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HC stays ‘illegal’ mining around Beerwah caves
JKLF hits out at Geelani for ‘distorting’ history
Oppn, panchayat members deride govt for BDC poll cancellation
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JKPCC chief welcomes Cabinet decision
To placate agitating employees, govt likely to hike DA by 7%
Missing BSF guard reports on duty
Set deadline for AFSPA revocation: LJP to Centre
Lok Janshakti Party (Yuva) leader Sanjay Saraf addresses a press conference in Srinagar on Tuesday. Tribune photo: Amin War
Army man gets life term for killing wife
No change in party’s stance on AFSPA withdrawal, says NC
KIDNAPPING OF SIX FOREIGNERS
Govt likely to hike DA by 7%
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HC stays ‘illegal’ mining around Beerwah caves
Srinagar, October 16 The directions of the High Court double Bench, comprising Chief Justice MM Kumar and Justice Hasnain Massodi, came after it admitted a PIL filed by two social activists seeking an end to illegal mining activity around the ancient caves in the Beerwah area. “Admitting the PIL, the double Bench has taken a serious note of the mining activity around the cave site in the Beerwah area of Budgam. It has directed the state government to stop stone quarrying immediately at the site and also issued notices to the state government and other respondents returnable by November 19,” said counsel Irshad Ahmad, who is representing the two litigants in the PIL. He said, “The government has also been directed to file a status report explaining as to what rules and regulations have been formed for quarrying and mining activity across the Valley.” The PIL was filed by Veer Saraf, convener of the Roots in Kashmir, and Tanvir Hussain Khan, who runs an NGO named Act Now for Harmony and Democracy. In the PIL, they have submitted that the caves, also known as ‘Batte Gof’ (priest’s cave), are under a serious threat from the mining of rocks over the last two decades, since the Kashmiri Hindus migrated from the Valley. Hindus and spiritual persons of Abhinavgupt’s time had recognised him as the spiritual head of the Shiva school of thought, which was prevalent in Kashmir before the arrival of Islam, the PIL claims. “It is believed that Abhinavgupt lived in Budgam district. This place has caves located in small hills at a place known as Beerwah,” the PIL states, adding that the mining activity started around the site after 1990. The PIL claims that the Archaeological Department, Forest Department, Geology and Mining Department of Kashmir and the Budgam district administration have allowed mining in the area. The complainants said they had written to and had met officials to get the mining stopped but no action was taken. In the PIL, it was appealed to the High court to issue directions to the respondent authorities asking them to restrain persons responsible for carrying illegal quarrying in the area. Besides, the PIL had also asked the court to declare the caves as sites of “cultural and religious importance” and to direct the authorities to develop the place as a tourist site. PIL HIGHLIGHTS * The caves are of religious importance as Abhinavgupt, a great philosopher, used to reside in them along with his disciples *
After 1990, illegal quarrying activity started around the caves, posing a serious threat to the ancient site *
Abhinavgupt, who lived from 950 to 1025 AD, was responsible for propagating the ‘Shaivism’ in the state |
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JKLF hits out at Geelani for ‘distorting’ history
Srinagar, October 16 The brazen face-off between the two groups is the most visible sign of discord within the separatist camp in recent years. The JKLF, headed by a former militant commander-turned-politician Yasin Malik, has accused Geelani of “distorting” and “fabricating” facts and history in the second volume of his autobiography “Wullar Kinarey” which was released last week. In a statement issued by the Press and publicity division of the JLKF, the group said Geelani had “distorted many historical facts” in his autobiography and had “tried to malign many people, some of whom are no more and hence unable to defend themselves.” “The author (Geelani) in his book has written many fabricated things about the JKLF, Muslim United Front, Sofi Mohammad Akbar, Khawaja Abdul Gani Lone and even about the peoples’ revolution in 1990 that was initiated by the JKLF,” the statement said. Akbar was a longtime associate of National Conference founder Shiekh Mohammad Abdullah who after the 1974 Indira-Abdullah accord — which cleared the road for Abdullah to become Chief Minister of Jammu and Kashmir — parted ways with him and founded the separatist group Mahaz-e-Aazadi. Lone, who was a leader of the Peoples Conference had fought the 1987 elections, Lone was later assassinated by suspected militants in May 2002 for what is believed was a retaliation for his opposition to the presence of foreign militants in Kashmir. “This fabrication and distortion of history needs immediate rectification so that the historical facts are safeguarded and put in the right perspective before the nation,” read the statement. The group also taunted Geelani by saying that JKLF founder Mohammad Maqbool Bhat “embraced martyrdom” when “people used to enjoy the luxuries of India's secular Constitution in the state Assembly”. The remark was in reference to Geelani’s multiple stints in the J-K Legislative Assembly. Bhat was hanged in 1983 in Tihar Jail. The JKLF has said it will soon come out with a booklet to clear the “doubts” created by Geelani. |
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Oppn, panchayat members deride govt for BDC poll cancellation
Jammu, October 16 Addressing a press conference at the party headquarters here today, state BJP president Shamsher Singh Manhas said the party had been fighting for the reservation of the Scheduled Castes, the Scheduled Tribes and women in the urban and rural local bodies and now the NC-Congress coalition government had suddenly woken up to raise this issue as an excuse for cancelling the BDC elections. Manhas said the Omar Abdullah-led coalition government would have to explain the people of the state under what authorisation did the Cabinet overrule the decision of the election authorities after the process for the poll was under way. He alleged that the NC and Congress were never sincere in granting reservation to the SCs, STs and women but now they wanted to buy time and avoid the elections because the Congress was fast losing its mandate in Jammu while the NC feared losing its ground to the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) in the Kashmir valley. Manhas said this had exposed the Congress’ “double speak” on the issue of empowerment of the panchayats and urban local bodies and if it was sincere, the party could have ensured the reservation well before the election process started. PDP general secretary Balbir Singh has termed this decision as undemocratic and unconstitutional. He said the cancellation of poll has exposed the intention of the coalition government. State Bahujan Samaj Party (BSP) president Tulsi Dass Langeh, while opposing the government’s decision to cancel the elections, said the government had made a mockery of the system. Meanwhile, some elected panchayat members have decided to mobilise sarpanches and panches to defeat the coalition government’s “game-plan” to disempower the Panchayati Raj Institutions (PRIs). “The cancellation of the BDC poll is no less than the murder of democracy. The government should have completed the groundwork before announcing the elections. Since the beginning, we have been vouching for the incorporation of the 73rd Amendment in the state Panchayati Raj Act.
It has provided enough fodder to those who had constantly been claiming that there was no democracy in Jammu and Kashmir,” Anil Sharma, general secretary, J&K Panchayat Coordination Committee told The Tribune. Sharma, who is one of the members of the sarpanches’ delegation which had recently met Congress general secretary Rahul Gandhi in New Delhi, said: “There is a provision in the Constitution that if the announced elections are cancelled following unavoidable circumstances, the Election Commission is duty-bound to conduct the poll within a month. If the government is sincere in its approach, it should go for a fresh notification with reservation for the Scheduled Castes, the Scheduled Tribes and women and hold the elections before December 7.” |
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JKPCC chief welcomes Cabinet decision
Srinagar, October 16 “I welcome the decision to postpone the BDC elections in order to incorporate some provisions for further empowering the Panchayati Raj institutions in the state,” he said in a statement issued here. The decision to postpone the elections was taken during a Cabinet meeting yesterday. Soz said the decision would provide more time to the coalition government to identify areas where the state’s Panchayati Raj Act needed to be improved and strengthened so that democracy reached the grass-roots level and made the functionaries of the system more powerful. “Many suggestions are expected to crop up during the deliberations between the coalition partners such as a separate finance commission for the Panchayati Raj system, a separate election commission and reservations for the Scheduled Castes, the Schedule Tribes, women and other downtrodden sections of society. The question of exercising of financial powers by the panchayats will also be deliberated upon,” he said. Even as Chief Minister Omar Abdullah had earlier ruled out postponing the BDC elections, Soz said: “In my opinion, it is not a situation of any party being the winner or any party being the loser. The coalition will together organise the process of reformation and empowerment of the panchayat system.” Meanwhile, Jammu and Kashmir People's Conference (JKPC) chairman Sajad Lone today said the move to defer the BDC elections had been taken “in order to pander to the whims of the Congress”. In a statement issued here, Lone also said the decision had “eroded the institutional sanctity” of the state government. “Any incumbent Chief Minister owes it to his people to ensure that his tenure doesn't facilitate the erosion of the institution of the Chief Minister. The present Chief Minister, obsessed with power and a fatal tendency to repeatedly surrender, is now a confirmed and chronic case of institutional curse,” he said. Lone said: “The Indian model of local governance in rural areas as enshrined in the 73rd Amendment of the Indian Constitution is not a successful model.” |
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To placate agitating employees, govt likely to hike DA by 7%
Jammu, October 16 Highly placed sources said the Finance Ministry had finalised the proposal for enhancing the DA for the employees by 7 per cent. As the approval of the Cabinet is a must for the hike, the proposal would be discussed in the next meeting, which is likely to be held very soon. More than 4.50 lakh government employees will benefit from the hike. The Central government had hiked DA for its employees on September 25 this year and since then the state government employees have also been demanding enhancement of the DA. As the state Cabinet had given its consent for 100 per cent hike in the allowances of legislators, the agitating government employees are criticising the ruling coalition for serving the interests of only the political class. “On the one hand the state government wants to justify its decision to hike the allowances of legislators, while on the other the coalition regime also wants to provide relief to its employees from the unprecedented hike in the prices of essential commodities,” a sources said, adding that the move was also aimed at placating the employees, who have already launched a stir in support of their demands. Government employees have been demanding implementation of the agreement which was signed between the employees and representatives of the state government on July 8, 2012. The employees’ demands include enhancement of the retirement age from 58 to 60 years, removal of pay anomalies of clerical cadre and regularisation of daily wagers of pre-1994 batch. They are also demanding increase in the house rent allowance on a par with that of Central government employees. Meanwhile, the Cabinet Sub-Committee, which was constituted by the state government to look into the grievances of the employees, met last week. |
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Missing BSF guard reports on duty
Jammu, October 16 The guard had gone missing on the intervening night of October 13 and 14 from Rector 2 post in the Kerni sector. “He returned to the post last night around 10 o’ clock and is now being questioned by a team of experts from the BSF,” Jammu Frontier BSF DIG JS Oberoi told The Tribune. When asked where the guard had been all this time, Oberoi said, “It is too early to say anything. He is being questioned.” The DIG, however, informed that the guard was safe and sound. Rajouri SSP Mubassir Latifi said the jawan is being questioned by the BSF. “We haven’t questioned him so far,” he said. Constable Surjeet Singh, a native of Bulandshaher (Uttar Pradesh), was guarding a rivulet near the Rector 2 post when he went missing. The 22-year old guard is attached with 16 Sikh Light Infantry under 120 Infantry Brigade of the Army in the Keri sector. |
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Set deadline for AFSPA revocation: LJP to Centre
Srinagar, October 16 “We appreciate the recent visit of Union Home Minister Sushil Kumar Shinde to Lal Chowk and other areas of the Valley during which he witnessed peaceful conditions. The Centre should convey to the people of Kashmir the final date for the AFSPA revocation so that the wounds of the suffering masses are healed,” LJP (Yuva) national president Sanjay Saraf said while addressing a press conference here. Shinde during his visit had lauded the role of locals in “fighting terrorism” and restoring peace but had stated that the Centre could not “risk” revoking the AFSPA at present. Regretting the “silence” of the state government over the Centre’s decision to cap the number of subsidised cylinders, Saraf demanded that each household be provided at least 12 cylinders per year. He also demanded the release of “political prisoners” before the upcoming Eid-ul-Adha festival and removal of “curbs” on separatist leaders, who were disallowed to offer Friday prayers. Alleging that there was “no proper accountability” of taxes levied by the Katra Municipal Committee from labourers and pony-wallas kept for the pilgrimage to Mata Vaishno Devi Temple in the Jammu region, Saraf appealed to Governor N N Vohra, who is also the chairman of the shrine board, to intervene in the matter. He also demanded a CBI inquiry into the matter. He criticised the government for not addressing the unemployment issue and filling 43,000 posts lying vacant in various departments. Saraf regretted that the government was not taking proper steps for the resolution of employees’ demands. “Whenever government employees go on a strike, the common man is hit hard,” he added. Saraf also underscored the need to rehabilitate former militants wishing to join the mainstream. |
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Army man gets life term for killing wife
Jammu, October 16 While announcing the sentence, the judge said, “Though the crime has been committed in a barbaric and ghastly manner, it was not preplanned or premeditated as it was preceded by a quarrel with the deceased over some minor issue. The offender is a man in early forties, who at the time of commission of the crime was serving in the Indian Army, and has no previous criminal record. There is also nothing on record to suggest that the offender would be a menace to society or cannot be rehabilitated and reformed into a useful citizen. In the given circumstances, the case does not fall within the category of the rarest of rare case as to warrant the imposition of extreme penalty.” |
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No change in party’s stance on AFSPA withdrawal, says NC
Srinagar, October 16 The statement from the NC, which is a coalition partner of the Congress, comes days after Union Home Minister Sushil Kumar Shinde ruled out the possibility of any immediate revocation of the Act. “The fact is that the Army has not (been) needed to operate in Srinagar and its surrounding areas for years now. We have dealt with militancy either using the JK Police or the Central Paramilitary Forces,” National Conference spokesman Tanvir Sadiq said. Sadiq said the party reiterates its stand that there would be no let-up in the party’s struggle to “gradually see off” the laws like the AFSPA from the state. The NC spokesman, however, said the AFSPA had served its purpose and it was time “to make people relish the fruits of peace”. “The AFSPA gives them (the Army) powers beyond comprehension and to live under this umbrella wherein there is no recourse to justice if something goes wrong,” Sadiq said. The spokesman said the Machil and Pathribal encounters, where the Army is alleged to have killed civilians and branded them as foreign militants, show “how bad these sort of powers can be”. He said the Home Minister could freely go around Srinagar and interact with people. “This proves that things have started normalising and people should get to taste the fruit of peace as well.” |
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KIDNAPPING OF SIX FOREIGNERS
Srinagar, October 16 The State Human Rights Commission (SHRC) had on September 18 issued summons to Gill for failing to file his personal response in the case. “PS Gill has filed his response, which is on record. A copy of the same should be provided to the complainant, who is at liberty to file the rejoinder against all pending reports,” said the SHRC division bench, which heard the case today. There are allegations against Gill, who was then the Kashmir Inspector General of Police, that he played a role in “fudging” the DNA samples which were taken to confirm the death of one of the slain foreign tourists. Earlier on the August 13 hearing, the Commission had issued an independent communication to Gill asking him to file his response by the next date or be prepared to face adverse consequences. The Commission in its orders also observed that the report from the Deputy Commissioner, Anantnag, was still awaited. “He will be served by the staff of the Commission personally to extract the response in the matter,” the SHRC observed in its orders. The commission has fixed November 12 as the next date of hearing. The SHRC had on September 18 directed the Deputy Commissioner, Anantnag, to file his report on the next date, failing which he would have to appear in person before the commission. The International People's Tribunal on Human Rights and Justice and the Association of Parents of Disappeared Persons had filed a joint petition before the SHRC on April 6 seeking a fresh probe into the case. the case file *
In 1995, foreign tourists Paul Wells and Keith Mangan of Britain, Dirk Hassert (Germany), John Childs and Donald Hutching (USA) and Hans Christan Ostro (Norway) were kidnapped by the Al-Faran militant group from the woods of Pahalgam *
While Childs managed to escape, 27-year-old Ostro was killed and his body was found on August 13, 1995. The other four foreigners remain untraced *
The kidnappers demanded the release of 21 militants, including Maulana Masood Azhar, founder of Jaish-e-Mohammad militant group *
The recently released book, "The Meadow: Kashmir 1995 — Where the Terror Began", has claimed that government-sponsored gunmen killed the abducted foreign tourists |
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Govt likely to hike DA by 7%
Jammu, October 16 More than 4.50 lakh employees will benefit from the hike.
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In an open war of words within the separatist camp, the Jammu and Kashmir Liberation Front (JKLF) has levelled serious accusations against Syed Ali Geelani, who heads the hardline faction of the Hurriyat Conference, over the “distortion of history” in the latter’s autobiography.
Opposing the decision of the state government to cancel the block development council (BDC) elections, the BJP has termed the move as politically motivated, illegal and undemocratic.
The Lok Janshakti Party (Yuva) today urged the Centre to set a deadline for the revocation of the Armed Forces Special Powers Act
(AFSPA) from the state. “We appreciate the recent visit of Union Home Minister Sushil Kumar Shinde to Lal Chowk and other areas of the Valley during which he witnessed peaceful conditions.
