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J&K locals allege harassment on ID cards issue

Mukhtar Ahmad in Srinagar

Even as the Jammu and Kashmir Chief Electoral Officer Pramod Jain reiterated that the process of issuing photo identity cards was voluntary, many locals alleged that security forces were forcibly taking away their original ID cards saying they will honour only the cards issued by the Election Commission.

"My identity card was torn during a search by the security forces. I was told to immediately get one from the local election authority. When I went there the municipality officer said my name did not figure in the voters' list and could not be issued an ID card. In short it means I cannot move out of my house to earn my livelihood," said Nazir Ahmad, an apprentice at an automobile shop.

The authorities ordered a ban on printing, selling, storage and possession of blank identity cards in the valley last month.

"Militants have been taking advantage of the situation to avoid detection and carry out their activities in Srinagar. That is why the district magistrate ordered the ban," said a police spokesman clarifying the ban.

"In Kashmir if you do not hold an ID card you are in deep trouble. It is only by virtue of this possession that the locals show to the checking securitymen that they are not militants. If the one you already possess is torn away, there is little choice for anybody, but to rush to the nearest electoral office with two photographs and beg for an ID card," said a leading dental surgeon on condition of anonymity.

Hundreds of people have been making the rounds of the Srinagar Municipality in order to procure an ID card

Meanwhile, the Sopore bar association, while expressing concern over harassment of innocent people over the ID cards said, "There is no law empowering the security forces to demand identity cards from the people. Election cards have relevance only on polling days."

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