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Thursday,
January 10, 2002, Chandigarh, India  
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Migrants Act: SC notice to Centre
CM assesses security scenario Ban hits PCO owners, public |
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BSF jawan hurt in Pak firing J&K to develop
4 model villages Fear of war triggers
outflow of cash from banks
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Migrants Act: SC notice to Centre New Delhi, January 9 A Bench comprising Justice G.B. Pattanaik and Justice RP Sethi also issued notice to these two on an application filed by the Panthers Party seeking stay on the operation of the Act. Panther’s Party chief Bhim Singh and another petitioner’s counsel Ranjit Kumar contended that the state’s move to implement the Act threatened the unity and integrity of the country as under this Act any person who had migrated to Pakistan after Partition could return to the state and settle here as a matter of his legal right. The Act, which has been in limbo since its enactment in 1982, has been the centre of controversy these days. “The implementation of the Act could bring more than 200,000 Pakistanis, including descendants of those who were born in Pakistan and many trained under the Taliban, with fraudulent certificates as descendants of any one can settle anywhere in India and the consequences are obvious,” it said. The Panthers Party said the state neither had the competence nor jurisdiction to legislate with respect to citizenship rights as it came under the sole jurisdiction of Parliament. Requesting the court to strike down the Act, the petitioner said it was in this regard that the President had referred the matter to the Supreme Court in 1982 to determine the legislative competence of the state to enact such a law. On the Act, the party said “thousands of infiltrators claiming to be Kashmiris’ had crossed to the Indian side of J&K in the past 13 years and caused death and destruction resulting in the killing of nearly 50,000 innocent people as well as the security forces. The Bill for the enactment of the controversial Act was returned to the Assembly in 1982 by the then Governor
B.K. Nehru citing inconsistencies. In September 1982, the then President Giani Zail Singh referred the Bill to the Supreme Court seeking an opinion about its constitutional validity.
PTI |
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CM assesses security scenario Jammu, January 9 The Defence Minister is scheduled to visit various forward areas for assess the defence preparedness. Defence Ministry sources said Pakistani troops resorted to heavy firing and shelling from across Poonch and used small arms to hit houses and Indian bunkers. However, there was no casuality on our side, according to the sources. They claimed that some Pakistani bunkers were destroyed in retaliatory firing. During his meeting with his Cabinet colleagues and senior government functionaries during the past two days, Dr Abdullah expressed concern over the activities of militants who had again started carrying out selective killings. He directed the police and the intelligence agencies to mobilise all resources at their command to contain the activities of the militants. Several political leaders have suggested to the Chief Minister to seek additional forces from the Centre so that the areas vacated by the troops for guarding the border could be covered by paramilitary forces. At three places in Surankot, the militants set ablaze seven dhoks today. These dhoks were occupied by men of the Rashtriya Rifles. After the troops were sent to border, the militants sneaked into the villages and torched the dhoks. Field reports said the militants had become active in areas where the troops had been shifted to border. The National Conference leader, Mr R.S. Chib, has also demanded deployment of security forces in all sensitive areas which were earlier being guarded by the Army. |
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Ban hits PCO owners, public Srinagar, January 9 This is so, even as the Jammu and Kashmir (Chief Minister, Dr Farooq Abdullah, took up the matter with the Prime Minister, Mr Atal Behari Vajpayee, on Monday. The STD facilities to all 580 PCOs in Srinagar were snapped from January 1 and in other districts of the valley from December 30. While no reason was given for the withdrawal of these facilities, it is learnt that the Central Government took the decision for “security reasons” amid mounting tension between India and Pakistan. BSNL officials here believe that it will be a “temporary phase” but there are no indications of an early restoration of the STD facilities. “These instructions are from the higher authorities and there seems to be no immediate plan to restore the facilities”, a BSNL official told TNS here. The public and the PCO owners feel that the restrictions may continue at least up to the Republic Day. The move to withdraw STD facilities and Internet services are being regarded as part of the security measures ahead of the Republic Day. Businessmen and thousands of employees in various Central and state government offices from outside the valley have been affected. Thousands of security force personnel are unable to keep in touch with their families. Jai Prakash, a jawan posted here, had been calling up his family at least thrice a week. Accompanied by a group of colleagues, he would be standing in
que at a PCO to contact his family in Uttaranchal. “There is no news from my family for the past 10 days”, Jai Prakash said, hoping that the restrictions would be lifted soon. Basharat Ahmad, a PCO owner, has been returning home early since the ban was imposed. Basharat, who also runs a travel agency, has been getting a negligible number of customers for making local calls. “It will be impossible for us to pay the next lot of STD bills as we have not earned anything in the past 10 days”, M.Paul, PCO owner, said. The monthly rent of Rs 1,650 on STD telephones would be “charged unnecessarily”, he said, adding that, “Our income has also been slashed, so has the business of others having their sources outside the valley”. |
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BSF jawan hurt in Pak firing Jammu, January 9 Constable Mahadeo Kachap was hit by bullets fired from across the border at Malabela post in Akhnoor sector last evening, the spokesman said adding that he was later evacuated and hospitalised. He said the Pakistani troops resorted to intermittent firing at various places along the border in Kathua and Jammu districts since last evening forcing Indian troops to retaliate. Meanwhile, a report from Poonch district said 87 families from Kerni-Shahpur villages had migrated to Bandi Chacha village since last evening due to heavy firing by the Pakistani troops.
PTI |
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J&K to develop
4 model villages Jammu, January 9 These villages included Boatman Colony, Bemiha and Hanjiwara in Kashmir division and Channi Basti (old settlement) and Parmandal village in Jammu division, Mr Shah said while addressing the 35th meeting of the Board of Directors of the J and K Housing Board (JKHB) here yesterday.
PTI |
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Fear of war triggers
outflow of cash from banks Kathua, January 9 Due to firing, the villagers of Rajpura, Mawa, Madoon, Nadala, Chhan Laldi Dulema, Chack, Londi, Paharpur, Hiranagar of the Hiranagar sector Bani-Glad, Pandori, Chak-Majra, Pindi of Ramgarh sectors have withdrawn amount from fixed deposits and savings bank accounts from the J&K Bank, Punjab National Bank, SBI, and, Jammu Rural Bank. Officials of various banks said here that customers of these banks have withdrawn several crores. People are interested to keep with them hard cash for in an emergency. There is rush of customers to withdraw money and few persons are coming to deposit money with banks. |
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