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Thursday,
September 6, 2001, Chandigarh, India  
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Does
Al-Jabar really exist? 8
militants killed
SSC
‘unfair’ to selected Sikh candidates |
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Does
Al-Jabar
really exist? Jammu, September 5 These questions have defied a direct answer and no Central or state government agency has been able to unravel the mystery shrouding Al-Jabar, which has further deepened during the past three weeks. It
all started when acid was thrown on two girls near the Khankah Chowk.
Those who threw the acid were on foot. Till this day no government
agency has been able to identify the acid throwers. As threats of
action against those who violated the dress code increased more and
more women started hiding their faces behind the ‘burqas’. This
generated sharp reaction. All Executive Committee members of the
All-Party Hurriyat Conference (APHC), including its Chairman, Prof
Abdul Gani Bhat, Mr Abdul Gani Lone, Molvi Umar Farooq and Mr Syed Ali
Shah Geelani, have opposed coercion, acid throwing and other threats
for enforcing the dress code. Under the new dress code married women
are to wear a ‘burqa’ and unmarried “Hijab” and they have to
cover their heads and faces, except the eyes, with ‘dupatta’. Hitherto,
only the Dukhtarani Milat, led by Ayesha Andrabi, has supported
coercion to enforce the dress code. Those critical of the Dukhtarani
Milat have stated that since the organisation’s boat was sinking its
leadership tried to cash on the dress code call to register its
presence and strength. What has deepened the mystery is that several
militant outfits, had dissociated themselves from Al-Jabar’s call.
Hizbul Mujahideen leadership has said that it has “nothing to do
with the enforcement of the dress code.” Those including some
government agencies, who have been dubbing Al-Jabar a wing of
Lashkar-i-Toiba (Army of the Faithfuls) were strongly countered by its
leadership denying its links with Al-Jabar. As resentment from
majority of women against the forcible acceptance of the dress code
surfaced separatists started blaming the government agencies for
patronising Al-Jabar, a hitherto non-existent outfit, to “malign”
the name of the “Jehadis.” The government said militant outfits
compete with one another when the question of claiming responsibility
of an armed strike against the security forces was concerned. These
outfits remain silent and none comes forward to own the responsibility
of a massacre of innocent civilians. Since the issuance of the dress code evoked sharp reaction in both the men and the women circles militant outfits started passing on the responsibility from one head to the other. One report said the acid throwing incident had been the brain child of some auto drivers whose advances had been resented by the two girls. The report said the police had taken into custody some youths but till date it had failed to come out with the truth behind the existence of Al-Jabar. A couple of government agencies are looking into unconfirmed reports that some cloth merchants, who had not been able to sell black cloth, were behind the dress code call. Those who hold this view say that during the past over one month some cloth merchants might have sold black cloth worth over Rs 20 lakh. This has increased the rush in front of the tailors. A section of Kashmiris had started blaming Al-Umar, a rebel outfit, for patronising Al-Jabar but this theory did not work because Molvi Umar Farooq, opposed the enforcement of the dress code. At one stage his followers used to support Al-Umar. However, the overall view is that whichever outfit has issued the dress code order to observe the dress code, its main aim is Talibanistation of Kashmir. And the criticism of the threats issued by the so-called Al-Jabar, to those who did not follow the dress code, by several separatist leaders and militant outfits indicates that majority of the people in the Kashmir valley are not in its favour. The
scare may gradually get diluted but the government agencies need to
get the matter of the existence of the Al-Jabar probed so that people
could know which agencies or separatist outfits are behind it. |
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8 militants killed Srinagar, September 5 A Defence Ministry spokesman said the Army and the BSF, on a tip off, cordoned off Sonabrari Magam village in South Kashmir district of Anantnag early this morning to nab militants and their sympathisers. He said as the forces were sealing the village, militants hiding there opened fire which was retaliated. Six insurgents belonging to the Hizbul Mujahideen were killed and four AK rifles were recovered so far from the slain militants, he said, adding that the operation was still going on when reports last came in. The forces did not suffer any casualty, he added. The spokesman said security forces shot dead a militant of Pakistan-based Lashker-e-Toiba at Dardpora in the frontier district of Kupwara. One AK rifle, four magazines, two hand grenades, one grenade launcher with six grenades and 148 rounds were recovered from near the site of the encounter. In other incidents, an encounter ensued between militants and security forces at Sona Pindi in Kupwara in which an unidentified militant was killed. One AK rifle, two magazines and 18 rounds were recovered from the slain militant. Militants gunned down one Sameer Ahmad at Adipora Sopore while one Mohammad Maqbool Ganai was shot at and critically wounded at Tappar Pattan last night. Security forces arrested a militant along with 200 grams of explosives, one detonator, two grenades, seven metre of Cordex wire and incriminating documents at Dever Lolab last night.
UNI |
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SSC ‘unfair’ to selected Sikh
candidates Jammu, September 5 At a meeting held here today under the presidentship of Mr Mohinder Singh, chief organiser, Bhai Kanahiya Nishkam Sewa Society, leaders of several Sikh organisations, including those belonging to the Shiromani Akali Dal, the AISSF and the State Akali Dal, expressed “deep dismay” over the commission’s alleged “discriminatory treatment meted out to the Sikh youths. The leaders said most of the Sikh youths had been given a choice of getting inducted in the Delhi police, the CBI, sales
tax and customs and excise departments, but instead all selected youths have been sent to the paramilitary forces. These leaders requested Mr Advani to intervene and order a probe into the circumstances that led the commission to dishonour the choice of the Sikh candidates. |
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