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| Sunday, September 3, 2000, Chandigarh, India   
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ISI hand visible in massacres: DGP
Cong rebels seek meeting with Sonia |
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Buddhists for UT status to Ladakh Cong seeks relief
for migrants Revival of tourism in valley
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ISI hand visible in
massacres: DGP SRINAGAR, Sept 2 — Claiming that ISI hand was “clearly visible” in the recent massacres in Kashmir, Director-General of Jammu and Kashmir Police Gurbachan Jagat said adequate security measures had been taken to thwart more such attempts by the militants. Addressing a Press conference here this afternoon, Mr Gurbachan Jagat said the militants at the behest of the ISI “might attempt to create trouble” in Kashmir valley in the coming days. In this connection, he referred to the recent statements of Lashkar-e-Toiba that it would indulge in “more massacres” in the coming days coinciding with the scheduled visit of the Prime Minister, Mr Atal Behari Vajpayee, to the USA this week. He said there was ample evidence that Pakistan was behind the trouble in Kashmir with the arrest of many Pakistan nationals involved in the militancy related incidents in the valley. Replying to questions, Mr Gurbachan Jagat said investigations were on in connection with the second attempt on the life of MLA and senior Shia leader Moulvi Iftikhar Hussain Ansari who escaped a bid on his life on the Srinagar-Baramulla highway yesterday. The DGP said four persons were held in connection with the earlier attempt on the life of the MLA who escaped a landmine explosion at Ahmadpora in Pattan area of Baramulla district on June 2 last. At least 12 persons were killed in the explosion. Three police personnel, including the driver of the Ambassador car in which the Shia leader was travelling last evening, were killed in a landmine explosion near Sangrama. The DGP announced that the 49th B.N. Mullik Memorial All India Police Football Tournament would be held here from September 4 to 16. He said that it was for the first time that such a tourney was being held in Jammu and Kashmir and adequate security arrangements were being taken in connection with the holding of the national event in which 25 teams from all over the country would be participating. He expressed the hope that the event would provide an opportunity to channelise the energies of the local youth in sports. Giving details of the event, Mr Gopal Sharma, Additional DG, as also the organising secretary of the event, said 47 matches would be played in the 11-day long event at A.S. College grounds and the Bakshi Stadium. |
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Cong rebels seek meeting with Sonia JAMMU, Sept 2 — Several dissident Congressmen have sought an appointment with the party President, Ms Sonia Gandhi, to explain to her the nature of the crisis the organisation is facing in Jammu and Kashmir. A senior party leader, Mr Mangat Ram Sharma, has spent more than five days in Delhi apprising senior Congress leaders of the problem of factionalism having gripped the party in the state. Dissidents from the Kashmir valley too have requested Ms Sonia Gandhi to discuss the party’s affairs in the state. Groupism has resurfaced even after the PCC was recently reorganised. During the past four days, the dissidents have held parallel meetings to sabotage the efforts of those loyal to the PCC chief, Mohammed Shafi Qureshi. In Jammu, prominent dissident leaders were absent when the PCC chief convened a meeting of party workers. A day later senior party leaders boycotted a public meeting which was to be presided over by Mr Qureshi in Kathua. The dissident leaders on the same day organised a public meeting at Katra. In Baramula district, senior party leaders were not present when loyalists organised a workers’ conference. The attendance was thin. At one stage, followers of Mr Mangat Ram Sharma had decided to persuade Ms Sonia Gandhi to suggest to Mr Qureshi measures for revitalising the Congress. However, this faction has started pressing for replacing Mr Qureshi by a senior party leader who had been in contact with people and party workers after several dissident leaders from the Kashmir valley informed the party high command that Mr Qureshi was “acting like a Governor”. Senior party leaders have blamed the Congress high command for their inability to solve the faction feuds in the party in the state. They said the tussle between the dissidents and the loyalists had been there for the past eight years and it had not ended with the change of two PCC chiefs and with the reorganisation of the PCC twice in the past one year. Other leaders said Mr Qureshi should be given a free hand and there should be no interference from Mr Ghulam Nabi Azad who had usually encouraged dissidence in the party in order to retain his hold on the organisation. Party sources said Ms Sonia Gandhi might discuss the problem with senior party leaders from the state within the next one week. |
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Buddhists for UT status to Ladakh JAMMU, Sept 2 — The alleged discrimination of the people of Ladakh in the political, economic and religious spheres has provoked the Ladakh Buddhist Association
(LBA) to renew its demand for union territory status for the land of Lamas. According to the LBA president, Tsering
Samphel, Buddhists have been “denied their share in government services, professional colleges and in the development of their area”. Mr Samphel has prepared an elaborate note listing series of events which have left no other alternative for the Buddhists but to demand separation from the Kashmir valley. He has said that so far four officers belonging to Ladakh region have been inducted into the IAS cadre by the state government and not a single was a Buddhist. He said after a gap of 15 years, examinations for recruitment to KAS and KPS were conducted in 1997-98 by the state public service commission. Out of 23 Buddhists who had qualified the written test one was selected for the state services and against this three Muslims who had qualified in the written test were selected and even Christians found a place in the list of those selected as he alone had qualified the test. Mr Samphel referred to the secretariat services and said not a single Buddhist had been recruited in the civil secretariat where the number of employees has crossed 3500. He said not a single class IV job had been offered to a Buddhist in the secretariat. The same was the case in the assembly secretariat. He said since 1996, when the National Conference led by Dr Farooq Abdullah assumed power in the state, more than 1.20 lakh youths were recruited in different government departments and out of them only 319 employees were from Ladakh. He said more than 2 per cent share in government services should have been given to Ladakh. Except for three Buddhists employed in state roadways transport corporation, other eight public sector undertakings, having a staff strength of about 22,000 have not recruited a single Buddhist. In engineering courses eight seats have been reserved for Ladakh since 1997 but each year only one Buddhist found admission in the professional colleges. The case was similar to the one found in medical colleges where not more than two Buddhists have found admission. The LBA chief said the Buddhist-dominated Leh district had an area three times larger than the Muslim-dominated area of Kargil but still the government earmarked Rs 42 crore for the financial year 2000-2001 for the two districts. He said under recommendations of the Wazir Commission the state government added two new blocks to Kargil district but ignored the commission’s report as far as Leh district was concerned. This had deprived Leh district of Rs 2 crore from central assistance because it has only five blocks against seven in Kargil. Mr Samphel dished out figures in support of his contention that Ladakh region, especially Leh district, was being given meagre funds from the state sector with the result development of the cold desert had been almost halted. He held the state government agencies responsible for encouraging conversion of Buddhists to Islam. In this context he said an agreement had been reached between the LBA and the Ladakh Muslim Association (LMA) in 1992 under which 28 Buddhist girls, converted to Islam, had to be restored to their original faith. This agreement had not been implemented by the state government agencies. The Buddhist leader alleged that the state government had “deliberately” ignored the education sector in Leh district with the result the standard of teaching in government schools had further deteriorated resulting in dropouts. He said the number of Buddhist students in the 10th class in government schools had declined from over 1600 in 1997 to 709 in 1999. The pass percentage in the matriculation examination was less than 10 per cent. Mr Samphel said that the LBA would intensify its agitation for securing union territory status for
Ladakh. He said it was the only way that could ensure peace in Ladakh and its development. He said the LBA had succeeded in securing the Leh Hill Development Council but the state government made the council powerless by engineering financial squeeze. The LBA has already circulated a brochure, enlisting complete details on discrimination of Buddhists, to the central government and members of Parliament. |
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Cong seeks relief
for migrants JAMMU, Sept 2 — The state unit of the Congress has demanded relief and ration to migrants from the border villages of Akhnoor, R.S. Pora and Samba sectors at the rate given to Kashmiri displaced families. Senior Congress leader Gulchain Singh Charak told newsmen here today that over 60,000 people had migrated from these border villages over a year ago. Most of these families have been living under tattered tents in the open. Most of these displaced families have not been able to return to their villages because of fresh firing by Pakistani troops. He said the recent firing and mortar shelling had forced several hundred families to flee to safer places. Mr Charak said both the state and the central governments had ignored these displaced families and they were living in a miserable condition on doles. He said their cattle had perished and for the past one year they had not been able to carry out farming operations. Mr Charak urged the Centre to beef up security measures on the Indo-Pakistan border in Jammu and Kashmir and within the state because Pakistan trained militants were planning to carry out subversive activities on a large scale. He said intelligence reports received by the government had indicated that militants were planning to kick up large-scale violence and it was time that additional forces were sent to the state for foiling the Pakistani gemeplan. The Congress leader bitterly criticised the Farooq government for its failure to resolve the problems of the people in the state. He said prolonged power cuts,
drinking water shortage, corruption and nepotism had paralysed the state administration. He expressed amusement over the way the Chief Minister had gone to London for a three-week stay when his home state was in turmoil. He said either the Chief Minister should improve the functioning of the state government or quit. |
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Revival of tourism in valley SRINAGAR, Sept 2 — Over one lakh tourists have visited Kashmir till July this year, taking the total number of tourists to the valley to nearly 4.45 lakh, including 41,423 within the past four years. According to official estimates 59,236 tourists, including 43,067 foreigners, also visited Ladakh from 1996 to July 2000. The number of pilgrims visiting the state has also increased in the past four years. Over 5.16 lakh pilgrims visited the holy cave shrine of Amarnath during the last four years. This year 1.8 lakh pilgrims visited the holy cave whereas 1.5 lakh pilgrims had visited the holy cave in 1998. Similarly, over 1.74 crore pilgrims have visited the Vaishno Devi shrine in Jammu since 1996. This year 34.35 lakh pilgrims had visited the shrine till August as against last year’s estimate of 46.68 lakh. The government is contemplating a Amarnath Shrine Board to be set up on the pattern of the Vaishno Devi Shrine Board in order to promote tourism in the area for a longer period and to develop amenities en route. Tourism, which has remained the backbone of Kashmir’s economy would contribute about Rs 500 crore to the state’s economy. The government has accorded top priority to the tourism sector in the annual plan in order to broadbase its activities and rebuild the damaged infrastructure. In order to give a boost to the tourism sector, various revival packages have been given by the state government, including waiving of loans
up to Rs 50,000 and 11 per cent interest for small units in the tourism sector. It has also envisaged fresh loans through financial institutions to houseboat owners and taxi drivers. Loans totalling Rs 3 crore and soft loans of Rs 7.81 crore advanced to the small units had been waived off. On the other hand Jammu and Kashmir Bank has advanced loans amounting to Rs 20 crore to houseboat owners and taxi owners. This has helped in reviving the militancy-hit tourism industry in the valley. As a goodwill gesture the local tourist trade announced 30 per cent discount on various services this year. This also helped the tourism industry in the valley. Several officials of various embassies in New Delhi were invited to Kashmir to see the changed ground situation and to build confidence of foreign tourists and to attract them to visit the valley. The Tourism Department has sent 10 of their foreign-based Regional Directors to Kashmir to familiarise them with the changing situation. In order to promote and develop foreign tourism, three areas South-East Asia, Middle-East Asia and Central Asia have been identified as potential markets. To publicise tourism-related activities in the valley and to attract tourists, the Tourism Department will set up a website. To provide international standard activities the department has envisaged a project for total computerisation of tourist activity and sent it to the Centre for approval and funding. |
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