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| Monday, June 12, 2000, Chandigarh, India   
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NC activist among 11 killed in J&K Ladakhis favour trifurcation Hurriyat terms for talks |
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VDCs sans modern weapons 3,400 cases pending in
HC for 10 yrs Govt advice to
farmers Four buried
in mudslide
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NC activist among 11 killed in J&K SRINAGAR, June 11 — The local police fired in air and lobbed teargas shells to disperse over a 1000- strong demonstrators protesting against the “custodial killing” of a youth in Lal Chowk area here today. Elsewhere in the state, at least 11 persons, including seven militants and an activist of the National Conference have been killed in separate incidents in Jammu and Kashmir since yesterday. The security forces also recovered large quantity of arms and ammunition during search operations. Residents of Kokar Bazar in the central Lal Chowk here today held demonstrations against the killing of a shopkeeper, Mohammad Rafiq, allegedly in custody of the security forces. Residents said that he was detained by the security forces along with four others while they were returning after attending a marriage ceremony late last evening. While three others were set free after preliminary
questioning, Mohammad Rafiq, was detained. His body was recovered from Amirakadal this morning. This agitated the residents who came out on the streets raising pro-freedom slogans. The police lobbed teargas shells to quell the demonstrators in the Lal Chowk and the Residency road. A sit-in-dharna was staged by the agitated residents in the Lal Chowk. Later, the police handed over the body to the relatives. According to a police spokesman, an unidentified gunman shot dead a deputy block president of the ruling National Conference at his house at Check-e-Seer in
Pattan area of Baramulla district last night. The police said that militants barged into the house and shot dead the 70-year-old Abdul Rashid Khan. Two foreign mercenaries were killed in an encounter with the joint operations group of SOG and the security forces at Kulnar, Bazipora in Safapore area of Baramulla district last night. They have been identified as Waheed Abdullah and Waseem Sajjad, both residents of Pakistan. Two rifles, six magazines, a pistol with one magazine, six grenades and 10 kgs of RDX were recovered from the site of the encounter. Two local militants of Hizbul Mujahideen were killed in an encounter with the joint operations group of the security forces and the SOG at Warnbugh, Kangan in Srinagar district today. They have been identified as Abdul Sattar Sheikh and Farooq Ahmad Najar. Militants shot dead a released militant of the JKLF, Ghulam Hassan Baba, alias Nikka Baba in Tral area of Pulwama district last night. Another person, Shakeel Ahmad Roshangar, alias Kawa, was shot dead by militants in Nowhatta area of Srinagar last evening. In Jammu at least five persons, including three militants and two members of a family were killed and three women were injured in separate incidents in Poonch and Udhampur districts. Three militants were killed in an encounter with the security forces at Behrote, Shahpur in Poonch district today. The identity of those killed was yet to be ascertained, police said. Till the last reports came in the encounter was going on. Two members of Ali Mohammad family were killed and three women were injured in a landmine explosion at Sarjoo forest in Udhampur. Two persons, including Bashir Ahmad, son of Ali Mohammad and Reshma, wife of Ali Mohammad died on the spot. Three women sustained injuries. The police said that they were collecting firewood from the
forest. JAMMU (PTI) — Three persons, including a woman were injured in Pakistani shelling in Khour area of Akhnoor sector in Jammu division on Sunday, an official spokesman said here. The three civilians, who received splinter injuries due to mortar shelling by the Pakistani troops, have been rushed to hospital for treatment, he said. Pakistani troops also resorted to shelling in some areas of Noushera sector of Rajouri district during past 24 hours, he said, adding that Indian troops also retaliated effectively. Intermittent exchange of firing with light arms between two sides were also reported from Gharana, Nava-pind, Jhora form, Sangral, Mangral, Karotana, Khurd, Abdullian, Pindi, Mehta point, S.H. Way and Budhal areas along the international border since Saturday. Ladakhis favour trifurcation LEH, June 11 (UNI) — Alarmed by the state autonomy report seeking restoration of the pre-1953 status of Jammu and Kashmir, a sizeable number of the Buddhist population in Ladakh favours either trifurcation of the state or grant of the Union Territory status. The Ladakh Buddhist Association (LBA), the main representative body of the people of the “moonland”, feels that the state autonomy report, if implemented, would undermine the existence of Ladakh as a distinctive ethno-cultural identity. “Kashmiriyat is not a composite identity. It (the report) symbolises Kashmiri identity to the exclusion of the distinctive identities of Ladakh and Jammu,” the LBA said in a memorandum to Prime Minister Atal Behari Vajpayee when he flew down to inaugurate the Sindhu festival here on June 7. At the function, many Buddhist activists were seen wearing badges which read “we want UT”. “The government should appreciate the heterogenity of Jammu and Kashmir state,” said LBA President Tsering Samphei. Mr Samphei said any political arrangement should take into account the aspirations of the people of all the three regions-Ladakh, Kashmir valley and Jammu. “We believe a lasting solution lies in trifurcation of the state,” he said warning against the restoration of the pre-1953 status which, according to him, would amount to addressing the problems of the valley to the detriment of Ladakh and Jammu regions. The District Congress Committee (Leh) has also opposed the idea of restoration of the pre-1953 position as envisaged in the report of the state government. “It must be done after separation of Ladakh and Jammu from the valley. Otherwise, the problem that confronts the valley will crop up in Ladakh,” said former Union Minister and Congress leader P.Namgyal and DCC President Norbo Gyalson in a memorandum to Union Home Minister L.K.Advani who was also here to attend the festival. Spread over 1,38,942 sq km, Ladakh constitutes about 69.6 per cent of the state’s total land area while the Jammu region accounts for 18.92 per cent and the Kashmir valley 11.48 per cent. The LBA also alleges political manipulations of the state’s demographic features. Considering the population, Jammu region should have a larger number of members in the state Assembly than the Kashmir valley, Mr Samphei said. “With less number of voters, Kashmir valley sends 48 MLAs as compared to Jammu’s 37,’’ he pointed out. The LBA is also peeved at the delimitation of the Zanskar Assembly constituency. “Three patwari circles of Kargil sub-division with predominantly Muslim populace were included in the Zanskar constituency, with the hidden objective of preventing a Buddhist from getting elected to the state Assembly,” he said. Mr Tashi Chotak, a member of the Ladakh Autonomous Hill Development Council (LAHDC), said bifurcation of Leh district was carried out for “narrow political gains”. He also expressed concern over the co-option of monks in politics by the present dispensation in the state and cites the nomination of Khanpo Rinpoche, Head of the Thicksay monastery, to the Rajya Sabha by the National Conference Government, headed by Dr Farooq Abdullah. “One of the monks also signed the autonomy report without realising its implications,’’ he said. Lamenting gradual politicisation of the religious leaders Mr Chotak said, “The monks are supposed to follow 253 codes of conduct. Unfortunately, quite a few of them follow these codes.’’ He also expressed concern over the changing demographic composition with a steady decline in the growth of Buddhist population in contrast with the Muslims. Echoing Mr Chotak’s sentiments, Mr Samphei said, “Between 1981 and 1987, while the rate of growth in Leh district was only 9.10 per cent, it was 17.34 per cent in Kargil district.” No census was held in 1991 in the state due to militancy while in 1987, a mini-census was held. The LBA also alleges large-scale conversion of Buddhists in violation of the agreement it had signed in 1992 with the Ladakh Muslim Association.
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Hurriyat terms for talks SRINAGAR, June 11 (PTI) — The Hurriyat Conference has said that it was against any talks aimed at transfer of power and insisted that negotiations to resolve the
Kashmir issue should be trilateral. “The aim of the talks should be to resolve the Kashmir issue and not transfer of power,” Hurriyat Conference Chairman Syed Ali Shah Geelani said yesterday while addressing a rally in Lolab in frontier district of Kupwara, 101 km from here. He termed as “treason” the 1975 Indira Gandhi-Sheikh Abdullah accord which paved the way for Abdullah’s return to power and said “such events will not be allowed to be repeated”. Another senior Hurriyat leader Mohammad Yaseen Malik while addressing the people at Bandipora, 55 km from here, said Kashmir problem could be resolved only through tripartite talks and rejected any bilateral dialogue. On the Centre’s offer to initiate dialogue, he said unless and until all parties to the dispute are invited there could be no lasting solution to the Kashmir issue. Meanwhile, the National Conference Government is firm on its commitment on restoration of autonomy to Jammu and Kashmir and nobody can create confusion in this regard, State Works Minister Ali Mohammad Sagar has said. “Autonomy (to Jammu and Kashmir) would be restored at all costs,” he said, flaying “those who are bent upon creating confusion in the minds of the people.” |
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VDCs sans modern weapons BATOTE (Jammu), June 11 — A militant who has surrendered gets Rs 1,800 a month. The wage packet is delivered at his place. Against this, each member of a village defence committee (VDC), who acts as a bulwark against militants, gets Rs 300 to Rs 500 a month and that too not regularly. This is the complaint of a number of VDC members whom this correspondent met near Pul Doda, the gateway to the troubled Doda district. Cash crunch has forced the authorities concerned to devise novel ways for sustaining VDC members and the special police officers (SPOs). There are about 880 VDCs, each VDC comprising eight members, and 4,600 SPOs in Doda district. Each SPO is entitled to a monthly pay of Rs 1,500. The authorities have deputed three SPOs with each VDC and provides it with Rs 4,500 a month. This sum is equally distributed among the eight members of the committee. What is astonishing is that neither the SPOs nor the VDC members receive their wages on time. Due to the efforts of the district authorities the VDC members and SPOs in some areas have been paid the wages till March while others have not received the wages for the past six months. A number of VDC members referred to a series of statements issued by the Union Home Minister, Mr L.K. Advani, and senior state government functionaries announcing that both categories of these forces would be provided with better weapons to fight militants. These announcements were made six months ago but till today not a single SLR or an assault rifle has been provided to the VDC members. They continue to guard the state with ordinary guns. Senior police authorities in Doda district are of the view that increasing the number of VDCs and equipping each member with better weapons would alter the ground realities to the satisfaction of the government. Three years ago when the idea of setting up the VDCs was conceived, there was a positive response from the people and the VDCs had been successful in containing the activities of the militants. Not only this, the VDC members, being local, have enough knowledge about the terrain in the mountain locked district and have assisted the security forces in launching successful operations against the militants. After people realised that accepting the membership of VDCs was a bed of thorns the response, however, has been dwindling. |
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3,400 cases pending in
HC for 10 yrs JAMMU, June 11 (PTI) — Over 3,400 cases have been pending in the Jammu and Kashmir High Court for over 10 years, according to the annual report of the Union Ministry of Law, Justice and Company Affairs. A total of 93,256 cases were pending in the high court so far. Of these, 3,493 cases had been pending for over 10 years, 2946 cases for the past 9-10 years, 3559 for 8-9 years, 5259 for 6-7 years and 5327 for the past 5-6 years, the report said. Similarly, 8095 cases had been pending for 4-5 years, 9913 for 3-4 years, 12600 for 2-3 years, 1563 for 1-2 years and 21756 for less than a year. The high court instituted 28,886 cases and disposed of 34275. |
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Govt advice to
farmers SRINAGAR, June 11 (PTI) — The Jammu and Kashmir Government has advised farmers in the Kashmir valley to carry lanterns or torches while moving in and around their fields at night to avoid being mistaken as militants by the Army and paramilitary forces. The government’s move follows the reported killing of two civilians by security forces at Aloosa in Kupwara district on June 8. According to reports, three farmers were busy irrigating fields at Aloosa in the frontier district in the evening when the security forces, who were patrolling the area, mistook them to be militants and fired at them killing two and injuring the third. Villagers yesterday staged a demonstration against the killings and raised slogans against the security forces. The entire village observed a bandh yesterday, officials. said. Four buried
in mudslide BARAMULA, June 11 (UNI) — At least four labourers were killed and 13 injured, five of them seriously, when they were buried alive in a mudslide at Nathpora near Pattan in north Kashmir last evening. Official sources said a group of labourers was working on an irrigation canal when a mud wall suddenly caved in thereby burying them. |
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