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Friday,
June 29, 2001, Chandigarh, India  
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PoK issue likely to figure in talks APHC questions Centre’s sincerity Dictatorial Hurriyat suffers
comedown Security personnel make beeline to
cave |
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Indians, Pakistanis gather at
shrine 2 jawans killed in firing accident Four infiltrators killed Replace striking govt lawyers, HC urged
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PoK issue likely to figure in talks New Delhi, June 28 That the issue would be raised was indicated by Prime Minister Atal Behari Vajpayee soon after his knee operation in Mumbai earlier this month when he said: “We will definitely discuss the issue of one-third of Kashmir which is under Pakistani occupation.” Mr Vajpayee had also asserted that there was no change in India’s stand that Jammu and Kashmir was an integral part of the country. New Delhi maintains that in 1947, Pakistan, through armed aggression had forcibly taken parts of the state and kept it under illegal
occupation. PoK now comprises two distinct areas, one being the so-called Azad Jammu and Kashmir
(AJK), christened by Pakistan, with an area of 13,297 sq km, and an estimated population of 2.5 million. It is made up of the districts of
Muzaffarabad, Mirpur, Kotli, Poonch, Bagh and Bhimber. The other, the Northern Areas, comprises the north-western part of Jammu and Kashmir. It is wedged between Afghanistan, the North West Frontier Province in Pakistan and Xinjiang in China and covers a whopping 72,495 sq km but with a population of only 0.87 million. The Northern Areas administratively comprise the districts of
Gilgit, Skardu, Diamir, Ghizer and Ghanche. For long, Pakistan has spoken of PoK as a liberated territory, saying that its status has to be determined in accordance with the wishes of the people. India believes that through the AJK Interim Constitution Act, 1974, promulgated by the Assembly, Pakistan has tried to create the “myth” of PoK as an autonomous self-governing territory, dependent on it for only defence, coinage and currency. Under this arrangement, all residual powers are supposedly vested in the AJK government. New Delhi contends that the “myth” of autonomy was exposed at the very beginning of the 1974 Act, which derives its legitimacy not from a Constituent Assembly of the people of PoK but from the “authorisation” granted to it by the Pakistan Government. Under this Act, all law-making powers except those that are formally vested in Pakistan, have been bifurcated between an AJK Council and the AJK Legislative Assembly.
PTI |
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APHC questions Centre’s sincerity New Delhi, June 28 “It is most unfortunate that the Government of India has taken such a decision. The APHC has done everything possible to create a conducive atmosphere for holding a constructive and meaningful dialogue process to resolve the vexed Kashmir issue,” APHC spokesman Abdul Majid Banday said here. The action has put a question mark on India’s sincerity to find a lasting solution to the 53-year-old issue through peaceful means, he added. Mr Banday said the APHC had time and again made it clear that a permanent resolution of the Kashmir imbroglio was impossible without the participation of the Kashmiri leadership. “We are the true representatives of the people of Jammu and Kashmir and are ready to prove it anytime,” he said. Reports received here indicated that India had conveyed to Pakistan that a meeting between General Musharraf and the Hurriyat leadership would not be conducive to July 14-16 Indo-Pakistan summit. “It is surprising that the Indian leadership had gone to the level of virtually ordering Gen Musharraf not to entertain the idea of meeting the Hurriyat leaders,” Mr Banday said. In his statement during an interaction with some Pakistani newspaper editors in Islamabad on Tuesday, Gen Musharraf had said that he would “try his best” to meet the APHC leaders. Last month, soon after inviting the General for talks, India had said the Hurriyat leaders meeting with him was a “non-issue”. “The executive committee of the APHC will meet next week in Srinagar to take stock of the situation in the wake of India’s stand and decide its future course of action,” Mr Banday said. Meanwhile, a report in the Pakistani Urdu Daily “Jung” claimed that India had agreed to allow the APHC leaders to meet Gen Musharraf and that the details were being worked out through diplomatic channels.
UNI
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Dictatorial Hurriyat suffers
comedown Jammu, June 28 When nearly seven months
ago the Government of India agreed to hold talks with separatists,
especially the APHC, the Hurriyat leaders were seen in a mood of
dictating conditions to the Centre. They demanded that the executive
committee members be first allowed to visit Pakistan where they would
hold discussions with Islamabad, leaders of militant groups and other
political parties. When they realised that the Government of India was
not willing to grant permission the APHC constituted a five-member
team suggesting to the Centre to send this small team to Pakistan.
They made it clear that they would not hold talks with the Government
of India unless the Hurriyat team returned from Pakistan. The APHC
leadership explained that restoration of peace to the troubled state
of Jammu and Kashmir and the settlement of the Kashmir issue needed
support from leaders of jehadi groups in Pakistan. The Hurriyat
leaders were not totally wrong and finding that the Government of
India was not prepared to accept their condition they started
parroting for Indo-Pak talks and the involvement of the APHC in the
parleys at a later stage. Claiming that they represented the
sentiments and aspirations of the people of Kashmir, the APHC leaders
were so much dictatorial in attitude that they boycotted the
government’s chief negotiator on Kashmir, Mr K.C. Pant. When Mr Pant
arrived in Srinagar the APHC leaders did not grant any
“recognition” to him by totally ignoring him. The Chairman of the
APHC, Prof Abdul Gani Bhat, said, “I need not reply to the formal
letter received from Mr Pant.” He said since Mr Pant had no role to
play in the resolution of the Kashmir issue there was no need to reply
to his letter. When Mr Vajpayee invited General Musharraf for talks
to Delhi Mr Pant had not reached Srinagar and the Hurriyat leaders
fully exploited it saying that Mr Pant’s mission had lost relevance
after Delhi agreed to hold bilateral talks. And watch the drift.
Professor Bhat who did not bother to send a reply to Mr Pant travelled
from Srinagar to Delhi to deliver two letters, one at the PMO and the
other at the Pakistan High Commission in which he had solicited an
audience from Mr Vajpayee and General Musharraf on the sidelines of
the summit. While Delhi has rejected the request Pakistan is adopting
a half-hearted approach. Islamabad tried to help the APHC in being in
the reckoning by showing interest in arranging a meeting of the
Hurriyat leaders with General Musharraf. But Delhi has been quick in
conveying to Islamabad that it “will not permit Hurriyat leaders to
meet President Musharraf.” Three major factors have been
responsible for Delhi’s moves to discard the APHC. First, Delhi has
felt hurt over the way the APHC leaders had been trying to dictate
terms to the government. The Centre had been peeved over the
anti-India outbursts of some of the APHC leaders, especially Syed Ali
Shah Geelani and Sheikh Aziz Ahmed. Secondly, the Government of India
realised that the house of the APHC was tottering with internal
dissensions. There were only three constituents, Jamait-Islami, Awami
Action Committee and the Peoples’ Conference, which had pockets of
influence in the Kashmir valley and the remaining 20 constituents were
as good as “vicinity” leaders. The view held by Islamabad,
according to reports reaching here, was similar to the one held by
Delhi except that Pakistan had come to know that the APHC had been
dominated by the moderates who were for Kashmir’s independence and
not for merger with Pakistan. Thirdly, the Government of India has
been convinced that the APHC is neither the sole representative of the
people of the state nor has the teeth to turn the tide against India
in Kashmir. As such Delhi has decided to discard the conglomerate till
it suits the government. As a result, the APHC leaders, including
Syed Ali Shah Geelani and Prof Abdul Gani Bhat, have been harping on
the desirability of involvement of the APHC in the Indo-Pak talks.
Syed Geelani has said the summit would be an exercise in futility in
case the Hurriyat leaders were not involved in the talks. Other
leaders have been pressing for including Kashmiri representatives in
the parleys for the settlement of the dispute. This way the APHC is
trying to mount pressure on Delhi and Islamabad so that its leaders
are heard and given recognition. |
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Security personnel make beeline to
cave Amarnath cave, June 28 A large number of senior officers from the security forces are reaching here every day. A majority of those who had darshan yesterday were senior security personnel when this reporter visited the cave along with The Tribune photographer. The ice lingam has gained its full height till yesterday. One could, see a nine-foot high holy ice lingam alongwith the ice idols of Goddess Parvati and Lord Ganesha. One could also sight the two pigeons flying inside the cave which had achieved immortality because of the curse of Lord Shiva when he narrated the “Amar Katha” to Goddess Parvati as per the Hindu mythological texts. The devotees could be seen enthusiastically making offerings near the ice lingam while singing praises of the Lord. Cries of “Baba Amarnath ki jai”, “Barfani Baba ki jai and “Bholay Baba ki jai resounds in the air. However, much remains to be desired with regard to the arrangements made for the darshan. The four security personnel, including a woman police officer on duty near the ice lingam, could be seen interferings with the prayers and offerings being made by the devotees. Pilgrims could be seen exchanging hot words with the Jammu and Kashmir police personnel. One Army official had to tell the cops on duty that he was a Brigadier before he could peacefully say his prayers and make offerings. There are a number of allegations being made by the pilgrims against the police personnel. Those travelling by the arduous Baltal route often say they had been allowed to come up to the holy cave for considerations of money. Such allegations could be commonly heard among other ranks of security personnel against the police. A major flaw in the entire security system at the cave today was that there was no frisking of any pilgrim by the security forces or the Jammu and Kashmir police which has been assigned the responsibility of conducting the darshan by the pilgrims. Of course, it is reported that tight frisking was being done on the Pahalgam-Chandanwari cave route which about 80 per cent of the pilgrimage adopt while reaching the cave. On the Baltal route, the security is very tight as the Army jawans have taken positions on every vantage point on the peaks on the way. The BSF had established four camps Baltal, Domeil, Sangam and Ranga More and at the cave site. It seems the security forces are leaving nothing to chance as far as checking of infiltration by militants is concerned. Mr Gurbachan Jagat, Director-General of the Border Security Force (BSF), who met this reporter at the cave told The Tribjune the BSF had been deployed in strength all along the two routes to check any insurgency activity and attack on the pilgrims. Mr Jagat had reached the cave in a chopper along with Mr G.S. Gill, Inspector-General of the BSF, Frontier Headquarters, Srinagar, to review the security arrangements. However, this reporter experienced duplicity of checking of pilgrims by the security forces on the Baltal route. Any official standing at any point could stop a pilgrim and ask about the credentials and his purpose of visit although everybody knows that the pilgrims are heading for the holy cave. Such checking should be at fixed points, opined a pilgrim from Delhi. So far, there are very few arrangements for providing medical aid to the pilgrims on the Baltal route. The people who arrange bhandaras are yet to start their work. The authorities hope the number of pilgrims would be much more this year as compared to last
year. |
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Indians, Pakistanis gather at
shrine Jammu, June 28 More than 50,000 persons across Baba Chamliyal village gathered to receive shakkar and sherbet (clay and water) from the shrine for curing chronic skin diseases. It was after a long time that people on both sides of the border felt comfortable in the relaxed atmosphere. Last year, the Pakistan Rangers had refused shakkar and sherbet when several thousand Pakistanis had come close to the border to take the miracle clay. Even the customary laying of chaddar on the shrine by the Pakistan Rangers had been discarded last year. The scene was different today. Col Mohammed Khan, sector commander of the Rangers, had brought his wife and three children with him along with wing commander Zaffar Khan and handed over the chaddar to the DIG BSF, Mr Ashok Sethi, for laying on the shrine. The BSF authorities had set up a shamiana where officers, reporters and their family members from both sides of the border enjoyed tea. The BSF had decorated tractor-trailers which carried shakkar and sherbet. It was for the first time in the past 11 years that people were allowed to go up to the zero line. |
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2 jawans killed in firing accident Srinagar, June 28 A burst of gunfire sparked panic in the areas adjoining the heavily-guarded cantonment on the Srinagar-Jammu national highway on Tuesday night, but the cause of the shooting could not be ascertained with every official from the Army to the police maintaining silence over the incident, describing the shooting as “nothing serious”. However, the “non-serious incident” claimed the lives of two jawans. The Army in a report to the police station concerned, about the incident stated two jawans — Naik Deep Chand Joshi and Hoshiyar Singh of 4 Kumaon Regiment — died due to “accidental fire” and registered a case under Section 174 CrPC.
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Four infiltrators killed Jammu, June 28 A defence Ministry spokesman said the troops spotted a movement in the border village of Karni. The soldiers ordered the militant group to halt but it opened fire which was retaliated, killing two rebels on the spot. In another incident in the border village of Saujuan in Poonch, the troops noticed a group of militants crossing into the Indian territory. The troops opened fire, forcing the militants to flee. The Army carried out search operations and recovered two bodies of the militants. Large quantities of arms and ammunition, including assault rifles, rockets, rocket launchers, grenades and bags of explosives were recovered from the scene of the incidents. Two militants, belonging to Al Badr were shot by the security forces during “seek and destroy” operation in the Thanamandi tehsil of Poonch district yesterday. The slain militants have been identified as Zafar Iqbal of Pakistan and Nussar Ahmed of the Thanamandi area, the sources said, adding that one civilian, who was caught in the cross firing, also got killed. |
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Replace striking govt lawyers, HC urged Jammu, June 28 In a message faxed to the Chief Justice, Mr Sawhney has sent a list of lawyers who can be
appointed as government lawyers.. He said being government lawyers they lost the right to strike work. He appealing to the lawyers to resume their work Mr Sawhney requested the Chief Justice to make security arrangements for those lawyers who wanted to join work. |
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