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Wednesday, February
13, 2002,
Chandigarh, India  
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APHC forms poll panel
Srinagar, February 12 The six-member “Jammu and Kashmir People’s Election Commission” as constituted by the APHC will be headed by two co-chairmen — Mr Tapan Kumar Bose, human rights and peace activist from India and Justice Sajad Ali Shah (retd), former Chief Justice of the Supreme Court of Pakistan. Other members of the commission include Mr Ved Bhasin, veteran journalist from Jammu, Dr Zafar Mehdi from Srinagar, Dr Siddiq Wahid, from Ladakh and Justice Raja Khursheed from PoK. Making this announcement the APHC Chairman, Prof Abdul Ghani Bhat, at a press conference here this afternoon said these personalities were chosen for their “honesty, integrity and impartiality”. “I appeal to the Prime Minister of India and the President of Pakistan to join us in our peaceful effort, which is democratic in form and content, to ensure a better world and brighter future. But, we have to address the basic issue”, said Professor Bhat. He said the Kashmir dispute was a threat to peace in the region. Mr Bhat claimed that both the Prime Minister, Mr Atal Behari Vajpayee, and the Pakistani President, Gen Pervez Musharraf, had committed to “resolve the Kashmir issue”. The constitution of the commission was announced two weeks after its decision to determine the “representative character” of the Hurriyat Conference for participation in any tripartite talks to resolve the Kashmir issue. The APHC seeks a “resolution of the Kashmir dispute under the UN resolution, right of self-determination to the people of Jammu and Kashmir, and tripartite talks “with the participation of the people of Jammu and Kashmir”. The separatist conglomeration reiterated its “clear stand” on the initiation of the democratic process and clarified that the move was in no way directed towards its participation in the forthcoming Assembly elections. Claiming that the Hurriyat represented the historical and political aspirations of the people of Jammu and Kashmir, Mr Bhat said there were “wild allegations” against the conglomerate and the present move was to determine the representative character through a democratic process. “We devised a plan of democratic process .... to seek a seat on a peace table for talks to resolve the Kashmir dispute in the interest of a better world and brighter future”, Mr Bhat said in his remarks adding that there were three steps in this direction. Mr Bhat said with the constitution of the six-member “election commission” the first two steps had already been taken. The third and final step involving an election exercise in this direction, according to Mr Bhat, would be the “most significant and crucial step”, Mr Bhat added that people from all political shades ranging from the Prime Minister, Mr Vajpayee, and the Pakistan President, General Musharraf, would “hail us for choosing a path for better world and brighter future”.Meanwhile, according to a PTI report, sharply reacting to the announcement, Jammu and Kashmir Chief Minister Farooq Abdullah said it was a device by the Hurriyat to save its face in the wake of its growing marginalisation in the affairs of the state. He said the Hurriyat leaders were scared to face elections under the country’s well reputed commission because they were certain of facing defeat. Minister of State for External Affairs Omar Abdullah asked how could Hurriyat term the country’s Election Commission as partial since its leaders Syed Ali Shah Geelani and Abdul Gani Lone had been elected as MLAs under the elections conducted by it and Mr Lone also became a minister in the state. 
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Hurriyat panel has ‘different’ purpose New Delhi, February 12 “Their setting up of an election commission is entirely different from the purpose for which our commission has been constituted. We elect the governments while their purpose seems to be totally different,” EC spokesman A.N. Jha told reporters here. He was responding to questions on the announcement by the Hurriyat regarding the setting up of a six-member parallel poll body. “We will wait and see”, Mr Jha said. In an open defiance of the Constitution, the Hurriyat today announced the formation of an “election commission jointly headed by former Chief Justice of Pakistan Sajjad Ali Shah in what is being viewed as a desperate bid to manage mandate for itself to decide on the future of Jammu and Kashmir. Meanwhile, acting on a complaint about the alleged violation of election rules by cine star Hema Malini by campaigning for the BJP-SAD combine in Punjab, the EC has begun a probe and asked the Information and Broadcasting Ministry to give a report on the position held by her in the National Film Development Corporation (NFDC). “We have asked the Information and Broadcasting Ministry to report us at the earliest whether her position as the NFDC Chairperson was an office of profit and whether Hema Malini would be deemed to be a government employee,” Mr Jha told newspersons. As per the EC rules, government servants were not permitted to campaign in elections. Asked when the probe would be over, he merely said: “It would be completed soon.” Hema Malini is slated to campaign for the BJP-led combine in Uttar Pradesh too. Expressing satisfaction over the law and order situation and the arrangements for the Assembly elections in Punjab tomorrow, Mr Jha said as many as 69 central observers had been pressed on duty to ensure free and fair elections in all 117 seats in the state. |
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