People’s Conference to move court against police verification process

The People’s Conference has decided to approach the court next week against the present process of police verification in Kashmir.

The party had earlier described the verification process as a “chronic case of collective punishment against the family”. For the past few years, the security agencies have been denying positive police verifications to the family members of a person, who is involved in any adverse activity.

People’s Conference legal team, led by former law secretary Ashraf Mir and represented by Advocate Sajad Geelani, has finalised the draft petition to challenge the current police verification system.

Expressing concerns over the verification process, People’s Conference president and Handwara MLA Sajad Lone has described it “as a form of collective and community punishment that severely undermines individual rights.”

“It is our right that the police verification system be revamped and brought in line with the practices followed in other states of the country,” he stated.

Lone further assured that the petition, aimed at establishing a more equitable system of verification, will be filed in the coming week, ushering in much-needed reforms.

The issue of police verification has become a big political issue ever since the formation of new government in Jammu and Kashmir. In the first Assembly session, the legislators too had raised the issue.