Yashwant Sinha, other civil society members to visit Kashmir

A civil society group, which includes former Union minister Yashwant Sinha, will go on a four-day visit to Jammu and Kashmir on November 22 to assess the ground situation in the region after the central government nullified Article 370, which gave the erstwhile state special powers.

The members of the Concerned Citizens' Group plan to return on November 25 and will then release their report on the ground situation in the region, Sinha said.

He said the group had visited the Valley in September as well and though he was not allowed by authorities to leave Srinagar airport and forced to return to Delhi, its other members were allowed outside.

The group's other members are former bureaucrat Wajahat Habibullah, journalist Bharat Bhushan and civil society activists Kapil Kak and Sushobha Barve, the former BJP leader said.

The central government on August 5 announced its decision to nullify Article 370 and also brought in a law to bifurcate Jammu and Kashmir into Union territories.

Rajya Sabha gave its nod on the same day, while Lok Sabha followed suit the next day.

The government had imposed security and communication restrictions. Much of these measures have been relaxed since, though internet blockade remains in place.