The Tribune, Chandigarh, India

Protests over BJP MP’s remarks on Hazratbal
Tribune News Service and UNI

Srinagar, March 13
The police here today lobbed teargas shells to quell demonstrators protesting against the statement of a BJP leader who had reportedly staked claim to the hair of Prophet Mohammed preserved at the Hazratbal shrine.

The report has evoked widespread condemnation here and various leaders cutting across party lines, and top Kashmir clergymen have condemned the reported remarks of the VHP leader and BJP MP, Mr Vinay Katiyar. These leaders appealed to the people to maintain peace and communal harmony, saying that the statement was aimed at creating a wedge and tension among different communities.

There was a spontaneous shutdown in most parts of Srinagar city today, where angry demonstrators pelted stones on the police at Maisuma and some interior localities. All shops and business establishments in these localities were closed spontaneously and the flow of traffic was also affected in some areas. Groups of angry demonstrators pelted stones on the police and burnt tyres to register their protest.

A deputation of the Bar Association submitted a memorandum to the Deputy Commissioner here seeking to prosecute the BJP MP for his alleged blasphemous remarks on the holy relic at the Hazratbal shrine. The memorandum, according to official sources, has been referred to the Law Department to seek legal opinion for going ahead with the proceedings.

Meanwhile, the Divisional Commissioner, Kashmir, Mr Parvez Dewan, tracing the history of the holy relic, claims that the relic housed at the Hazratbal shrine, was one of those bequeathed by the holy Prophet to his grandson Imam Hussain. Mr Dewan stated that Imam Hussain “was bequeathed some relics, mostly hair from the beard, of the holy Prophet”.

One of these relics, the one now in Hazratbal, was passed down the generations to his descendant, Syed Abdullah of Mecca”, Mr Dewan said. He adds that on account of some litigation that Abdullah was involved in, he was stripped of his citizenship by his government.

“So in 1634, the Syed left Mecca and emigrated to Bijapur, where he was given a large estate by the Indian rulers, perhaps on account of his exalted ancestry”, the Divisional Commissioner said. However, shortly thereafter, Aurangzeb became the Mughal King and forfeited this estate, evicting Abdullah’s son Syed Hamid from it.

Giving a graphic account of the journey of the holy relic to Kashmir, Mr Dewan said that Hamid went to Delhi to get the estate restored. He added that Hamid in Delhi met Khwaja Nooruddin of Ishber (Srinagar). Khwaja Nooruddin thus, became the first Kashmiri to receive a relic of the Prophet of Islam.

Khwaja Nooruddin had no son, so his daughter, Anayat Begum and her husband, Khwaja Ballaquee Banday, became the holy keepers of the relic.

The Hazratbal shrine, housing the holy relic of Prophet Mohammad, invites a large number of devotees every Friday and on all major religious occasions, where the holy relic is displayed. It made newspaper headlines in October-November 1993, when a group of suspected militants and devotees were holed up there for about one month. Without any military action, the holed up people came out and there was no harm caused to this most revered shrine of the valley.

The demonstrators, led by Jammu and Kashmir Liberation Front (JKLF) vice-chairman Javid Ahmad Mir and Jammu and Kashmir Human Rights Front chief Ghulam Ahsan Ontoo, took to the streets here, protesting against Mr Katiyar’s remarks on the Hazratbal shrine and the holy relic of Prophet Mohammed. They demanded his immediate arrest.

Reacting to the interview of Mr Katiyar carried by a Delhi newspaper yesterday, the Mufti Azam of Jammu and Kashmir, Mufti Bashir-ud-din said it was an attempt to creating communal tension.

Demanding the prosecution of Mr Katiyar, he said no words could be too harsh to condemned the highly outrageous remarks.

Jammu and Kashmir Muslim Auqaf trust vice chairman Ghulam Nabi Kochak condemned the BJP leader’s remarks and said it was aimed at creating communal trouble in the country.

The government should immediately prosecute Mr Katiyar for blasphemy, he added.

Jammu and Kashmir Liberation Front chief Mohammad Yaseen Malik, National Front chairman Nayeem Ahmad Khan, ruling National Conference leader Ghulam Nabi Shaheen and several social, religious and political leaders also condemned the remarks of Mr Katiyar.

Mr Malik said the remarks had hurt the religious sentiments of crores of Muslims across the globe, particularly in Jammu and Kashmir. Mr Khan said the BJP was desperately trying to divert the attention of the people from its recent poll debacle after which hundreds of innocent Muslims were killed in Gujarat.

Mr Shaheen said the Sangh Parivar leaders were frustrated at their recent humiliating defeat in the elections and it had been proved that voters could be misled by emotive slogans any more.

Prominent constitutional expert and senior Supreme Court lawyer Muzaffar Hussain Beigh said he would approach the Chief Judicial Magistrate here to seek prosecution of the BJP MP for his remarks.

Jamaat Islami chief Ghulam Mohammad Bhat, All-Party Hurriyat Conference executive council member and Shia leader Moulana Abbas Ansari and Hashim Qureshi, Javid Ahmad Mir and Shabir Ahmad Shah also condemned the remarks of Mr Katiyar. They, however, appealed to people to maintain communal harmony.

Resume talks with Pak: Farooq
Tribune News Service

Jammu, March 13
The Chief Minister, Dr Farooq Abdullah, while welcoming the Supreme Court verdict ordering status quo on the disputed land in Ayodhya said the commission set up to inquire into communal riots in Gujarat and elsewhere should, besides fixing responsibility on those who instigated these riots, recommend measures for preventing repetition of such incidents.

Winding up the discussion on the demands for grants of departments under his charge in the state Assembly here today, Dr Abdullah said Gujarat-type communal frenzy posed a danger to the unity and security of the country. He said measures were needed to check the recurrence of such events. He demanded immediate arrest of the VHP member of the Lok Sabha, Mr Vinay Katiyar, on charge of having made a statement in a newspaper which had the potential of inciting a particular community.

He urged the Prime Minister that the prosecution of Mr Katiyar be ordered and he be “thrown out of the Lok Sabha.” He was piqued by the NC chief whip, Mr Mubarik Gul, who raised the issue during the discussion on the demand for grants, saying that the statement of Mr Katiyar regarding the holy relic in the Hazratbal shrine in Srinagar was blasphemous.

The Chief Minister said that the NDA government was not BJP government as there were many partners in the Central Government. He said some BJP leaders were creating problems for their leader, Mr Atal Behari Vajpayee.

Dr Abdullah, while referring to the role of Pakistan in fuelling violence in Jammu and Kashmir, asked Pakistan Muslims whether they were true believers of Islam because their actions had resulted in the death of over 12,000 Kashmiri Muslims during the past 12-year Pakistan sponsored terrorism.

He urged Delhi to initiate talks with Islamabad as it has been doing with China for resolving bilateral issues. He said without compromising on Kashmir, India should resume talks with Pakistan for resolving other bilateral problems. In this connection, he referred to the Indus Water Treaty of 1960 and said that this treaty had resulted in huge losses to Jammu and Kashmir. He said rough estimates revealed that the treaty had inflicted losses to the tune of about Rs 6,000 crore annually. The Centre had refused to compensate these losses and hence he would request the Prime Minister to take up the issue of modification of the treaty with the Pakistan Government.

The Chief Minister had a dig at the Chief Election Commissioner who had recently stated that it was for the commission and not for the state government to decide the schedule for the next Assembly poll. He said the Chief Election Commissioner should read the relevant rules and he would find it that it was the prerogative of the state government to recommend to the commission the period during which the Assembly poll should be held.

Dr Abdullah scoffed at those who were demanding a separate statehood for Jammu. He was referring to the voice raised by the leader of the BJP Legislature Party, Mr Shiv Charan Gupta. During the discussion on grants, Mr Gupta said if Jammuites continued to receive a raw deal, the slogan for “Quit Jammu” would gain momentum. Mr Gupta said, “We may also be forced to raise Quit Jammu slogans as the Kashmiris had raised the Quit Kashmir slogan in 1947.”

He announced that the government planned to adopt a legislation banning those religious institutions that fanned communalism.

He said that a stage had reached where 70 per cent of the Budget allocations were spent on salaries and only 30 per cent on development works. He said that the state had suffered on all fronts because of militancy and it was time for the Centre to release grants liberally.

The discussion on the demand for grants saw noisy scenes in the House when some Opposition members staged a walkout and indulged in slogan-shouting in protest against the refusal of the Deputy Speaker, who was in the chair, to give them sufficient time to speak on the grants. Mr Harsh Dev of the Panthers Party said he would move a vote of no-confidence against the Deputy Speaker.

Earlier, during question hour, BJP members staged a walkout and shouted slogans while leaving the House in protest against the failure of the Chief Minister to give detailed and satisfactory replies to their questions on improper distribution of funds from the state to the district sector. The Chief Minister informed the House that the state was already facing financial constraints and the Centre had not fully funded the Rs 2050-crore Plan for the current year.

He said that when the remaining over Rs 420 crore was released by the Centre, funds for several district plans could be made available.

In reply to another question, the government informed the House that since February 8, 2002, as many as 307 cases (44 in Kashmir and 263 in Jammu) had been registered under POTO in which 72 persons had been arrested. As many as 647 cases under TADA were pending in the courts. While six persons were in custody, 1,250 had been released on bail. Three foreigners and one PoK national were facing trial under TADA and two foreigners under POTO. As many as 3,267 cases had been registered under TADA in the state in which 3,165 persons were involved. Out of them, 13 have been convicted so far.

The Works Minister, Mr Ali Mohd. Sagar, was given a warm reception when he entered the House after returning from the Haj pilgrimage as leader of the Indian delegation. The Speaker said it was an honour for the state and its people.

J&K poll can be held any time: CM

Jammu, March 13
Jammu and Kashmir Chief Minister Farooq Abdullah today objected to the Election Commission of India statement that there would be no early assembly poll in the state.

Making a suo motu statement in the State Assembly, the Chief Minister said it was the state government which decided the date of elections.

“Likewise in this State, too, it is the state government which will decide when to hold the elections.” The Chief Minister said the legislators should start preparing for elections “as they can be held any time”. UNI

Cops take fresh DNA samples

Srinagar, March 13
Following laboratory reports that samples submitted by the Jammu and Kashmir Government for DNA testing were fudged, two senior officials of the state police left for Kolkata and Hyderabad with new samples from the relatives of the five persons killed by security forces in south Kashmir in March 2000.

On March 25, 2000, the Army and the police claimed that they had killed five foreign militants at Patheribal in south Kashmir who they alleged had been involved in the massacre at Chattissinghpora on March 21 that year.

However, the local people contested the claim and alleged that those killed were innocent civilians picked up by the security forces from different areas in Anantnag. Following widespread protests, the government ordered a probe into the incident and suspended the then-Police Superintendent Mr Farooq Khan and shifted the Anantnag Deputy.

The bodies of the slain five, which were totally burnt, were exhumed and later identified by their relatives.

But the government ordered their DNA testing to ascertain the identity of those killed by the security forces. The relatives of those killed were also paid Rs 1 lakh each as compensation.

Inspector-General of Police K. Rajinder Kumar said Anantnag Police Superintendent Ghulam Hassan Bhat had left for Kolkata and a Deputy Police Superintendent for Hyderabad with the DNA samples yesterday.

Mr Kumar said both the officials would hand over the samples to forensic labs at Hyderabad and Kolkata for the DNA testing. Following reports from Kolkata and Hyderabad labs that the samples taken from the relatives of the slain people in April 2000 were fudged, Jammu and Kashmir Chief Minister Farooq Abdullah, while making a suo motu statement in the State Assembly in Jammu, had said that the government had nothing to hide and did not want to shield anybody.

He said no officer responsible for the the alleged DNA fudging would be spared and that they would be dismissed from service.

Dr Abdullah assured the Assembly that action would be taken against security force officials if it was proved that those killed were innocent. UNI