The Tribune, Chandigarh, India

	No peace in vacuum: APHC Hizbul, Lashkar too reject talks offer Tribune News Service Srinagar, April 6 Prominent Kashmiri groups like the Hurriyat Conference and the Hizbul Majahideen today rejected the Centre’s proposal for talks with Kashmiri groups and APHC and militant organisations. A meeting of the Hurriyat Conference executive is expected within the next few days here to deliberate on the offer. However, APHC leaders have stressed on the need for permission to its five-member team to visit Pakistan before initiating talks. Talking to TNS, the APHC Chairman, Prof Abdul Ghani Bhat, said today that nomination of a chief negotiator would “not lead to a purposeful dialogue to resolve the Kashmir issue”. Only determination, wisdom and pragmatism will lead to some breakthrough. “Peace cannot happen in a vacuum”. Mr Bhat reiterated the APHC demand for tripartite talks to end the Kashmir imbroglio. On the planned Pakistan visit by the Hurriyat delegation earlier scheduled for January 15, the APHC Chairman said the visit was scuttled by the Prime Minister, Mr Atal Behari Vajpayee. No reason was given for not providing travel documents to its five-member team, he said. “We had proposed to visit Pakistan, get back and talk to the Indian Government. That did not happen for reasons which hardly need any reference,” Mr Bhat was quoted by a daily here as saying. Former APHC Chairman Mirwaiz Umar Farooq claimed that there was no concrete initiative in the talks offer. More clarification was needed on the offer as the terms for any “possible engagements” were “very vague.” Three top executive members out of seven — Mr Mohammad Yasin Malik, Syed Ali Shah Geelani and Mr Abdul Ghani Lone — are at present outside the valley. The Hizbul Mujahideen and the Pakistan-based Lashkar-e-Toiba have rejected the offer for talks. A Lashkar-e-Toiba spokesman said that “India just wants to take pressure of its security forces but it won’t succeed in this.” In a faxed statement to some of the local dailies here last evening, the spokesman said the “sacrifices (80,000) that have been made are not for talks but for complete independence from India.” According to a Hizbul spokesman, any dialogue without Pakistan would be futile. “We have categorically told New Delhi that only tripartite talks can lead to a solution of the problem”, the spokesman said.
	Govt offer puts Hurriyat in quandary Prashant Sood Tribune News Service New Delhi, April 6 Hurriyat Conference chairman Abdul Ghani Bhat today said that India was honour-bound to send its delegation to Pakistan. Cautiously reacting to yesterday’s announcement by the government regarding broad-based talks with various groups in Jammu and Kashmir, the APHC chairman said that he was “neither accepting nor rejecting” the government offer. Asserting that the Hurriyat had not relented on its demand for going to Pakistan to further the peace process, Mr Bhat said that it was a commitment made by Prime Minister Atal Behari Vajpayee. Referring to the statement of Mr Vajpayee, Mr Bhat said the Prime Minister had indicated in January this year that the ministry concerned was looking into the issue of passports and there would be no delay in the matter. Asked about the government making the dialogue process broad-based, Mr Bhat said talks with various groups would go on for years and the end result may be nothing. “The government has chosen to talk to a crowd,” Mr Bhat told TNS. Indicating that the Hurriyat would be guided by “the realities,” he said the APHC was keen on solving the dispute. Mr Bhat said that the Hurriyat had reacted positively to the Prime Minister’s peace initiative but things had not moved at the desired pace since then. The formal Hurriyat response to the government’s offer would be decided at its executive committee meeting to be held next week. Observers here say that the government offer has put the Hurriyat in a dilemma with the leadership of the 23-party conglomerate aware of the diplomatic fallout of any direct rejection of the government’s announcement of carrying the peace process forward. Expressing their reservations about the government offer, the Hurriyat leaders were categoric today to say that they had not rejected it. However, the Hurriyat is in a quandary over the government’s offer to not restrict the talks to one orgainsition, but involve not only the Jammu and Kashmir Government but also representatives of all political parties, trade unions, religious bodies and Kashmiri organisations currently engaged in militancy but desirous of peace.
	Seven killed in valley Tribune News Service and PTI Srinagar, April 6 Seven persons, including three ultras and a village defence committee (VDC) member, were killed and four wounded in separate incidents in Jammu and Kashmir, where the police used force to disperse an agitated group of people at several places in Srinagar today. Security forces busted two militant hideouts and recovered a big cache of arms and ammunition, while unidentified gunmen looted over Rs 1 lakh from a government teacher in the state during the period, an official spokesman said here today. Three militants were killed and a major haul of arms was unearthed by the security forces during raids on militant hideouts at Bata-Dodian, Panjni-Balakote and Kanari-Sawjian in Rajouri district of the Jammu region last night, the spokesman said. He said militants shot dead a village defence committee member, Abdul Rashid, at Neosi Mahore village in Udhampur district last night and took away a wireless set and a .33 rifle from him. Before fleeing, the militants also kidnapped two persons, Bahardin and Mohammad Afzal. However, Bahardin managed to escape from the clutches of his abductors and informed the police which immediately rushed to the scene which led to an encounter between the militants and the police in which four persons, including a woman, were injured, the spokesman said. Meanwhile, protest demonstrations were held at Narabal, near here, against the alleged custodial killing of an auto-rickshaw driver. A police spokesman said here this evening that 15 persons were injured when unidentified militants hurled a grenade towards a security force vehicle at Bandipore in Baramula district. The grenade missed the intended target and exploded on the road at 11.30 a.m. today. Three persons were given medical aid at Bandipore while 12 others had been admitted to various hospitals here. A large number of residents of Narabal locality, about 20 km north of here in Baramula district, held protest demonstrations against the alleged custodial killing of an autorickshaw driver. The police said Mohammad Ismail Wani, the autorickshaw driver, was killed in a crossfire between the militants and the security forces at about 8.45 p.m. yesterday. The encounter ensued when militants fired upon a patrol party of the security forces at Gagarpora, Narabal, the police spokesman said. The residents, however, contested the official claim. Unidentified militants shot dead Nazir Ahmad Dar of Zainkote village in Baramula district at Rezwan village, Beerwah. The police recovered the bullet-ridden body of Afaqul Rashid of Beijbehara from Kokernag in Anantnag district. The deceased was running a medical shop in the area, the police said, adding that investigations into the killing were on. The security forces recovered three AK rifles, three magazines and 90 rounds from a hideout at Nawathoo in Anantnag district.
	Army chief allays CM’s fear Tribune News Service Jammu, April 6 The Army chief, Gen S.Padmanabhan, is said to have conveyed to the Chief Minister, Dr Farooq Abdullah, that a recent advertisement inviting only Sikhs and Hindus to an Army recruitment rally, to be held in Akhnoor on April 21, was without any malafide intentions against Muslims. The Army chief was responding to the Chief Minister’s query regarding the advertisement in which it had been specifically mentioned that for Muslims and tradesmen there was no vacancy. General Padmanabhan immediately took action and wanted a detailed report from the Army recruitment authorities and the Northern Command. The Army chief was informed that the recruitment was based on categorywise vacancies and there was no room for any bias against any community. The recruitment authorities informed General Padmanabhan that in the recruitment rally hold in Rajouri and Samba in November, the entire quota for Muslims had been filled. During these rallies not a single Sikh or Hindu candidate had been recruited in the Army. He was told that the vacancies had to be filled in the Dogra Regiment and the Sikh Light Infantry Unit and the quota for Sikhs and Hindus had to be filled. The authorities connected with the Army recruitment have made it clear that the recruitment policy usually “is candidate-friendly” and “we did not want to cause inconvenience to Muslims coming from far off places to reach Akhnoor to be told that there is no vacancy for them.” They also explained that by keeping tradesmen out of the recruitment, they meant that there was no vacancy for those who have come out from the ITIs because for them there is a separate recruitment. The Army chief is said to have informed Dr Abdullah that the fears expressed by members in the state Assembly regarding recruitment on communal grounds were unfounded because the recruitment in the Army was based on intake from all categories and states so that “equal opportunities are provided to one and all.” Since the quota for Sikh and Hindu candidates had not been filled in the last two recruitment rallies, they had to be accommodated in the Akhnoor rally and hence there was no room for misgivings when the Jammu Kashmir Light Infantry had a sizeable number of Muslim soldiers and officers.