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Tuesday,
October 15, 2002, Chandigarh, India  
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Farooq
open to forming government Independent
MLA joins NC NC rebel
joins PDP Hizbul
dist chief, 7 others shot dead India, Pak
exchange fire along border |
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Farooq open to forming government Srinagar, October 14 Dr Abdullah told this correspondent at his Gupkar Road residence here that “Farooq Abdullah is a fighter and will come out with the claim of forming the government to avert a constitutional crisis”. Over 500 activists of the NC have been killed during the Assembly election. “No democrat, including me, would like to see President’s rule being imposed on the state due to the failure of any party coming forward to form a government,” he said. He clarified that while the NC did not have the mandate of the people and neither was he power
hungry, but if the required number of MLAs supported the NC, they would not hesitate to stake the claim. Dr Abdullah denied that the PDP had established contact with him for forming the government. He said that the Congress president,
Mrs Sonia Gandhi, should explain whether the PDP would be able to control militancy in the state. To a question whether he would seek support of the Congress to remain in power, Dr Abdullah said he was not a beggar and his only ambition was to see that the people of the state lived with dignity. With the Al-Qaida winning the elections in Pakistan, the situation has become more alarming, he said. He said that the NC would return to power with a larger strength in the next elections. The NC had earlier been accusing certain leaders of the BJP of having sabotaged the election of the NC. But today Dr Abdullah claimed that there was no conspiracy of the Centre. The home and the finance ministries had been helping them. Moreover, a sensitive state like J&K was not in a position to have confrontation with the Centre. He said he was not overconfident and so he was not shocked by the election results. “I don’t think that I handed over power to my son Omar Abdullah, a bit early. Omar has performed excellently as Minister of State for External Affairs at the Centre and his working has been appreciated,” Dr Abdullah said. He took the defeat of his son in the Ganderbal constituency to himself. “I don’t blame Omar as he took over the reins of the party only three months ago. May be something was lacking in myself which gave the electorate a chance to vote against my son. There was no conspiracy in his defeat,” he said. Lambasting a former MP of the NC, Mr Saifuddin Soz, who has now joined the Congress, Dr Abdullah said he went begging for a ministerial berth for him in the NDA government, and now he was operating against them. Dr Abdullah said the NC was in the NDA government in national interest as the state could not survive without the support of the Centre. |
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Independent
MLA joins NC Srinagar, October 14 “Yeh hamare hi aadmi thay, roothe thay aur ab wapas aaye hain (he was our man who was estranged with the party and has now come back),” Dr Abdullah said while welcoming Mr Dar back into the party. Asked about the possibility of the National Conference staking claim to form the new government in the state, Dr Abdullah said, “we have not lost hope yet... People are coming and the caravan is in the making”. With the joining of Mr Dar, the strength of the NC in the 87-member Assembly has gone up to 29. Mr Dar said he was an NC worker at heart and had contested as an Independent only after the party denied him ticket. “I was actively supported by NC workers during the election and I bowed to their wishes to rejoin the party, he added.
PTI |
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NC rebel joins PDP
Srinagar, October 14 Mr Mehmood contested the just-concluded assembly elections from the Budgam constituency as an independent candidate after he was denied the ticket by the NC. The NC nominated Aga Mehmood’s nephew Aga Ruhullah who won the elections from the segment. PDP Vice-President Mehbooba Mufti welcomed Aga Mehmood into the party fold.
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Hizbul dist chief, 7 others shot dead
Srinagar, October 14 Shahid Anjum Farooqi, district commander of the Hizbul Mujahideen, was killed along with two of his bodyguards in an encounter in Warwan forest in Anantnag district of south Kashmir yesterday, the spokesman said. He said Nishat was a resident of Bagh-Kothar village of Pakistan-Occupied Kashmir, while his bodyguards identified as Mohammad Yousuf and Manzoor Shah were local militants hailing from Basmina village. Two AK rifles with six magazines, one pistol, seven grenades and two radio sets were recovered from them. Two militants of the Harkat-ul-Mujahideen outfit, Mohammad Sabir Bhat and his Pakistani accomplice Dostam Khan were killed in an encounter with the security forces at Lashtiyal in the border district of Kupwara today, the spokesman said. One AK rifle, one pistol and two grenades were recovered from them. He said ultras shot dead a woman in her house at Behota-Marmat in Doda district last night. A jawan was killed and two security personnel injured when militants attacked them at the Hari Singh high street here last evening, the spokesman said. Militants also shot dead Manzoor Ahmad at Udyanpore in Doda district last night, the spokesman said. Militants shot at and injured a National Conference activist, Abdul Rahman Wachkoo, near his shop at Shopian in Pulwama district last evening, the spokeman said. He said the ultras set on fire two houses at Dardhaji- Rajwar in Kupwara district causing extensive damage to the property. Militants also ransacked the house of a person in Pulwama district last night, the spokesman said. JAMMU: Security forces have busted two hide-outs in Rajouri and Poonch districts of Jammu division and recovered huge quantities of explosives from them, official sources said on Monday. Based on specific information the security forces raided a hide-out in Dara area of Rajouri district and recovered five anti-personnel mines and six detonators on Sunday. The security forces also recovered two guns with 76 rounds, one explosive device, some track shoes and one bottle of rifle oil from Gajandhar area of Udhampur district, they said.
PTI |
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India, Pak exchange fire along border
Jammu, October 14 The Pakistani troops targeted forward Indian posts in Dras sector with artillery fire from 8 p.m. forcing the Indian forces to retaliate, the sources said, adding that the artillery fire continued between the two sides for two hours without causing any damage on the Indian side. The exchange of machinegun fire between the Indian and Pakistani troops was reported in Kupwara sector and small arms fire in Siachen Glacier during last night, they said. Intermittent firing exchange between two sides along the international border took place at
Kanachak, Panjore, Dub Sudan, Lalyal, Dhera Camp, Nippu, Beli Azmat,
Chorgali, Gole Pattan, Chinore Farm, Budhwar, Pital Post, Mehtra Post, Zero Point and Kote Kuba in Jammu district since yesterday, the sources said.
PTI |
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Srinagar,
October 14
