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Monday,
February 24, 2003, Chandigarh, India  
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Budget session begins today APHC undecided on talks with Vohra Talks with Vohra: govt to consult Houses 7 militants shot dead |
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Assault on Farooq condemned Army builds dam Indian, Pak troops exchange fire
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Budget session begins today Jammu, February 23 The session will start with the address of the Governor, Mr G.C. Saxena, to the joint session of the two Houses. The National Conference (NC), the main Opposition party, was gunning for the Mufti’s coalition on other issues also including “non-fulfilment” of poll promises and failure of the authorities to restore the essential services which were hit due to the recent rains. The attack on the former Chief Minister, Dr Farooq Abdullah, and his son, Mr Omar Abdullah, President of the NC, at Pampore yesterday by an irate mob, has further angered the NC which has described it as a step towards muzzling democracy. The annoyance of the NC was visible today when it boycotted the all-party legislature meeting which was convened here by the Chief Minister, Mufti Mohammad Sayeed, to build consensus on vital issues. Three NC legislators, Mr Mohiuddin Shah, Mr Abdul Rahim Rather and Mr Abdul Qayum, were invited for the meeting but none of them turned up. Mr Rather, who was a Finance Minister in the previous NC government and is considered an expert on financial issues, has criticised the Mufti government for deciding to present a vote-on-account instead of a full fledged budget. The NC has accused the PDP-Congress coalition of financial mismanagement and has said after coming to power in November last, the Mufti government had sufficient time to study the financial position of the state and present a budget on March 3. The step of presenting a vote-on-account was taken only in extraordinary circumstances which was not the case here, Mr Rather said. The party has also pointed out that the treasuries were not making payment of bills as the state has plunged into a financial crisis ever since the present government assumed power. There were indications that the NC might move an adjournment motion on the issue of the financial position of the state. |
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APHC undecided on talks with Vohra Jammu, February 23 In reply to a question, he said, “I have not yet framed my personal opinion on the matter. In fact I cannot take any individual decision.” When reminded that the APHC leadership had been a votary of dialogue for the settlement of the Kashmir issue, Prof. Bhat agreed but said, “The matter has to be discussed threadbare and we do not want to take any hasty decision.” However, other senior separatist leaders from the APHC camp do not seem to be excited over the appointment of Mr Vohra as the government’s interlocutor. “We have nothing against Mr Vohra but we are intrigued over the way the Centre has been assigning the task of negotiating with Kashmiri leaders to bureaucrats,” said an APHC leader. He and other members of the tribe of separatists do not feel hopeful about the mission to be initiated by Mr Vohra. Their argument is that without a “proper agenda and terms of reference we fear Vohra mission may meet the same fate which K.C. Pant had met.” Their fears are based on several factors which they do not hesitate to hide. First, they feel convinced that the Kashmir turmoil could be resolved through a tripartite talks. They said Pakistan and the representatives of the people of occupied Kashmir “have to be involved in the dialogue.” “Kashmir comprises two parts and you cannot ignore one part if you have to have a fruitful and result-oriented discussion on the core issue,” said one separatist leader. “The Centre has had series of agreements with the Srinagar-based leaders, which included the Delhi Agreement of 1952, Sheikh-Indira Accord of 1975, and Rajiv-Farooq Accord of 1986. These agreements did not resolve the Kashmir issue when they had been signed with tallest leaders.” This seems to be the main argument of the separatists against bilateral talks. Secondly, they question the validity of the Centre’s decision of including elected representatives in the talks with Mr Vohra saying when the Chief Minister, Mufti Mohammed Sayeed, is in constant touch with the Prime Minister, Mr Atal Behari Vajpayee, and the Deputy Prime Minister, Mr L.K. Advani, what is the need for interacting with the members of the state legislature? The APHC leaders were for a comprehensive parleys for which a favourable atmosphere was to be created. In this connection, they refer to their demands which include release of all political detinues, end of human rights violations by the security forces, permission to the APHC team to visit Pakistan and the occupied Kashmir for discussion with different leaders and “commanders” of rebel outfits, ceasefire on both sides and withdrawal of troops to the barracks from the border. The Government of India should first concede “these demands which alone will set the stage for a meaningful dialogue,” says a senior APHC leader. Inside reports said the separatists in Jammu and Kashmir are on the horns of a dilemma. On one side they do not want to annoy Islamabad by accepting interaction with Mr Vohra without first seeking approval from agencies across the LoC, which may not be available. On the other hand these separatists feel the ground slipping under their feet with international pressure mounting, though gradually, on Pakistan for stopping its aid and encouragement to the cross-border terrorism. Hence the separatists do not seem to be prepared to get sidelined once some of their fellow travellers agree to hold discussions with Mr Vohra. It is because of these compulsions that the APHC leadership plans to adopt a cautious approach towards the Vohra mission and avoid jumping to conclusions. Kashmir experts opine that the Centre should concede at least three out of the five demands of the APHC and first of all allow its team to visit Pakistan. They argue that since there was no possibility of the APHC team succeeding in resolving the Kashmir issue to the satisfaction of India and Pakistan, it was better to catch it on the wrong foot by allowing its team to visit Islamabad and
Muzaffarabad. |
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Talks with Vohra: govt to consult Houses Jammu, February 23 The meeting, the first of its kind, was convened for a consensus on vital issues. The parties hailed the appointment of Mr Vohra for initiating talks for peace in J&K. A House committee will be formed for talks with Mr Vohra, the Centre has said the interlocutor would hold talks with elected representatives, those who have given up violence and other groups. |
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7 militants shot dead Jammu, February 23 The encounter which lasted about five hours took place when army personnel on a tip off launched a search operation in the Harigala-Gani area of the Krishna Ghatti sector, he said. The militants appeared to be part of a group which had reportedly sneaked into India from across the Line of Control, the spokesman said. Five AK rifles were recovered from the area and a search operation was on.
PTI |
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Assault
on Farooq condemned Jammu, February 23 Mr Baig, who is also president of the People’s Democratic Party (PDP), has said that such unruly behaviour was uncalled for, as in a democratic set-up everybody had the right to put forth his views before the people. He said the PDP had been a victim of such rowdyism in the past. He hoped that the authorities would identify the culprits and take action. |
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Army builds dam Jammu, February 23 The Army is also constructing water tanks adjacent to the springs located at a height and laying pipelines to Dabbar Potha and Chiryala villages in Naushera tehsil. Rajouri district will benefit villagers. |
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Indian, Pak troops exchange fire Jammu, February 23 There was no loss of life or damage to property on the India side, they said. Pakistani rangers shelled the Bhawani sector forcing the Indian troops to retaliate, the sources said, adding the exchange of small firearms also took place in the Arnia, Ramgarh and Kanachack sectors.
PTI |
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