced new posts of ADCs to work on rotational basis in Nowshera, Sunderbani Kalakote and Kortranka areas in an attempt to defuse the crisis. However, the formula was rejected by the residents of the areas and they threatened to intensify the stir.

A Jammu Chalo rally by hundreds of residents was thwarted by the local administration on March 17 with an assurance that their genuine demands would be addressed by the government. After the assurance, the agitators cancelled their programme to picket the civil secretariat on March 19.

Violent clashes broke out in Nowshera on March 24 in which many people, including the deputy commissioner and a police officer, were injured. The clashes erupted a day after the government announced appointment of ADC in the three towns of Nowshera, Sunderbani and Kalakote.

While the residents of Sunderbani and Kalakote celebrated the announcement, the residents of Nowshera continued their strike to press for district status.