J A M M U   &   K A S H M I R

After Sikhs, militants target Shias
JAMMU, June 3 — Was the landmine blast near Pattan on Friday, in which 12 Shias were killed and 20 others wounded, part of the plan to cause “Kafiran patt rafizan laar” (After the exodus of infidels, it is the turn of Shias)?

‘Duck in a blast, run afterwards’
SRINAGAR, June 3 — Run is the word. In the event of an explosion, they know they should duck and then look for the nearest lane to run into before splinters catch them or security forces pick them up as suspects.

Campaign against adulterated milk
JAMMU, June 3 — A people’s resistance movement is being given a shape by a group of prominent citizens to launch a campaign against adulteration of milk that is being supplied by private dealers and vendors to about 10 lakh people in the winter capital.

Power supply restored in Jammu
JAMMU, June 3 — As a result of efforts made by the Food Minister, Mr Ajay Sadhotra, the power grid corporation has come to the rescue of the state government in restoring power supply to the winter capital and its adjoining areas after a gap of four days.

After Sikhs, militants target Shias
From M.L. Kak
Tribune News Service

JAMMU, June 3 — Was the landmine blast near Pattan on Friday, in which 12 Shias were killed and 20 others wounded, part of the plan to cause “Kafiran patt rafizan laar” (After the exodus of infidels, it is the turn of Shias)?

When on March 20, 35 Sikhs were massacred at Chattisinghpora in Anantnag district by unidentified militants, a senior Shia leader had expressed fears that it may be the turn of Shias to face the wrath of the militants next. A frown crossed on his bearded face he said “Kafiran patt rafizan laar”.

Friday’s incident has to some extent, proved the Shia leader correct. Militants have resorted to sporadic shooting inside or outside some mosques. But the landmine blast at a religious congregation of a minority community was the first one of its kind in the Kashmir valley during the past 10 years.

Political observers regard the Pattan incident as a photocopy of happenings in Pakistan during the past several years. In Pakistan Sunni militants have carried out armed attacks and bombings at Shia religious congregations and on Moharrum processions which led to the formation of Shia militant outfits.

The former Minister for Housing, Maulvi Iftikhar Hussain Ansari, who had a providential escape said the explosion targeted him and had he not moved a few feet away from the original spot from where he was to address the religious congregation he too would have been killed.

But experts are of the opinion that if the militants wanted to eliminate the Maulvi they could have attacked him in his house or during the journey from Srinagar to Pattan because after his resignation from the council of ministers early this year his security cover was relatively low. An abortive bid to kill him had been mounted about two years ago when a bomb planted near his residence went off without injuring anyone.

But the Friday incident is not being treated as an attempt on Maulvi Ansari hitherto Shias had not been targeted by militants.

When militancy first took roots in the Kashmir valley in 1989, most of Shias had distanced themselves from Pak-trained militants. However, after direct and indirect threats out to community members groups of Shia youth formed a militant outfit called Hizbul Momin. Activists of the outfit also participated in anti-India militancy although the campaign was mainly directed at ensuring the survival of Shias in Kashmir and dispelling the impression of their community being a nationalist community.

The militants’ attempt to tar the community as a whole was further diluted after Maulvi Abbas Ansari, another veteran Shia leader, joined the separatist movement and was jailed alongside several Jamait-e-Islami leaders. In fact Maulvi Abbas Ansari had been associated with the Muslim United Front which raised a political storm in the 1987 Assembly poll by winning five seats. After his release from prison in 1993 Ansari joined the All Party Hurriyat Conference.

Those who believe yesterday’s blast was an attack on Shias rather than on Maulvi Iftikhar Ansari, refer to the carnage at Chattisinghpora. They said that between 1990 and 1999 Sikhs had not been targeted by militants and over 12,000 Sikh families which had migrated to Jammu in 1990 had gradually returned to their ancestral villages.

After the Chattisinghpora carnage several hundred Sikhs have left the valley, and some of them are seeking registration in the winter capital.

Other Sikh families are searching for land or houses in Jammu and some Punjab areas as a second home in case of a fresh onslaught by militants.

The Pattan blast too was probably aimed at forcing Shias to migrate from Kashmir. Government functionaries are of the opinion that both Chattisinghpora massacre and Pattan blast were aimed at creating communal disorders, so that security forces were left with no time on energy to carry out anti-insurgency operations. However, thanks to the wisdom of Shia & Sunni leaders the valley has not witnessed any communal incident. 

‘Duck in a blast, run afterwards’

SRINAGAR, June 3 (IANS) — Run is the word. In the event of an explosion, they know they should duck and then look for the nearest lane to run into before splinters catch them or security forces pick them up as suspects.

These lessons are being churned out by the dozen for children in Kashmir, which is witnessing its 11th year of secessionist violence. Almost every parent, teacher and adult has a word of advice for children.

“When you run, it should be in zig zag fashion” in order to dodge flying bullets. It is a rule every Kashmiri child knows by heart.

They are also taught to stay at a distance from vehicles and areas where there is a concentration of security forces. As these are targets for grenades and improvised explosive devices (IEDs).

They are also warned away by the security forces themselves are forever wary of attacks in the presence of a crowd. There have been occasions when the security forces have resorted to indiscriminate firing and thrashing of bystanders after their colleagues were killed or wounded by militants. Such incidents have happened often in Lal Chowk in Srinagar and nearly half a dozen times in Pattan.

“That is the way of life. I am fully accustomed to it,” says Shahida, a young schoolgirl who has perfected the art of hiding and sneaking her way back home. She also knows how to “use her school bag as protection.” “I put my face into the bag whenever I hear an explosion on the road.”

Children here do not stop outside TV shops to watch a cricket match even if it is an exciting India-Pakistan contest. “While watching the balls, we don’t know from where the other ball (bomb) will come,” says Abid, a school student.

They know they should not move out of their schools when there is violence outside. “Nowadays phones work well, and we inform our parents if we are trapped,” Abid says.

Children who go out to play on holidays or when a general strike is on know they have to be back home at the stipulated hour. “Even a minute’s delay would make our parents go mad,” says Mohammad Yawar. Today’s Kashmiri children only hear of how different things were some years ago in stories. For them, night walks down a boulevard or along a bund on the river Jhelum are like tales from another world altogether.

Campaign against adulterated milk
Tribune News Service

Several citizens of Trikuta Nagar said in Sector 5 milk vendors had been seen adulterating milk with gutter water. They said the municipal authorities were informed about it and they were requested to carry out raids and check the samples. So far, not a single sample had been tested indicating that there was a “nexus between the civic authorities and the milk vendors,” they alleged.

Power supply restored in Jammu
Tribune News Service

JAMMU, June 3 — As a result of efforts made by the Food Minister, Mr Ajay Sadhotra, the power grid corporation has come to the rescue of the state government in restoring power supply to the winter capital and its adjoining areas after a gap of four days.

The power supply got snapped all over Jammu when the 132 kv tower at Miransahib was totally damaged by the severe storm that hit Jammu on May 30. The storm had damaged 100 transformers and uprooted 3,000 electric poles.

Mr Sadhotra told newspersons here today that the corporation carried out emergency restoration services and within 28 hours the power supply was restored.

He said the work on re-erecting the tower at Miran Sahib had been taken in hand on a priority basis and was expected to be completed within one month. He said the state needed over Rs 1.50 crore to repair the 100 damaged transformers and erect 3000 electric poles which had been uprooted in the storm.

He said the corporation had been paid Rs 5 lakh in advance for carrying out the emergency restoration services (ERS) and after the tower was rebuilt the corporation would take back the service.

The minister, who spent three days in Jammu supervising the power restoration programme, said the state had neither the funds to purchase additional quota of power from the northern grid nor the local generation was sufficient to meet the demand. As such there would be no respite from the ongoing load shedding.

Inside reports, however, said lack of maintenance grants had been a major bottleneck in the renovation of transmission lines and in replacing the defective transformers by new ones. There were scores of villages which had not received electricity supply for the past several months because the government could not replace the damaged transformers.

The winter capital witnessed series of demonstrations against inadequate power supply and frequent power breakdowns. At two places the power development offices were attacked by an irate mob protesting against electricity cut.