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BJP seeks JSM support in municipal poll
JeM commander killed; IED blast averted
Hurriyat leaders observe relay fast
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BJP seeks JSM support in municipal poll
Jammu, December 7 The prestige of the BJP, which always controlled the Jammu municipality, is at stake as the party’s performance in the last Assembly elections was so dismal that it failed to bag even a single seat in the city where the Congress won all three seats. The JSM, which consists of mostly former BJP activists who left the party because of disenchantment, has also one seat in the Assembly. However, these elections would be an acid test for both the ruling Congress and the opposition BJP. There were sharp differences between the BJP and the JSM during the Assembly elections when no seat adjustment could be reached between the two parties. The BJP might face problems in the civic elections in case the differences are not resolved. The BJP controlled the Jammu municipality twice when the elections were earlier held in 1968 and 1986. However, the council was dissolved both times without allowing it to complete the term. This is for the first time that the civic bodies of Jammu and the Srinagar cities have been upgraded as municipal corporations. Interestingly, having twice postponed these elections, the PDP Congress coalition has suddenly announced the polls after having swept the recent byelection for four Assembly seats in the Jammu region and the Kashmir valley. The ruling alliance appears to have grown confident after these elections. The Congress party that had so far not allowed the elections for the civic bodies to be held won both Lok Sabha and the two Assembly seats for which elections were held recently. The state BJP chief, Dr Nirmal Singh said today that he would take the JSM leadership into confidence and seek its support during the elections. He said the JSM would not contest the elections. He was critical of the Mufti-led coalition government for not taking the opposition parties into confidence on the vital issue of reservation of wards of the JMC. He alleged that the intentions of the government were not clear on the reservation that has been done in a haphazard manner. On the other hand, the JSM leaders, Mr Tilak Raj Sharma and Mr Onkar Seth, said that their endeavour was to unite all pro-Jammu parties before the elections for the JMC. These elections will also provide another opportunity to the Mufti’s PDP and the National Conference (NC) to test their respective strength in the Kashmir valley. The Mufti has been trying to rout the NC in the valley and he succeeded in winning both seats of the Assembly there recently.
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JeM commander killed; IED blast averted in J&K
Srinagar, December 7 JeM commander Saifullah, alias Gori, a Pakistani national, was killed in a gunfight at Check-Reshipora village in the Bandipora area of Baramula district last night, he said. The gunfight erupted when the security forces raided a suspected militant hideout in the village following information about the presence of militants, the spokesman said adding, an AK rifle and four magazines were seized from him. A powerful IED, planted by militants on the main road, was detected by the security forces at Larigam, near Shopian, in Pulwama district today, the spokesman said. He said the IED was defused by experts. The security forces busted a major militant hideout at Tankimal-Banihal in Doda district early today and seized 14 anti-tank rifle grenades, 44 UBGL (under barrel grenade launcher) grenades, three rifle grenades, a rocket projectile gun, eight hand-grenades, two boosters and 733 cartridges of assorted ammunition from it, the spokesman said. However, no one was arrested during the operation. The forces arrested a Hizbul Mujahideen militant during search operations at Harda Suchan village of Dialgam in Anantnag district and seized a handgrenade from him, the spokesman added. — PTI
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Hurriyat leaders observe relay fast
Srinagar, December 7 They were joined by several members of the mainstream opposition National Conference, which had also been expressing concern over the “increasing number of human rights violations” in Kashmir since the Mufti-led coalition government took over in the state. This was on the instructions of the NC patron and former Chief Minister Farooq Abdullah, who had on Sunday asked his party cadres to participate in the protest. Those who joined the strike included MLC, Ms Shameema Firdous, Mr Irfan Ahmad Shah and others. The chairman of the moderate faction of the APHC, Mirwaiz Omar Farooq, who led the day-long token fast at Polo Grounds said that the step was taken to “send a clear message to the world over the human rights violations” in Kashmir. He held that in case there was no end to such incidents, the Hurriyat Conference would launch a statewide agitation in support of its demand to end the “excesses” being committed on the masses. He claimed that the incidents were not only continuing but there was an increase in such incidents. He referred to the recent incidents of rape, allegedly at the hands of security forces in Kupwara, Budgam and Doda districts of the State. The Mirwaiz or chief priest held that such incidents would not be tolerated, adding that the token relay fast was also observed in Doda and Shaheedi Chowk in Jammu. The APHC chairman made an appeal to the Amnesty International, UN and Asia Watch to take notice of human rights violations in Jammu and Kashmir. He held that the cases of these violations had been forwarded to the National Human Rights Commission and the State Human Rights Commission which, he alleged, had not taken any action. When asked about the APHC demand for visit to Pakistan, the Mirwaiz said that it was important before the third round of talks with the Centre. This, he said, was necessary to reach a consensus to resolve the Kashmir issue by talking to all concerned leaders and groups across the border. He pointed out that the APHC leaders had applied for passport but these had not been issued to them so far. The Mirwaiz also stressed the need for reunification on one platform of all separatist groups so as to effectively represent the case of the people of Jammu and Kashmir for a final resolution of the issue. Four top executive members, Mirwaiz Omar Farooq, Abdul Ghani Bhat, Moulvi Abbas Ansari and Bilal Lone, among other executive and general body members observed the token fast. The breakaway faction led by Syed Ali Shah Geelani and the pro-independence, JKLF, led by Mohammad Yaseen Malik did not participate in the protest demonstration. |
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