Kurdish militant group PKK declares ceasefire with Turkey
Ankara: The outlawed Kurdistan Workers' Party (PKK) has declared a ceasefire with Turkey, ending over four decades of armed conflict. The announcement follows an appeal from the group’s jailed leader, Abdullah Ocalan, urging the PKK to disband and abandon its insurgency.
The PKK’s executive committee confirmed the ceasefire in a statement released by the pro-PKK ANF news agency. "To facilitate the implementation of leader Apo’s call for peace and a democratic society, we are declaring a ceasefire effective immediately," the statement read, using a common reference for Ocalan. The group also expressed its commitment to following his directives.
The PKK, designated a terrorist organisation by Turkey, the United States, and the European Union, has been engaged in an armed struggle since 1984, demanding greater autonomy for Turkey’s Kurdish population, which constitutes nearly 20% of the country’s 85 million people.
Ocalan, who has been imprisoned since 1999, has been involved in past peace efforts, but negotiations collapsed in 2015, leading to renewed violence. The latest development follows an unexpected peace initiative proposed in October by a nationalist ally of President Recep Tayyip Erdogan, suggesting a resolution if Ocalan renounced violence.
While Erdogan supported the initiative, his government simultaneously intensified crackdowns on opposition figures, resulting in the arrests of several politicians, activists, and journalists.
Following meetings with Ocalan at his prison on Imrali Island, the pro-Kurdish DEM party conveyed his message on Thursday, calling for the PKK to lay down arms and dissolve.
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Drug peddler's property worth Rs 1 crore attached in Srinagar
Srinagar (PTI): Property worth Rs 1 crore belonging to a notorious drug peddler was on Saturday attached in Jammu and Kashmir's Srinagar, police said.
A double-storey house on eight marlas of land situated at Wantpora Eidgah, belonging to Basit Bilal Dar, a notorious drug peddler, valued at approximately Rs 1 crore, a police spokesperson said.
He said Dar is involved in two cases registered under various sections of the NDPS Act.
During investigation, it was established that the accused had acquired the said property through illicit proceeds generated from drug trafficking activities, the spokesperson said.
Consequently, the property was attached under the provisions of the NDPS Act. The attachment proceedings were conducted in the presence of the two independent witnesses, strictly in accordance with the prescribed legal procedures, he said.
As per the attachment order, the owner has been restrained from selling, leasing, transferring, altering, or creating any third-party interest in the property till further orders, the spokesperson added.
