 |
|
Tuesday,
October 8, 2002, Chandigarh, India  
|
Tight security for last phase poll In graphic: Fourth phase of J&K Assembly polls NC snaps contacts with Kashmir panel Lolab voters decide fate
of 11 today |
|
||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
|
Pak steps up firing
in 6 sectors Diplomats advised to skip Doda today
Minister roughed up by Army men Pandits happy with poll boycott
|
|
Tight security for last phase poll
As many as 175 additional companies of para-military forces besides more than 80 companies of the Army have been deployed for election duty in the district, spread over 11,691 square km. Eightyfive companies of the Army and 25 companies of the paramilitary forces have already been stationed here including the Rashtriya Rifles’ anti-insurgency ‘Delta Force’. Militants have already stepped up attacks on security forces as part of their plans to disrupt polling, to be held tomorrow in the last phase of the four-tier elections. Officials said poll parties had left for the polling stations in the remote areas. Poll parties were airdropped at 46 polling stations set up in the remote areas of the district, consisting of six Assembly segments — Doda, Kishtwar, Inderwal, Bhaderwah, Banihal and Ramban. "The polling booths had already been sanitised by security personnel before the polling staff reached there," Ramban Sub-Divisional Magistrate Farooq Ahmed Khan said. The Border Security Force (BSF), the Central Reserve Police Force (CRPF), the Army’s Rashtriya Rifles and the Special Operations Group (SOG) of the state police have fanned out in the district where the Hizbul Mujahideen (HM) the Lashkar-e-Toiba and the Hizb-e-Islami militant outfits have pasted warning notes against participation in the election. Polling officials from Rajouri and Poonch districts would help conduct the elections tomorrow after officials from Punjab and Uttar Pradesh — who were on duty in earlier rounds of the elections — reportedly expressed unwillingness to continue in Doda district and were withdrawn. So high is the threat perception that the government has issued an advisory to diplomats against visiting the district during polling. Fiftysix candidates of various parties, including state president of the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP), the Bahujan Samaj Party (BSP), PCC chief Ghulam Nabi Azad’s cousin Mohammad Sharief Naiz and Home Minister Khalid Najeeb Soharawardy, are contesting for the district’s five seats. Campaigning had been low-key in the district, nearly 50 per cent of which is under forest. No top central leader visited the area for canvassing for party candidates. "We have been able to take our campaign only to villages in the lower reaches of the hills," said district Congress vice-president Mohammad Hanief Shah. "On the upper reaches it is not safe." According to intelligence inputs, militants are planning to carry out major attacks during polling and there was constant propaganda being churned out against the electoral process by Pakistan. The Muzaffarabad-based Radio Hurriyat Kashmir, a mouthpiece of militant outfits, has been constantly harping on the "achievements" of its "brave jehadi soldiers" operating in the state. It has been appealing to the people not to participate in "India’s sham elections". People say they would vote if peace prevails, but a sense of security seemed lacking, especially in remote villages. The district has been divided into 28 zones for security purpose. As many as 4,34,080 persons are eligible to vote at 534 polling stations — 291 of them sensitive and 243 hyper-sensitive — in the district. Apprehending terrorist violence to disrupt polling tomorrow in Banihal, Inderwal, Doda, Baderwah, Ramban, Kishtwar (all in Doda) and Lolab in Kashmir valley, security forces have launched area-domination and sanitisation operations to ensure peaceful balloting. Nearly 18,000 additional paramilitary troopers have been deployed in the six constituencies in this hub of militancy to ensure free polling, official sources said. The paratroopers are drawn from the BSF, the CRPF, the ITBP and the J and K armed police. Security forces have also been deployed at Pirpanjal ranges touching Anantnag district in Kashmir to prevent militants from sneaking into Doda, the sources said. Polling staff and equipment reached the polling booths in most of the areas and same are proposed to be airlifted in some far-flung places. Repolling would also be held in four polling stations in Pahalgam in Anantnag district and one in Kathua in Jammu tomorrow following complaints of malpractices during the third phase of poll on October 1. Meanwhile, report from Srinagar, quoting the Chief Electoral Officer, Mr Pramod Jain, said the state machinery had been fully geared up to meet any challenge posed by militants who were out to create large-scale disturbances during the polling day in Doda district tomorrow. The CEO said the state machinery was geared up to thwart the militants’ attempts to disrupt the poll.
UNI, PTI |
|
NC snaps contacts with Kashmir panel Srinagar, October 7 In a statement here, Mr Abdullah said the “secret meeting” of Mr Sajjad Lone of the Peoples’ Conference and Mr Saifuddin Soz of the Congress at the residence of Mr Jethmalani in the presence of other committee members had only gone to prove the misgivings of Dr Farooq Abdullah about the objective of the committee. He said Mr Jethmalani in association with the Congress and other parties with vested interests “conspired” against the National Conference. The NC President had stated at the conclusion of the campaign at Haihama in the Lolab constituency of Kupwara district yesterday that the Lone brothers along with Mr Soz had visited Mr Jethmalani’s residence in Delhi “to finalise the details of a poll alliance”. Flaying the state Congress president, he said Mr Ghulam Nabi Azad and his cohorts had hatched a conspiracy to uproot the NC but the tone and tenor of Mr Azad’s speeches indicated that he had seen the writing on the wall. He claimed that the NC would return to power with an absolute majority and added “if Azad has the welfare of people of the state at heart, he should close his option of returning to Delhi and sit in the opposition in Jammu and Kashmir as the Leader of the opposition”. Meanwhile, talking to newspersons after holding an hour-long meeting with US Ambassador Robert Blackwill, Mr Jethmalani expressed confidence that the government would fulfil its promise of holding talks with all political groups, including the Hurriyat Conference and the Democratic Freedom Party. The USA and the Kashmir Committee would coordinate their efforts to bring about peace, he said. |
|
Lolab voters decide fate
of 11 today Srinagar, October 7 Polling in Lolab, which was scheduled to be held in the first phase of elections on September 16 was countermanded following the killing of National Conference candidate and former Law Minister, Mushtaq Ahmad Lone at an election rally on September 11. With this the four-phase election in Jammu and Kashmir, which started with the announcement of election schedule on August 22, will come to an end. Counting of votes has been scheduled for October 10, the whole process will be completed before October 15. Polling in six constituencies of Doda district, the most militancy-hit district in Jammu and Kashmir, was scheduled to be held in the last and final phase while polling in 13 other districts was completed in the earlier three phases on September 16, 24 and October 1. The election in phases was scheduled to be held to provide adequate security to the candidates and the voters due to increased threat perception. An official spokesman said here that election staff and required material had been dispatched to all 88 polling stations in Lolab constituency. He said election personnel with necessary material have also been sent to Jammu and Udhampur for eight polling stations set up for migrants. The first three phases of election in Kashmir valley witnessed a stepped up violence and attempts by militants to disrupt polling process. It started with the killing of National Conference sitting member and former Law Minister from Lolab, Mushtaq Ahmad Lone. It led to the countermanding of election in the constituency. The Election Commission ordered the countermand and asked the National Conference to nominate new candidate. Later, Qaisar Ahmad Lone, nephew of the assassinated minister, filed his nomination papers as NC candidate while other 10 candidates in the fray remained untouched. The killing, however, diminished the poll fever in the area. Later, the campaigning was confined to door to door visits. The campaign in this border constituency also witnessed the killing of three other NC activists in the Haihama area late last week. During stepped-up violence militants made several attempts in other two phases. In the second phase of elections held on September 24, Srinagar and Budgam districts in central Kashmir, attention remained focused on the night long operation against holed-up militants at Gogji Bagh. It ended on the day of polling and created fear among the voters. In the third phase of election on October 1 in Anantnag and Pulwama districts of south Kashmir, several attacks were made on various candidates. These, included four attempts on the life of the Minister of State for Tourism, Ms Sakina Ittoo. Another woman candidate was also injured. |
|
Pak steps up firing
in 6 sectors Jammu, October 7 According to Defence Ministry sources, the Pakistani forces launched mortar and artillery fire from across Dawar and Kanzalwan areas of Gurez sector and Lachipora and Baaz areas of Uri sector last night. The sources said Arnia, Samba, R.S. Pora, Hiranagar and Jangarh areas of Nowshehra sector in Jammu also witnessed mortar shelling and firing from small arms. They stated that there was no casualty on the Indian side. The Indian troops retaliated not only in these areas but in Dras sector also where several houses were damaged in the Pakistan artillery and mortar shelling. The sources said in the Indian retaliatory fire the Pakistani forces suffered losses when several of their bunkers were destroyed. They further said after polling in 80 of the 87 constituencies was completed the Pakistan troops stepped up firing and shelling to keep the Kashmir issue in focus. Besides, the other reason behind the heavy firing and shelling was to provide cover to the militants while infiltrating into India. The authorities stated that between October 1, 2001, and September 30, 1,713 terrorists were killed, 103 had surrendered and over 659 workers and recruits had been arrested. During this period 1,689 assault rifles, 98 rocket launchers, 45 machineguns, 345 pistols, 492 radio sets, 9,074 grenades, 479 IEDs and 1,619 kg of explosives were seized. During the last month when the state was engaged in conducting the poll process, the security forces eliminated 121 militants from whom 120 assault rifles, three rocket launchers, 36 radio sets, 640 grenades, 100 IEDs and 126 kg of explosives were seized. The sources expected further escalation in the level of violence in the state after the formation of the new government in Jammu and Kashmir. They admitted that since the Indo-Pakistan border in Jammu and Kashmir was dotted with lofty mountains, deep ravines and dense forests bringing down the rate of infiltration was a difficult task. |
|
Diplomats advised to skip Doda today
Srinagar, October 7 Sources say that due to the high degree of threat perception, the foreign diplomats had been advised to avoid visiting Doda district. Chief Minister Farooq Abdullah narrowly escaped a bid on his life when Hizbul-Mujahideen ultras triggered two improvised explosive devices (IED) in the Baghwa helipad area of Doda district on October 1. A group of 12 diplomats from the USA, Canada, France, Switzerland and Sweden visited several constituencies in Baramula and Kupwara districts in the first phase of polling on September 16. In the second phase, a batch of 15 foreign diplomats drawn from the USA, Britain, Italy and the European Commission witnessed the elections in Srinagar and Badgam districts. Fourteen foreign diplomats, including three from France, two each from the USA, Britain and the European Commission and one each from Luxemburg, Spain, Greece, Italy and Germany, witnessed polling in Pulwama and Anantnag districts in the third phase of the four-phased Assembly elections in the trouble-torn state. The Election Commission had issued special passes to officials of the Delhi-based foreign missions to witness the poll. The diplomats were free to speak to all sections of the people in the valley about the election process and the necessary arrangements had been made for their visit. However, they were not given the status of official observers and were allowed to observe the poll in their individual capacity. India, while rejecting the role of international observers for the polls, had, however, allowed diplomats of various countries to witness the elections in the state. The diplomats also met Chief Secretary I.S. Malhi and Divisional Commissioner Pervez Dewan during their stay in the summer Capital. They expressed satisfaction over the arrangements made by the government in conducting a transparent poll in the state. This was for the first time that most of the diplomats travelled by road to see the voting pattern, ignoring militancy-related violence. They were provided adequate security by the authorities. Significantly, when some of the diplomats were visiting various areas, militants made abortive attempts to disrupt the poll at a number of places, particularly in the Tral, Pulwama, Shopian and Kokernag Assembly segments. Helicopters were also pressed into service to take them to the remote areas of the state. UNI
|
|
Valley comes to a halt
Srinagar, October 7 The people took to streets at several places in the Valley protesting against the remarks by US Conservative Party leader Rev Jerry Falwell in an interview to TV channel CBS. Shops and business establishments did not open. Schools, colleges and other educational institutions, banks also remained closed and transport was off the roads. The protesters pelted the security forces with stones and the passing vehicles at several places in the city. Reports received here from Sopore, Baramula, Kupwara, Anantnag, Pulwama and other major towns of the Valley said life had been completely paralysed with few people seen on the roads. Demonstrations and slogan raising were witnessed at several places. The Hizbul Mujahideen and the APHC have called for a general strike tomorrow on the occasion of polling in six constituencies of Doda district and Lolab constituency of Kupwara district where polling will be held in the fourth and final phase. UNI
|
|
|
Minister roughed up by Army men
Srinagar, October 7 The minister, who is seeking re-election from his home constituency of Pulwama, got into an argument with soldiers after he defied their orders to park his car in a line and, instead, tried to overtake other vehicles while on the way to Srinagar from his Pulwama residence, they said. The incident occurred at Pathan Chowk, the first drop gate on the road running parallel to Army Headquarters at Badamibagh, the sources said. Mr Nengroo suffered an injury on his mouth and nose. His son, who tried to intervene, also received some rifle butt blows. Policemen who rushed to the scene rescued the minister and his family and took them to hospital, the sources said. A defence spokesman said the minister, who was driving the car, did not respond to a sentry’s signal to stop at the checkpoint. As a matter of routine, the sentry then stopped the minister’s car at gunpoint to know his identity and might have abused the minister, the spokesman said. PTI
|
|
Pandits
happy with poll boycott Jammu, October 7 The Executive Committee of the AKPSC, which met here today, advised the migrants to continue to register their protest till “our right to live in peace and dignity in the valley is restored to us.” The AKPSC leaders said participation in the Assembly poll would have been “another useless
exercise for us because during the past 13 years, the defective Kashmir policy pursued by the Central Government has aggravated the sense of deprivation and misery for the community members living in exile.” It urged the government to take strict measures to flush out militants from the state. It said during the past six years, major areas in the Jammu region had been converted into sanctuaries for militants. The AKPSC also demanded that till the migrants returned to Kashmir, the electoral system needed to be improved as during the past several elections, “our community voters had to face severe odds and despite setting up of separate polling booths in Udhampur, Jammu and Delhi, voters were not satisfied with the system.” |
|
DAA sought for J&K staff Jammu, October 7 Addressing a rally near here, Mr Shastri said since Jammu and Kashmir was more disturbed than the north-eastern states, the Prime Minister should release the funds for
DAA. |
 |
| Punjab | Haryana | Jammu & Kashmir | Himachal Pradesh | Regional Briefs | Nation | Editorial | | Business | Sport | World | Mailbag | In Spotlight | Chandigarh Tribune | Ludhiana Tribune 50 years of Independence | Tercentenary Celebrations | | 122 Years of Trust | Calendar | Weather | Archive | Subscribe | Suggestion | E-mail | |
Tightest-ever security arrangements were in place today for Assembly elections in the most sensitive Doda district of Jammu and Kashmir amid increasing militant activity in the sprawling hub of terrorism.
In Video (
