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| Thursday, June 29, 2000, Chandigarh, India   
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Bid to target Secretariat
Implement autonomy
decision: Speaker Shankaracharya meets
APHC leaders
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Bid to target Secretariat SRINAGAR, June 28 — Four pedestrians were injured when militants fired at least 10 rifle grenades towards the Civil Secretariat here this afternoon. Some vehicles were also damaged when the rifle grenades landed near Neelam Cinema in the vicinity of the Civil Secretariat at 12.30 p.m. today. Tension grippled the high security zone in which the Civil Secretariat, housing the offices of the Chief Minister, Dr Farooq Abdullah and his ministerial colleagues is located. The Headquarters of the Jammu and Kashmir Police is also located nearby. The Chief Minister and most of his ministerial colleagues were in their offices at the time of the attack. According to the police “the perpetrators of the crime have been identified and efforts are being made to nab them”. The rifle grenades were fired from the Chotta Bazar area but fell short of the intended target and exploded near Neelam Cinema resulting in pellet injuries to four pedestrians and minor damage to a car parked in a lane near the cinema. A case under the Prevention of Sabotage Act has been registered at Shaheed Gunj police station, a police spokesman stated. While some of the grenades exploded mid-air, four to five went off between FCI godown and Neelam Cinema. This is the third such attack in and around the area within the past three months. Militants had hurled at least 18 grenades towards the Civil Secretariat on May 22 last killing one person and injuring three others. At least six rifle grenade were fired towards the police headquarters earlier this month, which landed on the road in front of the police headquarters. Militants had also fired a rifle grenades from Maisuma locality on May 19 last. However, the grenades could not take off and hit a
pedestrian instead of landing in the opposite direction where the Civil Secretariat, High Court and the Legislative Assembly Complex are located. Tight security arrangements had been made in, and around the State Legislature Complex recently where a special session of the two Houses of legislature was held from June 19 to 27. The entire area had been sealed off during the proceedings of the two Houses. Only official, security vehicles as also those of the mediapersons were being allowed in the area during the period. Elsewhere, two persons, including a woman, were killed in a bomb explosion at Watter Payeen in the Handwara area of Kupwara district last night. A police spokesman said the bomb explosion took place inside a shop killing Abdul Hamid Mir and his wife Roshan Jan. The deceased were using the shop for residential purposes. Unidentified militants hurled a grenade on a security forces picket at Tatoo Ground last evening. No damage was caused in the incident, the police said. UDHAMPUR (UNI): Three militants, including a foreigner, were killed and six civilians injured in separate encounter in Doda and Udhampur districts of Jammu and Kashmir since last evening. While militants abducted a village defence committee (VDC) member, and a militant surrendered before police in Udhampur district today. Official sources said an ensuing encounter took place between militants and Special Task Force (STF) of local police at Kalotran, south of Gandoh tehsil of Doda district last evening. During the encounter two militants, including a foreigner were killed while six civilians, including wife of a Special Police Officer were injured. Some arms and ammunition were also recovered from the encounter site, a source said adding one of the slain militants was identified as Kakam Din of Harkat-ul-Jehadi-Islami outfit. Sources said unidentified militants shot dead Nazir Ahmad at the Advas-Arnas area of Udhampur district early today while militants abducted Sita Ram, a village defence committee (VDC) member alongwith arms and ammunition from Lattara top in the same district late last night. |
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Implement autonomy
decision: Speaker SRINAGAR, June 28 — Describing the resolution on autonomy as a significant document, the Speaker of the Legislative Assembly, Mr Abdul Ahad Vakil, has said the copies of the same were sent to the central government. Talking to mediapersons here yesterday, the Speaker said the copies were also sent to the Secretary-General of the Lok Sabha and the Rajya Sabha. Mr Vakil held that the document had the same significance as that of the Delhi agreement and the Instrument of Accession. He said the Centre was bound to take follow-up action on the implementation of the same. The resolution moved by the Law and Parliamentary Affairs Minister, Mr Pyare Lal Handoo, had urged the state and the central governments to “take positive and effective steps for its implementation.” In reply to a question on, Mr Advanis statements, the Speaker said the Union Government had already agreed to consider the implementation of the restoration of autonomy to the state. He described the BJP spokesman Venkaiah Naidu as having been “blissfully ignorant” about the autonomy issue. The Speaker said the Centre could not challenge the ruling party in Jammu and Kashmir as it had the support and the representation of all people in the three regions. “This is not 1947.... but at present 18 parties are ruling at the Centre and there is a semblance of a federal structure”, Mr Vakil said. He added that the document (on autonomy needs persuasion, follow-up action and public campaign. This is a resurrection of those rights which have been taken away from us.” The Speaker added that the copies might be sent to Pakistan, where the people in the PoK would also be provocated to demand similar treatment. Referring
to a 1993 judgement of PoK high court for the restoration of state subject rights or the northern area moved by 11 petitioners, including Mr Malik Mohammad Miskeen, Mr Haji Amir Jan, Mr Abdul Aziz, advocate, Mr Amanullah Khan, etc. Mr Vakil said despite a lapse of seven years the verdict of the court was not implemented and this amply demonstrated that in Pakistan even the court verdict had no respect and for the judiciary. He said the demand for the restoration of autonomy should be viewed in the light of the changing constitutional and legal developments of the country, adding that if the Constitution of India could be reviewed, why the recommendation of the report could not be discussed. Meanwhile, a former Jammu and Kashmir Chief Minister, Mr Ghulam Mohammad Shah, while hailing the passing of the resolution of autonomy by the state Legislative Assembly, has sought “tripartite talks” to solve the Kashmir issue. “If these very National Conference MLAs take one more bold step and ask for a “tripartite conference” for the resolution of the Kashmir problem, then at time they will truly deserve to be congratulated” he added. |
Protest yes, jointly no JAMMU, June 28 — The adoption of the autonomy committee report by the state Legislature has caused much confusion in the state unit of the BJP and its sister organisations. The Sangh Parivar has
failed to take a united stand on the proposed Jammu bandh to protest against the demand for granting greater autonomy to Jammu and Kashmir. While the BJP has given a call for Jammu bandh on Friday, its youth wing, the
Bharatiya Yuva Janata Morcha, has called for general strike in Udhampur and Kathua districts on Thursday. It has taken the BJP more than three days to muster support from traders and transporters for the proposed bandh on Friday. There has been no immediate reaction from the supporters of the Sangh Parivar because of groupism in the BJP. What has surprised the opponents of greater autonomy here is the failure of the BJP to muster the support of other organisations that have openly criticised the adoption of Autonomy Committee Report by the state Legislature. The result of this failure is that Peoples’ Initiative for Peace and Unity, comprising the Panun Kashmir, Jammu Joint Students’ Federation and the Ladakh Buddhist Association, has given a call for Jammu bandh on Saturday. Not a single opposition party in the Jammu region has taken any initiative to form a united front for launching a campaign against the demand for greater autonomy because the two main opposition parties, the BJP and the Congress, are trying to cash in on the anger of the people separately. The BSP, however, stands divided over the issue after its Legislature party leader, Sheikh Abdul Rehman, adopted a soft stance on the NC motion on autonomy on the floor of the Assembly. Meanwhile, the BJP has urged the Chief Minister, Dr Farooq Abdullah, to resign and order fresh elections so that he could seek fresh mandate from the people on the issue of autonomy. The vice-president of the BJP, Mr Chander Mohan Sharma, told mediapersons here today that fresh Assembly elections alone could determine whether people supported to the NC demand for greater autonomy or not. Mr Sharma announced that the BJP would build public opinion against all those MLAs from Jammu who supported the motion on autonomy. He announced that a BJP jatha would hold a dharna in front of the Parliament House when the monsoon session started. |
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Abdullah, Advani’s
effigies burnt JAMMU, June 28 — Congress workers and supporters led by a senior party leader, Mr Raman Bhalla, staged a demonstration in protest against the adoption of the Autonomy Committee report by the state legislature in the border town of Poonch today. The protesters took out a procession shouting anti-Farooq Abdullah and anti -Advani slogans. They burnt the effigies of Dr Abdullah and Mr Advani. Addressing the protesters, Mr Bhalla asked the Chief Minister to resign and seek the people’s mandate for the autonomy report in the Assembly elections. He said autonomy was no solution to the ongoing turmoil in Jammu and Kashmir. He suspected a secret understanding between the BJP and the National Conference on the autonomy issue and said it was part of the BJP’s hidden agenda. Mr Bhalla said the people in the state, especially in the border areas, reeled under militancy, poverty and unemployment. Instead of finding solution to these problems, the Chief Minister and his party colleagues had kicked up a new controversy which could have serious consequences at the national level, he added. He wanted to know whether the restoration of greater autonomy would enable the state government to resolve the cash crunch and remove the problem of poverty and unemployment. He said by raising the autonomy issue Dr Abdullah had tried to divert the attention of the people from the real issues. This move, he added, would also strengthen the divisive forces in the state. |
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Shankaracharya meets
APHC leaders SRINAGAR, Jun 28 — Jagatguru Shankaracharya, currently on a three-day visit to the Kashmir valley, has expressed concern over the situation in Kashmir and the travails that the people are undergoing. Addressing a press conference here yesterday, Goverdhan Puri Pithadishwar Jagatguru Shankaracharya Swami Adhokshjananad Tirathji Maharaj, said the people in the valley were passing through a difficult phase. It was a matter of concern for those believing in humanitarian values. He
said steps were being initiated to impress upon the state and centre governments to end the situation in the name of humanitarian values. He said a team of the highest school of religious organisation had been sent to the Kashmir valley earlier to have an assessment of the situation here. He added that the visit of the team under the leadership of Pandit N.K. Sharma, facilitated his visit to the trouble torn state. “Kashmir mein tadapti hui insaniyat aur manavta per kalang lag chuka hai” the Shankaracaharya said, at the end of his three-day visit to the valley. He said it was the responsibility of the political leadership both at the Centre and the state to end the travails of the people in the valley. He said some adequate measures on behalf of the
clergy would be taken in this connection. He was accompanied by senior clergy Pandit N.K. Sharma and a Muslim preacher, Moulana Syed Athar Hussain Delhivi. During their visit to the valley the religious leaders met a cross-section of the people here, including separatist leaders of the All-Partys Hurriyat Conference and were apprised of the situation
prevailing in the valley. The Shankaracharya also referred to a recent incident at Hajibal in Tangmarg area of Baramulla district where a fierce encounter took place between the militants and the security forces killing at least nine militants and an Army jawan. The Shankaracharya alleged that no steps were taken to provide a healing touch to those in distress whose houses got razed to the ground in the encounter. No steps were taken on humanitarian grounds to provide relief to the affected families. During their Kashmir visit, the clergy also met people belonging to different religious communities, including Kashmiri Pandits, Buddhists, Sikhs of Chattisinghpora and the Muslim leaders of separatist All-Partys Hurriyat Conference. Yesterday, the clergy had a detailed meeting with the APHC leaders and its chairman Syed Ali Shah Geelani and exchanged views on the present security scenario in the valley. “It does not matter whom do we meet.... The question is that we wanted to see the ground situation and travails of the people who are caught between the militants and the security forces”, he said. Meanwhile, the separatist All-Partys Hurriyat Conference (APHC) has alleged that at least 522 Kashmiris were killed by various security agencies since January this year. Those killed included 104 persons in custody, an APHC spokesman stated. He added that 58 persons were reported missing in custody from January 1 to June 25 last. During this period 124 residential buildings were destroyed either by burning them down or blasting. Besides “13 women were also raped by personnel of the Indian forces during this period only”, the spokesman said. |
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