J A M M U   &   K A S H M I R

Omar being groomed for J-K regime?
Jammu, June 11
The way Mr Omar Abdullah son of Dr Farooq Abdullah, has been running the National Conference show in the Kashmir valley in the absence of his father who is in London on a month’s trip indicates that the young Abdullah is being projected as the party’s vote catcher in the next Assembly poll.

Kargil residents feel ‘betrayed’
Kargil, June 11
Two years after the Pakistani invasion of Kargil heights, tourist inflow in the district has not shown any significant increase because of lack of adequate infrastructure facilities including non-completion of the airport.

Indian Border Security Force troopers patrol on the banks of the popular tourist destination, the Dal lake, in Srinagar on Sunday. The BSF said that the security vigil in and around the city has been intensified after a surge in violence in the state. — Reuters

Onus of solution on India, says League chief
Srinagar, June 11
Mohammad Farooq Rahmani, chairman of the separatist Peoples League, presently in Pakistan, has said the onus of solution to the Kashmir issue lies on India when Pakistan Chief Executive Gen Pervez Musharraf visits India next month.

Morcha: Jammu may go Kashmir way
Jammu, June 11
The Jammu Mukti Morcha has toughened its stand on the need for trifurcating Jammu and Kashmir. A spokesman of the morcha said here today that if the state was not trifurcated, Jammu would go the Kashmir way.

Omar being groomed for J-K regime ?
M. L. Kak
Tribune News Service

Jammu, June 11
The way Mr Omar Abdullah son of Dr Farooq Abdullah, has been running the National Conference show in the Kashmir valley in the absence of his father who is in London on a month’s trip indicates that the young Abdullah is being projected as the party’s vote catcher in the next Assembly poll.

Not only this, Mr Omar Abdullah is trying to get himself acquainted with the people in the valley. It is in this connection that Omar who is also the Union Minister of State of Commerce has been camping in Srinagar for the past three weeks, moving from one area to the other. He has visited various belts in Kupwara, Karna, Baramula and Ganderbal, which is his father’s Assembly constituency.

Government agencies have designed his tour in such a way that he inaugurates some development project or lays the foundation stone of some public utility scheme. He has inaugurated number of drinking water supply projects and vital bridges in far-flung areas. This has seemingly endeared him with the people.

Mr Omar Abdullah moves with a fresh face and people, especially women and youth, are keen to see him and listen to him. Except for Ganderbal, he attracted sizeable crowds to his rallies and other functions.

In Ganderbal, the junior Abdullah could not draw a big crowd. The reason being threat perception. People, according to the National Conference sources, were keen to see the new face, but they felt scared that after the party functions was over, militants may attack.

It was the Works Minister, Mr Ali Mohd Sagar, who first took Mr Omar Abdullah round the valley. When other ministers saw Mr Sagar getting nearer to the seat of power, they too jumped into the fray. Even the seniormost National Conference leader, Mr Ghulam Mohiuddin Shah, Housing Minister, joined Omar at a couple of public functions despite the fact that Mr Shah’s knee trouble does not allow him to undertake long tours.

National Conference sources said that Dr Abdullah plans to groom his son as his successor. Omar has done well in the Centre as Minister of State for Commerce and the Prime Minister, Mr Atal Behari Vajpayee, is said to have liked his style of functioning. Mr Vajpayee has taken him on trips to several states and some foreign countries.

Party sources said that Dr Abdullah is satisfied with the performance of his son as the Youth National Conference leader and Union Minister of State. The father feels that his son has gained sufficient experience to shoulder bigger responsibility in Jammu and Kashmir.

As the impression went round in Kashmir that Omar Abdullah was being inducted in the state politics, senior ministers and party legislators, besides bureaucrats, have been at his beck and call.

Mr Omar Abdullah does not want to function as a party leader under the shade of his father. Hence it is in the absence of Dr Abdullah that Omar has been asked to experiment with the mass contact programme. Despite the unhealthy security scenario, the young Abdullah has been trying to revive the National Conference in remote areas of the valley, the task which ministers and the legislators have not been able to perform.

In case the Chief Minister is reluctant to contest the next Assembly poll, Mr Omar Abdullah may be fielded from Ganderbal.

Party sources, however, made it clear that Dr Abdullah has no plan to hang his boots. He would prefer that Omar works as minister under his stewardship so that he (Omar) can learn the tricks of the trade.

Kargil residents feel ‘betrayed’

Kargil, June 11
Two years after the Pakistani invasion of Kargil heights, tourist inflow in the district has not shown any significant increase because of lack of adequate infrastructure facilities including non-completion of the airport.

“Despite several promises of making Kargil a tourist spot, the state government has done nothing in this direction”, says Haji Ghulam Hassan, who owns a hotel in Kargil.

Hassan feels like a ‘betrayed’ man today as he contends that “no sincere efforts were made to boost tourism in this district”.

“After the intrusion bid of Pakistan was defeated, tall promises were made to organise several functions in this district besides making Tiger Hills, Drass, Batalik, Mushkoh Valley as tourist spots where tourists could go and see for themselves the saga of bravery of our soldiers”, says Fida, another hotel owner of the region adding “but nothing has been done”.

Another problem, which the tour operators highlight, is non-completion of the airport.

“The airport has been left unfinished at 6000 metres while the runway needed for a Boeing aircraft to land was 9000 metres. The infrastructure is available, but funds have not been allocated”, Sonam Namgiyal, president of Zanskar unit of Ladakh Buddhist Association, said.

Even tour operators have opined that non-completion of the airport had affected the tourism industry very badly and all petitions to the state and centre had fallen on deaf ears.

Several groups and individuals had also raised the issue with Centre’s interlocutor K.C. Pant during his visit to the district on May 31.

“Yes, people here have been stressing for completing the airport as they feel this would give fillip to the dying tourism industry in the district”, said Pant promising to look into it.

About the average inflow of tourists into the district, Hassan says, “if you are lucky, you can barely touch a three digit mark in a year”.

However, the woes of people do not end here only. The district is facing acute power shortage as the Iqbal Hydel Power Project has stopped generating power and proper drinking water facilities were yet to be provided by the state government.

“We are hoping that situation on these fronts would be solved within next two or three months”, Qamar Ali Akhoon, state minister, said.

However, all these tall promises by politicians have no takers in Kargil. “We hear all these things but when they return to Delhi, they forget whether Kargil district even exists in the country or not”, Hassan said. PTI

Onus of solution on India, says League chief

Srinagar, June 11
Mohammad Farooq Rahmani, chairman of the separatist Peoples League, presently in Pakistan, has said the onus of solution to the Kashmir issue lies on India when Pakistan Chief Executive Gen Pervez Musharraf visits India next month.

“The efforts to solve the Kashmir issue requires patience and compassion and the onus is on India when General Musharraf flies to Delhi for the highest-level talks amid a decade old turmoil and tension in Kashmir”, he said in a faxed statement. He said the determination demonstrated by people against Charar-e-Sharif killings during the last four days “proved the dimensions of the Kashmir conflict”.

In a statement, a spokesman for the Peoples League said Mr Rahmani had in a letter to Amnesty International and Human Rights Watch, London, urged them to take note of the latest Charar-e-Sharif killings and alleged custodial killings in Kashmir.

Expressing concern over the alleged excesses and atrocities committed by the security forces in the valley, particularly during the recent weeks, Mr Rahmani said efforts were being made to sabotage the forthcoming Indo-Pak talks. 

Morcha: Jammu may go Kashmir way
Tribune News Service

Jammu, June 11
The Jammu Mukti Morcha has toughened its stand on the need for trifurcating Jammu and Kashmir. A spokesman of the morcha said here today that if the state was not trifurcated, Jammu would go the Kashmir way.

The spokesman made it clear that demand for separate statehood for the Jammu region was not “communal in nature.” He said the demand for statehood was to liberate the region from the domination of valley-based politicians and bureaucrats. He criticised the regional autonomy and state autonomy committee reports and said the recommendations of these committees, if implemented, would lead to disintegration of the state and promote communal divide.

The morcha spokesman said these Kashmir-based leaders who demanded ‘azadi’ were against trifurcation. This clearly revealed that Kashmir leaders did not want to see Jammu become a full-fledged state. He said if Ladakh region was made a union territory and Jammu province was separated from the valley it could insulate both Ladakh and Jammu against the activities of militants.

However, the Democratic Freedom Party Chief, Mr Shabir Ahmed Shah, has vehemently opposed the demand for trifurcation of the state. He has said that people in all three regions should live together and any more partition is uncalled for. He has gone to the extent of saying that ‘azadi’ which promotes hardship for the people is not acceptable to him.

Even a section of the state unit of the BJP leaders have started supporting the demand for trifurcation. The RSS is already in favour of it. The National Conference and the Congress both have opposed the move on the plea that trifurcation will endanger unity in the state and weaken India’s case on Kashmir.

The proposed summit meeting between Mr Atal Behari Vajpayee and Gen Pervez Musharraf does not seem to have diluted the demand for statehood for Jammu.