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Tuesday,
September 9, 2003, Chandigarh, India  
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Hurriyat issues show-cause notice to 13 rebels Editorial: Hurriyat's
death wish
Book minister under POTA, BJP tells
Mufti |
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Kathua operation called off
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Hurriyat issues show-cause notice to 13 rebels Srinagar, September 8 A separate meeting by the rebel General Council members was also convened today by its Pro-Tem Chairman, Masarat Alam, maintaining that Maulvi Abbas Ansari had been ousted as majority of its members had supported the new leadership. Those who did not attend the meeting convened by Maulvi Abbas Ansari included Jamaat-e-Islami, pro-Pakistan Peoples League and the pro-independence JKLF. The other four executive members who attended the meeting included former Chairman, Maulvi Umar Farooq, Prof Abdul Ghani Bhat, and Bilal Lone under the chairmanship of Maulvi Abbas Ansari. The top leaders maintained that executive body was constitutionally empowered to elect or oust the chairman, adding that since the majority was present in today’s meeting Maulvi Abbas continued to be the head of Hurriyat. Maulvi Abbas held that Sunday’s General Council decision had no impact on his position. He said that appointment of Masarat Alam as the Pro-Tem Chairman, decision to which was taken at the residence of hardline leader, Syed Ali Shah Geelani, was an act of indiscipline. He further clarified that decision of the General Council did not prevail over the executive body decision. In a separate meeting held at the residence of Pro-Tem Chairman, Masarat Alam, the members held that Maulvi Abbas Ansari was ousted in the no-confidence. The members expressed their faith in the leadership of the former Jamaat leader, Syed Ali Shah Geelani, describing him as the leader of the “movement”. A statement issued by the Alam group held that the election of the new Hurriyat chairman would be held in due course of time. Meanwhile, Mr Bhat said the executive had authorised Mirwaiz Farooq to call a meeting of all basic members of APHC to arrive at a consensus on the issue and to activate the amalgam. “We are thankful to the group of 13 for providing us an opportunity to reactivate our basic units,” Mr Bhat said. Chairman Ansari would call the meeting of the executive after the basic members meet to take a final decision on the group of 13, he said. Earlier today, supporters of Hurriyat Conference Chairman Maulvi Ansari and Mirwaiz Umar Farooq stormed the office of the amalgam’s headquaters at Rajbagh here. Hundreds of slogan-shouting supporters of Ansari occupied the Hurriyat office as a pre-emptive move to stop the breakaway group from doing the same. Even as Bhat reiterated that Hurriyat would continue to strive for unity as far as possible, he admitted that a split had been caused in the 25-party conglomerate. Raising questions over the motives behind the meeting at Geelani’s residence, Bhat said it was ironic that many of the group of 13 were in prison till early this year and as soon as they were released, they started undoing the Hurriyat. When asked who represented the Hurriyat, Bhat sought to clarify that among the breakaway group, only nine or ten were members of the General Council and others had been expelled by their respective parties. “We hold the majority ... we are the quorum. We are the genuine Hurriyat and are recognised across the globe. People know who is the chairman (Ansari) and the diplomatic delegations have accorded recognition to him,” he added. Bhat expresed surprise at the move of rebels led by Geelani and said: “we don’t understand why there is a need to split Hurriyat when the erring members themselves claim that their motto is the same as ours — peaceful resolution of Kashmir issue.” “We are at a crucial juncture and we cannot allow nine people to hold the Hurriyat or the peace process as hostage,” Bhat said. “We believe in a peaceful solution of the Kashmir issue through a dialogue involving India, Pakistan and Kashmiris,” he added. Bhat said though Hurriyat would not find a place on the same table as India and Pakistan, it had proposed that we talk to India first and then Pakistan. Describing the split as unfortunate, he said: “India could not do it (split) for 10 years and now we are doing it ourselves.” When asked about the controversy surrounding People’s Conference, Bhat said they had asked Geelani to come to the Executive Council meeting and debate the issue but he did not. Referring to the breach of discipline committed by the rebels, the former Chairman said “We will strictly adhere by the constitution. We are not going to do things haphazardly as they did. We will take a decision on suspending or expelling them only after they respond to the show-cause notice.” The differences, within the units of Hurriyat Conference, comprising 25 members, had erupted with the release of senior separatist leader, Syed Ali Shah Geelani, from jail in April this year. The main issue was that of the alleged participation of Peoples Conference, a constituent of the APHC, in the Assembly elections held in September-October last year. While the issue had already been discussed by the Hurriyat Conference executive and General Council bodies prior to the elections, Geelani, after his release, did not seem satisfied with the APHC decision. He had been demanding expulsion of the Peoples Conference, now headed by late Abdul Ghani Lone’s son, Sajjad Lone. As the Hurriyat Conference did not comply with the assertions of Geelani, he announced parting ways with the APHC. He had been holding public meetings over the past couple of months to “mobilise public opinion” in his favour. |
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Book minister under POTA, BJP tells
Mufti Jammu, September 8 The procession led by Mr Ashok Khajuria, vice-president of the state unit of the BJP, raised slogans against the coalition government of the Mufti and accused it of being pro-terrorists. The police did not allow the procession to reach the PDP office and blocked all roads around it. The BJP activists vainly tried to push their way to the PDP office, but the policemen outside the hospital at Gandhi Nagar did not allow them to proceed. They alleged that certain ministers of the coalition government were involved in anti-India activities. They claimed that the statement of an arrested activist of the Lashkar-e-Toiba (LeT) clearly indicated that the PDP-Congress-Panthers Party coalition government was “militant friendly”. The Secretariat under the so-called healing-touch policy of the Mufti had become a den of anti-national activities, they alleged. The agitating BJP workers pointed out that the matter had become more serious with a police spokesman stating that the militants used the minister’s house for food and shelter. |
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Kathua operation called off Jammu/Srinagar, September 8 The encounter, the longest in the state, began on September 2. The search operation was launched on September 5 after guns of terrorists fell silent. The forest was thoroughly scanned by the troops before calling off the operation. Announcing the calling off of the operation, the IGP, Jammu Range, Mr P.L. Gupta, said in view of the genuine concerns about the safety of the people of the area, it had been decided to deploy the Army and the police in strength there. He said some unconfirmed reports about the movement of a group of terrorists in the forests of Billawar had been received. Similar reports had also come from the area north-east of Jakhole, where search parties had been dispatched. Jakhole village, where two terrorists were reportedly spotted today by villagers, is hardly about a kilometre away from Ghatti, where no breakthrough could be made by the Army in tracing any of the seven terrorists. The CRPF and the state police have been withdrawn from Ghatti and dispatched to Jakhole, where some gunshots were reportedly fired by the terrorists. Another group of terrorists in the vicinity injured a villager, Major Singh, at Malman. The terrorists had been sending wireless messages regarding the death of five of them to their companions to confuse the Army. Lt-Gen T.P.S. Brar, GOC of the 16 Corps, had said that some of their messages were intercepted. In another incident, a group of four terrorists kidnapped a labourer, Hans Raj, from Rodla village in Billawar tehsil of Kathua district. These incidents indicate the presence of terrorists in strength in Kathua district, which touches Chamba district of Himachal Pradesh. It is learnt that terrorists have been following routes of various rivers and streams flowing through Kathua district for infiltration. Meanwhile, nine persons, including seven militants, were killed in the state where militants made an abortive bid on the life of a former state minister since last night, official sources said today. Two civilians were injured when militants opened fire and hurled a grenade at former minister Moulvi Iftikhar Hussain Ansari at Imam Bara Zadibal, they said. The Moulvi, who had gone to inspect the work of a new building, had a providential escape as the militants missed the target, the sources said. The security forces cordoned off the area as the militants were believed to be still holed up in the area. Two militants were killed in an encounter with the security forces at Renipora in the Shopian area and the gunbattle was going on when last reports came in, an official spokesman said. The sources said two jawans were also injured in the gunbattle and the militants had taken refuge in a mosque. The security forces killed Jaish-e-Mohammad militant Ismail Bhai, a resident of Dak Khana Khas in Karachi, in a gunbattle at Nagbal in Yusmarg in Budgam district today. Another militant was shot dead by the security forces during an encounter at Hirpora in Pakherpora in the district. Harkat-ul Ansar militant Farooq Ahmad Khan, a resident of Multan in Pakistan, was killed during an encounter at Harbat village in Anantnag district yesterday. The security forces foiled an infiltration bid by killing two militants at Arjun post in Karnah sector of Kupwara. |
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