J A M M U   &   K A S H M I R

20 persons cross over to PoK
JAMMU, Sept 13 — Twenty persons including 16-member family of a top militant, have migrated to Pakistan occupied Kashmir (PoK) from Poonch district since last night, official sources said here today.

Ghulam Rasool Bhat searches for his belongings from the debris of his house in Beerwah village in Budgam district, 15 km west of Srinagar, on Wednesday. Nearly 12 houses were razed to the ground during a gunbattle between the Army and militants near a camp in the village. — Reuters photo

Ensure credible census in J&K: Soz
SRINAGAR, Sept 13 — Expelled National Conference leader Saifuddin Soz has appealed to political parties and the government to ensure that state subject principle was followed during census operations in Jammu and Kashmir.

Contact group to discuss Kashmir
JAMMU, Sept 13 — The contact group on Kashmir, constituted by the Organisation of Islamic Countries, is meeting in New York shortly to discuss the Kashmir problem in the light of India’s tough stand taken on the issue during the Millennium session of the UN Assembly. 

ITBP scales point 6230
SRINAGAR, Sept 13 — An 18-member team of Indo-Tibetan Border Police (ITBP) has successfully scaled the Samar Lungpa peak, near the international border between India and China and close to the Karakoram pass in Jammu and Kashmir, ITBP Deputy Inspector General T.S. Singh said today.

20 persons cross over to PoK

JAMMU, Sept 13 (PTI/ANI) — Twenty persons including 16-member family of a top militant, have migrated to Pakistan occupied Kashmir (PoK) from Poonch district since last night, official sources said here today.

The sources told PTI a four-member family of one late Faqir Din locked their house and left for PoK from Bagail Dara village along the LoC in Mandi sub-sector of Poonch today.

Another report said one top militant identified as Mohammad Aslam along with his six militant associates, his seven daughters, one son and grandson went to PoK from Pariot village in Thanamandi sub-sector of Poonch last night.

The sources said more migration is on cards from the area. So far 421 people have migrated to PoK from Rajouri and Poonch districts since January this year, the sources said.

In another incident a militant belonging to the Hizbul Mujahideen group killed a girl after she refused to accept his marriage proposal.

The police said the enraged militant dragged her out of her house in Udhampur district and sprayed her body with bullets.

Ensure credible census in J&K: Soz
Tribune News Service

SRINAGAR, Sept 13 — Expelled National Conference leader Saifuddin Soz has appealed to political parties and the government to ensure that state subject principle was followed during census operations in Jammu and Kashmir.

Addressing a press conference here this morning, Prof Soz claimed that the previous censuses in Jammu and Kashmir had showed a decline in the population of Muslims in this Muslim dominated state of the country. He appealed the ruling National Conference, of which he was a senior working committee member before his expulsion early last year, and the Central Government to take steps so as to make the ongoing census credible. The last census in 1991 could not be held because of the turmoil in the valley. The former union minister also appealed other parties, including the Pradesh Congress Committee, CPM, CPI, PDP and the Hurriyat Conference to play their role in this regard.

Prof Soz said he would be going to Jammu to mobilise public opinion and meet opinion makers there. In this connection, he referred to the personalities including Mr Amit Malhotra, Mr Balraj Puri, Mr Ved Bhasin, Mr Krishan Dev Sethi and Ram Prakash Saraf. “The people of the state, especially Kashmir valley have suffered immense misery in a situation of death and destruction during the past 11 years of violence. I stand for peace and dignity of the people of the state. We should not add one more dimension to the ongoing strife. All of us must contribute to a credible and true census”, Mr Soz said in his four-page statement.

Reacting to the government response over his earlier stand on the credibility of the census, and caution on the ongoing census, Prof Soz said it was the responsibility of the state government to accept figures he had quoted or reject them. “The spokesman for the government merely said my apprehensions were wrong and Muslim majority character would not be allowed to be distorted without giving any facts and figures in support of his contentions”, he stated.

“The government spokesman even offered advice that I should not have rushed to press before getting updated from the Director of Census operations, and perhaps, the Director of Information. The spokesman conveniently forgot that I had worked with important political leaders and seasoned civil servants on such subjects during the past three decades and I could be expected to know the subject well”, Mr Soz stated.

Mr Soz said he wanted the Government of India and the state government to evaluate what had gone wrong during the past censuses.

Contact group to discuss Kashmir
Tribune News Service

JAMMU, Sept 13 — The contact group on Kashmir, constituted by the Organisation of Islamic Countries, is meeting in New York shortly to discuss the Kashmir problem in the light of India’s tough stand taken on the issue during the Millennium session of the UN Assembly. In the UN Assembly the Prime Minister, Mr Atal Behari Vajpayee, had categorically stated that terrorism and talks “cannot go together.”

The OIC had invited other leaders from the All Party Hurriyat Conference from Kashmir but they could not make it because of the passport and visa problems. The Hurriyat Conference is being represented by Maulvi Umar Farooq, Chairman, Awami Action Committee, and a senior Hurriyat leader. Maulvi Umar Farooq has been in Iran for the last about one month in connection with his academic activities and it was easy for his to travel to New York to attend the meeting of the contact group on Kashmir.

Those who have been included in the contact group are representatives from Saudi Arabia, Turkey, Malaysia, Pakistan, Nigeria and Morocco.

Informed sources said the All Party Hurriyat Conference leaders have conveyed to the OIC to pass a resolution on the Kashmir issue with emphasis on resumption of Indo-Pak talks for resolving the dispute. The Hurriyat leaders have informed the OIC secretariat that the resolution should support “our stand that the problem could be resolved only through tripartite talks.”

During the past over five years the Hurriyat Conference has been reportedly dismayed with the OIC for not adopting tough stand against India forcing New Delhi to settle the dispute with the representatives of Kashmir and the Pakistan Government.

According to the informed sources, the Pakistan Government had been trying to persuade some oil producing countries, who are members of the OIC, to use oil export as a weapon to force India to hold tripartite talks. However, the majority of the OIC members have not accepted this idea on the plea that the trade link with India was a bilateral issue.

Reports indicate that the OIC may again adopt a resolution urging India and Pakistan to settle the Kashmir dispute amicably in order to ensure peace in the subcontinent.

ITBP scales point 6230

SRINAGAR, Sept 13 (PTI) — An 18-member team of Indo-Tibetan Border Police (ITBP) has successfully scaled the Samar Lungpa peak, near the international border between India and China and close to the Karakoram pass in Jammu and Kashmir, ITBP Deputy Inspector General T.S. Singh said today.

The expedition team, led by Assistant Commandant M.P. Singh, braved heavy unseasonal rain and reached the summit of Samar Lungpa peak also known as Point 6230, on September 11, Mr Singh said here.

He said the mountaineers started the climb from their post at Daulat Beg Olde, about 18 km from the Karakoram pass, in the fourth week of August and managed to reach the summit on last Monday.

Quoting latest wireless message received, Mr Singh said the ITBP expedition team members were returning to their base.