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| Tuesday, February 13, 2001, Chandigarh, India   
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Sikhs caught in cleft situation NCM asks Muslims to protect Sikhs Jammu bandh: 22 ABVP men
held 4 militants shot in
encounter Militants should reciprocate:
Saxena |
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Firing victim’s kin
complain to NHRC Dukhtaran seeks
Musharraf’s sack 2 killed in clash over land dispute Body of Indian handed over
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Sikhs caught in cleft situation NEW DELHI, Feb 12 — The demoralised Sikh community in Jammu and Kashmir is caught in a cleft situation whether to stick to its decision to migrate or give the Farooq Abdullah government some more time. Leaders of the Sikh community had categorically told the high-powered Central team headed by Union Defence Minister George Fernandes in Srinagar yesterday that they “have decided to migrate.” They said their decision had been reinforced by the deteriorating law and order situation, as the minorities were being targeted by militants. They have no confidence in the state government that it would provide them with adequate security. They said if the police was unable to defend its own stations, how would it protect the Sikhs in more than 130 villages in the valley. “The Sikh community has genuine fears and apprehensions since the Chattisinghpora bloodbath in March last year which needs to be allayed by the state government and the majority community,” observed a member of the Central team, who did not want to be identified. He acknowledged that none of the members of the Sikh community who spoke to Mr Fernandes and other members of the delegation favoured remaining in the valley. Mr Fernandes was specially deputed by Prime Minister Atal Behari Vajpayee to address the concerns of the Sikh community expeditiously, besides beefing up security for them. Mr Fernandes, Union Chemicals and Fertilisers Minister Sukhdev Singh Dhindsa, SGPC chief Jagdev Singh Talwandi, Akali Dal leader Gurcharan Singh Tohra and National Commission for Minorities Vice-Chairman Tarlochan Singh urged the Sikh congregation not to take a decision in haste. However, if they had made up their mind and were unwilling to reconsider their decision, they would not like to come in their way, they said. The team told Hurriyat leaders that it was the duty of the majority community to maintain the country’s secular fabric by infusing confidence and a sense of belonging in the minorities rather than being bystanders when a reign of terror was let loose against them. On his part, Mr Fernandes took copious notes of the immediate demands of the Sikhs and assured them that the Centre would do everything to protect their interests though he could not guarantee “foolproof security” as law and order was a state subject. At the same time, he counselled them to wait for sometime. The Hurriyat leaders said they would not allow the Sikh community to migrate and that it was their duty to see that they were provided with adequate security. The leaders of the Sikh community were, however, critical of the Hurriyat leaders, saying that so far they had not come to their aid. The Sikhs will hold discussions over the next 72 hours before reaching a decision. By that time, the government could draw a satisfactory action plan. |
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NCM asks Muslims to protect Sikhs NEW DELHI, Feb 12 — Departing from his earlier position, the National Commission for Minorities (NCM) has put onus for the protection of Sikhs in the Kashmir valley on the Muslims, saying that the latter should ensure that Sikhs should not migrate from there. The NCM stand was also backed up by Shiromani Gurdwara Parbandhak Committee (SGPC) President Jagdev Singh Talwandi and dissident Akali leader Gurcharan Singh Tohra at bhog ceremony of six slain Sikhs in Srinagar
yesterday, NCM Vice-Chairman Trilochan Singh said today. “I put this proposition before the Hurriyat leaders who were present in the Sikh congregation at Srinagar and Defence Minister George Fernandes and Chemicals and Fertilizers Minister S.S. Dhindsa”, Mr Trilochan Singh said. Earlier, the Vice-Chairman of the commission had asked the Centre to provide security umbrella to the Sikhs in the Kashmir valley to prevent their migration after a series of attacks on them. He had also proposed to settle Sikh families in groups as it would then be easier for the government to provide them security. The Sikhs numbering nearly 60,000 are spread over 167 villages besides Srinagar and other small towns of the Kashmir valley. Mr Trilochan Singh claimed that the Central team led by Mr Fernandes had a soothing effect on the Sikhs who were much terrified after the Srinagar killings on February 2. The Vice-Chairman’s call to Hurriyat leaders to approach the Sikh families in remote villages with the assurance that their life and property would be taken care of has been supported by Akali leaders. Mr Tohra said as a minority, the Muslims could better realise the fear psychosis which the other minority (Sikhs) might be suffering from in the valley. “Protection of the Sikh minority was in the interest of the bigger minority,” he said.
Jammu bandh:
22 ABVP men held JAMMU,
Feb 12 — Twentytwo activists of the Akhil Bharatiya Vidharthi Parishad (ABVP) were arrested from different parts of the city during the Jammu bandh, while the indefinite curfew imposed in Udhampur town continued for the fourth consecutive day today, the police said. The activists were arrested for blocking traffic on the road crossings by burning tyres, a police spokesman said. Later, the police cleared the blockade and traffic on Jammu-Srinagar highway and other inter-state roads was plying normally. A bandh was observed today in Jammu city and Poonch town on the call given by the abvp and Jammu and Kashmir Nationalist Front
(JKNF) on separate issues. While the abvp is demanding cancellation of alleged illegal admissions of unrecognised Prime Medical College of Srinagar in two government colleges and the restoration of uninterrupted power supply,
JKNF favours separate statehood for Jammu. Curfew was clamped in Udhampur after protesters went on the rampage following the abduction of a minor girl of a particular community by a youth of another community. The curfew continued for the fourth day on Monday. However, the district administration relaxed the curfew for four hours from 1 p.m. to 5 p.m. During the relaxation period residents held a massive rally and demonstration at Indira Chowk. The protesters turned violent at few places and pelted stones at cops. The cops too retaliated and fired tear gas shell to disperse the mob. The irate mob later burnt a house. Mr RV Raju, IGP, Jammu zone, visited Udhampur and held a meeting with district official.
4 militants shot in
encounter JAMMU,
Feb 12 — Four militants were killed by the Army in the Khantar Gali area of Poonch district while a large quantity of arms and ammunition was seized. According to defence sources militants fired at a patrol party of the Army and in the exchange of fire four militants were killed while the encounter was still going on according to initial reports. The militants are suspected to be of Lashkar-e-Toiba Tanzeem. The arms and ammunition recovered from the site of the encounter included four AK-47 rifles, 13 magazines, 394 cartridges, 11 hand grenades and two radio sets. Meanwhile an IED blast took place in the wee hours today on the Jammu-Srinagar highway at Ratan pass near an electric tower. The tower was partially damaged. One more unexploded IED was found with the help of sniffer dogs on the highway. In Srinagar eight persons, including three policemen, were injured when militants blasted a CRPF vehicle by detonating a grenade in Pulwama town of south Kashmir today, an official spokesman said. Unidentified militants lobbed a grenade towards a CRPF vehicle near Pulwama bus stand, 32 km from here, wounding three jawans and five pedestrians, he said. Panic gripped the city after the blast and shopkeepers downed the shutters. The security forces cordoned off the area and search operations were on to nab the militants, he added. Meanwhile a group of 10 youths which was being taken to the occupied Kashmir for training in subversive activities was taken into custody by the BSF. A BSF patrol party noticed a group of 10 in the woods of Kupwara last evening and when asked to surrender they gave themselves up, an official spokesman said. Later, the boys said that they were being taken to the occupied Kashmir for arms training. This was the first major exfiltration attempt after Centre’s unilateral ceasefire and the Pakistan Government’s decision to exercise maximum restraint on the border. |
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Militants should reciprocate:
Saxena JAMMU,
Feb 12 — The Jammu and Kashmir Governor, Mr Girish Chander Saxena today said the Prime Minister’s peace initiative in the state would bear fruit only if the militants and their mentors give a matching response. Addressing the joint session of the Jammu and Kashmir Legislature, the Governor welcomed the spirit behind the peace initiative, saying that “in the ultimate analysis,
violence and counter-violence have proved to be utterly futile”. He said his government firmly believed that for these initiatives to bear fruit the ‘other side’ and their mentors had to have the spirit of amity. The Governor in his 40-minute address referred to the barbaric killings of innocent Sikhs in Srinagar and said it had saddened every heart. The government was committed to safeguarding the lives and properties of the people, in particular the minorities, wherever they may be residing, he said. He added that notwithstanding the attempts to communalise this tragedy his government was fully aware that the people of the state were with their Sikh brothers and sisters in their moment of intense grief. He said his government was of the firm belief that the fissiparous designs actuating this carnage would soon be evident to everyone and would thus be a dismal failure. Referring to the trial and tribulations the people faced from the “chronic malady of foreign-inspired and foreign-funded militancy, the Governor said “the inimical and irresponsible foreign neighbour continued to stoke the embers of a lingering proxy war”. Saying that the involvement of misguided youth was showing a downward trend, he asserted the foreign mercenaries comprising hirelings and zealots were sustaining it. Giving facts and figures, he said these brigands killed 762 civilians, 35 of them political activists, during last year. Mr Saxena said “notwithstanding the loss of life of this magnitude the commitment of the government to preserve relentlessly in its effort to quell this menace continued and shall be pursued with equal determination in future”. He said it was a matter of pride for his government that even its most trenchant critics had not called in question its resolve to uphold the rule of law and deal with the cult of violence most energetically. Ascertaining that the situation had improved in the state as compared to the previous year, the Governor said one indicator was an appreciable decline in the death of civilians. Paying tributes to the gallant members of the state police and the central forces for their supreme sacrifices, he said that 86 Jammu and Kashmir police personnel and 315 other members of the security forces laid their lives in fighting militancy. As many as 15 VDC members too laid their lives. The forces has killed 1520 hardcore militants. The Governor called on the members of the legislature to eschew narrow political and parochial interests and work for a united and prosperous state for the larger good of the people. Announcing the elections to co-operative institutions, the Governor said the government had drawn up a concrete action plan for holding elections to co-operative societies and federations by May this year. This, together with the revivification of panchayats, should make villages the hub of economically productive activities. The Governor in his 24-page address touched on various efforts made by the government to mop up resources, expedite the pace of development and mitigate the hardships of the people in the militancy-torn state. The government had prudently managed the finances of the state, which had led to significant alleviation of the fiscal situation. He said there was not even a single instance of refusal to honour a claim due to non-availability of funds. Instead, the past liabilities on account of procurement of food-grains in purchase of electricity before 1997 were partially honoured. The government effectively demolished the canard about the bankruptcy of the state exchequer and despite the continued resource crunch the management of finances was arguably the best among all special category states, he added. He acknowledged that award of the Eleventh Finance Commission played an important role in this partial fiscal recovery as it included a liberal assessment of the revenue gap filling grant under the Constitution of India. He said this liberal dispensation was, however, diluted with 50 per cent reduction in our share of taxes from the devisable pool. A supplementary report of the commission authorising the central government to withhold 15 per cent of the grants amounting to Rs 300 crore and making the release of such grants contingent on our performance in the field of fiscal reforms was likely to further dissipate the open-handedness of the commission. He said while we fully subscribed to the need and indeed inevitability of fiscal reform this could not be achieved overnight. There had to be a long-term perspective within which annual action plans could be mutually agreed on. Seeking reconsideration of this issue by the Centre, the Governor said the state government had already signed an MoU binding itself to conform to the stipulated parameters of the fiscal performance. He said the state government had almost wholly kept its side of the bargain in the MoU. Highlighting the achievements of the government, he said the Finance and Planning Commissions had favourably noticed the record increase in tax collection. These along with the austerity measures had helped in arresting the growth of non-development expenditure. The budgetary support to PSUs was being tapered off. He said with increased public awareness about the urgent need to augment the state’s finances as a necessary precondition for improving the quality of life there would be a steady improvement in tax and revenue collection. The Governor said given the overall constraints of resources, a wide spread drought-like situation and girm power scenario, the performance of the economy could not be said to be particularly disappointing. The per capita growth rates were respectively 1.89 per cent and 7.26 per cent at constant and current prices. On the price front the general rise in index was a modest 19 points or around 3.8 per cent.
Firing victim’s kin complain to NHRC NEW DELHI, Feb 12 — A Sikh who was killed in a police firing in Jammu last week was not among the protesters, claims a complaint filed by his family before the National Human Rights Commission (NHRC). The family members told the
NHRC delegation when they visited the state last week maintaining that the deceased was not among the protesters and was going to market,
NHRC sources told PTI. “The commission is considering the plea made by the wife and family members of the deceased to look into the matter,” sources said. According to officials, one person was killed in the police firing and over 50, including 30 policemen, were injured when demonstrators, protesting the killing of six Sikhs in Srinagar on February 3, took to the streets defying curfew and clashing with the police in the city. The
NHRC delegation, headed by its Chairman J S Verma, visited Jammu from February 8 and discussed the long-standing issues with state government officials and also reviewed the present situation in the state in the wake of the killings.
— PTI
Dukhtaran seeks
Musharraf’s sack SRINAGAR, Feb 12 — Radical pro-Pakistan Kashmiri women’s organisation Dukhtaran has sought the removal of Gen Pervez Musharraf regime in the country. Describing Pakistan’s Chief Executive General Pervez Musharraf a “mulhid” (infidel), a statement of Dukhtaran released after the meeting of the “majlis-e-shoora” (highest decision taking body of the organisation) said “Musharraf was involved in a sell-out deal over Kashmir and hence need to be removed from the office”. The statement which appeared in a local newspaper today castigated Musharraf for declaring the Kashmir issue an indigenous one. “By making such a declaration Musharraf has deviated from the considered position of Pakistan,” the statement said.
— PTI |
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2 killed in clash over land dispute JAMMU, Feb 12 — Two persons were killed and nine injured a clash between the two groups over a land dispute at Deoli village, on the Bishnah-Bari-Brahmna road near Jammu this morning. The police has arrested the assailant and three others. A group of people were leveling a piece of land for raising a structure when another group of people led by Chain Singh came at the site around 10 a.m. and started claiming ownership of that piece of land. This led to a scuffle after which Chain Singh opened fire killing two persons on the spot and injuring six others. In retaliation, the rival group attacked the house of Chain Singh and set its three rooms on fire. In this incident two sons and a
daughter-in-law of Chain Singh were injured. All injured have been brought to Jammu for treatment. Senior police officials reached the spot with reinforcements.
— UNI
SRINAGAR, Feb 12 — Pakistan today handed over the body of an Indian who had gone missing on December 24 last year to the Army at Teetwal sector of north Kashmir. This is for the first time in 10 years that the body of an Indian has been handed over by the Pakistani army. The body of Mohammad Maqbool, a resident of Khurana Karnah in Kupwara district, was fished out from Kishan Ganga river in the occupied Kashmir, official sources stated.
— UNI |
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