J A M M U   &   K A S H M I R

Geelani to attend iftar, Abbas undecided
Jammu, November 10
While Syed Ali Shah Geelani and senior members of the executive committee of the APHC faction led by him have left for Delhi to attend an iftar party being hosted by the Pakistan High Commissioner in Delhi on November 13, the rival group of the APHC headed by Molvi Abbas Ansari is not yet decided whether to accept the invitation or not.

Ration stored by militants recovered
Srinagar, November 10
Troops have recovered a large quantity of ration and other items from a militants’ hideout in north Kashmir, a Defence Ministry spokesman said.

Two bodies exhumed, identified by locals
Jammu, November 10
The bodies of two persons, whom security forces claimed were militants killed in an encounter last week, were exhumed and identified by residents in Udhampur district after government ordered a probe into the incident which had sparked off widespread protest.

SHO suspended for releasing smugglers
Jammu, November 10
The Station House Officer (SHO) of Batote police station in Doda district has been suspended in connection with the release of two inter-state narcotic smugglers, according to police sources here.

Two killed in shootout over land
Jammu, November 10
A woman and her four-year-old son were killed and two others injured when security guards of a National Conference (NC) leader opened fire on villagers over a land dispute in Doda district, official sources said today.

BSF in Jammu sector free of Army control
Jammu, November 10
Men of the BSF, guarding the 187 km-long international border between Kathua and Akhnoor are no longer under the operational command of the Army.

Full-length Dogri film soon
Jammu, November 10
Noted writer and film director Ved Rahi visualises a bright future for full-length Dogri films and will involve himself in producing one within the next two years.

MLA for longer House session
Jammu, November 10
Mr Jugal Kishore Sharma, BJP MLA, has urged the government to extend the coming winter session of the Assembly to 20 days instead of the scheduled four days.

Geelani to attend iftar, Abbas undecided
Our Correspondent

Jammu, November 10
While Syed Ali Shah Geelani and senior members of the executive committee of the APHC faction led by him have left for Delhi to attend an iftar party being hosted by the Pakistan High Commissioner in Delhi on November 13, the rival group of the APHC headed by Molvi Abbas Ansari is not yet decided whether to accept the invitation or not.

“Since my Ramazan fast schedule may get disturbed by my visit to Delhi, I have decided not to attend the iftar party, Molvi Ansari told this correspondent today.

Asked whether other members of the conglomerate, he heads will attend the iftar party, he said: “Possibly not.”

APHC (Abbas) sources said: “Members of the executive committee debated on the invitation and came to the conclusion that it would be politically unwise to be present at the party where our main rival, Syed Ali Shah Geelani, and his colleagues may be a source of an embarrassment for us.”

Leaders of the Abbas faction are sore with the Pakistani establishment for befriending Mr Geelani since he held caused a split in the 25-party separatist conglomerate.

They cited the instance of Pakistan controlled media having ignored the activities and utterances of “our conglomerate leaders.”

During his stay in Delhi, Mr Geelani and his colleagues, including Mr Ghulam Nabi Sumji and Dr Huobi, plan to meet Ambassadors of various countries. He is likely to meet Pakistan Information Minister Rashid Khan who will be in Delhi in connection with the SAARC Information Ministers’ conference.

Ration stored by militants recovered

Srinagar, November 10
Troops have recovered a large quantity of ration and other items from a militants’ hideout in north Kashmir, a Defence Ministry spokesman said.

He said due to constant pressure maintained by the troops in the hinterland, militants have now started amassing ration and other items at heights for self-sustenance during winter.

The other reason for amassing huge quantities of necessary items was that civilians were refusing to help militants, the spokesman said.

Claiming it to be major success, he said troops, while combing a natural cave at Datiwas forest in north Kashmir district of Baramulla yesterday, came across a partially constructed hideout consisting of one living room, two store rooms and one kitchen, where large amounts of ration were stockpiled for use during winter months.

The items were wrapped in plastic bags for long-term preservation, he said.

All items were later destroyed, he said, adding this was for the first time that such a huge quantity of ration was recovered from a militant hideout in the valley since the eruption of militancy. — UNI

Two bodies exhumed, identified by locals

Jammu, November 10
The bodies of two persons, whom security forces claimed were militants killed in an encounter last week, were exhumed and identified by residents in Udhampur district after government ordered a probe into the incident which had sparked off widespread protest.

Official sources today said that bodies of two of the three persons killed in the Gool-Mahore encounter were exhumed last evening from the forest areas under the supervision of the Assistant Commissioner.

The bodies were identified by villagers and family of 20-year-old Abdul Majeed and 42-year-old Abdul Kareem of Deedha village of Gool.

The sources said that the bodies were later handed over to the families for burial.

Residents of Gool had staged dharna and protests, demanding a probe into the killing, exhuming of bodies and shifting of their FIR from Mahore to Gool police station.

The security forces had claimed that the three were militants killed in a gunbattle and recoveries were made from them. — PTI

SHO suspended for releasing smugglers

Jammu, November 10
The Station House Officer (SHO) of Batote police station in Doda district has been suspended in connection with the release of two inter-state narcotic smugglers, according to police sources here.

Inspector Manzoor Manhas was placed under suspension after a probe confirmed his involvement in the release of Nissar Ahmed of Gopalpura and Fayyaz Ahmed Bhat, a BSF constable, after arresting them from a bus on the Jammu-Srinagar highway with 80 kg of charas on October 24. Instead, he arrested bus driver Haji Ali Mohd and conductor Mohd Iqbal Manhas showing them as the culprits. He was suspended after a probe following complaints from family members of the arrested persons. — PTI

Two killed in shootout over land

Jammu, November 10
A woman and her four-year-old son were killed and two others injured when security guards of a National Conference (NC) leader opened fire on villagers over a land dispute in Doda district, official sources said today.

The incident took place last night following a tiff the NC leader Sabbar Khan had with Walli Mohammad on the border of Sanwara and Chillipain villages, they said.

Mr Khan’s two security guards and five village defence committee (VDC) personnel accompanying him opened indiscriminate fire, killing Mohammad’s wife Sheena and son Abdul Gani and injuring two other villagers Nazir and Aslam. They later fled the scene.

Enraged over the killings, a mob this morning set ablaze the house, flour mill and cow shed of Mr Khan in Chillipain. A bandh was being observed and protests staged against the incident.

Mr Khan, his guards Mustaq Ahmed and Masood Ahmed, and VDC members Mukhtiar Ahmed, Showkat Ali, Mehboob Khan, Abdul and Liyaqat Ali have been arrested. Three of the VDC members Mehboob, Abdul and Showkat — are Mr Khan’s sons who fired from their official weapons, the sources said. — PTI

BSF in Jammu sector free of Army control
Our Correspondent

Jammu, November 10
Men of the BSF, guarding the 187 km-long international border between Kathua and Akhnoor are no longer under the operational command of the Army.

A recent order of the Union Home Ministry said the BSF would function independently as far as its operations on the international border in Jammu sector are concerned. As far as the LoC is concerned the BSF men will continue to be under the operational command of the Army.

During the military build-up on the border the BSF had been relegated to the background. A stage reached when the BSF battalions guarding the international border received ration supplies from the Army. Senior BSF functionaries had raised the issue before the Union Home Ministry and after examining the matter the ministry conveyed to the Army authorities that the BSF should be allowed to work independently on the international border.

BSF sources stated that the new order had not affected their close coordination with the Army.

Full-length Dogri film soon
Tribune News Service

Jammu, November 10
Noted writer and film director Ved Rahi visualises a bright future for full-length Dogri films and will involve himself in producing one within the next two years.

Rahi, who produced the famous terrorism-related serial “Gul Gulshan Gulfam”, is here in connection with the first-ever festival of short films in Dogri produced by him. Three films were screened yesterday in Jammu University.

Ved Rahi said here today that he had prepared two Dogri classics based on the traditional song style of “Bhakh” and a short Dogri story “Aale”, which he will edit at Bombay. These would be released simultaneously abroad.

He appreciated Doordashan for exploring the talent in the interior areas of the state and providing an exposure to the artistes. According to Rahi, his recent film on “Veer Savarkar” was a hit in Maharashatra as it did 32 weeks in Mumbai and 37 weeks in Pune.

He criticised the Central Government for delaying the inclusion of Dogri in the Eighth Schedule of the Constitution.

Meanwhile, the auditorium of the university was jampacked yesterday when three short films produced by Rahi were exhibited. A few years ago, Rahi had shot his Hindi film “Darar” in villages of the Indo-Pak border.

MLA for longer House session
Tribune News Service

Jammu, November 10
Mr Jugal Kishore Sharma, BJP MLA, has urged the government to extend the coming winter session of the Assembly to 20 days instead of the scheduled four days.

In a statement here today, Mr Sharma said that the four-day session would be too short to discuss various problems of the people.

He said it would be for the first time that the December session would be so short.