Jammu, February 18
The People’s Democratic arty (PDP) today released the draft of its "self-rule" concept providing a package that takes care of not only external and internal dimensions of the Jammu and Kashmir problem but also its geographical aspects.

The self-rule draft was approved by its Political Affairs Committee (PAC) at a special meeting here last evening presided over by the party patron, Mufti Mohammad Sayeed. The PAC meeting held threadbare discussions over all the aspects of the self-rule proposal and later adopted it unanimously as the most viable solution to the problems of Jammu and Kashmir.

Senior PDP leader Muzaffar Hussain Baig, who is the Chairman of the self-rule drafting committee, briefed about various aspects of the distinctive proposal offering a comprehensive set of suggestions for the permanent settlement of the Kashmir issue.

The self-rule, Mr Baig said, was a multi-dimensional resolution package taking care of not only the external and internal dimensions but the geographical dimensions of the problem as well. He said the self-rule offered a multilayer solution involving constitutional, political, social, trade and economic aspects of the problem with stress on political and economic empowerment of the state's people and not its government. He said it also extended to other parts of Kashmir accommodating the real aspirations of the people, in all the regions of the state, up to the maximum.

Mr Baig said the self-rule was aimed at providing the central element for a comprehensive architecture to be devised for the final and strategic settlement of the Kashmir issue taking care of the stands and stakes of all the parties concerned, including India, Pakistan and the people of the state. It aimed at the restoration of full empowerment to the people of the state, provided and guaranteed under the Instrument of Accession and Article 370 of the Constitution of India.

Mr Baig said the self-rule could not sustain itself without a fair and realistic degree of self-reliance. It would, therefore, entail a policy and action of responsible, sustainable and universally accessible economic and human development, full mobilisation and utilisation of the resources of the state and a reliable and substantial fiscal support by the Centre for valid reasons and on legitimate equitable grounds.

The meeting observed that the Kashmiri Pandits had an important role to play in the present and future of the state. The return and the rehabilitation in the valley of the Kashmiri Pandits and their involvement in the peace process remained of deep concern to the party.

The PAC meeting reiterated its demand for measured reduction of troops from the internal security duty and revocation of the Armed Forces Special Powers Act (AFSPA) as a confidence building and reconciliatory measure. It also called for vacation of agricultural land, orchards and government buildings acquired by the armed forces after the eruption of turmoil in the state.

Besides Mr Sayeed and Mr Baig, the other PAC members who attended the meeting were Ghulam Hassan Mir, Abdul Aziz Zargar, Sardar Rangil Singh, Moulvi Iftikhar Hussain Ansari, Mohammad Dillawar Mir, Ved Mahajan, Nissar Ahmad Khan, Sardar T.S. Bajwa, Romesh Mottan and Master Tassaduq Hussain.

Srinagar, February 18
The Jammu and Kashmir High Court has directed the government to provide all details about the killing of a youth from north Kashmir at Nagrota in Jammu in a fake encounter by the Special Operation Group (SOG) of the state police last year. Mr Justice Mansoor Ahmad Mir gave the order on a writ petition filed by Abdul Rehman alleging that the SOG killed his son Ghulam Rasool in a fake encounter and later labelled him a fidayeen on August 8 last year.

Mr Justice Mir directed the government to furnish a reply in a week besides asking the CID department of the police to submit all details about the incident to the court.

The petitioner said his son Ghulam Rasool, a resident of Sirjagir, Sopore, in north Kashmir district of Baramula, disappeared on March 17, 2006 after he was picked up by the SOG.

He said despite visiting almost all detention centres and interrogation centres, he was not provided any information about his son. He added after the police station here refused to register a missing report, he got his son’s photograph published in a local newspaper.

Counsel for the petitioner Manzoor Ahmad said on August 8, 2006 SSP Jammu Mukesh Singh and other SOG personnel killed Ghulam Rasool and another person in a ‘’fake encounter’’ at Nagrota in the outskirts of Jammu city.

He said later the police claimed it had foiled a Fidayeen attack and killed two militants including Ghulam Rasool. — UNI

Jammu, February 18
Two more policemen were suspended in connection with the custodial killing of a man picked up in connection with a land dispute.

Policemen Sunil Kumar and Zaffar Hussain were put under suspension after Special Police Officer Kiran was dismissed, while ASI Deepak Sharma and Head Constable Mehmood were suspended in connection with the killing of Tarsem Lal yesterday.

Meanwhile, doctors at Government Medical College Hospital conducted a post-mortem on Lal after which his body was handed over to the family, official sources said, adding Lal had died due to torture and internal injury.

The police had rounded up Lal and his father Khazan Chand yesterday and took them to a post in connection with the land dispute between two sides.

Lal's death had sparked violent protests during which police clashed with protesters who burnt police vehicles yesterday. — PTI

Baramula, February 18
Wait for women of marriageable age to find suitable grooms in the Kashmir Valley is getting longer, with the 17-year-old insurgency in the region creating a dearth of bachelors.

Till some years ago, most parents ensured that their daughters were married off by 25. Now, this has stretched to as late as 35.

Ms Aneesa Shafi, Head of the Department of Sociology at the University of Kashmir, says, “The valley has lost thousands of its young men — all of marriageable age — in the past 17 years. This has created a dearth of grooms. The institutions of family and marriage are the worst hit.

Ms Ghazala Gul, a postgraduate student at University of Kashmir, says, “For girls in the valley, 30 to 35 is the normal age of marriage. I will marry only after my future is secure.”

Ms Shafi says, “Priority of these women has changed in the past decade-and-a-half. It is career and money which drive these women, who want secure future.”

She also blames late marriages on the region’s changed economy. “The tourism industry, which employed a majority of youth, has been crippled. Many of these youth have their livelihood.”

Ms Nusrat Andrabi, an educationist and the only woman member of the Jammu and Kashmir Muslim Waqf Board, told PTI “Many families lost their sole breadwinners and the women had to take up the responsibility of feeding the family. — PTI