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General
sees threat to stability in Central Asia Five top militants killed Proposal to set up panel to amend law
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General
sees threat to stability in Central Asia Jammu, February 25 General Prasad said this while delivering his inaugural address at a seminar on “Central Asia: present challenges and future prospects” organised here by the Army and the Centre for Strategic and Regional Studies of Jammu University. He said although Kashmir was situated on the periphery of Central Asia, it could not be walled off from political developments there. India must begin to look well beyond its immediate neighbours in the context of widespread disorder and transnational terrorism. It has vital security stakes in the Central Asian region, both because of its energy deposits as also to ensure that Islamic fundamentalism does not destabilise this critical area. There is much unfinished business in the region that can yet change the character of Central Asian states. It is difficult to draw too many conclusions about this region based on the situation today. Central Asia has re-emerged with astonishing swiftness upon the world scene and it no longer operates in a vacuum; it is surrounded by important regional powers that will affect its future. It is a new geographical creation that has an important strategic role to play in the coming years. General Prasad warned that a combination of religious fundamentalism, nationalist separatism and international terrorism posed the greatest threat to the security and stability of the region. Religious fundamentalists are trying to expand their influence in Central Asia. Pakistan’s ISI has stocked militant Islamists in the region with sufficient weapons to initiate an Islamic fundamentalist movement and assist in the creation of Islamic governments. Islamist insurgents started a civil war in Tajikistan in which some 30,000 persons have been killed. Another challenge was of routing oil reserves. Being landlocked, there was reliance on the goodwill of neighbouring states for access to blue water ports and foreign markets. The shortest route to the Persian Gulf was impeded due to US sanctions on Iran. China was showing interest in constructing a
pipeline, notwithstanding the staggering cost to circumvent blocking of its sea lines of communication. The US intended constructing a pipeline through Afghanistan and Pakistan to reduce Central Asian states dependence on Russia or China. The third challenge was of the narcotics trade for which Central Asia had emerged as an invaluable area for the global narcotics trade. Economic instability and poverty in the region made it more vulnerable to this problem. Narcotics syndicates, once entrenched, could infiltrate the upper reaches of the power structure, thereby leading to instability in the region. Afghanistan’s interest was that it produced 75 per cent of the world’s heroin supply. Most of this was sent to Europe and the US via Central Asian regions. Earlier, the Deputy Chief Minister, Mr Mangat Ram Sharma, delivered the keynote address. The Vice-Chancellor, Mr Amitabh Mattoo, presided over the function. Among others, a former Army chief, Gen V.P. Malik, a former high commissioner of India to Pakistan, Mr G. Parthasarthy and Mr Hamid Ansari, a former permanent representative of India at the United Nations are participating in the two-day seminar. |
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Five top militants killed Srinagar, February 25 Official sources said today that the security forces, after a successful operation at Shopian in Pulwama, achieved yet another major success when they gunned down self-styled Hizb divisional commander Abdul Majid and another militant at Kulgama last night. They said the troops on specific information that Majid, active for the past 10 years in south Kashmir, was hiding at Yaripora Kulgam in Anantnag district, conducted the operation last night. However, when the troops were about to storm the hideout, they came under heavy fire from the militants who also hurled grenades. The troops immediately sealed the area and returned the fire. The exchange continued for about an hour, they added. Later, the troops recovered Majid’s and another militant Bilal Ahmad Ganai’s bodies. Majid was the brain behind a number of improvised explosive device (IED) explosions and attacks on security forces in south Kashmir. Two AK rifles and other arms and ammunition were seized from the slain militant. Earlier, during the day security forces gunned down three Hizb commanders at Shopian in Pulwama. The Army recovered a huge cache of arms and ammunition from near the line of control in Kupwara district in Jammu and Kashmir, a defence spokesman said. The recovery, including four AK 56 rifles, their 10 magazines, 20 rounds, A Pakistan-made rifle, 33 pistols, their 12 magazines, 33 rounds, an under-barrel grenade launcher with 65 rounds and 30 hand grenades were recovered from Tanghdar yesterday, the spokesman said. Other recoveries included six remote control IEDS, 60 electronic detonators, 10 radio sets, eight detonators and 45 RPGS (rocket projectile guns), he added. Jammu: Security forces on Wednesday shot dead a tehsil commander of the Lashkar-e-Toiba in an encounter in Doda district of Jammu and Kashmir, official sources said. The encounter took place when troops of 17 Rashtriya Rifles, on a tip-off, launched a combing operation in Changloo village of Banihal tehsil to track down a group of militants early today, they said. A top militant was shot dead in the fierce gunbattle, the sources said. The slain ultra was identified as Abu Zunai, an LeT tehsil commander. The operation was still on, the said. The recoveries made from the scene of the encounter included one AK rifle, three magazines, 103 rounds, seven grenades, two IEDS, 88 detonators and ration, they said.
— UNI, PTI |
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Proposal to set up panel to amend law Jammu, February 25 Mr Beig was making a statement in the Assembly on the issue in the light of the recent judgement of a high court that observed that women could not be deprived of their fundamental rights. A controversy had arisen when the National Conference (NC) members yesterday raised objections to the state government withdrawing from the Supreme Court the SLP against the orders of the high court. They accused the PDP-led coalition government of tampering with the state subject law. Mr Beig in his statement said the committee would consult senior jurists and retired Chief Justices of various courts before finalising their recommendations. When the NC members insisted that a debate should be held on the issue, the Chief Minister, Mufti Mohammed Sayeed, intervened to clarify that it was not the intention of the government to defeat the objective of the state subject law. The legislature has powers to amend the law. Mr A. R. Rather (NC) said the House should have been taken into confidence before the government withdrew the SLP. Mr Beig clarified that the SLP was withdrawn considering the position that might have been faced in case the Supreme Court had upheld the order of the high court and observed that the law was violative of the Article 14. The government had the option to either take the matter to the court or to the Assembly. He, however, stressed that they should not have double standards. On one hand, there was pressure for empowering the women and on the other hand, it was being insisted that the women should not be allowed to acquire any property in the state in case they married a non-state resident. He quoted certain similar amendments in the British law. |
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Jammu,
February 25
