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Friday,
March 28, 2003, Chandigarh, India  
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Panthers Party quits coordination panel
Omar rejects talks with Vohra Major, jawan killed in encounter |
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Three injured as Pak
shelling continues NEWS ANALYSIS Security stepped up in J&K
Security ‘was not’ downgraded
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Panthers
Party quits coordination panel Jammu, March 27 The decision to quit the coordination committee of the coalition partners was announced here this afternoon by the Panthers Party chief, Mr Bhim Singh, after discussing the issue at the working committee of the party. Unhappy with the remarks of Mr Sharma, Mr Bhim Singh, told reporters that he did not recognise the coordination committee headed by PCC chief, Ghulam Nabi Azad. Neither do ‘I’ consider Mr Mangat Ram Sharma as a leader, he said. He, however, said that the Panthers Party with four MLAs would continue to support the Mufti government, but under no circumstances, would the party coordinate with the Congress , which is the single largest partner in the coalition. The Panthers Party has the best of coordination with the Mufti. He said that he had never participated in any meeting of the coordination committee after Mr Azad was appointed its chairman. Referring to the remarks of Mr Sharma asking the Panthers Party to quit from the coalition in case its members continued to raise issues of regional discrimination in the Assembly, Mr Bhim Singh, said that the Assembly was not personal property of Mr Sharma and he had no authority to make such remarks. Mr Bhim Singh, who addressed public meetings in the border areas of Jammu today, accused the Congress of being the number one enemy of the people of Jammu whom it had always betrayed. He said that the abusive language used by Mr Sharma, was highly provocative, undesirable and unfortunate. He justified the two Bills moved by Mr Balwant Singh (Pathers Party) seeking citizenship rights for the Pakistani refugees who had been stying in the border areas of Jammu for the past 55 years. It was a disgrace that the refugees had not been given the basic rights. The other Bill, he said, aimed at not only de-reserving four of the 24 seats for the refugees from the Pakistan occupied Kashmir (PoK), but also discrimination against the Jammu region by providing nine additional seats to bring it on a par with the Kashmir valley where the number of Assembly seats was 46. |
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Omar rejects talks with Vohra
Srinagar, March 27 Participating in a radio conference organised by Radio Kashmir, Srinagar, last night, the National Conference president said “We are not against holding meaningful talks on the Kashmir problem.’’ However, we have doubts if the Vohra committee will help to silence the guns here.” “When the Centre and the state government admit that 80 per cent of the militants active in Jammu and Kashmir are foreigners aided by Pakistan, how can we silence the guns by talking to people,” he questioned. He said “If we have to bring peace by silencing guns, we have to talk to Pakistan which has full control over the militants.’’ Talking to the National Conference, Congress, PDP or the Hurriyat Conference means nothing as none of them have control over militant organisations, he said, adding that the Vohra mission is a futile exercise as it will not help bring peace. Mr Omar declared that granting autonomy was the only solution to the Kashmir problem. “When we passed the autonomy report in both Houses of the state Assembly and sent it to Delhi, we did not receive any positive response, but the Centre was ready to hold unconditional talks with the separatists now,’’ he added. In a veiled criticism of the government headed by his father Farooq Abdullah, National Conference President Omar Abdullah has said his party lost last year’s Assembly poll in Jammu and Kashmir because of “unfulfilled promises” and made it clear that neither the Centre nor intelligence agencies had any role in the defeat. “NC had made several promises during the 1996 assembly elections and we were unable to fulfil all of them, setting off an anti-incumbency wave leading to defeat in 2002 poll,” Omar said. His remarks were seen as an attempt to distance the party as well as the Abdullah family from a recent statement made by former state minister and his uncle Mustafa Kamaal Abdullah about the role played by outside agencies in NC’s defeat in the polls. After resigning as Minister of State for External Affairs from the National Democratic Alliance (NDA) government, Omar Abdullah now wants to enter the Jammu and Kashmir Assembly. “I am keen to enter the Assembly,’’ said Omar who lost to the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) candidate in Ganderbal, the constituency represented by his grandfather and father since 1975. “However, I do not want to take any risk this time and will choose a safe constituency,’’ he said, adding that another defeat will put a big question mark on his political career. To another question, Mr Omar admitted that most of the senior party leaders were still not accepting him as NC President. Mr Omar admitted indiscipline within the party and said he would change the party set-up within next fortnight. He agreed with a questioner that there was a wide gap between the party leaders and the workers at the grass-root level. “Yes my party leaders had no time to visit their constituencies, listen to the people and try to attend to their problems,’’ he said. He said that the secular forces within the NDA has prevented the BJP from implementing its own agenda and ruled out withdrawing from the multi-party conglomeration. “It was because of the secular forces within the NDA, the leading coalition partner BJP had not so far implemented its own agenda on Article 370, which gives special status to Jammu and Kashmir, common civil code and Ayodhya,’’ Omar said.
PTI, UNI |
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Major, jawan killed in encounter
Jammu, March 27 Acting on a tip-off, security forces raided a militant hideout in the Atholi-Paddar area. As the security forces zeroed in on the militants, they opened fire with their automatic weapons. In the ensuing gunbattle, the Army Major and an ultra were killed and two jawans injured. The area has been cordoned off and search operations were on to nab the ultras. SRINAGAR: Two days after the massacre of 24 Kashmiri Pandits at Nadimarg in Pulwama, ultras targeted another minority community village in Anantnag district, 75 km from here last night, but there was no loss of life, official sources said today. Militants resorted to firing in Chanderigam village near Aishmuqam, but the policemen on duty retaliated, causing the militants to flee. There was no report of loss of life on either side. Meanwhile, three persons, including a couple, were gunned down by militants in the border district of Kupwara in north Kashmir, official sources said today. Mohammad Amin Magray and his wife were killed when unidentified militants intruded into their house at Tarthpora village late last night and fired indiscriminately on them. In the other incident this morning, militants intercepted a private truck at Pothushahi village of Lolab and shot dead its driver Shabir Ahmad Mir, a resident of Uri. Later, the gunmen set ablaze the truck causing extensive damage to it. Mir was engaged by the Army for transportation of goods and the incident took place when he was returning from Sogam camp. Meanwhile, security forces seized 100 kg of RDX and other explosives from a village in the Banihal area of Jammu and Kashmir which militants had planned to use for disrupting the movement of traffic on the Jammu-Srinagar national highway, defence sources said here today. Jawans of Rashtriya Rifles, on specific information provided by villagers, busted a hideout at Zoban Top on March 25. The jawans dug the area on Monday night and continued the process till yesterday, seizing from the hideout 100 kg of RDX, 50 litres of liquid explosive and different types of grenades and detonators. The explosives were meant for blowing up bridges and culverts along the highway, the sources added. The militants had probably stored these explosives in the area for targeting important bridges and other link roads along the highway. Meanwhile, a security force jawan, B.Dass, and a village defence committee (VDC) member were injured in an encounter between militants and security forces in the Reasi area of Udhampur district last evening. PTI, UNI
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Three injured as Pak shelling continues
Jammu, March 27 The Pakistani troops resorted to shelling to 61, 80, 81 and 125 mm mortar bombs and opened heavy arms firing along the LoC in Jangard, Laam, Noushera, Bhawani of the Rajouri sector and Khadi, Karmara, Gulpur, Ajote, Madiyana, Dallan and Digwar of the Poonch sector, they said. Besides Thang, Turtuk, Chorbatla and central Siachen in the Kargil sector also came under heavy firing since last night, the sources said. Over 80 to 100 shells were fired in each of the area in stepped up border terror, they said adding that three civilians were injured in Poonch in the shelling. The shelling, which was still continuing heavily this morning, had caused panic among the people in the border vicinities in Poonch, the sources said. “Pakistani troops have increased shelling of mortar and artillery during last one week, which also saw an increase in terror attack in Jammu and Kashmir’s in-depth areas,” the sources said. However, there was no casuality in the Kargil sector, they said adding that there were apprehensions of migration of the people along the LoC in Rajouri and Poonch. But border people have taken shelter in underground bunkers to save their lives, the sources said. Indian troops retaliated the shelling and exchange of fire continued in these areas when reports last came in, the sources said. PTI
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NEWS ANALYSIS Jammu, March 27 The police was found wanting in almost every incident in which the terrorists butchered even women and children. The recent massacre of 24 Kashmiri Pandits in Pulwama district was a shameful lapse of the police which even the Chief Minister, Mufti Mohammed Sayeed, has accepted. The “healing touch” policy of the Mufti is being blamed for the inaction of the police. However, the Mufti has claimed that the policy aimed at only the innocent people affected due by militancy. However, what is strange is that not a single top official of the police has been hold accountable by the government which had to force embarrassment within and outside the state following such incidents. It is intriguing is that the state police personnel have in most of the incidents sheepishly surrendered to the striking terrorists without firing even a single shot and allowed them to leave a trail of bloodshed. Reports of the police personnel is involvement involved in militancy-related incidents have been pouring in. A policeman was recently caught in the border town of Rajouri. He was accused of hurling a grenade on people in the main bazaar. Just a day before the Pulwama massacre terrorists gunned down Majeed Dar, a former chief commander of the terrorist outfit of the Hizbul Mujahidin, at his residence in the Noorabagh village of the Sopore district. The fault of Dar was that he had offered to involve himself in the talks with the Centre for finding a solution to the Kashmir. Just a week ago various terrorist outfits grouped for the first time to attack Indh village of the Gool area of Udhampur where they massacred 14 persons, including 11 police personnel who were taken unawares by them. Not a single terrorist received even a bruise during the attack. The residents of the village have pointed out that terrorists had been roaming in the area in the past and their pleadings for proper security of the village fell on deaf ears of the authorities. Shortly before that, Mr Abdul Aziz Mir, the newly elected MLA of the ruling PDP, was slain at Pampore in the Kashmir valley. The magisterial probe report of the assassination of Law Minister, Mushtaq Ahmed Lone, during the National Conference regime, which was tabled in the Assembly yesterday, is a tell-tale evidence of the blunders of the police. Mr Lone was gunned down while he was addressing an election meeting at Takipora in Lolab on September 11 last year. The 19-page report submitted by the Deputy Commissioner, Baramula, Mr Naveen Chaudhary, said that the killing of the minister was due to a blatant security lapse as the assassin was allowed to walk to the election meeting where a small gathering of 300 was present. Although 61 police personnel and a platoon of the CRPF were deployed there, but they failed to prevent the killing of the minister. What was disgusting is that the assassins first fired a single shot and then opened fire with automatic weapons and after emptying the magazine walked out of the meeting place and no policeman reacted. The report has described the security personnel on duty there as cowards who chose to save their lives rather than that of the VIP for whose security they were deployed. Another moderate Hurriyat Conference leader Abdul Gani Lone was shot dead at a large public meeting at Srinagar last year while the police remained a mute witness. The terrorists have been calling the shots in the border districts of Poonch and Rajouri in the Jammu division. Innocent girls were beheaded and minor children massacred to create a scare among the people, but none of the miscreants has, so far, been booked. As many as six policemen and four other employees of the state government have been arrested for militant activities in Srinagar. The policemen are, Mohammad Khalid, Firadous Ahmed Farash, Firdous Ahmed Shah, Ali Mohammad Najar, Khursheed Ahmed Khan and Mushtaq Ahmed Thakur. The other three personnel of the Education Department are, Mohammad Shafi Khan, Lyakat Ali Kukroo and Abdul Rehman Paul. A protocol officer, Zahid Aslam Khan, was also arrested under the POTA. However, the role of the police has been appreciable at certain places. The police was involved in 28 encounters with terrorists in the Mahore area of the Doda district. Nearly 24 policemen were either given out of turn promotions or rewards for their action. Many policemen lost their lives while fighting the terrorists. A DSP and a couple of policemen lost their lives recently at Poonch. |
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Security
stepped up in J&K Srinagar, March 27 The strengthening of manpower at about 270 security pickets set up around the minority community localities in Kashmir from time to time over the years, however, seems to be impossible due to limited resources with the police. The presence of a nine-member strong police picket at Nadimarg could not prevent the massacre, as it was “stormed” by the assailants and arms snatched. Senior police officers here opine that such pickets cannot prevent the massacres. Only sustained operations and the sanitisation of general areas apart from the presence of security pickets would be effective and instill confidence among the minorities in some pockets of the valley. There is need for proper intelligence network and general security, these police officers claim. Investigations into the circumstances leading to the massacre have been started and all nine personnel posted at the security picket at Nadimarg have been suspended and sent to the Police Lines. Of these only six were on duty while three others were reported to have been unauthorisedly absent from duty on the night of the massacre.
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Security
‘was not’ downgraded Jammu, March 27 Reacting to the reports appearing in a section of the press, the spokesman said nine policemen were posted at Nadimarg post in Pulwama district where 24 members of the minority community including two children, 11 women and 11 men were brutally massacred by militants during the intervening night of March 24 and 25. The deployment of policemen at Nadimarg village, he said, was as per security requirements. |
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Bandh against US-led war on Iraq
Srinagar, March 27 Shops and other business establishments in most parts of the city and other major towns remained closed. However, skeletal transport was plying on almost all routes in the valley, official sources said. Work in government and semi-government offices, educational institutions, banks, courts and other establishments also remained affected. This was for the third day that the life was affected due to strikes in this week. The Kashmir Bar Association sponsored a general strike against Iraq war on Monday followed by complete shutdown next day in response to the call given by the Hurriyat Conference against killing of 24 Kashmiri Pandits. The sources said the bandh was peaceful and there were no reports of anti-US demonstrations from any part of the valley so far. However, Vice-Chairman of the JKLF Javid Ahmad Mir and Chairman of the Human Rights Forum Mohammad Ahsan Untoo were taken into preventive custody along with three supporters when they tried to stage a demonstration against alleged state terrorism in Lal Chowk. PTI
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