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Wednesday,
April 3, 2002, Chandigarh, India  
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Separatists may take part in poll: Farooq Attacks on shrines: militants told not to own responsibility JKLF acting chief Javid Mir freed
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Separatists may take part in poll: Farooq Jammu, April 2 Making a brief suo motu statement in the Assembly here the Chief Minister referred to the manhandling of the Hurriyat Conference leader, Mr Abdul Gani Lone, by Shiv Sena activists in Jammu on Monday and said the incident was “condemnable and deplorable.” He said, “Though I have no love for people like Mr Lone, I and my party members deplore it.” He said India “is a free country” and everybody had the right to express his/her feelings and views. He said it was unfortunate that these very people (separatists) waved Pak flags and demanded Independence. Dr Abdullah said it was satisfying that some of these separatists had changed their stance and outlook and had started accepting the jurisdiction of the Election Commission. He said he hoped that some of them would participate in the next Assembly poll and test their popularity. He said, “We do not believe in goondaism and law will take its own course as far as the attack on Mr Lone is concerned.” He said, “We are against anti-national elements who either seek Kashmir’s incorporation into Pakistan or demand Independence for the valley.” He made it clear that he and his government were not a party to the attack on Mr Lone. Earlier, the matter was raised by the CPM member, Mr M.Y. Tarigami, who was supported by one PDP member, Mr Mohammed Sultanpuri Pandit. Mr Tarigami condemned the incident and wanted to know whether the government had taken any action against those who had attacked Mr Lone. In reply to a question, the Chief Minister informed the House that he would meet the Union Home Minister, Mr L.K. Advani, and the Defence Minister, Mr George Fernandes, in Delhi to discuss security-related issues and the plight of the border migrants. He said the Centre was not prepared to waive off agricultural loans taken by the people who had to migrate from the border villages as a result of Pak shelling and firing. Problems of the border migrants and those from Kashmir were taken up in the House during the Question Hour. The Minister of State for Home, Mr Najib Sohrawardhy, informed Mr Tara Chand of the Congress, who had moved a call attention motion, that about 2,600 families had been provided accommodation in tents at four different camps. These people had migrated from the border villages of Akhnoor tehsil in 1999 owing to heavy Pak shelling and firing. Mr Sohrawardhy said new tents had been purchased and would be sent to these camps. He said each migrant received Rs 200 per month as cash assistance, free ration at the rate of 7 kg of atta and 2 kg of rice per person per month. In addition to this, 10 litres of kerosene was being provided to each family per month. He said there was no proposal to provide relief to the border migrants on the pattern of the Kashmiri migrants. In reply to another question, the government informed the House that of the 705 houses belonging to Kashmiri migrants in the valley, which were occupied illegally, 205 had been vacated of unauthorised occupation. Of the 1,035 houses occupied by the security forces, the rent was assessed and paid to the owners of 573 houses and the remaining cases were being processed. The House was also informed that more than 79,000 people migrated from villages close to the LoC and the International Border following heavy Pak shelling and firing. There was no proposal to start a rehabilitation programme on a permanent basis for these migrants. The government stated that no relief was being provided to the migrants from the militancy-affected areas of Poonch and Rajouri. However, 118 migrant families from Doda district had been registered with the Relief Commissioner and were receiving cash assistance and free ration. Relief was also sanctioned in favour of people living in 25 villages in
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Attacks on shrines: militants told not to own responsibility Jammu, April 2 According to the Ministry of Defence, leaders of different militant groups received a message, which was intercepted, directing them to adopt a cautious approach after a temple or a mosque was damaged, fully or partially, in shooting or in the grenade attack. The message was received soon after the terrorist strike in the historic Raghunath temple in Jammu on March 30. According to the Defence Ministry, the message sent was “aaj Jammu mandir giraa hai. Sab saathiyon ko mein ailaan karta hoon ki koi bhi uski zimmedari kabool nahi karna” (Today a temple in Jammu has been collapsed. I direct all
colleagues that nobody should own the responsibility’. The message has been sent by the top commanders of the Harkat-ul-Mujahideen in Pakistan occupied Kashmir to militants in Jammu and Kashmir. Defence experts said that this message was sent to avoid a negative publicity for those engaged in what the terrorists call “Jehad”. Though the aim behind desecrating and damaging temples, mosques and shrines was to kick up communal tension, people in the state have become wary of such incidents. A stage has reached where even supporters of “Jehad” condemn such incidents. The agencies across know it and hence have sent directions to the militants to avoid owning any responsibility. The experts said that such incidents would not be halted by the Pakistan agencies because events like the one witnessed in Raghunath temple provides wider news coverage to the militants. Once they get wide news coverage the militants believe that this would keep the Kashmir issue alive at the national and international
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JKLF acting chief Javid Mir freed Srinagar, April 2 Official sources said Mir was released late last night after about an eight-hour-long detention in the Kothibagh police station. However, no reasons were given for his arrest and subsequent release. Malik was arrested early last week after a woman confessed during detention that the $ 100,000 she was carrying from Jammu were for the JKLF. Malik was taken to Udhampur where cases under POTO and the Foreign Exchange Movement Act (FEMA) were registered against him. However, Malik denied the charges and said that he has never met the woman. His lawyer and sister met him in the hospital where he was admitted after he complained pain in the chest and ear.
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