Srinagar, November 25
Claiming that Pakistan supported the stand of the Hurriyat Conference faction, the APHC Chairman, Syed Ali Shah Geelani, here today said he had conveyed to the Pakistan leadership that it was not in favour of reuniting of the two factions.

A day after his return from New Delhi following a meeting with the visiting Pakistan Prime Minister Shaukat Aziz, the APHC Chairman said he had made it clear that the moderate faction led by Mirwaiz Omar Farooq had “violated the Hurriyat’s constitution.” He added however that doors were open for all to join his fold of the Hurriyat Conference.

Talking to mediapersons here this afternoon, Syed Geelani claimed that he had three separate meetings with the Pakistan Prime Minister on Tuesday evening. Describing the meetings as “successful”, Syed Geelani held that the meetings continued for over five hours.

Syed Geelani pointed out that he made it quite clear to the visiting Prime Minister that talks on bus service between Srinagar and Muzaffarabad and discussion over the Wullar barrage, were “secondary issues”. He said he was against the reopening of the Srinagar-Muzaffarabad road, which has been the much talked about issue since the coalition government led by Mufti Sayeed took over in Jammu and Kashmir two years ago.

He added that the basic and core issue was that of Kashmir, which needed to be resolved through dialogue process.

He reiterated that bilateral talks were no solution to the long-pending Kashmir issue and in reference to the Centre-Hurriyat (Mirwaiz) talks, Syed Geelani said involvement of Pakistan was necessary.

Jammu, November 25
Health Services remained suspended for the second consecutive day today as employees of the state government continued their strike in support of their demands.

Patients who had come for treatment from other parts of the state here were stranded as the OPDs did not function.

Functioning of hospitals in the Kashmir valley and Ladakh also remained disrupted. Only emergency cases were handled in the hospitals.

Other offices and the secretariat wore a deserted look as employees held demonstrations outside.

The employees were not convinced with the statement of the Finance Minister, Mr Muzaffar Baig, who tried to shift the blame on the Centre for the delay in release of their DA instalments and merger of 50 per cent DA with the basic pay.

The minister said the step would result in an additional financial burden of Rs 350 crore per annum and the Centre had so far not released funds for the purpose.

Meanwhile, the former Union Minister, Prof Chaman Lal Gupta, has ridiculed the appointment of three member committee by the state government to look into the demands of the agitating employees and said it was strange that the government had so far not examined their demands although they had been voicing these for the past several months.

Prof Gupta said it was a serious as person on the functioning of the Congress-PDP-JKNP coalition and alleged that the appointment of the committee was just a delay tactic. He said the demands were very clear and hardly needed any more consideration because release of the DA was linked with the price index.

On regularising the services of daily wagers and payment of their arrears, Prof Gupta said the government was already in the dock because there were set rules for regularising the services of the workers after completion of seven years and it was inhuman to delay payment of their emoluments when their wages were quite meagre.

He said it was also wrong for partners of the coalition for not downsizing the jumbo ministry to curtail wasteful expenditure when the poor workers and employees were facing starvation-like situation.

The NCP leader, Thakur Randhir Singh, has also urged the state government to accept the demands of the agitating employees.

Jammu, November 25
The reshuffle in the Jammu and Kashmir Ministry has, for the time being, been postponed as the Congress high command has asked Chief Minister Mufti Sayeed to wait for a green signal.

It is reliably learnt that the issue was discussed with the party high command when the Mufti and Deputy Chief Minister, Mangat Ram Sharma visited Delhi earlier this week.

Sources said that the high command was yet to make up its mind whether to let the Mufti expand his ministry or ask him to continue with the existing strength.

On the other hand, the local leadership of the Congress was demanding that either the two seats in the Cabinet vacated by their men, Mr Madan Lal Sharma and Mr Lal Singh, after being elected to the Lok Sabha, should be filled or the Mufti should be asked to drop two ministers belonging to his PDP so as to maintain the ratio.

With the two Cabinet ministers going to the Lok Sabha, the strength of the Cabinet ministers belonging to the Congress has come down to five from the earlier strength of seven, whereas the PDP, that was a smaller party, has six persons in the Cabinet, including the Chief Minister.

Mr Madan Lal and Mr Lal Singh, who succeeded in getting their close relatives win the seats vacated by them, were now reportedly pulling the strings in Delhi to get them inducted into the ministry.

However, Mrs Ambika Soni, who is looking after the party affairs in the state and Mr Ghulam Nabi Azad, Union Minister, were reportedly weighing the options and might take a final decision shortly.

The central law restricting the size of the ministry is not applicable in Jammu and Kashmir and the Mufti and the Congress were under a constant attack by the Opposition for the "jumbo sized" Cabinet here despite a severe financial crunch. A select committee of the legislature has yet to submit its report on whether to fix some norms for the size of the ministry.

Congress activists believe that with the strength of their party having got reduced in the Cabinet, the doors were open for the PDP to have its own say in the Cabinet meetings. The Congress, that was the largest partner in the coalition, had in the past stalled certain moves of the PDP in the cabinet.

There were reports that the Mufti was keen to induct some of his loyalists into the ministry as pressure was mounting on him following the recent byelections for four Assembly seats. Certain members of the Upper House were also putting their weight around for a ministerial berth.

Jammu, November 25
The BJP has expressed concern over the Centre examining the report for providing greater autonomy to Jammu and Kashmir and also the demand of the National Conference for restoration of the politico-constitutional status that the state enjoyed prior to 1953.

Prof Hari Om, vice-president of the state unit of the BJP, while addressing mediapersons here today, expressed concern over the somersault of the Centre on these issues and warned that it would strengthen communal forces that believed in a three-nation theory.

He accused the Congress-led UPA government of deliberately making moves that aimed at throwing the state out of the constitutional organisation of India and promoting the cause of Pakistan and its supporters in Jammu and Kashmir.

He said the BJP was of the view that the Congress, in association with the “so-called” anti-American left parties and pro-separatist PDP, had been pursuing a plan based on purely religious and sectarian considerations.

Prof Hari Om said the BJP had no doubt whatsoever that the Congress had decided to dilute India’s sovereignty over the sate as it had at no point in time considered the state as an integral part of the country.

The incorporation of Article 370 providing a special status to the state, the 1952 Nehru-Sheikh Abdullah parleys on political future of the state, the 1975 Indira-Sheikh accord allowing the NC to withdraw all central laws extended to the state between 1953 and 1975 and various other steps indicated that they were prepared to redraw the political map of India if that could resolve the Kashmir problem.

He warned that the BJP would not accept any such scheme that had the potential of driving the state away from the national mainstream.