J A M M U   &   K A S H M I R

Hizb chief was ‘not told’ of ceasefire
SRINAGAR, Aug 27 — A senior Jamaat-e-Islami leader and former APHC chairman, Syed Ali Shah Geelani, has claimed that the Hizbul Mujahideen supreme commander, Syed Salahuddin, had not been taken into confidence over the ceasefire issue announced here last month.

A picture at a photo exhibition in New Delhi on the voices of Kashmiri Muslim women aptly summarises the uncertainty in which they live. — PTI photo

Jammu may go Kashmir way, fear residents JAMMU, Aug 27 — Panic has gripped people in various parts of Jammu, besides the border areas of Akhnoor sector, following smashing of two high-tension transmission towers near Kot Bhalwal and on account of the stepped-up Pakistani firing on Indian posts and villages in Akhnoor, Poonch and Rajouri sectors. 2 held for issuing fake orders KUPWARA, Aug 27 — Two persons involved in a scandal of issuing fake appointment orders were arrested by the police.

Complaints against VC ‘baseless’ 
JAMMU, Aug 27 — The Chief Minister, Dr Farooq Abdullah, who is pro-Chancellor of Jammu University, has said complaints against the Vice-Chancellor, Prof R.R. Sharma, are “baseless” and the state government has granted two-year extension to him.

Minister’s assurance to Kashmiri Pandits
JAMMU, Aug 27 — The Minister for Forest and Environment, Mr Peerzada Ghulam Ahmed Shah, visited migrant camp at Purkhoo in Jammu district yesterday to take stock of the problems being faced by the Kashmiri migrants.

J&K to have new forest policy
SRINAGAR, Aug 27 — A new forest policy is being formulated by the Jammu and Kashmir Government to preserve the forest cover in the state and streamline the functioning of various wings of the Forest Department.

SKIMS doctors call off stir
SRINAGAR, Aug 27 — The striking doctors at the Sher-i-Kashmir Institute of Medical Sciences at Soura, near here, have decided to call off their 10-day-old strike after the Jammu and Kashmir Government assured them it would consider their demands, including pay hike.

Census Dept to train paramilitary staff
JAMMU, Aug 27 — The Census Department will impart training to 50 paramilitary personnel posted in the state on August 30.

Hizb chief was ‘not told’ of ceasefire
Tribune News Service

SRINAGAR, Aug 27 — A senior Jamaat-e-Islami leader and former APHC chairman, Syed Ali Shah Geelani, has claimed that the Hizbul Mujahideen supreme commander, Syed Salahuddin, had not been taken into confidence over the ceasefire issue announced here last month.

“Salahuddin was surprised by Dar’s announcement and he (Salahuddin) was forced to endorse it to prevent dissension in the organisation”, Geelani said in an interview to local news agency CNS here recently. He clarified that the ceasefire was only a suggestion, adding that the Central Government “responded readily to exploit the situation to its advantage.”

Geelani said that he had been contacted by the Chief Commander of Operations, of the Hizbul Mujahideen, Abdul Majid Dar. The Hizbul Mujahideen was regarded as the militant wing of the Jamaat-e-Islami, which, however, is being denied by the latter. Geelani said that he had conveyed to Dar to “wait for organisational elections of the Jamaat-e-Islami, and also take into confidence other militant outfits before making the announcement”.

The Jamaat leader said that dialogue with the Government of India could prove fruitful only when all three parties, including Pakistan were involved in the deliberations. He said this while referring to the recent statement of Abdul Majid Dar in which he has said that talks with the Government of India could be resumed within the next two months. Syed Geelani described the recent talks between the Hizbul Mujahideen led by the chief negotiator, Fazal-ul-Haq Qureshi, and the Union Home Ministry officials as a “futile exercise”.

Geelani, who till recently held the post of the APHC chairman, said that the BJP was the only party that had the guts to resolve the Kashmir dispute. In this connection, he said that some interlocutors had approached the APHC leaders some time back “who wanted us to talk to the Centre”. He added that so far there had not been any “positive development” in this regard. Several Hurriyat leaders were released after over six months of detention early this year amid much talks about “clearance of ground for holding talks with the APHC leaders on Kashmir dispute”. But these talks could not be held as the modalities could not be worked out.

The APHC chairman, Abdul Ghani Bhat, former chairman, Syed Ali Shah Geelani and other activists had been to New Delhi recently.

The APHC leaders did not meet any government official during their stay in the capital. However, Prof Bhat, had detailed meetings with the officials of the Pakistan Embassy in New Delhi recently, as it was his first visit to the Capital after taking over as the chairman of the APHC. 

Jammu may go Kashmir way, fear residents
From M.L. Kak
Tribune News Service

JAMMU, Aug 27 — Panic has gripped people in various parts of Jammu, besides the border areas of Akhnoor sector, following smashing of two high-tension transmission towers near Kot Bhalwal and on account of the stepped-up Pakistani firing on Indian posts and villages in Akhnoor, Poonch and Rajouri sectors.

The two high-tension power transmission towers in an isolated village near Kot Bhalwal Jail, where scores of foreign mercenaries and other local militants are lodged, is hardly 12 km from Jammu city. During the night of Friday, people in the area heard deafening sounds of blast. Later, it was found that the towers were damaged by seven IED blasts. These IEDs had been planted close to the towers. The police defused three more IEDs which had been tied to the towers and fitted with remote-control led devices.

Though the case has been handed over to the Army for investigation and analysis, police sources said rockets fired towards the Kot Bhalwal side may have not been launched from across the border, which is more than 20 km. Police suspect that a group of militants may have sneaked into the area and after planting IEDs launched rocket attacks to cause panic and confusion among the people and the security agencies.

Mr Raman Bhalla, a senior Congress leader, said the IED blast near Kot Bhalwal was a clear warning from the militants who had plans of kicking up subversive violence on a large scale in Jammu. He said if people in Jammu were in panic, it was understandable because during the past three years the security situation had deteriorated in the region.

He said initially militants were active only in Doda district but during the past six years they had extended their activities to Poonch and Rajouri districts. During the past three years, the militants had started getting active in Udhampur and Kathua districts. He said people feared that Jammu was fast going the Kashmir way.

Prominent citizens, who wished to remain unidentified for obvious reasons, said the militants had carved out hideouts in several areas of Jammu district and were waiting to strike on a large scale.

The BJP President, Mr D.K. Kotwal, said his party had been demanding “screening” of government employees, including officers, so that the anti-national elements could be weeded out. He said the government had turned a “deaf ear” to this demand with the result militants had been able to receive assistance from government employees and some government quarters, allotted to employees, had been converted into hideouts by the militants within Jammu city.

Mr Kotwal urged the police chief, Mr Gurbachan Jagat, to carry out a thorough review of the security scenario with senior authorities of the Army and the BSF so that measures were taken in right earnest to protect not only the lives of the people, but also ensure the safety of vital government installations.

As a result of the panic, land prices in Roopnagar, Ban Talab, Sidhra and other areas have shown a marked decline. Several prominent businessmen have opened their outlets in Delhi and other Punjab towns.

People living in over 200 border villages in Akhnoor, R.S. Pora, Samba, Poonch and Rajouri sectors have started feeling “unsafe”. Their worry is the possibility of being sandwiched between the Pakistani troops, who have been resorting to heavy shelling and firing on their villages, and the militants.

More than 40,000 people from these border villages, a majority of them being from Akhnoor sector, have become refugees during the past 14 months. These villagers prefer to stay in tattered tents, some of them banking on doles, to being exposed to shelling in their ancestral villages.

A large number of shopkeepers from Pallanwala, Khour and other border villages have closed their business establishments and opened shops in safer areas. It is simply out of panic that farmers have not been able to attend to their fields and during the past 14 months at least 20,000 kanals of fertile land have not yielded any crop as the farmers did not carry out sowing.

Complaints against VC ‘baseless’ 
Tribune News Service

JAMMU, Aug 27 — The Chief Minister, Dr Farooq Abdullah, who is pro-Chancellor of Jammu University, has said complaints against the Vice-Chancellor, Prof R.R. Sharma, are “baseless” and the state government has granted two-year extension to him.

Highly placed sources said the Chief Minister, who has been taking keen interest in the functioning of the two universities in the state, was impressed by the style of functioning of Prof R.R. Sharma during the past four years. For the first time Jammu University had stuck to its schedule of holding examinations, clearing admissions for postgraduate courses and announcement of results.

Prof Sharma took over as Vice-Chancellor in 1996.

According to senior teachers, interviews for filling faculty posts in various disciplines and departments were not held for more than five years. A situation had been created in which ad hocism flourished as it suited those at the helm of affairs within the university and in the state government.

Teachers and students give credit to Prof Sharma for framing a policy under which interviews were held for the posts of lecturer, reader and professor and in most of the case the vacancies were filled on the basis of “merit and academic attainment.” Inside reports said this had “annoyed” the vested interests within the university.

The vested interests launched a vociferous campaign against the Vice-Chancellor but majority of the teachers and students supported Prof Sharma, who despite bureaucratic hurdles managed to implement the revised UGC pay scales and perks making in the first institution in the country to do so.

Prof Sharma has been spending more than 16 hours for looking after the “health” and problems of the university but his losing grip on the administration has created a situation in which the Registrar and the Controller of Examinations and those running correspondence courses have fomented mess on the campus.

Minister’s assurance to Kashmiri Pandits
From Our Correspondent

JAMMU, Aug 27 — The Minister for Forest and Environment, Mr Peerzada Ghulam Ahmed Shah, visited migrant camp at Purkhoo in Jammu district yesterday to take stock of the problems being faced by the Kashmiri migrants.

The minister said the government was aware of the problems being faced by the displaced persons and was doing everything possible to mitigate their suffering.

Reiterating government’s resolve to rehabilitate Kashmiri Pandits in the valley, the minister said we were always eager to see that the migrants return to their homes with honour and dignity but anti-national elements create problems in our efforts.

Mr Shah said Kashmiri Pandits were part and parcel of Kashmir.

J&K to have new forest policy

SRINAGAR, Aug 27 (PTI) — A new forest policy is being formulated by the Jammu and Kashmir Government to preserve the forest cover in the state and streamline the functioning of various wings of the Forest Department.

The policy is aimed at laying down a strong foundation for the protection and preservation of forest resources of the state, increasing forest area and building infrastructural facilities, an official spokesman told PTI here today.

It will deal with “utilisation of forest resources to meet people’s requirements without harming the forests,” he said. The policy would also have a comprehensive proposal for wildlife protection, demarcation, environmental preservation and checking and removing encroachment on forest land.

Under afforestation and plantation programme, 19,433 hectares were recovered last year against a target of 18,499 hectares, he said. About 22.89 lakh saplings were distributed for plantation in private lands.

Project report on cultivation of bamboo and medicinal plants to help the tribal and rural poor living on the fringes of forests had been prepared, he said. It would be forwarded to the Union Ministry of Environment and Forests for central funding.

Following efforts by the government to revive the loss making State Forest Corporation, its turnover had increased from Rs 32 crore to Rs 80 crore during the past three years, the spokesman said. For the first time since 1988-89, the corporation paid royalty of Rs 25 crore to the government.

About 60,000 hectares of Kandi land would be treated in the second phase of the world bank-aided Integrated Watershed Development Project (IWDP) in the next five years, the spokesman said.

A special drive has been launched to check smuggling of timber and illegal felling of trees, he said.

2 held for issuing fake orders

KUPWARA, Aug 27 (UNI) — Two persons involved in a scandal of issuing fake appointment orders were arrested by the police. 

The scandal came to light during the inspection of various offices by the District Development Commissioner here.

The arrested persons were identified as Muhammad Abdullah Malik of Trehgam and Muhammad Yaseen, a daily-wage workers at the Block Development Office, Trehgam.

Fake stamps and incriminatory documents were also recovered from them.

The accused are reported to have issued 26 fake appointment orders for village level workers, statistical assistant, junior clerks, gram sevaks and peons in the Departments of Rural Development, Planning and DRDA in the past one year.

A case has been registered.

SKIMS doctors call off stir

SRINAGAR, Aug 27 (PTI) — The striking doctors at the Sher-i-Kashmir Institute of Medical Sciences (SKIMS) at Soura, near here, have decided to call off their 10-day-old strike after the Jammu and Kashmir Government assured them it would consider their demands, including pay hike.

The decision follows a meeting between a nine-member deputation of senior doctors, representing the executive committee of the faculty forum, and Acting State Chief Minister Ghulam Mohi-ud-din Shah here yesterday, an official spokesman said today.

The minister assured the doctors that the government would like to provide the same emoluments and facilities to doctors in the state as are available to their counterparts in other states but at the same time asked them to also appreciate the financial crunch being faced by the state.

The striking doctors later assured the minister that they would resume their duties from tomorrow, the spokesman said. 

Census Department to train paramilitary staff
From Our Correspondent

JAMMU, Aug 27 — The Census Department will impart training to 50 paramilitary personnel posted in the state on August 30.

This was decided at a meeting of officers of the CRPF, BSF, CISF, IB and allied forces held here yesterday. The Divisional Commissioner, Mr Anil Goswami, presided over the meeting.

It was decided that the paramilitary forces would nominate an officer from their respective units for training. The trainees would be appointed as in charge for conducting the enumeration in their respective units from September 11 to 30. It was also decided that the census material and other items would be made available to the trainees by the Census Department.

The meeting was also attended by the Director, Census, Mr Feroz Ahmed, Consultant to Census Commission, Mr S.P. Sharma, IGP, Jammu-Kathua range, Dr S.P. Vaid, and representatives of various security agencies.