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Cabinet defers decision on panchayat powers
Spies or sacrificial goats? Intel agencies ‘seldom’ train agents
Moderate Hurriyat faction mulls expelling Shabbir Shah
Soon, a motorised version of Kashmir’s famed shikara
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Militants hurl grenade at police post in Srinagar
Guv felicitates successful civil services candidates from state
Omar’s ‘awami mulakat’ Valley-specific: Jammu MLAs
Lt Gen Parnaik briefs CM on security scenario
Arms haul in Handwara
Panthers Party slams govt for ‘delaying’ civic polls
Ladakh Scouts to celebrate 50th Raising Day today
Militant shot dead in Shopian
Pak troops violate ceasefire
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Cabinet defers decision on panchayat powers
Jammu, May 31 The action taken report on the recommendations of the committee were placed before the Cabinet for acceptance, but the Congress members expressed their reservation over the deletion of some of the “relevant recommendations” made by their committee. So, a decision on the report was deferred. Jammu and Kashmir Pradesh Congress Committee (JKPCC) chief Saifuddin Soz had constituted a committee to recommend relevant provisions of the 73rd Amendment to be incorporated into J&K Panchayati Raj Act to empower the panchayats. The committee had submitted its report to the JKPCC chief in January. The report was also discussed in the Coalition Coordination Committee meeting before it was forwarded to the state government for acceptance. Sources said more than 70 per cent of the recommendations made by the committee were incorporated in the action taken report but some important clauses were missing. “The committee has recommended that panches and sarpanches are eligible to contest elections of the chairman of the block development councils but the government, in its action taken report, has mentioned that only sarpanches are eligible,” a source said, adding that Congress ministers expressed their reservation over not allowing panches to contest the elections. “There was a provision for reservation for panches in panchayats so debarring them for contesting block development council elections would defeat the real spirit of giving adequate representation to weaker sections and women at the block level,” a Congress minister told The Tribune on condition of anonymity. He said that since the block development council elections had been postponed only to make a provision for reservation for weaker sections and women, so the Congress was demanding that both panches and sarpanches should be eligible for contesting block development council elections. Sources said Congress members also had reservations over not making adequate provisions for maintaining autonomous and independent status of the Panchayati Raj institution. “Congress members demanded that the status of the chairman of the district development council should be equal to that of a minister,” a source said, adding that Congress was also particular about creating a separate Finance Commission for panchayats to maintain their financial viability. When contacted, JKPCC spokesman Ravinder Sharma said Congress was committed to fully implementing the 73rd Amendment to the Indian Constitution in the state. “I am not aware what happened at the Cabinet meeting but one thing is clear that there should have been a consensus between coalition partners before the report was placed before the Cabinet”. Cabinet meeting inconclusive The state Cabinet, which had a number of issues on its agenda, failed to take any decisions at its meeting held under the chairmanship of Chief Minister Omar Abdullah in the civil secretariat here on Friday. Several issues, including the ban on practice of doctors and Amendments to the Panchayat Raj Act, 1989, were on the agenda, a source revealed. Discussions were held on these issues but they remained inconclusive |
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Spies or sacrificial goats? Intel agencies ‘seldom’ train agents
Jammu, May 31 “Without proper training and circumcision, we were sent to Pakistan at our own risk and on slightest of suspicion, they (Pakistani authorities) immediately go for medical check-up. Only those who have to stay there for ‘bigger’ tasks go through the process (circumcision),” former spies after languishing in Pakistani prisons for years told The Tribune. However, circumcision had been conducted on two spies — Ram Raj of Budhi in Kathua district and Surinder Kumar of Nowshera in Rajouri district —because they had to carry out ‘bigger’ tasks. Swarn Lal (50) of Kunjwani, who claimed that he had been on espionage mission 60 times to Pakistan before getting arrested at Khaira village of Sialkot in January 1992, said: “Circumcision is done with those who have to stay in Pakistan for longer durations.” Suram Singh (60) of Mana Tibba in RS Pura said, “It is a dirty and risky game. An official of an intelligence agency met me at a dhaba in RS Pura and promised me good money. But without training and circumcision, he asked me to have a feel of the things there. I was caught on my first trip on August 18, 1974.” Fifty-year-old Ram Raj of Budhi, who went through the procedure only after 20 successful attempts, said, “I was imparted a five-month training in Delhi and circumcision was also done there but it’s true that agencies send beginners without circumcision and identity cards.” Ram Raj claimed he crossed over to Pakistan at least 100 times and had set up his own network there. “In Mirpur, I had cultivated a source in Pakistani Army who used to take money from me for providing vital files and information of their formations,” he added. Balwan Singh (58) of Narainpur said, “The agency that had sent me and Devinder Singh of Hiranagar had issued fake identity cards having Muslim names, but unfortunately our auto-rickshaw met with an accident in Lahore cantonment on September 9, 1988.” “Consequently, they came to know about us during our medical check-up,” Singh said. Jammu Ex-Sleuths Association president Vinod Sawhney said, “There is no proper system in place. Some of us were advised to tell Christian names at the time of trouble in Pakistan, while others were given identity cards with Muslim names but without undergoing circumcision and some of the unfortunate ones were never given identity cards.” He, however, said never ever any Indian spy sent to Pakistan was given identity card with Hindu or Sikh name for obvious reasons. |
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Moderate Hurriyat faction mulls expelling Shabbir Shah
Srinagar, May 31 On the other hand, Shabbir Shah said he would continue to maintain his distance from the Hurriyat as a mark of protest. Having not attended amalgam’s meetings since a long time, Shah had
on Thursday ordered his representative and Hurriyat’s convener for Pakistan chapter, Mehmood Saghar, to step down
and resign from Hurriyat, which he has done accordingly. This step, Shah says, was taken to register his and his party’s protest against what he calls “deviation” of Hurriyat Conference from its 1993 constitution and “undemocratic setup” within the amalgam. “The democratic setup within the Hurriyat is missing and the institutionalisation of Hurriyat as was desired at the grassroots level has not been achieved. So to protest this, I asked my representative in Pakistan to step down as convener of Hurriyat,” Shabbir Shah told The Tribune. Stating that he has “nothing personal” against anybody in the Hurriyat, he, however, said, “Nobody would be allowed to find or explore solutions to Kashmir issue outside the Hurriyat constitution.” The solution to Kashmir, he said, could be achieved either through tripartite dialogue or reverting to UN resolutions. “The district-level offices aimed to take the Hurriyat to grassroots have been closed. The unity process which I had started in 2008 has been stalled since my arrest,” Shah added. Asked if he has decided to formally part ways with Hurriyat, Shah says he won’t leave the Hurriyat, but won’t be attending its meetings till the issues raised by him are not addressed. “I have decided to maintain my distance from the Hurriyat as a mark of protest,” he said. Resentment against Shah within Hurriyat On the other hand, there appears to be a growing resentment against Shah within the Hurriyat itself. Sources in Hurriyat say the decision to ask Mehmood Saghar to step down and appoint Fayaz Naqshbandi at his place in Pakistan was taken by the Hurriyat Conference in its earlier meeting, which was attended by a majority of its members. “But, before Mirwaiz would have acted in that direction, Shah played his card and asked Saghar to resign. Mirwaiz actually did not want to annoy Shah, so he had delayed the decision in this regard,” a Hurriyat leader told The Tribune. “The problem with Shah is that he is not ready to accept forum politics and obey the decisions which are reached with consensus within Hurriyat members,” he added. Sources pointed out that there was pressure growing on Mirwaiz to take a final decision with regard
to Shah. “Even during a recent Hurriyat meet, at least five members raised their voice on the working of Shah and asked Mirwaiz to expel him for indiscipline,” said a source, adding that “Hurriyat is now contemplating to formally take a decision about expelling Shah from the amalgam’s fold.” “In this regard, only
Mirwaiz as Hurriyat chairman will have to take the final call. The consensus within Hurriyat is against Shah”, he said. Conflict within
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Soon, a motorised version of Kashmir’s famed shikara
Srinagar, May 31 “After the next 10-12 years, I feel that our traditional shikaras will gradually fade away. Not only does a shikara cost around Rs 1.5 lakh, a shikarawala has to spend around Rs 30,000 for its maintenance yearly. The shikara that we are going to launch is made of fibre. Not only would it double the income of shikarawalas, but it will also require no maintenance for at least five or six years,” said Ufair Ajaz of the Kashmir Motors group. Stating that the product would be launched soon formally, he said the fibre shikara would be run by a light Honda engine. “A shikarawala usually earns around Rs 400 per hour during the peak tourist season but through the motorised shikara, one can earn more than double this amount. Moreover, the shikara will run for
around nine stops in the Dal Lake in a litre of petrol,” Ufair added. He said the company had already approached the authorities concerned and after launching the product, it would create awareness among the youth about the use of the new shikara. On the pollution front, Ufair said the Japanese Honda engine used in the fibre shikara would have marine technology and adhered to all pollution norms. Boats with the same engines were seen in Switzerland. The fibre shikara would cost Rs 1.25 lakh and the company had tied up with a couple of banks for finance. The first upgraded shikara is expected to be showcased here after a week’s time. While shikaras can be seen at other lakes of the Valley too, tourists usually take a ride on the boat in the Dal Lake. The Kashmir shikara has also featured in several Bollywood movies, especially those shot before the eruption of militancy in the state. Dal Delight
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Militants hurl grenade at police post in Srinagar
Srinagar, May 31 “There was no pedestrian movement in the area when the grenade exploded,” the police said. The police post is located adjacent to a busy bus stand. Soon after the grenade attack, barely one kilometre from the city centre Lal Chowk, police and paramilitary troopers cordoned off the area but no arrests were made. No militant outfit has so far claimed responsibility for the grenade attack. The grenade attack in the city comes after the killing of Lashkar commander Hilal Maulvi on May 23 in Srinagar. — TNS |
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Guv felicitates successful civil services candidates from state
Srinagar, May 31 He was interacting with all those from the state who qualified this year in the All India Civil Services Examination. He had invited them to the Raj Bhawan this evening along with a few others who joined the state cadre in the past three years to felicitate them on their achievement. The Governor said he was happy to find that the number of boys and girls from the state who were successful in joining the All India Civil and Central Services had been increasing year after year. He reiterated his view that if the youth from the state put in adequate effort, a large number of them was bound to succeed in joining the All India services. Usha Vohra, First Lady, who joined the IAS in 1960 and retired as Secretary to the Government of India, also interacted with the young men and women who visited the Raj Bhavan. The Governor discussed with the successful young boys and girls issues relating to good governance, effective delivery of public services, and time-bound implementation of development schemes and added that whichever service they were finally selected for there was unlimited opportunity to serve the country and the people at large. The Governor and the First Lady congratulated the invitees and wished them very bright careers ahead. The invitees included 14 youth from Jammu and Kashmir who were selected in the coveted civil services this year. They included Syed Sehrish Asgar, Showkat Ahmad Parray, Vikas Kundal, Khursheed Ali Qadri, Adnan Nayeem Asmi, Abhishek Mahajan, Naveed Trumboo, Anchita Pandoh, Abid Hussain Sadiq, Amanullah Tak, Arun Kumar, Ruveda Salam, Iftakhar Ahmed Chowdhary and Chandan Kohli. Shah Faesal, topper of 2010 IAS batch, presently serving as Assistant Commissioner (Revenue), Pulwama, and Ramesh Kumar of 2011 batch, who hails from Rajasthan and presently undergoing training at Budgam, were among those invited by the Governor. |
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Omar’s ‘awami mulakat’ Valley-specific: Jammu MLAs
Jammu, May 31 J&K National Panthers Party (JKNPP) MLA Harsh Dev Singh, “Such meetings are unnecessary when the Central Government has reprimanded the state government for failure to complete civic projects. There nothing but simple politics in organising such meetings in view of the forthcoming Assembly elections.” He said the Chief Minister should focus on the Annual Plan size as the Planning Commission of India was planning to reduce it after a huge amount of developmental fund sanctioned by the Central Government remained unutilised. Last year, the Chief Minister had also faced ire of the opposition parties for selective approach when he had announced to take the government at the doorstep of the masses by holding Cabinet meetings in far-flung areas. The Cabinet had met at Machil, a remot village in Kupwara district in northern Kashmir, Tanghdar and Karnah to take area-specific decisions. But, the meetings were not held in areas falling in Jammu region. People’s Democratic Party (PDP) MLA Choudhary Zulfikar, who represents remote Darhal constituency in Rajouri district, said, “Public interactions should not be selective. The Chief Minister needs to visit every area and organise such events in far-flung areas of Jammu region too.” Blaming the government for discriminating
with Jammu region, BJP sees Omar’s initiative as Valley specific. “People of this region, including party workers of the NC and Congress, need to understand that the present coalition government is openly discriminating with them. During winter months, Omar never organised such public programme in the winter capital,” said Jugal Kishore Sharma, MLA and state BJP president. A three-year-old initiative The “awami mulakat” initiative was started by Chief Minister Omar Abdullah about three years ago after three years of continuous summer unrest in the Kashmir valley to reach out to people allowing them to meet him and raise their grievances. In May this year, Omar met more than 50 delegations in Srinagar who raised a number of problems faced by the people in different parts of Kashmir. The delegations had come from Baramulla, Kupwara, Anantnag, Shopian, Srinagar, Budgam, Beerwah, Sangarama, Amargarh and Tral. A delegation from Ramban and Rajouri, the two areas falling in Jammu region, had also met the Chief Minister. |
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There is life beyond IPL circus: Omar
Srinagar, May 31 “Some of us do have a life and responsibilities beyond the IPL but you'd think the world has come to a halt to let the IPL circus continue,” Omar wrote on micro-blogging website Twitter. Omar’s late Thursday evening tweets were in response to queries posed to him by reporters about the scandal. The Chief Minister, who had been irked by questions from reporters on the sidelines of an event in Srinagar’s old city on Thursday morning, said “all the attending media wanted to know was about the IPL”. A major controversy has surrounded the cricketing tournament since the mid-May arrest of 11 bookies and cricketer Sreesanth for his alleged involvement in spot-fixing during IPL matches. |
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Lt Gen Parnaik briefs CM on security scenario
Srinagat, May 31 An official spokesman said various matters relating to the security also came up for discussion during the meeting. "The Army commanders gave overview of the measures in place to strengthen the security grid and safeguard the life and property of the people," he said.
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Arms haul in Handwara
Srinagar, May 31 “During the search operation last night, the Handwara police and 47 RR recovered an AK 47, an AK 56, nine Pika grenades, two AK magazines, 32 rounds of AK ammunition, 18 rounds of Pika, a pistol magazine, three pistol rounds and a matrix sheet from a hideout,” a police spokesman said. A case has been registered in this regard.
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Panthers Party slams govt for ‘delaying’ civic polls
Jammu, May 31 In a press statement issued here, JKNPP chairman Harsh Dev Singh said the elections to the urban local bodies which were due in early 2010 had been “inordinately and inexplicably” delayed by more than three years with the government coming out with “lame excuses” on several occasions. He said that since the elections had not been held, the state had been deprived of Central funding worth hundreds of crores. The funds had been refused by the Union government on account of failure of the state government to constitute municipal bodies. Singh alleged the state government had not only been “apathetic and negligent” about ensuring time-bound civic elections but had also committed gross violations of legal provisions of the Municipal Act in the process. He pointed out that Section 14 of the Municipal Act categorically stated that elections to constitute a municipality should be completed before the expiry of its five-year term. He said the Section 14 further stated that the period of five years would be reckoned from the date appointed for its first meeting. “The first meeting of all municipal bodies was held in March-April 2005 and the elections ought to have been completed prior to March 2010,” he said. Singh alleged that the non-constitution of representative urban bodies in the state had enabled the government to rule and administer the urban areas by proxy. He regretted that in the process, the state government had “totally disregarded” the fact that it was depriving the urban population of Central funding. He appealed to Governor N N Vohra to intervene into the matter to ensure that the people were not deprived of their genuine democratic rights. |
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Ladakh Scouts to celebrate 50th Raising Day today
Jammu, May 31 The regiment, which was upgraded from local Nubra Guards to J&K militia, later to Indus and Karakoram wings and finally an infantry regiment, has carved a niche for itself and set standards for others to emulate. It came into existence when the nation passed through testing times after the unprovoked acts of violence and aggression of tribal marauders who annexed Gilgit and threatened Ladakh. At that time, young volunteers from Nubra, Indus and Shyok Valley came forward to form Nubra guards and fought with lances, axes, spears, bows and arrows to hold the intruders for approximately a month. Later, they were formally raised as the 7th J&K and 14th J&K Militia on August 15, 1948, and May 2, 1959, respectively after imparting them basic military training. These units were merged into a single unit after the 1962 India-China conflict and Ladakh Scouts was formally raised in 1963. The young soldiers of Ladakh Scouts, called Nunnus, have always displayed professionalism, great resolve and made sacrifices while operating across an entire spectrum of conflict to save and the country’s independence. Their valour and courage during unprovoked invasion in 1962 in extremely hazardous and inhospitable terrain, 1971 Indo-Pak war where the Nunnus, under Maj Chhewang Rinchen, captured and liberated Turtuk (804sq km) and Kargil conflict in 1999 to throw out enemy from dizzying heights of Kargil and sacrifices made during these operations were legendary and worth emulating. The Nunnus have stood up and delivered at the hour of reckoning not only during operations but also by being actively involved in providing humanitarian aid by constructing roads and bridges, establishing relief and rehabilitation centres, providing medical aid and succour in coordinated, swift and seamless response to disasters despite being affected themselves. They have also participated in Winter Olympics and won medals in various national and international events. Owing to the distinct capabilities in combat and contribution in Operation Vijay where Nunnus terrified enemy troops with echoes of “Ki Ki So So Lhargyalo” across the ridges of Ladakh, the then Chief of Army Staff (COAS), Gen V P Malik recognising the outstanding valour and sacrifices of Nunnus, awarded the maiden Chief of Army Staff’s Banner, COAS Unit Citation and Battle Honour of Batalik and theatre honour of Kargil to the troops of the Ladakh Scouts. The young regiment has remained one of the highest decorated infantry regiments of the Indian Army with 496 military awards which include one Ashok Chakra, 11Maha Vir Chakras (including one Bar), 26 Vir Chakras, 2 Kirti Chakras and 6 Shaurya Chakras. |
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Militant shot dead in Shopian
Shopian, May 31 The gunfight was going on till the last reports came in and two to three militants were believed to be taking shelter in a residential house. Sources said in a
joint operation, personnel of 55 Rashtriya Rifles and Special Operations Group of the police cordoned off the village in Wachi area of the district this afternoon. “They were acting on a specific tip-off about the presence of the militants in the area,” said a senior police official of the area. He said sensing the cordon, the militants, who were spotted in an open field, opened fire at the security forces. “While they were being chased, one of them identified as Sajad Ahamd
Mir alias Tajammul Islam, a resident of Litter village of Pulwama district, was killed, while others took shelter in a residential house in the area,” he said. "He was the divisional commander and financial chief of the Hizb-ul-Mujahideen outfit and had been active for the past three to four years," said Irshad Ahmad, Deputy Superintendent of Police, Headquarters, Shopian. The encounter came only a week after the militant attack in the forest area of Tral tehsil of Pulwama district in south Kashmir. Four Army personnel were killed in the attack, while a local militant was also killed in the ensuing gun battle. |
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Pak troops violate ceasefire
Srinagar, May 31 "At 6:30 pm Pakistani troopers fired on Indian positions with light arms. Firing lasted for half an hour. However, there was no report of any casualty," the Army said. This is the second time that Pakistani troopers have opened fire on Indian positions in past one week. Last week, Army Brigadier Sanjeev Langar and two other troopers were injured in Pakistani firing in the same area.
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Governor N N Vohra has reiterated that the youth from Jammu and Kashmir have very high potential if provided opportunities and called upon them to work hard and compete for entry into the over two dozen All India and Central services, each one of which plays an important role in the national administrative machinery.
