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Friday,
July 18, 2003, Chandigarh, India  
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24
militants surrender
NC bid for
pact with Cong Govt
ignoring Panthers Party, says |
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Flow of pilgrims
alarms officials 7.7 cr
released for migrants’ dwelling units 9 killed
as taxi falls into gorge Protesters
lathicharged Senior
Hurriyat leader released
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24 militants surrender
Srinagar, July 17 The militants, most of them wearing masks, surrendered before the Corps Commander of 15 Corps, Lieut Gen V.G. Patankar at a function at the headquarters of the Kilo-Force, which coordinates anti-militant operations in Kupwara and Baramula district and parts of Srinagar, in Shariefabad on the outskirts of the city. Welcoming the surrender, Mr Patankar said today’s function was aimed at sending a message to the misguided youth that the Army wanted them back in the mainstream. When asked about the response of the Army to dreaded militants intending to surrender, the Army officer said they were all welcome to start a new life. A defence spokesman later said a number of inputs indicated that many more such strayed youths were planning to return to the mainstream. Meanwhile, five persons, including four militants, were killed and three others were injured in the Kashmir valley overnight, official sources said. In Baramula, an encounter took place between the security forces and militants holed up in a house at Rafiabad in north Kashmir. During the night long operation, three militants, reportedly foreigners, were killed. A large cache of arms and ammunition, including three AK rifles, were seized from the slain militants. A person was killed and his son seriously wounded when militants entered his house at Beerwah in Badgam district late last night and fired on the family from automatic weapons. The security forces gunned down a Hizbul militant at Gujjar Patti in Kupwara last night during a search operation, according to sources. Jammu: Pakistani terrorists killed three persons in the Haroog village of Ramban area in Doda district on Thursday. The victim including a woman and a member of the village defence committee. According to the police, those killed have been identified as Ishar Dass, Onkar Singh, a member of the VDC and Maltee. Before leaving the village, the terrorists burnt their houses. In another incident, terrorists killed an ex-serviceman, Maqsood Shah, in Sanai village in the Surankot area of Poonch district. Two soldiers were injured when the Pakistani troops resorted to unprovoked firing of mortars in the Lam sector in Poonch. An exchange of fire was also reported in the Bhawani sector. |
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NC bid for pact with Cong Jammu, July 17 The party is said to have started wooing the PCC president, Mr Ghulam Nabi
Azad, at the state level and some members of the AICC who are said to be close to Ms Sonia Gandhi. Senior party leader Sharief Din
Shariq, MLA and former MP, has been assigned the task of cultivating the CPI and the CPM leaders so that decks are cleared for allowing the National Conference to join the proposed third front. With five members in the Lok Sabha, the National Conference does not want to function in isolation in Parliament. Hence, it is trying to build bridges with the Congress. Sources close to the National Conference leaders said when the election results were declared in October, the National Conference, which had won 28 seats in the Assembly, had tried to forge a pact with the Congress, which had won 20 seats, with the aim of forming a coalition government in a bid to keep the PDP headed by Mufti Mohd Sayeed out of the run. The sources said the Congress President, Ms Sonia Gandhi, had opposed any coalition with the National Conference which had sided with the NDA and had even expelled one of its senior leaders, Prof Saifuddin
Soz, on a charge of having defied the party whip during the vote on confidence motion in the Lok Sabha. Prof Soz has since joined the Congress. The National Conference leadership was encouraged to woo the Congress after the party high command declared its readiness to forge an alliance with secular parties in various states for contesting the next Lok Sabha and assembly elections. |
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Govt ignoring
Panthers Party, says Bhim Singh Jammu, July 17 “The coalition government has been in power for the last eight months now, but Chief Minister Mufti Mohammed Sayeed has not taken our representatives into confidence in government decisions,” party chief Bhim Singh told reporters here. He also referred to recent statements of Mohammad Yusuf
Tarigami, Secretary of the CPM, another coalition partner, that the coordination committee of the coalition was not fulfilling its objective. The coordination committee was formed to implement the coalition’s common minimum programme and if it failed to deliver, it should be dissolved “forthwith”, Mr Bhim Singh said. He alleged that discrimination against Jammu division with regard to employment had increased.
— PTI |
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Flow of pilgrims
alarms officials Pahalgam, July 17 “It is difficult to check the flow of pilgrims,” said an official here adding that this was in utter violation of the norms. He adds that while registered pilgrims are allowed every day from Jammu, there are many others who arrive in the valley as tourists and converge at this spot for undertaking the
yatra, said an official in charge of the affairs of the yatra. “Anything can happen, in case of bad weather conditions,” he said. He said the administration and the security agencies would be helpless in case of any weather problem. “The route to the cave of Amarnath is capable of accommodating only a selected number of persons at a time.” Officials of the Pahalgam Development Authority (PDA), looking after the yatra arrangements, are of the view that strict measures should be taken for restricting the number of pilgrims. That could help in facing any eventuality in case of bad weather conditions or other problems. “We are also helpless as any restriction on the movement of pilgrims beyond Sadhu Padaw creates law and order problems,” said the official. Further, man pilgrims reaching the cave via the Baltal route, prefer to come down via
Pahalgam. It adds to the problems, said the official. With the result there has been an unprecedented rush of pilgrims during the first four days from Saturday to Tuesday last. The first batch of pilgrims from Jammu arrived here on July 9, which had a ‘darshan’ of the ice lingam of Lord Shiva on July 12. According to the official figures the first batch of 4,678 pilgrims left the base camp on July 10, followed by 8421, 5849, 7955, 7886, 8302 and 7821 pilgrims successively till July 16. The total number of the pilgrims for the first seven days, since the beginning of the yatra from July 12, has been estimated at 50,912. This is in violation of the Sen Gupta recommendations that permits only 2700 pilgrims a day, and according to this pattern only 18,900 yatris would have reached the cave while the number had touched 50,912. The Sen Gupta Committee
recommends that only 3500 pilgrims be allowed daily, 2700 via Pahalgam and 800 via Baltal routes. To check the overflow of pilgrims on the route, the yatra was suspended on Tuesday as no vehicles carrying them were allowed from Jammu. “This was to clear the swelling number of yatris here,” said a security official, adding that it was difficult in view of the security scenario prevailing in the valley. Though there has been no specific threat from militants to the ongoing
yatra, there was no scope for complacency, said Mr Verinder Sharma, Yatra Officer in charge of security at the base camp here. While there is arrangement for only over 3000 pilgrims at the base, more than 4000 pilgrims arrive here daily. Meanwhile, a fresh batch of 4470 pilgrims comprising 3261 men, 636 women, five children and 488 sadhus in 250 vehicles arrived here from Jammu today. After a night stay here, the batch will leave for the holy cave shrine here tomorrow morning. |
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7.7 cr released
for migrants’ dwelling units Srinagar, July 17 Stating this at a high-level meeting here today, the Minister for Revenue, Relief and Rehabilitation, Mr Hakeem Muhammad Yaseen, said the state government was determined to provide basic amenities and better accommodation to the migrants. He said so far, cash relief of about Rs 3,700 crore had been provided to the migrants in Jammu division. Efforts were being made to improve sanitation in and around the migrant camps and the Rs 2.30 crore, earmarked by the Centre, would be utilised for upgrading hygiene facilities, he said.
— UNI |
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9 killed as taxi falls into gorge Srinagar, July 17 The ill-fated Tata Sumo went out of control while the driver was trying to negotiate a curve at Ranga Morh and fell into the gorge, the sources said. Six civilians died instantly and three others succumbed to their injuries at Soura Medical Institute here. The condition of three of the injured was stated to be serious, the sources said. The vehicle was on its way to Sonamarg from Kargil and most of its occupants belonged to the Kargil and Dras areas of Ladakh. The bodies had been recovered by the police, the sources said, adding that efforts were on to identify the deceased. Jammu and Kashmir Chief Minister Mufti Mohammad Sayeed has expressed grief over the deaths.
— PTI, UNI |
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Protesters
lathicharged Srinagar, July 17 The deceased, identified as Bashir Ahmad Sheikh, a resident of Ratsuna village in Beerwah, Badgam district, was killed at Urpach and his body handed over to the police by a security search party this morning. Alleging that Sheikh had been killed in custody by the Special Operations Group (SOG) of the local police and demanding an inquiry, his family and a small group carried his body in a procession to the Civil Secretariat. Sheikh’s family alleged that Badgam SOG had summoned him on Friday on the pretext of some inquiry about his brother Mohammad Yousuf, a Hizbul Mujahideen militant who crossed over to Pakistan-occupied Kashmir two years ago. Sheikh did not return and today his body was handed over to the police, the family said. A demonstration was also held at Ratsuna and shops downed shutters in protest against Sheikh’s death.
— PTI |
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Senior Hurriyat leader released Jammu, July 17 Mr Hubi, who rose to fame when he launched a parallel Peoples Conference in Kashmir and expelled Sajad Lone and Bilal Lone, two sons of late Gani Lone in 2001, was arrested on February 9, 2001, and the Public Safety Act was slapped on him.
— PTI |
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