 |
Monday,
January 13, 2003, Chandigarh, India  
|
J&K to approach World Bank
Paying the price for being Malik 1 killed, IEDs seized in J&K |
|
||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
|
Money makes 400 cross over to Pak Fulfil promise, Gujjars urge Mufti More NC leaders to quit party Employees for raising retirement age
|
|
J&K to approach World Bank Anantnag, January 12 Addressing at farmers’ camp held in Pulwama yesterday the Chief Minister said the report on the first two phases of the project were encouraging and hoped that the World Bank would continue to finance the project. The project was started in 1990 for five years. Subsequently, its second phase was sanctioned, which would be over in 2004. Giving a brief account regarding the benefits of the project, Mufti Sayeed said 28,500 hectares were brought under the project in Pulwama district where 57 villages were provided facilities for agriculture and horticulture activities. He said the project could prove a watershed in improving rural economy. He asked the Divisional Commissioner to coordinate the functioning of the watershed programme in Pulwama and Rajwar. He also called for the involvement of panchayats in the programme. He said in the afforestation drive people should be involved on a large scale. They should be encouraged to guard the forests. He called upon the special committees regarding rural development to do their best in this regard. Meanwhile, at a largely attended public meeting held here today Mufti Sayeed resolved that his government would fulfil all promises made to the people under the common minimum programme of the coalition parties. This was his first public meeting held in his hometown Anantnag after he took over as the Chief Minister of November 2 last year. Rural Development Minister and Congress leader Peerzada Mohammad Sayeed and other MLAs, Mehbooba Mufti, Abdul Aziz Zargar and Abdul Rahman Veeri and Tariq Hameed Qarran, general secretary of the PDP, were among those present on the occasion. The Chief Minister assured the people that their problems would be looked into. He said 3,000 youths would be adjusted in the police, while more than 7,000 others would be adjusted in the Education Department, under various government schemes. |
|
|
Paying the price for being Malik Srinagar, January 12 Mr Malik, member of a divided family across the border, was detained by Customs officials at the Attari railway station on January 25, 1999, for alleged forgery in his passport as he was proceeding to meet his uncle at Bahawalpur, Lahore. He was handed over to the Punjab police. The police, while lodging an FIR against Mr Malik, charged him with tearing off a certain number of pages from the passport — a claim the suspect denies. “I am not mad to travel on a forged passport or tear the pages of my passport. It was a customs official who tore off the pages from the passport after I refused to pay him a bribe of Rs 1,000, a sobbing Mr Malik said. He said a series of traumatic experiences for him started with his name. “The Customs official read my name on the passport and started asking all kinds of questions like who is funding my visit to Pakistan ... What is the purpose of my visit ... Who am I working for?” Mr Malik said. An engineer by profession, Mr Malik alleged that the police framed him as he refused to yield to its demands for a bribe. “They wrote in the FIR that I told them my nephew tore the pages. I have never said this,” he added. Mr Malik said he was introduced to a lawyer, Mr D.P. Sharma, by the police who agreed to plead his case in the court. Mr Sharma told him that the judge had fixed his bail for Rs 40,000 and he called his family to arrange the money for it. The funny thing was that “I understood nothing of the proceedings as everything was conducted in Punjabi”, Mr Malik said. Mr Malik claimed that at a subsequent hearing he pleaded with the judge that the proceedings be translated to him and he found out that the bail amount was only Rs 10,000”. He was finally released on bail in March after his family paid the bail amount to the lawyer. Hoping that justice would be forthcoming, he approached the NHRC with his complaint in July, but the human rights guardian refused to take any action and surprisingly referred the case to Tamil Nadu Chief Minister. He also wrote to state human rights commissions of Jammu and Kashmir and Punjab. The JKSHRC took 18 months just to tell him that his case fell under the jurisdiction of Punjab chapter. The PSHRC submitted its report entirely based on the statements of the accused officials and advocate Sharma, who was also one of the accused in Mr Malik’s complaint, exonerating them and putting the onus of proving innocence on the complainant. “If the decision is taken on the basis of the statements of the accused itself, I wonder how a complainant can get justice”, he said. Mr Malik said he was a tired man now and could not pursue his case with the same zeal. “I have to travel to Amritsar almost every month which is quite a strain on my pocket as well as my health. All I want is peace of mind now”, he added.
PTI |
|
1 killed, IEDs seized in J&K Srinagar, January 12 Six powerful improvised explosive devices containing 10 kg RDX each and 10 grenades were seized from a militant hideout busted by security forces in the upper reaches of Banihal in Doda district late last night, they said. IED switches, 20 metres cordex wire and 135 battery cells were also seized from the hideout, they said. The sources said the militants had planned to use the IED’s to cause major explosions on the Banihal-Qazigund stretch of the national highway. Army personnel busted another hideout at Gantmullah in Baramula district and seized 19 IED’s, four wireless sets, 13 detonators, 12 hand grenades, a pistol with a magazine and six rounds. Militants gunned down a civilian, Ghulam Mohammad Paul, at Parigam village in Anantnag district, suspecting him to be a police informer. They set ablaze houses of three brothers, Mohammad Yosuf, Mohammad Ishaq and Hamidullah, at Sargali village of Banihal on Friday night, sources said. In another operation, security forces arrested a suspected militant, Abdul Rashid Bhat, from Batakote village in Kupwara district during search operations and seized four hand grenades and some ammunition, they added. Meanwhile, the police launched a massive hunt to nab the four police personnel who kidnapped and tortured senior manager of the Hindustan Petroleum Farooq Ahmad Shah here on Friday evening. A case was registered at the Kothibagh police station yesterday against the personnel, official sources said. Family members of Mr Shah said four Gypsy-borne men in uniform intercepted Mr Shah near the tourist reception centre on Friday when he was on his way back home. He was pushed into a white police Gypsy. Sources said Mr Shah was blindfolded and his mouth gagged by the policemen, who beat him with riffle butts. They said Mr Shah had been receiving a number of threatening calls recently that he should stop the campaign against petrol adulteration or face consequences. During his captivity, the depot manager was beaten up severely, tortured and humiliated. Eventually, he was dropped at a brick kiln in Chadura area of Budgam district, the family members said. Mr Shah said, “It was rebirth for me as they almost left me to die in the deserted area. I still do not believe that I am alive.” The Himachal Pradesh authorities had also taken up the matter with the state administration and demanded immediate action against the police personnel responsible for kidnapping and torturing the official, the family members said.
PTI, UNI |
|
|
Money makes 400 cross over to Pak Jammu, January 12 “As many as 404 persons living along the (LoC) in the border districts of Rajouri and Poonch exfiltrated to Pakistan-occupied Kashmir (PoK) due to lure of money”, police officials said here today. The ISI, through its overground workers and militants, lured them with financial packages to PoK and Pakistan, where they were used as “human rights tools” to defame security forces and the Government of India at international fora, the officials said. “Not only this, they are being paraded in different camps before the people of Pakistan as well as some foreign Muslim countries, not only to project human rights violations and attract sympathy for Kashmir militancy, but also to collect money in the name of Kashmir”, the officials said. While 338 persons including, women and children, crossed over to the other side of the LoC in the Poonch-Rajouri belt in 2000, 31 and 35 such persons exfiltrated to PoK in 2001 and 2002, respectively, they said. The ISI doles out Rs 5,000 to Rs 10,000 per family to cross over to Pakistan, besides assuring them a monthly amount of Rs 2,500 each, the officials said. Not only this, those who motivate a family to exfiltrate are also paid Rs 1,000 to Rs 2,000 each as per the family’s strength, they added. The Pak army uses shelling and firing methods to engage the Indian Army, along the LoC for a period, when these people are guided by ISI agents and militants towards the Pak side, they added. “Even the Pak army uses these border-dwellers for mapping of defence locations, security set-up and topography in order to change their patterns of shelling, firing and infiltration of militants into Jammu and Kashmir via the LoC in the Rajouri and Poonch belt”, they added. One entire village, Tarkundi in Poonch district, bang on zero line, crossed over to the Pak side in June, 2000, due to propaganda over loudspeakers for months in the name of Kashmir and money, they said, They added that 286 persons lived in this village earlier. Similarly, 40 persons exfiltrated from Kenari village near the LoC in Poonch, followed by 30 from Sabzian, eight from Kerni and seven from Deri Dabsi in Rajouri, they said. Similarly, five persons each exfiltrated from Doma Khanetar, besides four each from Gagrian and Barooti villages along the LoC, the official added. However, one each crossed over to PoK from the border villages of Jhallas, Dullian and Kidsa, they added. PTI |
|
Fulfil promise, Gujjars urge Mufti Jammu, January 12 The front leader, including Mr Anwar Chowdhary, Mr Shah Mohammad Chowdhary, Mr Khaliq Firdous and Mr Baz Chowdhary, told newspersons here today that during last year’s Assembly poll campaign, Mufti Mohammad Sayeed had promised to give due political reservation to the Scheduled Tribe communities, which included the Gujjars. They said this promise had not been fulfilled. The Gujjar leaders demanded due representation to the community in the state Cabinet and in the two Houses of the state legislature. Mr Anwar Chowdhary said after the Registrar-General of India published figures of Census of 2001, it had become mandatory on the part of the state government to constitute a delimitation commission so that the Assembly segments were readjusted and increased in proportion to the increase in population. The front demanded that a representative from the community be included in the commission. It also demanded an increase in reservation and promotion in government offices for the Scheduled Tribe community from 5 per cent to 10 per cent as was the case with the Scheduled Castes. It also called for the immediate reconstitution of the Gujjar and Bakerwal Advisory Board, with statutory authority to the board. The front urged the government to take measures for permanent settlement of the Gujjar nomadic tribe, which could also be considered as part of the healing touch to the people as promised by the Chief Minister. It also demanded that Gojari language be included in the Eighth Schedule of the Constitution. |
|
|
More NC leaders to quit party Jammu, January 12 “I could not believe my ears. I missed a heartbeat,” Mr Ali, who recently joined the PDP after quitting the National Conference, told this correspondent. He said he had remained with the National Conference for about 30 years, prepared the party brochures, poll manifestos, banners, speeches etc. “But it would take me weeks and months to get an appointment with Dr Farooq Abdullah okayed,” he lamented. “After joining the PDP, I feel I am free of the humiliating treatment meted out to me. Repeated telephone calls to Dr Abdullah would never bring him on the line,” he stated. Other senior leaders of the National Conference are also reportedly planning to quit the 60-year-old organisation to join either the PDP or the Congress. Mr Sonnaullah Dar, Mr M.S. Tariq, Mr Nissar Khan, all former ministers, have already joined the PDP. Their only grouse was that they were alighted by the NC leadership. Reliable reports said several senior NC leaders, some of them ministerial colleagues of Dr Abdullah between 1996 and 2002, were planning to quit the party to join the PDP. The PDP Vice-President, Ms Mehbooba Mufti, is said to have intensified her “poaching” on the National Conference to enlarge the PDP base in the state. But, will this move prove counter-productive? This question is being discussed in the higher echelons of the PDP in the context of continued people’s anger against NC leaders. |
|
Employees for raising retirement age Jammu, January 12 The government’s decision to increase the recruitment age for educated youths in the services from 35 to 37 years is expected to help several thousand youths. Sections of employees argue that the raising of recruitment age should have been supplemented with the increase in the age of retirement. An employee, Altaf Ahmed, said, “Those who join government departments at the age of 37 will not be entitled to full pension benefits as rules provide that only those employees who have put in 33 years service could draw full pension.” Meanwhile, informed sources said the Mufti had decided to entrust the job of preparing the blueprint for setting up a finance commission, delimitation commission and for sending a communication to the Centre for the inclusion of Dogri in the 8th Schedule of the Constitution to the Law Minister. |
 |
| 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 | |
