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Thursday, February 14, 2002, Chandigarh, India  
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Bhat’s
prompters on poll panel 2 top Al-Fateh ultras among 12 killed ‘ISI pushing ultras into J&K’
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51 cr spent on welfare, development in Baramula Baramula, February 13 Nearly 73 per cent of the annual plan of Rs 69.61 crore has been utilised for development and welfare schemes in the Baramula district the past 10 months of the current year. PM bowls Kashmiri boys over
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Bhat’s prompters on poll panel Jammu, February 13 But on Tuesday Prof Bhat announced a six-member election commission which would hold the poll for determining “who are the genuine representatives of the people of the undivided Jammu and Kashmir.” What prompted Prof Bhat and his colleagues to rush through the exercise of constituting the election commission? Continued behind the scene activities initiated by two senior APHC leaders, Maulvi Umar Farooq and Mr Abdul Gani Lone, in Delhi during the past one week were said to have goaded Prof Bhat and his close associate Mr Mohd Yasin Malik, JKLF President, to announce the six-member election commission. Inside reports said that the constitution of an election commission is actually the brainchild of Mr Mohd Yasin Malik following his discussions with diplomats, academicians and others in the USA and the UK. According to these reports, Mr Malik goaded Prof Bhat to make the announcement regarding the commission as early as possible. The commission has representatives from India, Pakistan occupied Kashmir, Jammu, Ladakh and Kashmir. But no one from the Pakistan administered areas of occupied Kashmir, including Gilgit and Baltistan, has been included in the commission. Mr Malik had been trying hard to draft eminent journalist, Mr Kuldip Nayar, and Justice Mufti Bahauddin into the commission. While prominent journalist, Mr Ved Bhasin, again a choice of Mr Malik, will represent Jammu, Dr Sidiq Wahid, a scholar, Ladakh, Justice (retd) Raja Khurshid, occupied Kashmir, Mr Tapan Kumar Bose, human rights activist, India, Dr Zafar Mehdi, Kashmir and Justice Sajid Ali Shah, former Chief Justice of Pakistan, Pakistan. Justice Shah and Mr Tapan Kumar Bose will function as co-chairmen. Prof Bhat and Mr Malik had become suspicious of the latest statement of Mr Lone in which he had favoured a dialogue with a person or a group of persons close to the Prime Minister, Mr Atal Behari Vajpayee, for the settlement of the Kashmir issue. Some Hurriyat leaders saw in this statement signs of Mr Lone and Maulvi Umar Farooq, who alone have a constituency in the Kashmir valley, finally agreeing to take part in the Assembly elections. In order to scuttle any such plan the Hurriyat leadership went ahead with constituting the commission. Prof Bhat has made it clear that constituents of the 23-party conglomerate had been barred from contesting the Assembly poll. Any constituent found doing so will lose its membership of the APHC. By constituting an election commission and boycotting the Assembly poll indicate that the APHC leaders have no will to contest the Assembly poll. The proposed poll for determining the representatives of the state is to convey to the US and British governments that the APHC was for a democratic resolution of the Kashmir issue. When Prof Bhat was asked as to wherefrom he would organise poll officers and agents, he replied “every Kashmiri is a policeman. Every Kashmiri is an election worker”. Since the Government of India has refused to grant recognition to the election commission set up by the APHC it would be difficult for its members to meet either in Pakistan or India. The Government of India may not grant valid travel documents to the members from India to visit Pakistan and in the same way it may not permit the two representatives from Pakistan and occupied Kashmir to visit Kashmir. Yes, the members could explore the possibility of meeting in a third country. A senior APHC leader said that even if permission was denied to members to meet in a third country, the commission would prepare a blueprint. |
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2 top Al-Fateh ultras among 12 killed Srinagar, February 13 Meanwhile, the security forces fired several shots in the air at Baramula to disperse a mob protesting against the killing of a government employee in alleged firing by the forces. A spokesman for the security forces said that troops of the 14 and 15 Rashtriya Rifles and the Special Operation Group of the Jammu and Kashmir police cordoned off Lawalpora Bandipora village early this morning to nab militants. However, during the sealing operation, the ultras attacked the troops. Retaliatory fire killed four militants — self-styled supreme commander Bashir Gazl, district commander Vikas Moulvi and Abdul Ahad Jan of the Al-Fateh and Saif Khan alias Zafar of the Lashkar-e-Toiba. Bashir and Vikas were involved in several militancy-related incidents in north Kashmir, the spokesman said. Four AK rifles, eight magazines, 211 rounds, two under barrel grenade launchers with 12 grenades, as many hand grenades and one wireless set seized from the site of encounter. A police spokesman here said two foreign militants were killed in an encounter at Chambi Dard Darhal last evening. Three security men lost their lives, while another was injured. Also, a militant was gunned down by the security forces during a search operation at Dharish village last evening. JAMMU: Three militants, as many policemen were killed and two others injured in separate encounters in Rajouri and Doda districts of Jammu region since Tuesday evening. Official sources said acting on a tip-off that some militants had sneaked into Parore-Gujaran village in the Darhal area of Rajouri district, the security forces launched an operation to flush them out. The militants retaliated the fire and in the ensuing gun battle, two militants and three policemen were killed. The identity of the slain militants were yet to be ascertained. The policemen who lost their lives in the encounter have been identified as Govind Singh, Muqsood Ahmed and Imtiaz Ahmed, sources said and added that a policeman, identified as Kewal Krishan, was also injured in the encounter. He has been hospitalised. Two AK-56 rifles with three magazines, three hand grenades and a wireless set were seized from the site. Meanwhile, a hardcore militant of the Hizb-ul Mujahideen outfit was killed and his associate was injured during an encounter with Rashtriya Rifle (RR) troops at Darosh village near Kastigarh in Doda district on Tuesday evening. The slain militant, identified as Ishad Ahmed alias Tanveer, was among few longest surviving militants and had joined militancy way back in 1990. He had visited Pakistan several times for getting arms consignments. One AK-47 rifle, along with some magazines and rounds of ammunition were seized from the site of encounter, the sources said. However the injured militant managed to escape with his associates.
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‘ISI pushing ultras into J&K’ Srinagar, February 13 Mohammad Shaban (17), alias Abu Lala, a resident of Pattan-Punjab in Pakistan, arrested in Anantnag district yesterday, said training camps for the militants were being run in Pakistan-occupied Kashmir (PoK). A poorly-clad Shaban who was presented at a press conference by the Army said he was misled into terrorism by false propaganda on the condition of Muslims in Kashmir. Shaban said he was told that Islam was in danger at the hands of the Indian Army in the state and that he should join the “Kashmir struggle”. The militant said he had infiltrated into the Poonch area of Jammu on December 26 night carrying Rs 30,000 for his “chief” in Anantnag. Shaban was arrested when on being confronted by an Army informer he was unable to respond to the queries. The informer then led him to an Army camp in Khannabal and handed him over to the security personnel, an Army officer said.
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Rs 51 cr spent on welfare, development in Baramula Baramula, February 13 This was stated at a meeting held under the chairmanship of District Development Commissioner Naveen Chowdry here. It stated that Rs 6.22 crore had been spent on improving road communication network while more than 37 unit road length had been black topped. As many as 561 rural development works have been completed at a cost of Rs 2.28 crore, generating two lakh mandays. Under Indira Awaas Yojna, 857 families were provided residential facility free of cost. The meeting was informed that Rs 8.20 crore was spent on the promotion of education and text books of cost worth Rs 26 lakh were provided free of cost to students of primary classes in the district. A sum of Rs 5.30 crore has been utilised on the agriculture sector. During the past month, 80 irrigation pumps were provided to the farmers on 50 per cent while eight watershed development projects set up. The commissioner said the work was in progress on 51 water supply schemes in the district. On completion, these schemes would provide drinking water facility to 25,000 persons of 21 villages, he added. In all, Rs 6.50 crore is being utilised under the Public Health Engineering sector in the district. He said Rs 5 crore had been spent so far on the execution of various schemes under health sector. Work was apace on three primary health centres at a cost of Rs 37.43 lakh in the district, he added.
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PM bowls Kashmiri boys over Srinagar, February 13 “Vajpayeeji nay hamey apna qeemati waqat diya. Hum sey beat ki. Hamarey masali sunay aur hamay yakeen diya ki halaat jaldi theek karai gay” (Vajpayee gave us his precious time, talked to us, listened to our problems and assured us that the situation will improve soon), they said on return from the 'Bharat darshan' tour today. The tour was organised by the Border Security Force (BSF). Sharing the experience of the tour, the boys hailing from different villages of north, central and south Kashmir were jubilant on meeting the Prime Minister. “We are very thankful to the BSF for such a historic meeting which we would never forget throughout our life,” the boys said while talking to reporters at BSF centre at Humhama, near here, today. “We informed the Prime Minister of the problems being faced by the people of the valley in general and students in particular during our 35-minute meeting with him,” Mudasir Bakshi, leader of the group, said. Welcoming the boys, Inspector-General of the BSF Naresh Mehra said the highlight of the tour was the meeting between the boys and the Prime Minister at his residence on February 2.
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