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Azad in Delhi over Cabinet expansion
Mirwaiz for consensus on Kashmir issue
Article 370: BJP rhetoric irks people
FLASHBACK 2005
Corps celebrates 242nd anniversary
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Woman, 3 kids freed, husband faces trial
Jawan killed in landmine blast
Hizb militant denied bail
17 officials suspended
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Azad in Delhi over Cabinet expansion
Jammu, December 31 Mr Azad flew to Delhi immediately after the special session of the legislature had concluded yesterday with the clearance to the Bill fixing the size of the ministry at 20 per cent of the strength of the two Houses. Sources close to Mr Azad said he was likely to induct 12 new MLAs into his ministry as the new legislation restricts the size of the ministry at 25. The coalition partners, including the PDP, the PDF and independents are expected to find a share in the expansion. Nothing is yet certain about the Panthers Party getting a ministerial berth because the party was virtually divided on the issue. While the party supremo, Mr Bhim Singh, has announced that the party would support Mr Azad from outside, Mr Harshdev Singh, and Mr Yashpal Kaundal, who were nominees of the party in the Mufti’s ministry, were keen that they should again be inducted into the ministry. The PDF of independents, that brought the Congress-PDP coalition to power, was expecting a bigger share in the ministry as only one from among them, Mr Hakim Yaseen, has so far found a berth in the ministry. The PDP leader, Mufti Sayeed, and his daughter, Ms Mehbooba Mufti, who was the party chief, would give the list of their nominees to Mr Azad, who is expected to meet Prime Minister, Manmohan Singh and Congress president, Sonia Gandhi, in this connection. There were reports of certain Central leaders of the Congress already pressurising Mr Azad to take their respective nominees in the ministry. Supporters of Ms Ambika Soni, Mr Makhan Lal Fotedar, Mr R.K. Dhawan and many other leaders have left for Delhi. Because of a smaller ministry, Mr Azad has retained a large number of portfolios that he now wants to shed. He has, however, made it clear that he would retain the health portfolio as he himself wanted to streamline the health services in the state. Following criticism, the coalition government has announced that it would review the action of 10 chairpersons of various boards and corporations having been granted ministerial status. Several legislators during the just concluded session pointed out that granting ministerial status to others would mean circumventing of the law restricting the size of the ministry. |
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Mirwaiz for consensus on Kashmir issue
Srinagar, December 31 The Mirwaiz was talking to mediapersons at his Negeen residence here this afternoon before leaving for Delhi from there he will go to Lahore on his visit to the quake-affected areas of PoK at the head of three-member team. The visit is aimed at expressing solidarity with the quake-affected people of PoK, after its delegation had not been allowed to extend relief measures through the five points opened for the purpose along the LoC. He had urged the authorities concerned to allow its delegation to carry the relief material to the affected people via Srinagar-Muzaffarabad road. Others accompanying him on the visit are senior executive members of the APHC Abdul Ghani Bhat and Bilal Lone. While Mr Bhat joined the Mirwaiz at his Nageen
residence here, Mr Lone, already camping in the Capital, would be joining the team on their visit beginning Monday. The three leaders apart from Moulvi Abbas Ansari and Fazal-ul-Haq Qureshi and JKLF chairman Mohammad Yaseen Malik had visited PoK and Pakistan in June to meet a cross-section of the leaders there. “We do not see self-governance as an end but as a beginning”, the Mirwaiz said adding that demilitarisation could be the first step and the self-rule as the second step. He said demilitarisation could be a part of the resolution of Jammu and Kashmir like the ongoing ceasefire along the borders and held that the heavy presence of troops in Jammu and Kashmir on either side of the borders was threat to peace. “We need a solid and strong beginning…. with some sort of consensus on the issues like self-governance and demilitarisation for a final settlement”, Mirwaiz Omar Farooq said. The Mirwaiz pointed out that during their visit to Pakistan and PoK the APHC leaders would meet different leaders, including those of the United Jehad Council and discuss resolution of Kashmir issue in the light of the new proposals like united states of Kashmir, demilitarisation and self-governance. On their return from Pakistan, the Hurriyat Conference is planning to launch a detailed interaction on the Kashmir issue with the people of the state and talk to then in different areas of the Jammu region, he said. Referring to their last meeting with Prime Minister Manmohan Singh, the Mirwaiz said commitments had been made by the prime Minister on human rights, release of prisoners and other issues. In his message on the New Year, the Mirwaiz urged both Manmohan Singh and Pakistan President Parvez Musharraf to consider the political and human aspect of the Kashmir issue. |
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Article 370: BJP rhetoric irks people
Jammu, December 31 The BJP at its 3-day national convention in Mumbai, has again raised its old demand of abrogation of the Article 370. The feeling of a section of the people, particularly in the city that had remained a fortress of the BJP, is that the party tries to drum around the issue only when it is out of power and ignores it whenever it comes to power. The people in J&K have not forgotten the remarks of Mr Atal Bihari Vajpayee during his visit to Srinagar as the Minister for External Affairs when he described the Article 370 as the bridge between India and Kashmir. But when his party was not in power, the BJP rank and file was demanding the scrapping of the special status of J&K. The BJP leadership has frequently changed its stand on Jammu and Kashmir to suit its political agenda. During the recent NDA rule when Mr Vajpayee was the Prime Minister, the BJP didn’t touch the issue because the National Conference (NC) was its coalition partners. An employee Mr Rajesh Kumar, said the BJP should not expect that the people would again fall in their trap. The BJP had miserably failed to meet aspirations of the people on the issue when it enjoyed power twice at the Centre. Mrs Sudershan, a housewife, remarked that the BJP would not succeed in befooling the people again on the sensitive issue. Why were BJP leaders shy of talking on the issue when their party was in power, she asked? |
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FLASHBACK 2005 S. P. Sharma Tribune News Service JAMMU: Among the six universities in Jammu and Kashmir, the University of Jammu has emerged as the flagship of not only higher education, but also extracurricular activities. This year was significant for the university as it was certified as the first ISO campus in the country. The two subsequent six monthly surveillance audits of the university were successful. The Vice-Chancellor, Prof Amitabh Mattoo, received appreciation from every quarter when for the first time in the history of 16 years of terrorism, he last month organised the North Zone Inter-University Youth Festival here. Students from 17 universities participated in it. Lauding the efforts of Prof Mattoo for the five-day event, Chief Minister Ghulam Nabi Azad asked him to help organise a similar youth festival for Kashmir University in Srinagar. The year is dotted with achievements of the university in the field of academics, culture, fine arts and sports. At the international level, the university created a virtual classroom in collaboration with the University of North Carolina, USA, and also entered into an MoU with the British Council for setting up of the International Resource Cell. For promoting Indian culture and heritage, eminent personalities including Ustad Bismillah Khan Bharat Ratan, Shiv Kumar Sharma (santoor maestro) and Sonal Mansingh visited the campus. Mr N.N. Vohra, Dr Karan Singh, Mr Soli Sorabjee and several other dignitaries delivered lectures in seminars organised during the year. It was yet another feather in the cap of the university when Prof Mattoo was recently appointed a member of the task force constituted by Prime Minister Manmohan Singh on global strategic developments to examine various aspects of global trends in strategic affairs. The university took a lead during the recent earthquake when it immediately not only swung into relief operations, but also set up a disaster management committee. A conference of leading seismologists of the country was held shortly before close of the year. It became one of the 16 universities identified for promotion of Indian higher education abroad under the PIHEAD programme of the UGC. For the first time, the university participated in the educational fair in Mauritius in October. Two new campuses of the university have been announced at Bhaderwah and Kathua. Mata Vaishnodevi University is emerging as an excellent centre for education in IT. It started classes in various disciplines last year. However, the two agriculture and horticulture universities here and at Srinagar have yet to make their name in the field. These universities remained in controversy during the year because of one or the other reasons. The Comptroller and Auditor-General of India took serious note of several irregularities in the Srinagar-based agriculture university. The Jammu-based university was in focus on the issue of recent appointment of the faculty.
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Corps celebrates 242nd anniversary
Srinagar, December 31 This was stated by Brig K.V.S. Rana on the occasion of the 242nd anniversary celebrations of the Chinar Medical Corps here today. He said the Army doctors were the first to extend medical help to the injured of the quake in the Uri and Tangdhar areas of north Kashmir. According to Brig K.K. Dutta, chief of the 700-bedded 92 Base Hospital here, 42 ultrasound, 52 CT scans and 900 X-rays were performed on the quake-hit while more than 100 blood transfusions were made on the first day of the quake. In his message, Lieut-Gen S.S. Dhillon, GOC 15 Corps, said the medical corps had displayed exceptionally high order of professionalism, grit, steadfastness and selfless devotion to duty in handling all kinds of medical emergencies.
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Woman, 3 kids freed, husband faces trial
Srinagar, December 31 Police station, Uri, released the wife of Manzoor Ahmad Awan and their three children following the orders of a lower court on Thursday, they said. However, the police given the custody of Awan for trial in the case, registered against him upon his return from PoK. Awan, a resident of Kamalkote in the Uri sector, had crossed over to the PoK in 1990, along with his wife, but returned home earlier this month following the pathetic living conditions due to the earthquake on October 8. The family had surrendered to the Army immediately upon their return and were later handed over to the police, who charged them with violation of internal movement order.
— PTI
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Jawan killed in landmine blast
Jammu, December 31 A group of three Army men, led by JCO Subedar Wazir Singh, had gone in search of another officer, Naib-Subedar S.K. Patil, who had gone missing near the Line of Control (LoC) in the Keri-Pir Badesar area of Rajouri district last night, sources said. During the search, jawan Jaiskeer Singh stepped on a landmine and a powerful explosion took place. He was killed on the spot and two others, Wazir Singh and Kadam Jairam, were seriously injured, they said. In Poonch district, a Special Police Officer was killed and another injured in an attack by militants. SRINAGAR: Militants shot dead a contractor and critically injured his driver in Pulwama district in Jammu and Kashmir, sources said. The militants barged into the house of Mukhtar Ahmad Wani at Drubgam in Pulwama district and opened indiscriminate fire, killing him on the spot. His driver, Manzoor Ahmad Sheikh, was critically injured in the shootout. — PTI
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Hizb militant denied bail
Jammu, December 31 The presiding officer in the special designated court under TADA/POTA here, Mr N.D. Wani, rejected the bail application of Mohmmad
Saleem. Saleem is facing trial under sections of POTA and the Arms Act. Mr Wani said prima facie the cases stood established against him in several terrorist acts of killing of some people in the state.
— PTI |
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17 officials suspended
Srinagar, December 31 The Joint Director Revenue Department, during inspection of various revenue offices in the districts, found 17 officials absent and instructed initiation of disciplinary action against them, an official spokesman said here. Meanwhile the Kupwara Deputy Commissioner has placed four officials under suspension for their alleged irregularities and submitting of fictitious quake relief lists. The Deputy Commissioner appointed two re-verification teams to rectify the irregularities, the spokesman added.
— PTI |
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