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Wednesday,
November 27, 2002, Chandigarh, India  
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Govt not soft towards militants: Azad CM’s directive on power to temple NEWS ANALYSIS
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CM extends ‘healing touch’
to border residents Accountability panel Bill passed Govt ‘following Hurriyat agenda’ Two hurt, property damaged in
Pak shelling 3 children among 7 killed in valley Billowria may succeed Malhi as Chief Secy
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Govt not soft towards militants: Azad Jammu, November 26 Mr Azad told The Tribune here that the Mufti government was no less secular and nationalist than the BJP-led NDA government at the Centre. The coalition government here was equally concerned about national interests, he said. He said 16 of the 24 militants had been recently released on orders of the court. The others were released in “consultation and concurrance” with the central intelligence agencies with come under the Home Ministry. Mr Azad pointed out that instead mud-slinging, the BJP leaders should remember that their government at the Centre had not only released some dreaded terrorists but also the External Affairs Minister had escorted these terrorists to Kandhar to get the hijacked plane released. He said a large number of terrorists were released during the regime of the National Conference government but no voice was raised against such action. He said we expect the NDA government to support the PDP government. Mr Azad said the current special session of the Assembly should be considered as a vote of confidence in favour of the Mufti government because not even a single motion of no confidence was moved. He denied that the Congress had betrayed the people of Jammu by not providing a Chief Minister from the region. |
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CM’s directive on power to temple Jammu, November 26 This was announced by the Chief Minister at a citizens’ meeting here yesterday. He told prominent citizens that the priest of the temple had told him that the former Chief Minister, Dr Farooq Abdullah, had promised that uninterrupted power supply would be provided to the temple complex after the March terrorist strike, but the promise had not been fulfilled. The Chief Minister also informed the citizens that a disinformation campaign had been launched against him as far as providing jobs to militancy-affected people was concerned. He said he had plans of giving government jobs to kin of those killed by the militants and in this connection he had directed the Divisional Commissioner, Jammu, to submit a list. He said jobs to the victims of violence would be provided in the Jammu region also. |
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NEWS ANALYSIS Jammu, November 26 Another attack on Raghunath Temple was carried out on November 24 when Mr Malik was released on bail 10 days ago, indicating that the arrest or release of the likes of Mr Malik has no direct bearing on the militants’ attacks. And when Mr Malik was released on bail the Chief Minister, Mufti Mohammad Sayeed was held responsible right from the day he took the reins of the government, announced that his policy would be to lay emphasis on giving a “healing touch to the people.” He had also given an indication that the government would prefer a dialogue to bullet-for-bullet policy. And since the formation of the PDP-Congress coalition government there have been four major militants’ attacks. Mufti took over on November 2 and ultras greeted him with an attack on the Rashtriya Rifle camp at Sopore on November 4. It was followed by a suicidal attack on a CRPF camp in Srinagar on November 22 in which seven CRPF personnel were killed. In this incident, the terrorists were eliminated. On November 23, terrorists detonated an IED near Qazigund on the Srinagar-Jammu highway in which nine persons, including five Armymen were killed and 24 sustained injuries. This was followed by an attack on the Raghunath and Shiva temples in Jammu in which all persons were killed. Here also both rebels were eliminated. Critics of Mufti, who questioned his liberal policy, got issue to rap him when a massacre was carried out outside the two temples in Jammu. These critics had failed to keep in mind that during Ramzan suicide bombers had carried out series of gruesome attacks. During the last three years, the state recorded nine suicide attacks during Ramzan. Out of these, seven attacks had been carried out by ultras belonging to the Laskar-e-Toiba and each by Hizbul Mujahideen and Jamait-ul-Mujahideen. This clearly indicates that ultras attacks are not the result of liberal policy being pursued by the Mufti led government. BJP leaders have held the Mufti responsible for escalation in the terrorists attacks on three grounds. First, he announced non-implementation of the POTA. Secondly, the coalition government ordered the release of separatists and militants. Thirdly, the Chief Minister rewarded families of militants with government jobs. As far as the non-implementation of POTA is concerned the state has many laws, including the Public Safety Act, which provides for detention without trial for two years, and the state has been declared a disturbed area with the Army having been equipped with Special Powers (Armed Forces) Act. The 13-year-long insurgency in Jammu and Kashmir has clearly revealed that neither the anti-terrorist laws nor the Disturbed Area Act and nor the Special Powers (Armed Forces Act) has proved a deterrent to the militants. “You cannot force infiltrators to go back from the border by dangling a POTA scare,” said a senior police officer. He said “I have been involved in anti-terrorists operations for the last 12 years and I have come to the conclusion that either Pakistan has to be forced or persuaded to stop encouraging infiltration or steps should be taken by our armed forces to check infiltration from across the LoC.” The second charge against the Mufti is that he ordered the Special Operation Group (SOG) to go back to the barracks. Some opposition leaders even blamed the Chief Minister for violating his commitment of “disbanding” the SOG. People had seemingly become wary of the functioning of the SOG. More than 85 per cent custodial killings, and those related to harassment and extortion have been attributed to the SOG. Hence Mufti, who has been keen to remove alienation among the people, send the SOG men back to the police without restricting them in carrying out anti-insurgency operations. And when Mufti Sayeed handed over appointment orders to the kin of militancy victims in Srinagar and Baramula he was accused of rewarding relations of militants with government jobs. It was not the case. He had directed the Deputy Commissioners and the Divisional Commissioners to prepare list of such victims kin of those killed by militants had been given jobs on the spot and that too under SRO-43 having been in practices for the last several years. It was part of his programme of giving a healing touch to the people. The Mufti has clarified that his government had not revoked detention against any detained person. Those 12 to 15 separatist and militants have been released either on parole or bail by courts. Yes, the Mufti-led government did one thing. It did not make a mockery of the court order by rearresting the released persons on one charge or the other as has been the practice during the last 12 years. Mohammed Yasin Malik has been arrested and released more than 15 times during the last 13 years. The government spent over Rs 6.50 lakh rupees on his treatment in the AIMS and other hospitals when the state was under the Governor’s rule before 1996. Showkat Bakshi of the JKLF, had remained in detention on charge of having kidnapped Mufti Sayeed’s daughter, Rubia Sayeed, for about 12 years. He has been released on bail and there are several other instances. Their release has no direct bearing on the rise and fall of the militancy related violence, Showkat Bakshi remained in detention for 12 years and the level of violence never ebbed. Gen Moosa of Hizbul Mujahideen remained in jail for over eight years it has no positive impact on the level of terrorist strike. The Chief Minister has explained on the floor of the Assembly that a month-long lull was the result of Islamabad being engaged in sorting out its democratic and constitutional problems due to the recently held elections to the National Assembly. Now it has sent a fresh direction to the rebels to step up violence. The attack on the religious places was aimed at inciting communal violence. Reports from across the border revealed that the Pakistani agencies, had been rattled by perceptible change in the outlook of the people in Kashmir after the Mufti took over as the Chief Minister. These agencies thought if the level of violence was not augmented a time was not far off when majority of people would refuse shelter and support to the militants, especially foreign mercenaries. Hence they engineered series of attacks in Jammu and Kashmir. These agencies had fears that the policy being pursued by the Mufti to remove alienation among the people could weaken the spirit of the ongoing jehad and hence they struck in a big way. As a result of these misgivings and confusion even the Congress, which is a signatory to the common minimum programme, has opposed the policy of liberalism. Ms Sonia Gandhi said in Jammu “we are not soft towards the militants” thereby indicating that the Mufti has to amend, if not alter, his policy towards the militants. |
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CM extends ‘healing touch’
to border residents Jammu, November 26 Talking to a delegation of border area legislators, Mr Sayeed said the government was considering setting up shelters in safer areas for these who had been uprooted due to Pakistan shelling. Similarly, the demand for residential plots at safer places for those living on zero line would also be considered. The Deputy Chief Minister, Mr Mangat Ram Sharma, was also present. It was also agreed that those rendered disabled would be provided Rs 500 as financial assistance per month besides jobs to one member of the family of those killed in border firing. He said the government would consider the demand for continuation of free ration to the dislocated border migrants. The Deputy Chief Minister assured the delegation that the farmers who could not cultivate their lands due to mines would be provided compensation shortly. |
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Accountability
panel Bill passed Jammu, November 26 Speaking on the Bill, Beig lambasted the bureaucracy, particularly the Chief Secretary, for obstructing the setting up such a body in the state so far. He said that the then Chief Secretary had overruled the orders of former Finance Minister, Abdul Rahim Rather, who now was in the opposition benches and stalled the move on the commission during the National Conference regime. He said the proposal to set up the commission was cleared by the Cabinet of Dr Farooq Abdullah, even then the move became a victim of bureaucratic conspiracy. Mr Beig said that he had decided to seek explanation of the secretary, General Administration Department, who dared to give a noting on the file that this was yet another attempt of the Finance Department to spread its control. However, the then Chief Minister accepted the advice of bureaucrats and ordered a review of the decision. The file again was sent to the Vigilance Department for opinion. Unfortunately, the department described it as an attempt to create a parallel organisation and the Chief Minister approved the observation. Accepting the amendments moved by Opposition members, Mr Beig said that instead of the Chief Minister and any other political person selecting the chairman and members of the commission, the Chief Justice and two senior judges of the high court would select them. The original Bill provided that a seven-member committee headed by the Chief Minister and consisting of Leader of the Opposition would select the chairman and members of the commission. He also accepted the suggestion of the Opposition on not restricting the time-frame of inquiring into complaints relating to the past seven years and made it an open-ended legislation to remove the apprehensions that the Bill was brought to victimise the members of the National Conference who were in power during that period. The amendment that approval of the Governor should be necessary for initiating probe against the ministers was also accepted. Mr Beig said that the commission would not be allowed to become a platform for tarnishing the image of any person and jail term had been provided for in respect of frivolous complaints. |
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Govt ‘following Hurriyat agenda’ Jammu, November 26 He said the security situation had worsened after the formation of the coalition government in Jammu and Kashmir and the series of ultras attacks, including the two on the temples in Jammu, confirmed that militants had been encouraged by the policies of the new Government. Mr Kotwal also criticised the government’s decision not to implement POTA. He said if implementation of POTA was required it in Jammu and Kashmir because of the level of militancy related violence had increased. The BJP chief said the Chief Minister had shown more interest in the rehabilitation of the families of militants than the migrants. He said large number of border migrants had been facing series of odds but the government was keen to give government jobs to the kin of militants. He said if the Congress-PDP coalition government did not change its policy and failed to adopt stringent measures against the militants the situation may assume alarming dimensions in the state. |
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Two hurt, property damaged in
Pak shelling Baramula, November 26 Official sources said Pakistani troops fired mortar and artillery shells targeting civilian areas and security forces installations across the Line of Control (LOC) in Uri sector last evening. The sources said some of the shells fell near the civilian areas causing injuries to two persons, including a woman. Nearly six houses and shops were damaged in the shelling which continued for an hour. The sources said a power transmission line was also damaged in the shelling disrupting power supply to some areas. They said Indian troops also returned the fire and hit a number of Pak bunkers. However, casualties suffered by the Pakistani side were not known.
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3 children among 7 killed in valley Srinagar, November 26 A police spokesman said here that three children were killed and another seriously injured in an explosion when they were fiddling with an explosive device at Kralpora, in Kupwara district of north Kashmir today. Those killed were identified as Mushtaq Sheikh, Firdous Sheikh and Shabir Sheikh. Another child Ishaq Sheikh, who was seriously injured in the explosion, has been shifted to a hospital here. Militants shot dead three persons, including two women of a family, in Budgam district today. They had been kidnapped by gunmen from their house at Watrahel village yesterday. |
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Billowria
may succeed Malhi as Chief Secy Jammu, November 26 Mr Billowria, a 1968 batch IAS, officer at present is on deputation with the Centre. Mr
Malhi retired last month when there was brief spell of the Governor’s
rule in the state. He was granted one month’s extension in service. However,
a section of bureaucracy reportedly is trying that Mr M.S. Pandit
junior to Mr Billowria be made the Chief Secretary. |
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