Today: 15 July 2025
27 December 2022
4 mins read

2022 REVIEW: Kashmir Back On Track

Children going to schools and colleges had a complete academic session that was not interrupted either by any officially announced restriction nor by any separatist called shutdown…writes Sheikh Qayoom

An unprecedented number of tourist arrivals during the season, a peaceful, incident-free Amarnath Yatra, no major incident of infiltration or exfiltration across the Line of Control (LoC) and no major incident of violence during the year.

2022 has passed by in Jammu and Kashmir leaving behind much for the Lt. Governor, Manoj Sinha-led administration to celebrate.

The UT recorded 1.62 crore tourist arrivals during 2022, which is the highest during the last 75 years. And, this is besides over one crore pilgrims who visited the Mata Vaishno Devi shrine during the year.

For the first time after 2019 when Article 370 was abrogated, hoteliers, transporters, houseboat and Shikara owners, handicraft artisans and thousands of others connected with tourism had good income to support their families.

No tourist was attacked or harmed during the year by the militants.

The annual Amarnath Yatra 2022 to the Himalayan cave shrine in south Kashmir Anantnag district ended peacefully with over 1.65 lakh Yatris performing the pilgrimage.

The Yatra was conducted peacefully and the security arrangements were adequate. No militancy related incident took place during the Yatra this year.

On the ground security situation, there was no major incident of infiltration or exfiltration across the LoC during the year as the army and the Border security force (BSF) maintaining vigil along the LoC and the international border maintained high level of alertness during the year.

In the hinterland, there was no major incident of violence during the year and there was no separatist called protest or shutdown that interfered with normal life that went about peacefully throughout the year.

Children going to schools and colleges had a complete academic session that was not interrupted either by any officially announced restriction nor by any separatist called shutdown.

During his visit to J&K in 2022, Union Home Minister Amit Shah announced that in addition to the SCs and the STs, members of the Pahari community would also get reservations in the UT. This would be a major step towards empowerment of the members of the Pahari community who have been demanding reservation for long.

These are the bouquets of 2022 for the J&K administration. Now the brickbats.

The selected targeting of non-locals and local Kashmiri Pandits by the terrorists continued in the Valley in 2022.

As many as 14 people belonging to the minorities, including three Kashmiri Pandits, were killed by terrorists in Kashmir during 2022.

In addition to this, five non-local Muslims were also killed by the terrorists during the year.

The non-locals killed were mostly skilled and semi-skilled labourers and street vendors who had come here to earn an honest living for their families.

Kashmiri Pandits killed during the year included government employees who were recruited under the Prime Minister’s package.

Despite the mass exodus of the Kashmiri Pandit community from the Valley in early 1990s, official figures indicate that over 6,500 members of this community still live in the Valley at different places.

The failure of the administration to protect the members of the local Pandit community and other Hindus serving in the Valley led to protests by these employees to be relocated to safer places outside the Valley.

Lt. Governor Manoj Sinha has asserted that all such government employees have been shifted to safer locations at the district headquarters in the Valley.

The administration has, however, refused to post these employees in the Jammu division.

The other failure on the security side in 2022 has been the continuing dropping of weapons and narcotics by Pakistan backed terrorists along the international border in Jammu, Samba and Kathua districts by using drones.

These unmanned aerial vehicles (UAVs) have also been used to attack defence installations during the year that went by.

Security forces have been claiming to shoot these drones operated from Pakistan, but the threat posed by the UAVs to the security along the border and the hinterland has continued in 2022.

J&K has remained under the central rule since 2019 and the much awaited Assembly elections to give the UT an elected government were not held in 2022.

Voices for holding the Assembly elections in the UT have become stronger during 2022 and there are official indications that these elections could be held in April-May 2023.

All political parties have been asking their cadres to be ready to participate in the forthcoming Assembly elections that would give J&K its first elected government since it lost its statehood and special status on August 5, 2019.

ALSO READ: Kashmir students bag US fellowship for pursuing masters

ALSO READ: Unique Kashmiri culture of ‘Pheran’

Previous Story

100 mn people displaced globally in 2022

Next Story

Xi Tries To Woo Arab Leaders With Money, Tech & Palestine

Latest from Asia News

UN Chief: Gaza Situation ‘Horrific’

Guterres said the violence undermines the most basic conditions of human dignity for the population of Gaza…reports Asian Lite News UN Secretary-General António Guterres condemned the situation in Gaza as “horrific,” calling

Beijing Sidelined in Mideast Clash

Yet when Iran came under a massive Israeli attack — supported by U.S. air strikes targeting its nuclear infrastructure — China’s reaction was mostly symbolic…reports Asian Lite News The recent conflict between

New page In History

President Erdogan says PKK disarmament opens “new page in history” for Türkiye Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan declared “a new page” in history for Türkiye, as the Kurdistan Workers’ Party (PKK) begins

STORY OF SARA

Gaza’s young amputees struggle to heal amid war, medical collapse On the dusty floor of a makeshift tent in the Sheikh Radwan neighborhood of Gaza City, 10-year-old Sara al-Borsh clutches a pen

Peace talks in the desert

President H.H. Sheikh Mohamed reiterated the UAE’s unwavering support for initiatives aimed at fostering sustainable peace, dialogue, and development in the South Caucasus. He also applauded the willingness of the Armenian and
Go toTop

Don't Miss

Malaysia Open: Indian shuttlers in quest for glory

P.V. Sindhu, who is returning after a lengthy injury break,

India likely to suspend flight operations to Israel

Indian airlines are altering flight paths for Europe and the