J A M M U   &   K A S H M I R

Involve J&K people to settle issue: APHC
Srinagar, July 23
The Executive Committee of the All-Party Hurriyat Conference said today that a lasting resolution of the Kashmir issue was possible only through the participation of the people of Jammu and Kashmir.

Advani must quit, say Sikh leaders
Jammu, July 23
Various Sikh organisations, condemning the massacres in Kishtwar and Sheshnag, have demanded resignation of Home Minister L.K. Advani on the plea that he had failed to provide adequate security in villages inhabited by minorities. At an emergency meeting held here today under the chairmanship of Mr Mohinder Singh, chief organiser Bhai Kanahiya Jee Nishkam Seva Society, the Sikh leaders expressed shock over the killings and accused Pakistan President General Musharraf of instigating militants.

CRPF ‘involved’ in Seshnag killings
Srinagar, July 23
The president of the Jammu and Kashmir Democratic Freedom Party, Mr Shabir Ahmad Shah, today alleged involvement of CRPF personnel in killing of 13 persons, including six Amarnath pilgrims, in Seshnag on Saturday and demanded an inquiry into the incident. Mr Shah said that eyewitnesses at Chandanwari told him that “the CRPF was directly involved in the incident.”

Involve J&K people to settle issue: APHC

Srinagar, July 23
The Executive Committee of the All-Party Hurriyat Conference (APHC) said today that a lasting resolution of the Kashmir issue was possible only through the participation of the people of Jammu and Kashmir.

“Any dialogue or summit between the two countries will not yield any result until the people of the state are actively involved in it,’’ the APHC committee, which met here today after the Agra summit said.

A spokesperson of the APHC said the Executive Council stressed the need for a peaceful settlement of the issue.

He said the committee members expressed satisfaction over Pakistan President Pervez Musharraf’s meeting with the Hurriyat leaders before the summit talks.

“The way President Musharraf took the Kashmir issue was a realistic step because it truly represented the aspirations of the people of Jammu and Kashmir,’’ the spokesperson said.

The Executive Committee, the highest decision-making body of the APHC, said the confidence building measures announced by India would be of no use until the core, Kashmir, was resolved.

It said inviting General Musharraf for the summit was a realistic step taken by Prime Minister Atal Behari Vajpayee.

About the massacre of 15 persons at Kishtwar yesterday, the spokesperson said the conglomerate condemned the act which was a deliberate attempt to derail the peace process so that Kashmir issue could not be resolved.

However, he said this would not be allowed to happen and the APHC would foil all such attempts.

The spokesperson said all Executive Council members, except the Jammu and Kashmir Liberation Front (JKLF) representative, attended the meeting. “The JKLF representative could not attend the meeting probably because of some personal reasons,’’ the spokesperson said.

Sharp differences had surfaced within the 23-party alliance when JKLF chairman Mohammad Yaseen Malik refused to attend the high tea hosted by Pakistan High Commissioner Ashraf Jehangir Qazi in honour of General Musharraf. UNI

Advani must quit, say Sikh leaders
Tribune News Service

Jammu, July 23
Various Sikh organisations, condemning the massacres in Kishtwar and Sheshnag, have demanded resignation of Home Minister L.K. Advani on the plea that he had failed to provide adequate security in villages inhabited by minorities. At an emergency meeting held here today under the chairmanship of Mr Mohinder Singh, chief organiser Bhai Kanahiya Jee Nishkam Seva Society, the Sikh leaders expressed shock over the killings and accused Pakistan President General Musharraf of instigating militants.

The leaders said it was after General Musharraf’s open support to the militants that the level of violence in the state had increased. They also berated the state government for laxity in providing security to the people belonging to the minority community.

Senior Congress leader Raman Bhalla held both the state and the Central governments responsible for the rise in violence and demanded that either the security system be fully revamped or the Home Minister and the state government resign, owning moral responsibility for the carnages.

The BJP President, Mr D.K. Kotwal, also condemned the killings and demanded deployment of additional forces in Doda district and equipping VDC members with sophisticated weapons.

CRPF ‘involved’ in Seshnag killings

Srinagar, July 23
The president of the Jammu and Kashmir Democratic Freedom Party (JKDFP), Mr Shabir Ahmad Shah, today alleged involvement of CRPF personnel in killing of 13 persons, including six Amarnath pilgrims, in Seshnag on Saturday and demanded an inquiry into the incident.

Mr Shah said the attack was an attempt to “derail the process of resolution of Kashmir issue”.

Yatra suspended along Baltal route

Srinagar, July 23
Several hundred Amarnath pilgrims were stranded today as the shortest route to the cave shrine, the Baltal route, was closed as a precautionary measure following heavy rain even as the pilgrimage progressed smoothly along the Pahalgam route, an official spokesman said here today.

Several hundred pilgrims were stranded near the Baltal base camp in south-east Kashmir, 96 km from here, as heavy rain in the area rendered the route “dangerously slippery”, the spokesman added.

The stranded pilgrims would be allowed to proceed towards the cave shrine through the Baltal route when weather improves.

The spokesman said another batch of 1,445 pilgrims left from Jammu this morning for Amarnath shrine in 71 vehicles.

Officials attributed the decline in number of pilgrims to recent militant attacks at Sheshnag in Anantnag district and Cherji and Tagdoot villages in Doda district during past two days.

Meanwhile, the body of the sixth pilgrim killed in the militant attack on Saturday morning has been identified. The bodies of three women pilgrims have been sent to Delhi by air today, the spokesman said. PTI