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Friday,
June 6, 2003, Chandigarh, India  
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5 killed
in Pak shelling Pak
intruder killed, hideouts busted 5 killed,
60 kg RDX seized
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Ultras lie
low — lull before Indo-Pak talks Cabinet to
decide on MLA fund hike: Beig BJP asks
Mehbooba to clarify stand
J&K ASSEMBLY Gen
Sinha to play ‘proactive’ role NCP:
Budget anti-farmer Transport
fare may be cut
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5 killed in Pak shelling
Srinagar, June 5 The shelling from across the border was intense since yesterday and the casualties were reported from the Karnah and Uri sectors of Kupwara and Baramula last night, they said. The sources said Pakistani troops resorted to unprovoked artillery and mortar shelling, killing four persons at Tangdhar in Karnah and a girl at Kamalkote village of Uri. Seven civilians were injured in the shelling in Karnah and another at Kamalkote where two houses were also damaged, they said. The injured had been shifted to hospital and their condition was stated to be serious. The sources said Indian troops also retaliated, but the casualties suffered by them were not known immediately. Shelling from both sides was continuing when reports last came in today, they said, adding that the sudden escalation in the cross-border shelling caused panic among inhabitants, most of whom shifted to safer places in their villages. This was for the first time this year that the Pakistani troops shelled the forward villages so heavily, they said. The shelling was carried out apparently to push militants into the valley as the Army had foiled four infiltration bids last month, killing about 20 militants in the Kupwara sector. The troops had been asked to intensify vigil along the border. The civilians killed in the shelling had been identified as truck driver Abdul Hamid, his assistant Arif Ahmad Lone, both residents of Jalpari (Baramula), Ghulam Nabi Joo of Hanjinar-Karnah, Sajjad Ahmad of Wuyan-Pampore (Pulwama district) and a teenaged girl Kuki.
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Pak intruder killed, hideouts busted
Jammu, June 5 The intruder, whose identity was yet to be ascertained, appeared to be a guide of militants, they said. He was probably pushed by Pakistani agencies to find the details of infiltration routes, they added. The security forces, meanwhile, busted a militant hideout in the Surankote area of Poonch district and seized four magazines and 55 rounds of AK type rifles, 60 rounds of sniper ammunition, an IED, a hand grenade, a radio set, besides food articles. From another hideout in the forest area of Rajouri district, the security forces seized two remote control IED boxes, five programmable timer devices, two kg explosives and 15 switches, the sources said.
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5 killed, 60 kg RDX seized
Srinagar, June 5 An official spokesman said an encounter took place between militants and the security forces at Kharpora Kokernag village in south Kashmir late last night during which Hizbul militant Gulzar Ahmad Bhat alias Shaker was killed. The encounter ensued after a search party was attacked by the militants, he said. He said motor cycle-borne militants shot dead Firdous Ahmad Dar at Chadiloora Tangmarg in
Baramula district today. The deceased was working in the Gousia Educational Trust. The spokesman said the security forces gunned down three militants in a fierce encounter at Hari Safeda last evening. Three AK rifles, six magazines, one wireless set and one pouch were seized from the slain militants. The security forces seized 60 kg RDX and one wireless set from the woods at Awantipora while two UBGL, eight hand grenades, 13 rifle grenades, 11 RPG, 8 boosters, one magazine and 266 rounds of ammunition were seized at Nawan Gali Awoora in the frontier district of Kupwara. Two persons, including a security jawan, were wounded in a bomb blast near Bandipora judicial court in north Kashmir last evening. He said the security forces smashed a hideout at Surankote and seized one IED and one grenade. Four suspected militants were also taken into custody at Surankote, he said.
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Ultras lie low — lull before Indo-Pak talks Jammu, June 5 Those who see a major improvement in the security scenario in the state refer to the way the Congress Chief Ministers’ two-day conclave in Srinagar had ended without any incident of violence in and around the summer capital of the state. They refer to the size of the crowd that had assembled in Baramula, to listen to the AICC President, Ms Sonia Gandhi but all that the mediapersons could report about was that an IED had been found near the ground where meeting was held. According to a senior police officer against 10 to 15 deaths in a day at the hands of the militants and in the crossfire between the security forces and the rebels earlier, now there were only two to three killings in a day. He said the number of militancy-related incidents had dropped to the level that had been witnessed in early 1989. One BSF officer, while confirming marked improvement in the security situation, said he had reports that the activists of the two main militant outfits, Jash-e-Mohammad and Lashkar-e-Toiba, were storing weapons and explosives and were engaged in establishing new bases in different parts of the state. He explained that possibly the militants were watching the turn of events following the prospects of the resumption of Indo-Pak talks becoming bright. He said reports from across the border had revealed that the militants had been asked to lie low for sometime so that Islamabad did not face the wrath of the international community for not stopping moral and material aid to the rebels. He stated that weapons and ammunition were being stored so that the struggle could be revived in case the talks did not materialise or failed. According to these reports, the morale of the militants, especially those belonging to the Hizbul Mujahideen outfit, was low following a crackdown ordered by the Pakistan Government under which 40 militants had been arrested so far. Islamabad has reportedly sent clear instructions to the rebels, operating in Jammu and Kashmir, to lie low for sometime so that General Musharraf did not have to face problems during his proposed meeting with the US President, Mr George Bush, shortly. Even Jamait-e-Islami supremo Qazi Hussain, has supported negotiated settlement on Kashmir between India and Pakistan and has advised those engaged in providing moral support to the militants to avoid any step which could provoke US intervention. The chief of the United Jehad Council, Syed Salahuddin, too has supported the Qazi’s stand and these together have restricted militant strikes in Jammu and Kashmir. Intelligence agencies, in their assessment, have found that the militants are facing a shortage of funds and weapons and the usual logistic support to was not available from their patrons from across the border. At the
same time, there is no sharp decline in the number of militants present in the state. |
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Cabinet
to decide on MLA fund hike: Beig Srinagar, June 5 Giving a reply at the end of the two-day discussion on the zero-deficit Budget, the Finance Minister, Mr Muzaffar Hussain Beig, said the Budget deficit had been on the rise since 1997 and was brought down to zero this year. The minister said the issue of an increase in the constituency development fund of MLAs, as demanded by members, would be taken with the Cabinet. He favoured a hike in the TA for the MLAs. Mr Beig said the suggestions made by National Conference would not be brushed aside by the government. He described the comments made by various party members during the past two days as “encouraging and interesting”. He said the debt slab had been reduced from 51 per cent to 28 per cent. Earlier, National Conference leader Ghulam Mohiuddin Shah said there was no relief for the poor who were bound to pay more taxes indirectly. He described the resource mobilisation as proposed in the Budget as “demobilisation”. He
said there was scope for more recoveries on power tariff. He asked the government not to “take chances” by favouring loans from the RBI on lower interest rates. Former minister and NC leader Ali Mohammad Sagar criticised the Chief Minister for keeping “good terms” with the BJP and Congress despite having criticised the NC for “close ties” with the NDA government at the Centre. He said the government’s plea of presenting a zero-deficit Budget and fiscal autonomy was not based on facts. The CPM MLA, Mr M.Y. Tarigami, said the maiden Budget was a successful attempt towards the traditional concept of a balance. Meanwhile, criticising the Budget, the National Conference said yesterday that the PDP-led coalition government’s “proposals and acts were contradictory”. Members of the coalition parties, on the other hand, were generally happy with the budget but expressed reservations on certain proposals. “The Finance Minister has proposed not to rely on loan component to meet the non-plan expenses but they have already accrued a loan amount of Rs 612 crore from various institutions,” NC leader and former Finance Minister Abdul Rahim Rather said during the discussion on budget in the Assembly. PDP President Mehbooba Mufti while welcoming the Budget asked the government to take effective measures to implement it so that people at the grassroots reap its benefits. Congress MLA Prem Sagar Aziz lauded the Budget, especially the tax on liquor, the tax holiday to hotels, restaurants and dhabas and several benefits for the state employees. Balwant Singh of the Panthers Party welcomed the Budget but said the government should ban the sale of alcohol in all regions of the state. Mir Saifullah of NC also expressed similar views and wondered as to why the government was in a hurry to implement the VAT regime despite heavy opposition to it in other states. Mian Altaf of NC demanded roll-back of all taxes proposed in the Budget if it had a provision for surplus. Peer Mohammad Hussain of PDP said it had been a “balanced and landmark budget” in the sense that for the first time the state had fixed its own plan. Khem Lata Wakhlu of the Congress said the Budget would usher the state into a new era of prosperity and was a big leap towards
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BJP asks Mehbooba to clarify stand Jammu, June 5 Prof Hari Om, spokesman of the party, in a statement here today said the BJP also described as a dangerous gameplan yesterday’s suggestion of the PDP chief, Ms Mehbooba Mufti, that no non-state subject, skilled labour should be allowed to work in Jammu and Kashmir. The BJP believed that the decision of the Mufti-led government and the suggestion of the PDP chief were ill-designed and simply aimed at causing an irreparable damage to society and vital national interests, emboldening subversive, anti-India elements, religious fanatics and murderers and driving the state away from India under the one pretext or the other. He said the BJP would also like the PDP chief to justify her demand that sought to ban the entry of non-state skilled workers into Jammu and Kashmir when on the other hand she demanded that the Central Government accommodate as many Kashmiris as possible in the service sector in and outside the state. “How can she, like the late Sheikh Mohammed Abdullah, demand rights for Kashmiris all over India and deny the same rights to Indians in Jammu and Kashmir?” he asked. He said Ms Mufti should remember that Jammu and Kashmir was an integral part of India like the other states of the union and no one could close the doors of the state for non-state subjects and skilled workers as the state belonged to all Indians. |
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Fire in old Secretariat building Srinagar, June 5 Fire tenders rushed to the spot to control the fire, the sources said.
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J&K
ASSEMBLY Srinagar, June 5 As soon as the House took the question of Abdul Gani Malik of NC about the difficulties being faced by common people in getting No Objection Certificate
(NOC) from the power department, the members from treasury and opposition benches were on their feet. The NC members, particularly Sharief Uddin
Shariq, were on their feet though they were repeatedly asked by the Speaker, Mr Tara
Chand, to sit as the minister was replying to the main question. Power minister Mohammad Sharief Niaz said the government had directed that no state subject should be issued in favour of any person without any NOC from the power department. This had been done to recover the power tariff, he said. However, the NC alleged that the norms issued by the government were not being followed by the department and there was unnecessary delay in issuing NOCs by the department. They also wanted to know why the people of far-flung areas where there was no electricity, had also been brought under this order? The minister informed the House that there were 10 lakh illegal connections and people were not paying their electricity bills properly. He also did not agree with the suggestion of NC members that the deputy commissioners, who were authorised to issue state subject, should be given a list of defaulters so that others who were paying their bills regularly should not suffer. Mr Shariq had a heated argument with the minister. However, nothing was heard in the din. Mohammad Yaseen Shah of NC walked out of the House as he was dissatisfied with the answer given by the Public Health Engineering Minister, Qazi Mohammad
Afzal. The Chief Minister, Mufti Mohammad Sayeed, said today that a comprehensive flood control plan was being formulated to check the loss due to floods in the state. Intervening during the question hour in the Legislative Assembly, Mufti Sayeed said special allocation of funds had been made for removing silt from the canals following rains during the past few months. He added that many areas were given priority in flood control depending upon the intensity of floods there. However, he added, flood control had least priority, particularly due to the continuous drought-like conditions during the past six years. Earlier, the Minister for Irrigation and Flood Control, Qazi Mohammad
Afzal, in a written reply to Qaisar Jamsheed Lone of the NC, said as far as the threat posed by floods to the life and property of the people living
near nullahs was concerned, the Flood Control Department had taken all possible measures to cut down the land erosion and diverting flood waters. He stated that the compensation on account of damages suffered due to floods was being provided to the victims as per the calamity relief fund norms. In reply to another question, the Education Minister, Mr Harsh Dev Singh said many steps were being taken for improvement in the overall standard of the government schools. These included introduction of English from Class I, and pre-primary classes in government schools, so as to attract more students to these schools. He said school uniforms and books from primary to Class VIII would be provided free of cost to the students in government schools from the next academic session. Mr Harsh Dev Singh said under the Centrally-sponsored scheme all schools would be upgraded in a phased manner. He said the primary schools would have additional teachers raising their number from two to three in the near future. Under the scheme 10,179 teachers will be appointed. In his written reply, the Education Minister said the upgradation of schools was a continuous process depending upon the number of students in a school and its distance from the nearest middle school. |
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Gen Sinha to play
‘proactive’ role Srinagar, June 5 Talking to mediapersons after the swearing-in ceremony at the Raj Bhavan here yesterday, he said his top priority would be to achieve peace and prosperity in the state as envisaged in the new policy of the coalition government of the state. “I will do my best to ensure peace and prosperity in the state” on the basis of experiences in the militancy-affected states like Assam and Punjab. He said he had known the Chief Minister for over 15 years, and would work with him to achieve the desired objective of peace and prosperity in this trouble-torn state. He differentiated the militancy in Kashmir from that in Assam and Punjab saying that a proxy war had been waged by the neighbouring country. He held that the insurgency was not justified under Islam, the religion of peace. He said it was different in Jammu and Kashmir and was more of terrorism without any principles where innocents were being victimised. |
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NCP: Budget anti-farmer Jammu, June 5 In a statement here today, he said the Budget had failed to provide relief to farmers who constituted 80 per cent of the population. There was hardly any provision in the Budget for social services like education and health. The industrial sector had also been ignored and the government had failed to announce a comprehensive industrial policy, he said. He said the affluent sections of society had not been taxed. The high sales tax on Army canteen items would be self-defeating as jawans would buy the items from their own states, thereby causing revenue loss to the state, he said. He also criticised the imposition of additional toll at
Lakhanpur. |
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Transport
fare may be cut Srinagar, June 5 Replying to a question from National Conference MLA Ghulam Nabi Bhat during zero hour yesterday, Deputy Chief Minister Mangat Ram Sharma said the government was looking into the possibility of further reducing the prices of public transport as the fuel prices have dropped by Rs 3 per litre.
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The Jammu and Kashmir Governor,
Lieut Gen S.K. Sinha (retd), said here yesterday that his role in the
state would be “proactive” and added that there was no
interference in the affairs of the government.
