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Saturday,
April 20, 2002, Chandigarh, India  
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Omar to be new NC President NC to stick to NDA Security beefed up at Vaishno Devi Geelani put under house arrest
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BSF men face rape charge
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Omar to be new NC President Jammu, April 19 A resolution, passed at a meeting of NC’s working committee here, said “the committee is of unanimous opinion that Omar should now play an active role in Jammu and Kashmir and strengthen the party”. The NC leadership wants to launch its poll campaign with Mr Omar Abdullah as the party chief since it feels that his stint as the Union Minister of State for Commerce and then as Minister of State for External Affairs has helped him carve out a niche for himself in the state. Even those who had worked with his grandfather, Sheikh Abdullah, and were members of his Cabinet today endorsed the party’s decision to install Mr Omar Abdullah as the NC President by the end of the next month. It was in 1980 that Sheikh Abdullah installed Dr Farooq Abdullah as the NC President much to the chagrin of his son-in-law, Mr G.M. Shah. But today, Mr Omar Abdullah was nominated for the post by the executive committee without even a murmur. A number of senior NC leaders were upset but had no political strength or stature to oppose a decision taken by Dr Farooq Abdullah, who is also the party president. Dr Abdullah had announced a few months ago that his son would replace him as Chief Minister. But in today’s meeting there was no mention about it indicating that Dr Abdullah has no inclination to quit the state politics after his dream of becoming either the President or the Vice-President of India did not materialised. Sources close to Dr Abdullah said the Chief Minister was satisfied with the performance of his son as Union Minister. He would allow him more time in Delhi to learn about intricacies of politics and administration. Dr Abdullah would like to train him in the state politics as he knows that within the National Conference there were some dissidents who could create problems for his son at this stage, the sources added. As the new NC President, he would give sufficient time to Mr Omar Abdullah to establish his foothold. This done, he could on his own run the show even in the absence of his father who had plans of settling in London in case he failed to occupy the chair of the President of India, the sources said. The adoption of a resolution in support of Mr Omar Abdullah, the Chief Minister saw to it that he functioned within the parameters of the party constitution. |
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NC to stick to NDA Jammu, April 19 The issue figured during a meeting of the executive committee of the National Conference here today which was presided over by the party President, Dr Farooq Abdullah. Several members demanded that the National Conference should withdraw its support because of the failure of the BJP Chief Minister, Mr Narendra Modi, to prevent communal killings and on account of the Prime Minister, Mr Atal Behari Vajpayee’s statement made in Goa which had cast aspersions on Muslims. The members said since the Assembly elections in the Muslim-dominated Jammu and Kashmir were round the corner, the continuation of the alliance with the NDA could harm the party. However, a number of party members, including the vocal Mr Sadiq Ali, opposed the demand for adoption of a resolution seeking Mr Modi’s resignation on the plea that the matter should be left to the people of Gujarat. The executive committee adopted a resolution expressing concern over the violence in Gujarat and decided to remain part of the NDA as long as it remained firm on its agenda. Another resolution adopted expressed resentment over the way the Central Government failed to release adequate economic package for Jammu and Kashmir. By another resolution the executive committee berated the Union Government’s approach towards mitigating the people’s sufferings on account of acute power shortage in the state. It said even after handing over seven projects to the NHPC no work had been started. The executive committee cleared the decks for Mr Omar Abdullah, Union Minister of State for External Affairs and son of the Chief Minister, to take over as the party President. Briefing newspersons, Mr Ghulam Mohiuddin Shah, Housing Minister, said Mr Omar Abdullah would take over as NC President during the last week of next month. The committee set up a seven-member body to draft the party’s poll manifesto. |
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Security beefed up at Vaishno Devi Srinagar, April 19 A labourer, Bashir Ahmad Lone, was shot dead by militants at Hiwuddar near Kapran in Anantnag district early today, the police said adding that he was killed on the suspicion of being an informer of the security forces. The police said militants opened fire on the camps of Special Operations Group of the local police and the Border Security Force at Waripora near Tangmarg in Baramulla district and Khalil near Tral in Pulwama district, last night. JAMMU: In view of militant activities, the authorities have upgraded the security for pilgrims visiting the Vaishno Devi shrine, police sources said here today. An additional police booth is being set up at Ban Ganga, the base camp in Katra town as a part of the drive, they said. “This is being done in view of some encounters between militants and security forces around the shrine, movement of militants and explosions at Ban Ganga and Katra areas”, the sources said. Verification of people settled in and around the town would also be conducted, they said adding that special verification drives would be made for people coming from the militancy affected areas. Round-the-clock police patrolling, surveillance and monitoring of sensitive areas would be done to ensure safety of the pilgrims. The authorities have decided to regulate the movement of auto-rickshaws in the area and carry anti-encroachment drives. Some more police checkposts would also be set up on the road leading to Katra town and routes to the Vaishno Devi shrine. Meanwhile, a Bangladesh national was critically wounded in an IED blast, set off by militants near Jammu city, official sources said. The Bangladeshi was on his way to the International border, for crossing over to Pakistan, when the Improvised Explosive Device went off in the Nikki Tawi area, close to the city, last night, the sources said. He lost his leg in the blast. The security forces also arrested a group of 130 Bangladeshi nationals as they were trying to crossover to Pakistan from the R.S. Pura border belt in Jammu sector last evening, the sources said.
PTI |
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Geelani put under house arrest Srinagar, April 19 Mir was detained along with six of his associates from the Dalgate area of the city when he tried to stage a demonstration against alleged atrocities by the security forces including custodial killings outside the local office of the United Nations Military Observers Group (UNMOG), the sources said. JKLF activists, led by Mir, assembled at Dalgate shortly after Friday prayers and tried to march towards the UNMOG office located at nearby Sonawar, the sources said. The sources said the police swung into action and took Mir and his six associates - Nissar Ahmad Bhat, Zahoor Ahmad, Mohammad Maqbool, Adil Bashir, Imran Zarger and Abid - into custody for violating the prohibitory orders in the city. Earlier in the day, a posse of policemen encircled firebrand Jamaat-e-Islami leader Geelani’s house at Hyderpora on the outskirts of Srinagar and restricted his movements. Geelani was scheduled to visit the Bandipora area of Baramula district in north Kashmir and address a Friday congregation in the main mosque there, the sources said, adding that the authorities put him under house arrest to foil his attempt to organise a protest in Bandipora town after the prayers.
PTI |
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BSF men face rape charge Srinagar, April 19 The BSF personnel allegedly barged into her house at Kular village on the pretext of a search operation around 11 a.m. and assaulted her before raping her. When contacted, a police official posted at Pahalgam said the girl had been taken to hospital for a medical check-up. “We are awaiting the medical report to lodge an FIR against the guilty BSF personnel,” he said. The incident sparked off angry protests from villagers. The situation in the area was tense, but well under control. PTI |
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Fake firm’s MD denied bail Srinagar, April 19 |
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