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Thursday,
June 5, 2003, Chandigarh, India  
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S.K. Sinha sworn in as J&K Governor NEWS ANALYSIS
Mufti launches job scheme |
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Council demands special status for Ladakh LeT commander shot dead Terrorists fail in Ladakh Uproar in J&K House over displaced persons Morcha: J&K Budget directionless Budget session shortened J&K not to enforce POTA 3 hurt in Pak
shelling Forest officers transferred Quota for wards of displaced J&K residents Couple commits suicide
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S.K. Sinha sworn in as J&K Governor Srinagar, June 4 The Jammu and Kashmir Chief Minister, Mufti Mohammad Sayeed, his ministerial colleagues, MLAs, MLCs, senior officers of civil administration and the Army were present on the occasion. A guard of honour by the Jammu and Kashmir Police personnel, was also presented to the new Governor soon after the oath-taking ceremony. The former Jammu and Kashmir Chief Minister Dr Farooq Abdullah, was also present on the occasion. Lieut-Gen Sinha (retd) has already served in two insurgency-affected states of Assam and Punjab. Prior to his new assignment, he had completed his term in Assam, where he had served since 1997. A multifaceted person with interests ranging from diplomacy to writing, Lieut-Gen S.K. Sinha has served the Army with distinction holding several important assignments, including that of Director, Military Intelligence and Vice-Chief of the Army Staff. A prolific writer, he has authored five books and contributed more than 300 articles on various issues in several national newspapers. His works include his autobiography, “A Soldier Recalls” and a book on J&K Operation of 1947-48. During his diplomatic stint as Ambassador to Nepal, he contributed a lot to improve Indo-Nepal relations. Born in 1926, General Sinha graduated with honours from Patna University at a young age of 17. Soon after, he joined the Army and passed out as the Best Cadet from the Officers Training College, Belgaum, the war time equivalent of Sword of Honour. He participated in combat operations in Burma and Indonesia during the Second World War and after Independence in Kashmir. During his two tenures in Nagaland and Manipur, he took part in counter insurgency operations. General Sinha scored the top position at the Defence Services Staff College in 1953 and at the Joint Services Staff College, U.K in 1962. Holding all levels of active command in the Army, he commanded a battalion in Ladakh, a brigade in Manipur, a mountain division in Assam, an infantry division in Jammu, a corps in Punjab and a Field Army in the Western sector. He also served as an instructor at Mhow and at Staff College, Wellington. In 1949, he was appointed Secretary of the Indian delegation on delineation of the Ceasefire Line in Kashmir at a meeting convened by the United Nations. He led the Indian delegation to Italy in 1972 for the Conference on Application of Human Rights during warfare. Awarded the Param Vishisht Seva Medal in 1973, he was made Honorary ADC to the President of India as also the President of the Gorkha Brigade. Noted South Asian expert, Stephen Cohen has described him as one of India’s outstanding Generals after Independence. |
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NEWS ANALYSIS Jammu, June 4 What has created discomfiture in the APHC is the insistence of Syed Ali Shah Geelani on seeking clarification and explanation from the Peoples’ Conference for its indirect participation in the September 2002 Assembly poll in violation of the APHC stand. The APHC had given a call for boycotting the election. Even prior to the resolution of the Majlis Shoura of the Jamait-e-Islami, endorsing Geelani’s demand for clarification from the Peoples’ Conference, APHC Chairman, Prof Abdul Gani Bhat, had formed a three-member committee comprising Mohd Yasin Malik of the JKLF, Maulvi Umar Farooq of the Awami Action Committee, and a prominent Shia leader, Molvi Abbas Ansari. The committee members had been asked to hold discussions with Mr Geelani and the chief of the People’s Conference, Mr Sajjad Lone, and his brother Mr Bilal Lone. The committee members had a number of meetings. Inside reports said that the committee members had tried to persuade Mr Geelani not to stretch the matter beyond repair but he had not yielded. But with the support of the Majlis Shoura, Mr Geelani has started talking from a position of strength. The majority of the members of the Executive Committee and the General Council of the APHC are said to be averse to succumbing to Mr Geelani’s demand for seeking an explanation from the People’s Conference leadership which could provoke the Lone brothers to pull out of the conglomerate. If that happens the APHC may be as big as a paper tiger when the Jamait-e-Islami continues to be a divided house with senior functionaries opposed to Mr Geelani’s strategy of setting up a parallel camp within the organisation. One of the Jamaat ideologues in his recent writeup, blamed Syed Ali Shah Geelani for trying to dictate terms to the leaders of the organisation including the members of the Majlis Shoura on the strength of the support he derived from the militants. He has indicated that the Majlis Shoura supported Mr Geelani as they had come under threat from the militants. A senior APHC leader said that the three-member committee is yet to complete the task assigned to it and after it submitted its report the matter of conflict between Mr Geelani and the Peoples’ Conference would be discussed by the Executive Committee and in case the need arose the issue may be referred to the General Council. Prof Abdul Gani Bhat, according to sources close to him, has been in favour of reconciliation between the two constituent leaders. He wants to lose neither the cooperation of the Peoples’ Conference nor that of the Jamait-e-Islami. He is aware of the fact that when the Amir of Jamait-e-Islami had in his letter to him, conveyed that Ali Mohammad Sheikh would represent the Jamaat in the APHC not a single member of the General Council of the APHC had reacted against the decision. Only militant groups had criticised the Jamaat decision. Compared to it the Peoples’ Conference has pockets of influence in Kashmir and the APHC may not afford to lose them if the Peoples’ Conference was sent packing from conglomerate. |
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Mufti launches job scheme Srinagar, June 4 Under the scheme, recruitment will be done at the tehsil level in police, education and other government departments to provide jobs to educated youth of urban areas, the Mufti said in the legislative Assembly. The government would also fill vacancies in other departments, including health, agriculture, engineering and physical education. Referring to Prime Minister Atal Bihari Vajpayee’s announcement of creating one lakh jobs for the youth of J and K during his recent visit to the state, the Chief Minister said a high-level committee headed by the Cabinet Secretary had been constituted for the implementation of the decision. The committee would meet on June 10 to decide the procedure for the implementation of the job package. The government had also sanctioned over 11,800 posts of teacher for primary schools, which would be given on the Rehbar-e-Taleem pattern, he said. Referring to the MoU signed by the previous state government with the Centre due to which many vacancies got frozen in the state, the Chief Minister said the Union Government had directed all states to go in for such an arrangement to tide over the financial crunch.
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Council demands special status for Ladakh Leh, June 4 Ladakhis are an ethnic minority who had a different culture and they should therefore be given a special status within the state, preventing people from other regions of the state from enjoying all rights, LAHDC Chairman Thupstan Chhewang said. “Nobody in the state should be allowed to exploit the provisions of Article 370 of the Constitution. If outsiders cannot buy land in Jammu and Kashmir, why should Kashmiris have the right to purchase property in Ladakh which has its own distinct culture?’’ he told reporters at the end of the three-day seventh Sindhu Darshan Festival yesterday. “The provisions of Article 370 should be applicable within the state as well,” the LAHDC Chairman said, reiterating the demand for imparting Union Territory status to the region for its overall social and economic development. Asked if Article 370 was in anyway coming in the way of bringing in foreign investment in Ladakh, he said though no direct foreign investment was coming to the region, foreign funding was being made through local NGOs, involved in various fields like education and health.
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LeT commander shot dead Jammu, June 4 Troops gunned down three hardcore militants in a gun battle in the Harri area in the Surrankote sector. An Army jawan was also killed in the encounter while a JCO and another received bullet injuries in the encounter. The identity of the slain militants was yet to be established, the sources said, adding that there was no immediate word on the quantum of seizures made from them. With the killing of these militants, the total number of militants shot dead during “Operation Sarp Vinash” has risen to 68. Meanwhile, a Lashkar-e-Toiba commander was shot dead by the police in a pitched gun battle in the Kalakote area in Rajouri district. The sources said a police team, on its way to Dharamsal, was waylaid and attacked by the militants. A gun battle ensued, following which additional reinforcements were rushed to the area. One militant was killed while others escaped. The slain militant was later identified as Abdul Raba, alias Abdul Rehman Akib, an LeT commander of the area and a resident of Pakistan-occupied Kashmir. Five grenades, four RDX slabs each weighing 2 kg, one AK magazine, 12 rounds of PIKA ammunition, two empty link belts, one detonator device, one remote control set with battery and 30 quintal ration have been seized from the area. The police said the slain militant was responsible for a number of attacks on the security forces and the police, including an ambush on a police party, in which the then SHO of Kalakote police station, Mohammad Yousaf, was killed on August 10, 2002. Elsewhere, an Army jawan was seriously injured when militants triggered an Improvised Explosive Device (IED) at Pagowar in Banihal area of Doda district at 5 am today.
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Terrorists fail in Ladakh Leh, June 4 “There have been attempts by the ISI-backed terrorists to spread their activities in Ladakh but the attempts have not succeeded because the geographical nature and climatic conditions of Ladakh are such that the terrorists cannot escape after entering the region,” he told reporters at the end of the three-day Sindhu Darshan festival here yesterday. It was impossible for the terrorists to come and stay put in Ladakh, he said, adding that the administration was prepared to foil any attempt by them to carry out suicide attacks. Asserting that the terrorists lacked local support, the LAHDC chief said the only place from where they had made some inroads into Ladakh was Kargil which after “Operation Vijay” had become safer. He said in 1989 the strength of the police, the Army and other security agencies, notable among them the ITBP, had been increased and security checks on various land routes to Ladakh had been enhanced. Security at the Ladakh airport had also been tightened. Mr Chhewang pointed out that keeping the security requirements in mind, a separate unified command had been created for Ladakh which had borders with China and Pakistan. Refuting claims that the terrorists were coming from Srinagar and other parts of Kashmir and settling in Ladakh, he said most of the people who had come as traders were from Jammu and only a few antique dealers had come from Srinagar. However, he did not rule out that there could be some undesired elements who could come to Ladakh in the garb of traders. “But in the absence of any local support, it’s difficult for them to function or create a base,” he felt. He believed that the worst phase of terrorism was over in the state which was on its way to normalcy. He said after the destruction of Bamiyan Buddha by the Taliban in Afghanistan, tension was running high here. Muslims constituted 15-17 per cent of the total population in the region which did not have any Hindus. However, due to the timely action by the local administration, the situation was prevented from going out of hand, he said.
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Uproar in J&K House over displaced persons Srinagar, June 4 Trouble began when Revenue Minister Hakeem Yaseen in reply to a question by MLA Manjit Singh said state land had been given to displaced persons of PoK. Mr Manjit Singh said he himself got displaced in 1965 and had not obtained the property rights till date. Responding to this, the minister asked him how he became member of the House since he was not a native of the state. Mr Manjit Singh said the Chamb area was originally a part of the state and later captured by Pakistan. He was joined by about six other legislators from Jammu, including Mr Raman Bala and Mr Jugal Kishore, who alleged that the government was not sincere in addressing the issues of the displaced persons. Repeated pleas by speaker Tara Chand could not pacify the members who said the government should immediately announce when the displaced persons of the Indo-Pak wars would be given property rights of custodian property. Mr Hakeem said custodian property could not be transferred to the displaced persons because of constitutional problems. “However, we have set up a committee and as soon as we receive the report, the matter would be resolved,” he said. The minister denied the allegation that the displaced persons of these wars had been settled along the border.
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Morcha: J&K Budget directionless Jammu, June 4 The spokesman of the morcha, Mr Onkar Seth, said the only change in the Budget had been made to maintain the balance between receipts and spendings. But as far as revenue receipts from the internal resources were concerned, over 80 per cent of internal revenue would come from the Jammu region, but regarding spendings hardly 30 per cent had been earmarked for the region. Mr Seth said that unless some basic changes were affected, Jammu would not get its due. He said Jammu should have due representation in accordance with its voters’ strength and allocation of funds in accordance with its area, which was double that of the Kashmir valley. The state government was dominated by Kashmiri leadership, which was not giving justice to Jammu and Ladakh, he alleged. Mr Seth said though the PDP-led coalition government, in its common minimum programme, had promised to create three new districts in the Jammu region in accordance with the recommendations of the Wazir Commission, but even after seven months the government had taken no step on this issue. This indicated that the coalition could not extend any justice to Jammu, he added. |
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Budget session shortened Srinagar, June 4 The Legislative Assembly adopted the Fourth Report of the Business Advisory Committee of the Tenth Legislative Assembly presented by the Minister for Law and Parliamentary Affairs, Mr Muzaffar Hussain Beig. As per the recommendations of the committee, the House will now sit up to June 21 instead of July 7. The Finance Minister has agreed to continue discussion on the Budget at the second session of the House tomorrow.
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J&K not to enforce POTA Srinagar, June 4 “The government will not invoke POTA in any case. The government will not sanction or allow prosecution of any person in the state under POTA,” State Housing Minister Ghulam Hassan Mir told Legislative Council during question hour. He said the government was considering releasing the persons booked under the Act but not involved in serious cases. Earlier, Minister of State for Parliamentary Affairs Abdul Rehman Veeri said no persons had been booked under POTA in the state in the past six months. To a query of G.N. Shaheen (NC), Veeri said so far 168 persons had been arrested under the act in the state. Of whom, 86 persons have been freed on bail on the directions of the courts. He said POTA was a central law enacted by Parliament and was not within the powers of the state government to abolish it.
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3 hurt in Pak
shelling Baramula, June 4 Sources said Pakistani troops fired mortars and artillery shells targeting civilian areas and security force installations in the Keran, Karnah and Teetwal sectors today. The sources said shelling from across the border started in Karnah at 4 pm, Teetwal 5 pm and Keran 5.30 pm. Most shells fell in the open field without causing any damage. The sources said one shell fell in the civlian area near the Line of Control at Kamalkote resulting in injuries to three persons.
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Forest officers transferred Srinagar, June 4 Mr Pritam Chand, Director State Forest Research Institute, has been posted as Chief Conservator of Forests, Jammu while Mr S.S. Bali, Director, Environment and Remote Sensing, has been posted as Director, State Forest Institute, in his own pay and grade. Mr A.R. Wadoo, Chief Conservator of Forests, Kashmir, has been posted as Chief Wildlife Warden while Mr C.M. Seth, Chief Conservator of Forests (Central) has been transferred and posted as Managing Director, State Forest Corporation. Mr Shafat Ahmad, Chief Wildlife Warden, has been transferred and posted as Chief Conservator of Forests, Kashmir, and Mr. S.K. Khajuria, Regional Director Social Forestry, Jammu, has been posted as Chief Conservator of Forests (Central). |
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Quota for wards of displaced J&K residents Jammu, June 4 The decision came four days after the Congress President, Mr Sonia Gandhi, during her visit to Srinagar asked the Congress-ruled state governments to reserve seats for students from Jammu and Kashmir in educational institutions, including professional colleges. Out of a total of 26 seats, 13 have been reserved for B.Sc., (agriculture), four for B.Sc. (horticulture), two for B.Sc. (forestry), one for B.Sc. (home science) and one for B.Sc., he said. For B.Tech (agricultural engineering) four seats have been reserved and for B.Tech (food science) one seat has been reserved, he added.
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Couple commits suicide Jammu, June 4 Amit Sharma and Sangeeta Gotam, who had been staying in the hotel for the past two days, were believed to have consumed poison, it said, adding that the reason behind the suicide was not clear.
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Srinagar, June 4
