Daily Times

SRINAGAR: Indian President Ram Nath Kovind on Wednesday approved the imposition of Governor’s rule in Indian Occupied Kashmir (IOC) with immediate effect.

According to the media reports, IOK Governor NN Vohra concluded to write to the president on Tuesday after consulting with all the ruling parties of the IOC.

This happened when Mehbooba Mufti-led Peoples Democratic Party government had collapsed after the withdrawal of Bharatiya Janata Party’s support.

Media reported that yesterday the spokesperson of governer’s office had stated: “J&K Governor has forwarded his report to the President of India for the imposition of Governor’s Rule under Section 92 of the Constitution of Jammu and Kashmir.”

The Indian media reported that the governor’s rule was imposed when no political party came forward to set up a new government.

On Tuesday, India’s governing Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) quit the ruling coalition in Held Kashmir where violence had worsened in recent months, the party announced.

The Hindu nationalist BJP entered into an unlikely alliance with a regional party, People’s Democratic Party (PDP), after an inconclusive election in 2014 to govern the state. “It has become untenable for the BJP to continue in the alliance government in occupied Kashmir,” Ram Madhav, party general secretary, told reporters.

The BJP quit the coalition following a rift over extension in the Ramazan ceasefire. Indian-Held Kashmir Chief Minister Mehbooba Mufti wanted the ceasefire to be extended, while the BJP decided against it.

The Indian government had suspended cordon and search operations during the holy month of Ramazan. Following BJP’s announcement, Mehbooba Mufti also announced her resignation at a press conference she addressed in Srinagar. “I have resigned from the post of the chief minister,” she said.

Mufti said that the Kashmir issue could only be resolved through talks and stressed the need for talks with Pakistan for resolution of the decades-long conflict.