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Thursday,
June 12, 2003, Chandigarh, India  
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QUESTION HOUR IN ASSEMBLY NEWS ANALYSIS 4 Pak intruders shot
dead |
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Army project for
terrorism-hit kids Women cops at nakas sought Amarnath Yatra registration from
Monday
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QUESTION HOUR IN ASSEMBLY Srinagar, June 11 Replying to supplementaries in the legislative Assembly, the Chief Minister said directions had been issued to the Director-General Police not to re-arrest those released by the courts, but in exceptional cases, decisions could be taken keeping in view various inputs. About the list of detainees released by the courts and re-arrested by the police, he said they all belonged to the Mahore area that has turned to be a safe haven for militants. He, however, said that the agencies concerned would examine their cases and once their innocence was established, they would not be kept in jails. He said it was an avowed policy of the government to release those against whom no serious charges were established. The Mufti referred to the Public Safety Act and said that this law was in place even before the onset of militancy in the state. He said of the 567 detainees, 61 had been released. The Chief Minister also made a mention of missing persons and said that government would investigate all these cases. The Chief Minister assured fair selections in the impending police recruitment, saying the basic entry qualification for a cop was matriculation. He said if the applicants had additional qualification or diploma in driving etc., these would carry weight. The Assembly was informed that the coalition government had not ordered any ad hoc appointment since it came to power. The Minister of State for Home and Parliamentary Affairs, Mr Abdul Rehman Veeri, said the government was examining all adhoc appointments. The Minister of State for Law and Parliamentary Affairs, Mr. Abdul Rehman Veeri, informed the House that the bills to amend Section 49 of the LAHDC Act, 1997 and Section 27 of the Panchayati Raj Act had been prepared and were likely to be introduced in the current session of the legislature. The Minister for Housing and Urban Development, Mr Ghulam Hassan Mir, informed the House that no plan had been prepared for remodelling Anantnag town. However, the town had been brought under the Integrated Development of Small and Medium Towns (IDSMT) scheme. The minister informed the House that notified area committees had been redesignated as municipal committees. He said Nowshera and Sunderbani were now municipal committees. The Minister for Youth Services and Sports, Haji Nissar Ali, told the House that 126 play fields were being taken up for upgradation during the current financial year. |
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NEWS ANALYSIS Jammu, June 11 Even in the face of boycott from the Kashmiri separatists, including the APHC, and a section of political leaders like Mr Simranjit Singh Mann and Thakur Randhir Singh, Chief of the National Congress Party, describing the Vohra mission as “eyewash”, the Government of India’s interlocutor has attracted the attention of a large number of political leaders and those heading trade, industry and religious groups in Srinagar and Jammu. Mr Vohra who is in Jammu for the past four days will meet leaders of 36 political parties, ethnic groups and industry. While in the Kashmir valley the focus was on the restoration of greater autonomy to the state, in Jammu several leaders belonging to the BJP, the Panthers Party and others supported the demand for the reorganisation of the state with the aim of granting statehood to the Jammu region and union territory status to the Ladakh region. Everyone who met Mr Vohra in Jammu complained of prolonged discrimination against the people of the Jammu region and suggested that it can end either with the state’s reorganisation or the adoption of a method under which the devolution of financial and political powers to the Jammu region is ensured and the continued hegemony of Kashmiri leaders ended. A number of Sikh leaders also met Mr Vohra, demanding a better deal for the people of the community in government service, admission in professional colleges and reservation for the ethnic group in the state legislature. They also supported the demand of a number of refugee leaders for the grant of citizenship rights to the members of displaced families from Pakistan who have settled in Jammu since 1947. Leaders of various displaced Kashmiri Pandit organisations jostled with others while interacting with the government’s interlocutor. They were unanimous in demanding a separate homeland for the displaced persons within the valley. They too highlighted the miserable plight of the youth who had not been given jobs in the government departments during the past 13 years. And those who opposed the demand for the trifurcation of the state called for the setting up of regional councils for Ladakh, Jammu and Kashmir provinces. Yet others, both in Jammu and Srinagar, demanded Central assistance in tackling the problem of unemployment which was one of the major reasons for people’s alienation, and a suitable economic package. In view of the long list of demands and suggestions, the task seems to have become challenging for Mr Vohra who has decided to treat the “historical and complex” issues separately. Inside reports indicate that he would submit his first report on the main problems of the people and the ways of handling them. The report will touch the issues pertaining to the reorganisation of the state with emphasis on the grant of regional autonomy. While confirming that he would deal separately with the historical and complex issues Mr Vohra has hinted that for this, he proposes to have another session with men who matter in Jammu and Kashmir. When the Prime Minister, Mr Atal Bihari Vajpayee, announced in Srinagar his peace moves with Pakistan, many in the state had come to believe that the Vohra mission may become obsolete once the prospects of the resumption of India-Pakistan talks brightened. It was in this context that the Chairman of the APHC, Prof Abdul Gani Bhat, told this correspondent that the Vohra mission “has become irrelevant”. He said “the Kashmir issue cannot be solved by Mr Vohra. It can be settled through negotiations between Delhi and Islamabad with the involvement of the those who represent the aspirations of the people of Kashmir.” Gradually, the mindset of a section of people has changed after the Chief Minister, Mufti Mohammed Sayeed, told the state Assembly in Srinagar that “nobody should underestimate the importance of the Vohra mission.” Those who were skeptical of the Vohra mission have now realised that both Mr Atal Bihari Vajpayee and Mr L.K. Advani continue to lend support to the interlocutor. There is no doubt that Mr Vohra may not be able to complete the task of preparing a report on the “historical and complex” issues and he himself has indicated that “It will be a time-consuming exercise.” His exercise in this sphere may become redundant once Delhi and Islamabad start negotiations on various bilateral problems, including Kashmir. |
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Vohra should go back: Shiv Sena Jammu, June 11 “There is no need of Mr Vohra as the Centre’s negotiator on Jammu and Kashmir, which is a law and order issue and not a political problem,” Jammu and Kashmir Shiv Sena president Rajesh Gupta told
reporters here today. “The dialogue process initiated by Mr Vohra with the people of Jammu is a joke,” Mr Gupta claimed, adding that the deployment of the Army was the solution to the Jammu and Kashmir issue. “There is no need of a negotiator like Mr
Vohra, who would also meet the same fate as Mr K.C. Pant and Mr Ram Jethmalani,” Mr Gupta said, adding that those holding the gun were being talked with. He said the Shiv Sena was not for a division of the state but wanted a united Jammu and Kashmir with more integration into the Indian union. Mr Gupta said the government should withdraw the toll tax on Vaishno Devi and Amarnath pilgrims.
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4 Pak intruders shot
dead
Jammu, June 11 The sources said jawans saw some intruders entering the Indian territory at 1.45 a.m. When challenged, the intruders opened fire. In the brief gunbattle, four intruders were shot dead. SRINAGAR: Six persons, including three militants, were killed and four injured in Jammu and Kashmir, a police spokesman said on Wednesday. Two militants were killed in an encounter with the security forces in the Banihal area of Doda district on Tuesday night. Two AK rifles, a pistol and two grenades were recovered from them. He said the security forces killed another militant, belonging to the Hizbul Mujahideen, at Rajdhani Begla in the Thanamandi area of Rajouri district. A 12-year-old boy was killed when some explosive substance exploded while he was grazing cattle at Turmaida in Badgam district of central Kashmir on Wednesday. The spokesman said the body of a shopkeeper, abducted by the militants, was recovered from the Sarnal area of Anantnag district on Wednesday. A civilian was killed when he was caught in a crossfire between militants and the security forces at the Kot Pathri forest in Udhampur district on Tuesday night. The militants shot at and injured a surrendered ultra Fayaz Ahmad Bhat outside his house at Sopore in Baramula district on Tuesday night. The militants also intruded into the house of Nazir Hussain at Sudang in Rajouri and assaulted his wife Gulzara Begum, cousin Gulzar Begam and son Mohammad Hafiz causing injuries to them, the spokesman said.
UNI, PTI |
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Army project for
terrorism-hit kids Jammu, June 11 It has two halls for children, a staff room, a dining hall, a cook house, toilets, furniture, cupboards, dining tables, chairs and a deep freezer. The centre provides board and lodging for 50 children, education up to Class XII, uniform, books and stationery and recreation facilities. The centre will be looked after by Bhoo Mitra Sangh, an NGO based at Prem Nagar, Doda. The state government has sanctioned Rs 1 lakh for its establishment and Rs 5 lakh as recurring expenditures annually. |
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Women cops at nakas sought Srinagar, June 11 Taking up the issue with the Director-General of Police, Ms Mufti urged for steps, including the presence of women constables at various checking points. |
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Amarnath Yatra registration from Monday Srinagar, June 11 This year accidental insurance cover through the bank shall also be available for yatris, who opt for that against the payment of premium. The pilgrimage will conclude after 32 days on August 12, an official spokesman said. He said as many as 3500 pilgrims would have the darshan of Shiv Lingam in the holy cave daily. Of these, 2700 pilgrims would travel via Pahalgam and other 800 would be allowed via Baltal hill track. He said the yatris travelling towards Amarnath holy cave should be registered. He added that tents for them would be set up at every important point on the route. The daily timings for registration would be between 1500 hours to 1800 hours on all working days and 1300 hours to 1600 hours on all working Saturdays, the statement added. Besides, the basic facilities like drinking water, diesel generator sets, sufficient quantities of foodgrains and fire wood would be kept available for them. Medical camps would also be set up at all stages of the yatra, besides mini-hospitals at base camp Nunwan, Pahalgam and Baltal, spokesman said. It was decided that the base camps at Nunwan and Baltal would be made functional from July 5. These would function till the yatra is over. The BSNL would install sufficient telephone booths at Pahalgam, Chandanwari, Sheshnag, Punchtarni, holy cave, Baltal Sonamarg and Manigam. Besides, the Police Telecommunication Department would also provide wireless facilities to coordinate all along the hill track. The Animal Husbandry department would also start the registration of ponies at Chandanwari and Baltal from July 1, 2003.
UNI |
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Jammu, June 11
