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Saturday,
July 20, 2002, Chandigarh, India  
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J&K ASSEMBLY
SESSION Five
infiltrators shot Rajeev
Nagar killings: Hizb blames foreign ultras |
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Probe
ordered into Mishriwala incident No
relief for non-cultivation of land near border CM
denies Hurriyat’s claim on funds Jammu
Morcha flays BJP move on councils J&K
moots UK type education 
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J&K ASSEMBLY
SESSION Srinagar, July 19 The Chief Minister, speaking at the end of the four-day long summer session of the Legislative Assembly here today, said that he was not leaving his party. He told the House on its first day here on Monday that he would quit politics and not participate in the elections. Later, the Speaker, Mr Abdul Ahad
Vakil, adjourned the House sine die. The Chief Minister in his 25-minute long speech, cautioned the members against the designs of the neighbouring country and the militants groups, bent on sabotaging elections. He said that Pakistan was not happy with the conduct of clean elections in Jammu and Kashmir as she did not believe in a democratic process. The Chief Minister said that last Assembly elections were held under difficult circumstances adding that this time again the lives of the legislators and contestants were at stake. Referring to the forthcoming visits of the British Minister, Jack Straw and the US Secretary of State, Colin Powell, the Chief Minister said that they would “see Pakistan’s
interference in our normal process”. Recalling the day when Chief Minister Dr Farooq Abdullah and his ministerial colleagues took oath here on October 9, 1996, the CPM leader, Mr
M.Y. Tarigami questioned the assurances made by the Central leadership and the State leadership on various issues like ending bloodshed in Kashmir. Other members who spoke on the occasion included Choudhary Piara Singh of the BJP, Ashok Sharma of the Congress, Sheikh Abdul Rahman of the BSP, Abdul Rahman Veeri of the Peoples Democratic Party
(PDP) and Harsh Dev Singh of the Panthers Party . First round of talks on the issue of grant of greater autonomy to Jammu and Kashmir would be held shortly between the Centre’s representative, Mr Arun Jaitley and the State’s nominee, Mr Ghulam Mohiuddin Shah in Delhi. The autonomy resolution, passed by the Legislative Assembly and rejected by the Centre last year, came up for discussion in the House today and was marked by noisy scenes and walkout by the opposition Congress members. Chief Minister, Dr Farooq Abdullah told the House that talks were also going on at different levels. “There are many more tracks... to talk on Kashmir”, between the Centre and the leadership at various levels in Jammu and Kashmir, Farooq Abdullah said. This, he said while intervening on a supplementary question by BSP member, Sheikh Abdul Rahman on the reports that former Union Minister, Ram Jethmalani was also engaged in negotiations with the Kashmiri leadership. Intervening during question hour, the Chief Minister, said that a protest was lodged with the Centre when it rejected outright the autonomy resolution passed by the State Assembly last year. He said that a beginning had been made by the Centre with the nomination of Mr Jaitley, adding that the ruling National Conference favoured a democratic process for the restoration of the rights to the people of the state. Any discussion on the autonomy would revolve round all those factors covered by the Autonomy resolution, the Chief Minister clarified amid noisy scenes from the opposition members of the Congress, the BJP, the BSP, the CPM and the
PDP. Choudhary Piara Singh (BJP) participating in the debate said Mr Jaitley would be a representative of the NDA government and not a BJP spokesman during talks with the parties here. Ms Salaria said the autonomy demand was nothing new. “We just want what has been taken away from us from time to time by the Centre.” Sheikh Abdul Rehman (BSP) wanted to know if the state government had lodged any protest with the Centre after the autonomy Bill passed by the House was rejected by the Union Government. Dr Abdullah expressed the hope that everything will be achieved through dialogue and “we hope to get it.” Cautioning the Chief Minister, Mohammad Sayed Akhoon (NC) said, “The Centre has always deceived us and the Deputy Prime Minister’s statement yesterday on the issue was disappointing.” When Mohammad Yousuf Targami (CPM) said something about NC President Omar Abdullah’s statement on the autonomy, Dr Abdullah said, “We will fight for it and get it.” The Congress members staged a walk-out after Speaker Abdul Ahad Vakil disallowed Ashok Kumar Sharma to ask question instead of referring to 1975 accord between Sheikh Mohammad Abdullah and Indira Gandhi. |
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Five infiltrators shot Srinagar, July 19 The incident took place at Atma post of the Nowgam sector in Kupwara district. The Army had specific intelligence report about the attempt by the militants to infiltrate into the valley, defence sources said. A strict vigil led to the spotting of a group of eight to nine persons in the sector after last midnight who were challenged by jawans. However, the militants opened heavy fire on troops. Five militants were killed in the ensuing gunbattle that lasted over eight hours. It was not immediately known whether the remaining militants escaped or managed to cross over, the sources said, adding that a massive search operation was continuing in the area. They said the militants were residents of Pakistan who were being trained at ISI-run camps in these areas. Meanwhile, a self-styled chief of the Al-Badr was among five militants killed while the security forces arrested three others in the valley overnight. An official spokesman said the SOG of the police today found the body of the self-styled chief of the Al-Badr, Abu Usmana, who was killed in an encounter at Kandi forest in the frontier district of Kupwara on June 17. The Army and the SOG killed two militants during a search operation at Aragam Bandipora in north Kashmir last night. Two more militants were gunned down by the security forces at Doolipora Handwara in a fierce clash last night. A house, a kothar and a cowshed were gutted in the clash. The security forces arrested three militants and seized huge cache of arms and ammunition. JAMMU: A woman was killed and another injured when a hand grenade they were fiddling with exploded in Poonch district on Friday, official sources said. The women found the grenade in the Loran forest area of the district, they said.
PTI, UNI |
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Rajeev Nagar killings: Hizb blames foreign ultras Jammu, July 19 Categorically denying any involvement of his group in the incident, a Hizb divisional commander said he suspected the carnage to be the handiwork of foreign ultras who were out to vitiate the existing communal harmony in the region. “There is no question of Hizb ultras being involved in the bloodbath for the simple reason that we are strictly averse to such senseless attacks and instead I suspect that the massacre was carried out by foreign militants,” he claimed. Talking to UNI via satellite phone from somewhere in the Pir Panjal mountains, Hizb divisional commander of Doda, Jammu, Udhampur, Poonch, Kathua and Rajouri districts Mohammad Abbas Rahi condemned the massacre of innocent civilians at Rajeev Nagar and termed it as “inhuman and unislamic”. “We are against the killing of innocent civilians to further any kind of struggle. Those who carried out the carnage need to be condemned in the strongest terms. As far as the Hizb is concerned, we are thoroughly against any kind of killing, as we sincerely believe that mindless violence will never yield any results,” Rahi asserted. It may be recalled that Director-General of Jammu and Kashmir Police A.K. Suri had said that the Rajeev Nagar massacre was the handiwork of the Lashkar-e-Toiba (LeT) ultras. Chief Minister Farooq Abdullah had said the massacre was carried out by Pakistan-sponsored ultras.
UNI |
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Probe ordered into Mishriwala incident Srinagar, July 19 He said the Senior Superintendent of Police, Jammu, has been entrusted with the job. Dr Abdullah said the Kashmiri Pandit migrants living in the Mishriwala camp had decided to demonstrate on July 4 against the disruption of power supply. About 2,000 persons assembled at the National Highway and did not allow any movement of traffic. Dr Abdullah said the demonstrators also set on fire the police tent and certain belongings of the police personnel. The police resorted to use of teargas to disperse the mob, he said, adding that the migrants again assembled the next day and indulged in stone-pelting on the police. The migrants have been complaining of excessive use of force by the subdivisional police officer, he said, adding that the matter is being inquired into by the SSP, Jammu.
UNI |
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No relief for non-cultivation of land near border Srinagar, July 19 “It is a fact that agricultural land near Zero Line border is not being cultivated for the past few years due to Pakistani firing,” Minister for Revenue Abdul Qayoom told Jagdish Raj Dubey in the Assembly. Replying to supplementaries, he said no compensation was under consideration at present. Choudhary Pira Singh of the BJP suggested that the government should make alternative arrangements for the people who have to leave their homes in the wake of Pakistan shelling frequently as “Pakistan will never stop it”. Chief Minister Farooq Abdullah said the present crisis was unprecedented and the difficulties have compounded.
PTI |
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CM denies Hurriyat’s claim on funds Srinagar, July 19 Accusing Hurriyat of misleading the people, the Chief Minister informed the Legislative Council yesterday that not a single penny of the donations collected by the Hurriyat were spent either on the construction of the Ziarat or rehabilitation of the people, as claimed by APHC. The Hurriyat, in a recent statement, had said the donations received by it were distributed among the victims of fire in the Chrar-e-Sharief town. The account of which is in the safe custody of the Muslim Auqaf Trust. Being the chairman of the Muslim Auqaf Trust, Dr Abdullah said he could say so with full responsibility and asked the Hurriyat to deposit the money with the trust immediately.
PTI |
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Jammu Morcha flays BJP move on councils Jammu, July 19 The president of the morcha, Prof Virender Gupta, talking to newspersons here today, said regional councils for Kashmir, Ladakh and Jammu would not meet the peoples’ aspirations. Prof Gupta supported the RSS resolution which had sought the trifurcation of the state. He said so long as valley-based leaders and bureaucrats ruled the state, the people of Jammu would continue to receive a raw deal. He said the residents of Jammu had suffered because Kashmir gets the lion’s share in the development funds in government services and in professional colleges. Prof Gupta, while referring to the current political situation in the state, demanded the imposition of the Governor’s rule to ensure that the next Assembly elections were free and fair. He also demanded intensive revision of the voters and updating of the electoral rolls so that all eligible voters got a chance to exercise their right of franchise. |
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J&K
moots UK type education Srinagar, July 19 “The expert would go and see how the system works in the UK and see if we can adopt the system here,” he said yesterday in the Legislative Council while intervening during a question about imposition of ban on “infant-age admission.”
PTI |
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Property
Bill passed Srinagar, July 19 Besides the Bill amending Jammu and Kashmir Migrant Immovable Property (Preservation, Protection and Restraint on Distress Sales) Act, 1997, two more Bills — Jammu and Kashmir Shree Mata Vaishno Devi University Act, 1999, and the Jammu and Kashmir State Kuth Act, 1978 — were also passed.
UNI |
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