M A I N   N E W S

APHC not to insist on passports
From Ehsan Fazili
Tribune News Service

The former APHC Chairman, Mirwaiz Moulvi Umar Farooq said: “The Government of India has adopted an intransigent approach”.

“They (government) do not want to take the peace process ahead”, he alleged.

All seven members, except Syed Ali Shah Geelani, were present at today’s meeting. Former Chairman and leader of the Jamaat-e-Islami Syed Ali Shah Geelani was represented by Mr Mohammad Ashraf Sahraj. Mr Geelani is undergoing treatment in Delhi.

Other top executive members who attended the meeting were Mirwaiz Moulvi Umar Farooq of the Awami Action Committee (AAC), Mr Abdul Ghani Lone of the People’s Conference, Moulvi Abbas Ansari of the Ittehad-ul-Muslimeen, Mr Mohammad Yaseen Malik of the JKLF and Sheikh Abdul Aziz of the People’s League. It was presided over by the Chairman and leader of the Muslim Conference, Prof Abdul Gani Bhat.

This was the fifth meeting of the executive council, the top decision-making body of the Hurriyat Conference (APHC), since the announcement of the unilateral ceasefire. The first meeting on December 17 had favoured a meeting of the Hurriyat leaders with the Pakistan leadership and the militant leaders in Pakistan. At its second meeting on December 22, the APHC executive body had announced its decision to send its team to Pakistan on January 15. Later on January 2, the APHC executive authorised APHC chairman Abdul Gani Bhat to select its team for the Pakistan visit.

However, at its last meeting on January 11, the executive body selected a five-member team for the visit. Those selected were Syed Ali Shah Geelani of the Jamaat-e-Islami, Sheikh Abdul Aziz of the People’s League, Moulvi Umar Farooq of the Awami Action Committee, Moulvi Abbas Ansari of the Ittehad-ul-Muslimeen and Abdul Gani Lone of the People’s Conference.

Home Ministry to decide on APHC visit

MUMBAI, Jan 20 (UNI) — The Union Home Ministry is looking into the issue of the visit of Hurriyat leaders to Pakistan and it would take an appropriate decision, Defence Minister George Fernandes said here today.

“All issues concerning the visit were yet to be resolved,’’ the minister observed when asked about the stand of the Union Government on the proposed visit.

On the Hizbul Mujahideen chief, Syed Salahuddin’s recent statement that the Hurriyat leaders' visit to Pakistan would serve no purpose, the Defence Minister said: “He may be conveying his own views and not those of the Hurriyat or the Pakistani establishment’’.

Though the Indian Government had demonstrated its willingness to resolve the Kashmir issue by announcing the unilateral ceasefire in Jammu and Kashmir, the attitude of the Pakistani leadership so far had been disappointing, Mr Fernandes said.

Truce forces 450 families to flee
From M.L. Kak
Tribune News Service

JAMMU, Jan 20 — More than 450 families comprising nearly 3,000 men, women and children have been living under tattered tarpauline tents on the Tawi river bed for the past one month with potable water or sufficient foodgrains and electricity.

These hapless families had fled from remote villages of Poonch and Rajouri border districts for fear of militants, who have been enjoying free movement ever since the ceasefire was enforced.

Ms Javed Bi (30) tearfully recollected how her husband Mohammed Mishar was beheaded by militants when he refused to show them the way to a particular area. She said, “When we recovered his headless body, I and my six children had no alternative but to leave my village”. Many families accompanied them as they also felt scared.

Babu Ram of Bajrala village in Rajouri said that his brother was gunned down by militants for no fault of his. After cremating his brother’s body, they all left their village, he said.

These 3,000 people, Hindus and Muslims, have been camping on the bed of the Tawi, which has a very low water level these days, near the Bellicharana farm belt, 15 km from Jammu.

Ms Javed Bi and Ms Munir Begum said, “We felt sandwiched between the militants and the security forces”.

They added “Militants would enter our houses and order us to make food and provide shelter to them.” The next morning, the security forces would barge “into our houses and beat us for having provided food to the militants”.

They explained, “If anyone among us refused to give food, the militants killed us or wounded us with gun blows”.

These families have nothing to bank upon as they left behind all their assets when they fled. Ms Javed Bi has a tough time as she has to feed her six children, the eldest being a 17-year-old son and the youngest a 10-month baby.

She along with other women of the camp eke out their living by working as labourers. “We are given very poor wages. We have to buy coarse grains to feed our children”, they lamented.

Mr Chain Singh said, “We were forced to decide on migration. Many of our relatives had been killed by the militants after the enforcement of the ceasefire”. He said, “If the ceasefire is not withdrawn and the security forces are not recalled from the barracks for launching combat operations, several hundred civilian families will flee from the upper reaches of Poonch and Rajouri”.

Ms Javed Bi said the remote areas of Surankot in Poonch are almost in the hands of the militants who have taken advantage of the ceasefire and fortified their bases.

Scores of migrants have been forced to eke out their living by begging. Women and children visit inhabited villages in the areas adjoining the Bellicharana farm belt and seek alms.

Since potable water supply system is absent in the area, the migrants drink the muddy water of the Tawi. Scores of children are afflicted with cough and cold, but their parents have no money to buy medicines for them. Munir Begum said, “We treat them with hot tea. We have nothing to pay to the doctors”.

The Revenue Minister, Mr Abdul Qayoom, said that migrants have to apply for registration with the Relief Commissioner. “We will later approach the Centre for additional funds and the moment we received separate funds, we will provide assistance and relief to the migrants”.

However, there is nobody to guide these migrants about the way to apply for registration.

Mr Babu Ram said, “Neither any government agency nor any voluntary organisation has come forward to provide us food and clothes”. Whatever money they had at the time of migration has been spent on purchasing tarpauline sheets. These sheets have been camouflaged under dry grass and twigs to make them a bit cosy.

The only heart-warming scene in the camp is perfect amity between Hindus and Muslims. There are about 65 Muslim families in the 450-family encampment. The two communities live in harmony and there is a sense of oneness and togetherness.

All elderly men and women feel lost. “We do not know how long we have to live in miserable condition. We do not think of the future as we have to think only of the present,” they said in chorus.