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Monday,
April 15, 2002, Chandigarh, India  
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Farooq
swims in Dal as separatists meet Lone to
hold talks with Qayoom
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PM’s
remarks unfortunate: NC One killed,
11 injured in valley blasts Troops exchange
fire at border
VOA scribe
Qaisar Mirza dies in mishap
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Farooq swims in Dal as separatists meet Jammu, April 14 While the Chief Minister, Dr Farooq Abdullah, enjoyed a swim in the Dal Lake in Srinagar yesterday, several separatist leaders from the valley joined leaders from Pakistan and occupied Kashmir, besides a few more from other countries in Dubai to discuss the Kashmir issue. The Mirwais and senior APHC leader, Maulvi Umar
Farooq, has been in Dubai for the past several days and another APHC leader, Mr Abdul Gani Lone, flew to Dubai on Friday. His passport was returned to him to enable him to join the meeting. The head of the Pakistan’s National Committee on Kashmir, Sardar Abdul Qayoom Khan, a votary of the Hurriyat’s participation in the next assembly poll has been playing a pivotal role in Dubai. So far the majority of Hurriyat leaders have not responded to his suggestion. Informed sources said official agencies of India and Pakistan had been monitoring the deliberations in Dubai. The Dubai meeting has tacit support of the USA which also favours the Qayoom line. Dr Abdullah is sure that the APHC leaders, except two to three, may not contest the election. APHC leaders, will stay away from the poll on two grounds. First, supporters of the ongoing liberation movement may pose a bigger risk to their lives. They could be questioned if the liberation movement, which resulted in the killing of over 30,000 persons during the past 13 years, had been launched to enable the Hurriyat leaders to contest elections and win power. Secondly, except for Mr Lone, Maulvi Umar Farooq and Syed Ali Shah
Geelani, who have constituencies from where they have a chance to get elected, others fear they may lose their security deposit. They do not want to risk their popularity, whatever is left of it. |
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Lone to hold talks with Qayoom New Delhi, April 14 The Mirwaiz, who was camping in the port city since last week, was joined by Mr Abdul Gani Lone yesterday to meet Mr Qayoom and chalk out future strategies, conglomerate insiders said. Mr Lone was handed over the passport recently to facilitate his travel to the USA on health grounds. His passport had been revoked after his much-hyped visit to Pakistan in 2000. The meeting between Mr Qayoom and the two Hurriyat leaders was aimed to "sort out the differences" that had cropped up after the announcement of a parallel election commission by Hurriyat chief Abdul Gani Bhat and senior leader Yaseen
Malik. PTI |
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BJP ‘biggest’ communal
party Srinagar, April 14 “We doubt the secularism of BJP leaders and not of the Hindus of India...if the Prime Minister has to learn secularism let him learn it from Hindus like Justice Sri Krishna of
Mumbai, Justice J.S. Verma and judges of the Supreme Court of India”, commented Mr Azad at a press conference here
today. Mr Azad pointed out that the role of the Union Home Minister, Mr
L.K. Advani, top BJP leaders and the party’s executive meeting following recent happenings in Gujarat had made “it clear that it is the biggest communal party”. He added that he had “lost faith” in the Prime Minister, and that it was for the first time that a Prime Minister had made such a statement threatening the unity and integrity of the country. “Our party has been thinking in terms of individuals and not religions”, Mr Azad commented. The newly appointed chief of the Jammu and Kashmir Pradesh Congress Committee
(JKPCC) also questioned the secular character of the alliance partners of the NDA in case these parties continued their alliance. “If these parties still continue their relations with the
BJP, we will start doubting their secular character”, Mr Azad commented. The ruling National Conference has an alliance with the BJP at the Centre with one of its members, Mr Omar Abdullah, holding a ministerial portfolio. The PCC chief regretted the extension of POTA to Jammu and Kashmir, pointing out that it was not being implemented by the Congress-ruled states of the country. He expressed the hope that POTA would not be used as a political weapon by the ruling party and that necessary precautions would be taken to safeguard the innocents in the state. Replying to questions, Mr Azad held that free and fair elections in Jammu and Kashmir would lead to a “solution of the internal problems”. He said the state government should assure holding of free and fair elections as a solution of all internal problems vested in the conduct of free and fair elections. That is the first step towards peace in Kashmir, he pointed out. The Congress leader held that his party would contest all constituencies in Jammu and Kashmir in the Assembly elections scheduled later this year. He added that its alliance with other parties for making governments at state levels eroded the base of the party. At the same time the Congress leader held that it would work for being an effective Opposition party to work for the overall development in different sectors of society. Referring to various problems being faced by the masses in Jammu and Kashmir, Mr Azad said there was “darkness in all respects” as he referred to the power supply in particular. He expressed concern over the poor water supply, favouritism in distributing old-age pension, custodial deaths, negative role of SOG of the police, plight of the victims of both militants and security forces. “We will play the role of an effective Opposition and knock the doors of the government to redress the grievances of the people”. PTI adds: “It is no secret that Pakistan is behind all the external problems facing the state but there are hundreds of internal problems, equally disturbing, which need solutions and holding free and fair elections by the NC would be a solution to them,” Mr Azad told reporters here. To a question, Mr Azad said the Congress would go it alone in Jammu and Kashmir in the forthcoming Assembly elections and will put up candidates in all constituencies. Asked to comment on Prime Minister Atal Behari Vajpayee’s assurance that the coming elections in the state would be free and fair, Mr Azad said “I don’t know how much the Prime Minister can help it. The BJP is not concerned about Kashmir. I have lost faith in Prime Minister after his Friday’s address in the Goan
capital.” Mr Azad replied in the negative when asked whether there was any proposal to forge a united front of all opposition parties in the state against the ruling party. “Our aim is two-fold: to form the governments at the state level and also form the government at the national level,” Mr Azad said, adding that when “we form an alliance with political parties at the state level our base gets eroded in those constituencies.” |
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PM’s remarks unfortunate: NC
Srinagar, April 14 Addressing a public meeting at Sumbal
Sonawari, the provisional president of the NC, Mr G.N. Shaheen, said the recent remarks had exposed the “real face” of the Prime Minister. Describing the statement of Mr Vajpayee as “unfortunate” and “hurting,” he said now the Prime Minister, who was being considered as the only secular face in the
BJP, had started using the “communal language of Home Minister
L. K. Advani, Ashok Singhal and Bal Thackeray.” “We strongly condemn the statement as it has hurt the sentiments of crores of people across the country,” he said. About the Centre’s Kashmir policy, he said “the Indian leaders never trusted the people of Kashmir. They do not think it necessary to take them into confidence on any matter.” Mr Shaheen said the present situation being faced by the people of the state was because of the wrong decisions taken by the then Prime Minister Jawahar Lal Nehru, who put behind bar Sheikh Mohammad Abdullah for 24 years after dismissing his government in 1953.
UNI |
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One killed, 11 injured
in valley
blasts Srinagar, April 14 A civilian was killed and nine pedestrians received splinter injuries when a grenade lobbed by the militants towards a police vehicle missed the target and exploded on the road at Pulwama bus stand today, the spokesman said. In a separate incident, a student was seriously injured when an explosive device went off in his hand at Dharamwari-Krusan in Kupwara district last evening, the spokesman said, adding that he had found the device in the village and started fiddling with it. A JeM militant, Abdul Rashid
Bhat, lost his hand while trying to trigger a grenade explosion at Soura on the outskirts of the city last evening and was subsequently arrested. He said Bhat threw a grenade towards security personnel deployed at Soura medical institute which exploded nearby without causing any harm. In another explosion, the militants set off an IED on the Chwdara-Ohangam road in Badgam district to target security vehicles but it missed the target and damaged a water pipeline. He said a surrendered militant, Mohammad Shafi alias
Dilawar, was shot dead by the militants at Lalhar in Pulwama district today. Body of a civilian, who had been kidnapped by the militants, was found by the police from the Palpora area of Handwara in Kupwara today.
PTI |
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Troops exchange fire at border Jammu, April 14 Pakistani troops continued shelling several Indian forward locations in Rajouri and Poonch districts forcing Indian troops to retaliate, the sources said here. Nisha Devi of Jabowal village in Jammu district received bullet injury due to firing by Pakistani troops, they said. Shelling also took place in Balnoi and Shaad areas of Poonch district and Laam and Bhawani areas of Rajouri district, they added.
PTI |
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Jammu festival begins Jammu, April 14 Flagging off the three-day festival last evening, Minister of State for Tourism Sakina Itoo said such festivals bring people of different faiths and ethnic origins together in the state and the country. Amidst beating of trumpets and playing of narsinghas, the procession passed through tastefully decorated markets and buildings as Jammuites stood on both sides of the road greeting and cheering it. The Paktoon troupe, with a camel and horse convoy of 20, was a special attraction in the procession. Music troupe from Kashmir valley, Makwals from Kathua district and Bhangra of Batera added attraction to the procession. The procession which began from Vivekanand chowk covered 4 km to reach Amar Mahal where Mr Itoo lit the traditional lamp and declared the Jammu festival open.
PTI |
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VOA scribe Qaisar Mirza
dies in mishap Srinagar, April 14 According to reports received from New Delhi, Qaisar Mirza was on his way to JK House in Chanakyapuri when a vehicle hit him. He was taken to a hospital where he was declared brought dead. He is survived by his mother, wife and three daughters. The news of his death was received with shock and disbelief by his friends and colleagues here. His body will be airlifted from New Delhi tomorrow. The Jammu and Kashmir Chief Minister, Dr Farooq Abdullah, in a message said Mirza was a professional reporter whose dedication to work had earned him a high place in his fraternity. Mirza
also had a stint with the Associated Press. |
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