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Saturday,
December 7, 2002, Chandigarh, India  
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Violence
mars Id celebrations in J&K
Sonia puts
J&K affairs on hold Protect
minorities, says SAD (A) |
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Violence mars Id celebrations in J&K
Jammu, December 6 Three civilians were wounded when an Army jawan opened fire on unruly demonstrators at Cheroo village in Baramula district. One civilian later died, according to UNI. Official reports said hundreds of people had staged a demonstration in protest against the blowing up the house of a local resident, allegedly by the troops. Defence Ministry officials said the house was damaged in an exchange of fire between the Army and the militants who had taken shelter in Mr Gul Malik’s house. The officials said a protester tried to snatch a gun from an Army jawan, who opened fire, injuring three civilians. One of them later succumbed to his injuries. Later, a large number of people staged a dharna on the
Srinagar-Baramula highway at Cheroo village, demanding action against the Army personnel. Senior police officers from Srinagar and Baramula rushed to the spot to handle the situation.
In another incident, the security forces killed six militants belonging to the Lashkar-e-Toiba outfit at Danihama village in Baramula district today. On receipt of information, the security forces cordoned off the area around a rebel hideout. As they neared the spot, they came under fire. They retaliated, killing all six militants on the spot. Despite these two incidents, Id-ul-Fitr was celebrated with gaiety all over the state. The biggest congregation was at Jamia Masjid in Srinagar. there Molvi Umar Farooq, Kashmir Mirwaiz, addressed the congregation. In other areas people offered Id prayers at mosques. In Jammu, the main Id prayers were held in Idgah where Chief Minister Mufti Mohammed Sayeed and his party colleagues and senior officers were present. Addressing the congregation, the Chief Minister sought the cooperation of the people in meeting the challenges being faced in Jammu and Kashmir. He said: “The challenges are enormous and difficulties manifold that have to be met with fortitude.” He said that for steering the state out of the morass, people’s cooperation and support were needed. While praying for peace and normalcy in the state, he said the coalition government was pursuing the agenda of heralding peace with dignity in the state. He said he was committed to provide a healing touch to the people. A large number of people from different walks of life called on the Chief Minister to greet him on the occasion. Among the prominent persons who conveyed their Id greetings personally to Mr Sayeed included Deputy Chief Minister Mangat Ram Sharma and Union Minister of State for Defence Chaman Lal Gupta. Scenes of communal amity were witnessed in various areas of the state. Hindus and Sikhs embraced and greeted their Muslim brethren on
Id-ul-Fitr. Confectionery and sweet shops did a roaring business since yesterday as people purchased lots of cakes and sweets. |
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Sonia puts J&K affairs on hold Jammu, December 6 As a result of her preoccupation with the Gujarat poll she has not yet considered the request of the PCC chief, Mr Ghulam Nabi Azad, that he should be shifted back to Delhi and installed as the AICC general secretary. It is because of this only that she has not cleared the list of the Congress legislators who are to be inducted in the Council of Ministers when Mr Mufti expands his Cabinet this month. That Mr Azad has felt disenchanted with the developments in which he was started finding himself sidelined is no longer a secret as the PCC chief has curtailed his visits to the state and is spending more time in Delhi. He is upset over the delay in the formation of a coordination committee, which would monitor the working of the coalition government and he was to head the same. Inside reports say that the congress has kept the option of withdrawing support to the Mufti-led government open because it does not want to get associated with any measure of the Chief Minister that could affect its image at the national level. When the former Chief Minister, Dr Farooq Abdullah, announced in Jammu on Thursday that he could topple the coalition government anytime he was possibly dropping a broad hint about his hobnobbing with a section of the Congress leaders. Reports say that if Dr Abdullah feels that the Chief Minister was tightening the noose around his neck and that of his former ministerial colleagues he may offer outside support to the Congress for pulling down the government headed by Mufti Mohammad Sayeed. However, Kashmir experts are of the firm opinion that if the National Conference leadership succeeded in toppling the Mufti government, the PDP would completely replace the NC in the valley where the NC had become an untouchable these days. This will also cost the Congress heavily because whatever base it had rebuilt in Kashmir could be lost for ever. A major section of the state’s population is in favour of allowing Mufti Mohammad Sayeed not only time but a free hand for fulfilling his commitments. Though neither the Congress nor the National Conference seem to be in a hurry to dislodge Mufti Sayeed, their leaders are worried over the way the Chief Minister has been attracting appreciation from the people. Mr Mufti’s decision to include those Congress legislators in his Cabinet, who were recommended by Ms Sonia Gandhi, has also caused heartburn in the top PCC brass. |
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Protect
minorities, says SAD (A) Jammu, December 6 This demand was contained in a resolution adopted at a meeting of the party’s state unit here today. Mr J.S. Mangal, officiating president of the party’s state unit, presided over the meeting. The resolution referred to the recent killing of three members of a Sikh family by unidentified attackers. Eyewitnesses said they were killed by members of kale kachhewale gang. |
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