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Tuesday,
December 10, 2002, Chandigarh, India  
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Refugees seek seats in Assembly J&K to form panel
for ultras’ release Mufti ‘ heals’ victims of militancy with jobs 5 ultras, BSF jawan killed in Jammu |
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Refugees seek seats in Assembly Jammu, December 9 Under the state Constitution 24 seats in the Assembly have been reserved for the Pakistan occupied territory on the plea that the area was a part of the undivided state. The Chairman of the SOS, Mr Rajiv Chuni, told mediapersons here today that since the refugees of occupied Kashmir had received a step motherly treatment from the successive state and the Central Governments during the past 55 years “our problems can be highlighted on the floor of the House, only when our representatives are nominated to eight out of the 24 seats reserved for the PoK people.” Mr Chuni alleged that the Mufti-led coalition government had also “ditched us by not including the resettlement of the displaced people from PoK in its Common Minimum Programme.” He said that during the past 55 years the refugees had been given series of promises with regard to their suitable rehabilitation but not even a single commitment had been filled, till date. As a result “12 lakh refugees continued to live a miserable life in Jammu and elsewhere.” The SOS chief further alleged that basic and fundamental rights had been denied them adding that “migrants from the Kashmir valley received all help from the government for their sustenance but were being treated as second-class citizens. He said it was unfortunate that the successive governments did not pay any compensation in lieu of the immovable assets “we had left behind in the PoK territory ”. |
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J&K to form panel
for ultras’ release
Jammu, December 9 The committee will be headed by Principal Secretary (Home Commissioner), Home Department of the J and K Government, the sources told PTI here today. Besides, the committee would have the Director-General of Police (DGP), Additional Director General, Criminal Investigation Department (CID), state intelligence chief, and Director General of J and K Prisons. The Joint Director, Intelligence Bureau (IB), will be permanent representative of the Central Government in the committee. The exercise of the constitution of this committee had been completed and formal orders to this effect would be issued in the next few days. There will be no major releases of militants in Jammu and Kashmir till the end of Gujarat elections, where one of the partners of the PDP-led coalition — government — Congress, is in the middle of crucial electoral battle with BJP. “It is not due to the pressure of the Centre that the government has gone slow on the release of militants and political prisoners, but due to elections in Gujarat, where the BJP is using the card of release of militants against its rival Congress,” the sources said. “The process of release of political prisoners and militants will re-start after December 12, when Gujarat goes to polls,” the sources added. Unlike the previous government, a few militants, whose detention term under the Public Safety Act (PSA) is likely to expire shortly, were not released by the state government this time on the occasion of Id. The previous National Conference government had released 27 militants in 2001, 24 in 1999 and 21 in 1998 during the Id festival, the sources said.
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Mufti ‘ heals’ victims of militancy with jobs Jammu, December 9 “Though my loss is irreparable the government job has come as a boon to me,” she said after receiving the appointment letter from Chief Minister Mufti Mohammad Sayeed at Vijaypur today. She was one among 45 victims of militancy who were given government jobs by the Chief Minister. The Mufti-led coalition government has included this exercise in its Common Minimum Programme as part of its “healing, touch” policy. Victims from Kargil, Handwara and other areas within the Jammu district were beneficiaries of this “gift”, as some of the recipients put it. The wife of a BSF Deputy Commandant, who was killed in a militant-triggered explosion in Handwara, was also given a government job. She was in tears when she received the appointment letter from the Mufti. The Chief Minister had a dig at Dr Farooq Abdullah, who had recently ridiculed the Mufti’s exercise of distributing the appointment letters himself, saying that this was being done by the Deputy Commissioner during Dr Abdullah’s rule. Dr Abdullah had said that it was only during the Assembly poll that the programme had to be suspended under the directions of the Chief Election Commissioner. The Mufti said victims of militancy were today given the jobs which had been denied to them for the past several years. There were cases pending since 1992, he said. Some of these cases were cleared today and others were pending since 1995 and 1999. Kin of those policemen, porters and Armymen who were killed in the Pakistani
shelling during the Kargil conflict were also handed over appointment letters. |
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5 ultras, BSF jawan killed in Jammu Jammu, December 9 Two militants were shot dead by security forces in a joint operation at Rigam in Banihal area of Doda district last evening. Recoveries from slain militants included two AK-47 rifles and four hand grenades, they said. In another incident, a militant of the Harkat-ul-Jehadi Islami (HuJI) outfit Manzoor Ahmed alias Zunain was killed at Danbar in Chatru area of Doda district last night, the sources said adding one AK rifle with some ammunition and a China-grenade were recovered from him. Reports from Poonch district said an unidentified militant and a BSF constable, identified as Nem Singh, were killed in an encounter at Phagla in Surankote area. One BSF constable, who was injured in the incident, has been hospitalised. One AK rifle with four magazines, 12 rounds and two hand grenades were recovered from the site of the encounter, the sources said. Another militant was killed by security forces at Dhilori in Kalakote tehsil of Rajaouri district. A major disaster in the high security Kotbalwal Jail here was averted today when a CRPF jawan picked up an active grenade and lobbed it to an isolated area where it exploded without causing any casualty or damage, official sources said. The jawan, while cleaning ammunition, noticed smoke coming out of a grenade and immediately threw it out of the building to an isolated area, the sources told PTI. There was no casualty or damage to property in the explosion, the sources said.
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