J A M M U   &   K A S H M I R

Mufti’s men building pressure in his favour
Jammu, March 19
While the Congress has asked party activists in Jammu and Kashmir to remain quiet on the issue of Chief Minister Mufti Sayeed stepping down and handing over the reins of the government to it in November next, supporters of the Mufti have started building pressure that he should be allowed to retain power.

School blast: villagers protest, observe bandh
Srinagar, March 19
Tension gripped Nadihal, Bandipore in north Kashmir today following protests by the residents of Nadihal village, against the death of one student and injuries to eight others, including seven students, in the explosion in a school.

Three killed in J&K
Srinagar, March 19
Three persons, including two activists of the counter-insurgency Ikhwan group, were killed in militancy-related incidents in Jammu and Kashmir since last night where ultras made an abortive bid on the life of a ruling People’s Democratic Party leader in Baramulla district.

Jammu-Srinagar road reopened
Jammu, March 19
The Jammu-Srinagar national highway, which was closed yesterday due to rain-triggered landslides between Ramban and Panthial, was thrown open to vehicular traffic this evening.

Opinions page: J&K: Speakers call for peace

Mufti’s men building pressure in his favour
S.P. Sharma
Tribune News Service

Jammu, March 19
While the Congress has asked party activists in Jammu and Kashmir to remain quiet on the issue of Chief Minister Mufti Sayeed stepping down and handing over the reins of the government to it in November next, supporters of the Mufti have started building pressure that he should be allowed to retain power.

The Congress leaders here refuse to comment on the issue, but the Mufti had himself recently said that he would be stepping down in November to fulfil the agreement of sharing power between the Congress and the PDP. With the six-year term of the Assembly coming to an end, the innings of the PDP would be completed in November.

A top Congress leader, when contacted, refused to comment and said the party high command did not wish that a controversy should be whipped up on the issue before hand. The matter would be discussed when the time comes, he said.

With the manoeuvrings of the Mufti’s supporters, it has now become a million dollar question here whether the Mufti would let the Congress take charge of the government or not. On the other hand, a section of the Congress is rallying around the Union Minister, Mr Ghulam Nabi Azad, whom it is projecting as the future Chief Minister.

However, another section claims that Mr Azad was not keen to shift here as Chief Minister as that would confine his influence only to the state. He had himself urged the central party leadership to relieve him of the charge of the PCC chief as he was busy with his official work and party activities in other states. Certain Congress leaders claim that Mr Azad was waiting in the wings to grab the chief ministership.

It is being said that the Deputy Chief Minister, Mr Mangat Ram Sharma, was also indirectly favouring the Mufti because he would also have to step down when the power was transferred to the Congress.

Supporters of the Mufti were not only making individual efforts to strengthen his hands here as well as at Delhi, but also recently organised a seminar that sought to create an impression that there was no better choice than him to successfully handle the complicated issues confronting the state.

The re-opening of the Srinagar-Muzaffarabad road and the decline in militancy were being claimed as major achievements of the Mufti led government.

Moreover, the Mufti has many friends within the Congress to plead his case as he was the PCC president when the party faced a crisis during the National Conference regime.

School blast: villagers protest, observe bandh
Tribune News Service

Srinagar, March 19
Tension gripped Nadihal, Bandipore in north Kashmir today following protests by the residents of Nadihal village, against the death of one student and injuries to eight others, including seven students, in the explosion in a school. A total shutdown was observed in the area against the incident.

The explosion took place on the third day after the Government High School Nadihal, Bandipore in Baramula, had re-opened following extended winter vacations. The police had to use force to quell demonstrators in the area.

“In a cowardice act, the terrorists have not even spared an innocent school boy to serve their ulterior motives”, a defence spokesman said here. “Having realised that they are unable to stand up against the might of Army, these enemies of peace have started targeting soft targets. It is time that we rise over the fear psychosis and echo our voice against such atrocities”, he added.

But the blast was due to presence of a security forces’ camp on the school premises, which reportedly acted as a provocation for the militants to attack, believed many residents.

Even as the civil administration had been taking up the issue of security forces’ presence in and around educational institutions in the state making these institutions a soft militant target the yesterday’s blast has led to a blame game.

The students of the school had already showed resentment at the presence of security forces, once again in the premises, after the school re-opened after extended winter vacations since Monday last. With the intervention of the civil administration and the police, on Wednesday, it had been decided that the camp of 14 RR located at the school would be shifted within a week. The incident of the explosion killing a student, however, took place only two days after the decision to move the camp.

The 14 RR, according to sources, had established its camp on the premises of the school during the last winter vacations. An earlier detachment had been stationed in the school between December 16, 2003 and October 2004.

The defence spokesman, clarifying about the camp in the school, also stated that the Army had been deployed in Nadihal village to keep a watch on the activities of militants and provide security to the people. He said that the troops were deployed in the compound of the school about 400 metres away from the school building and were not occupying any portion of the school. The spokesman held that disgruntled elements were “engineering protests against the Army to move out of the school. However, the Army has taken the incident in its stride and with the cooperation of ‘awaam’ it will continue its operations”.

At present security camps are set up in 53 schools in the Kashmir valley, according to official sources here, while the authorities have been persistently trying to evacuate these premises for the “safety” of the children. The number of such schools had been in hundreds since early 1990’s. However, the authorities, wanting to evacuate these premises, have been taking several measures in this direction.

But in many cases, strategic position of such government institutions hampered shifting of the security forces camps, sources added.

Three killed in J&K

Srinagar, March 19
Three persons, including two activists of the counter-insurgency Ikhwan group, were killed in militancy-related incidents in Jammu and Kashmir since last night where ultras made an abortive bid on the life of a ruling People’s Democratic Party leader in Baramulla district.

Ali Mohammad Sofi, a resident of Goripora and associated with counter-insurgency group Ikhwan, was shot dead by militants at point-blank range at Narbal in Badgam district today, an official spokesman said here.

Militants shot dead former militant Farooq Ahmad Wani inside his house at Chak-Kawoosa in the same district last night, the spokesman said adding Wani was also working for Ikhwan.

A civilian, identified as Kalu, was killed by a stray bullet during an encounter between security forces and militants at Kalaban in Udhampur district, the spokesman said. — PTI

Jammu-Srinagar road reopened

Jammu, March 19
The Jammu-Srinagar national highway, which was closed yesterday due to rain-triggered landslides between Ramban and Panthial, was thrown open to vehicular traffic this evening.

Superintendent of Police (Banihal-Ramban) Gareeb Dass said the landslides were cleared and the road was made operational at about 6 p.m.

The vehicles were, however, moving at a snail’s pace due to the slippery road condition, he said. — UNI