 |
|
Three militants killed in valley RSS chief unhappy with Pak response to peace moves
|
|
||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
|
25 killed as bus
rolls into nullah Poor
response to bandh ruffles hardliners Don’t pose threat to
govt, Cong urges dissidents The Congress leadership has pleaded with dissidents not to create problems which could endanger the coalition government in Jammu and Kashmir. The plea was made during a two-hour session that PCC president Ghulam Nabi Azad and AICC general secretary Ambika Soni had with the dissidents here last evening.
PDP demands probe into Farooq’s assets The ruling People’s Democratic Party today demanded a probe into former Jammu and Kashmir Chief Minister Farooq Abdullah’s assets in the state and abroad. “The government should order a probe into Dr Abdullah’s assets in the state and abroad. J&K likely to sack 40 tainted officials The Mufti government is likely to terminate the services of at least 40 tainted officers next week before the winter session of the Assembly begins here. It is reliably learnt that the government has prepared the first list of 40 tainted officers, most of them engineers, for being sacked. Jammu, December 7 Mr M.L. Koul, a former Director of news in AIR, died here last evening after a prolonged illness. He was 70. He was cremated here today and a large number of political leaders and mediapersons attended the funeral. 
|
|
Three militants killed in valley
Srinagar, December 7 Pakistan-trained militant Shaukat Ahmad Mir was gunned down at Ganiraj-Tral in Pulwama district last evening by the BSF in an encounter. An AK-56 rifle, a handgrenade and ammunition were seized from the slain militant, he said. Two militants were killed by troops in a gun-battle in Anantnag district today, a BSF spokesman said. The body of a person was found at Dilbari forest, near Rafiabad today, the official spokesman said. Three security jawans were injured when militants exchanged fire with security forces at Azmatabad in Thanamandi sector of Rajouri today, he said. In Jammu, a JCO was seriously injured in a landmine blast near the international border in Samba area today, official sources said. Five policemen were injured in a militant attack on a police post at Sherbagh in Anantnag district, the spokesman said, adding that ultras shot at and seriously wounded another policeman near Bijbehara hospital. The police busted a hideout in the forest area of Mangali in Budhal sector of Rajouri and seized 20 kg of RDX, three handgrenades and ammunition, he said. The spokesman said ultras detonated an IED near a court complex in Kupwara last evening. However, no one was injured. The police and security forces arrested three persons suspected to be harbouring militants, the spokesman said. The police and security forces in a joint operation at Midoora and Dadsar in Tral area of Pulwama district busted two militant hideouts. They seized a huge haul of arms and ammunition from the hideouts in the houses of Mehrajuddin Bhat and Mohammad Amin Bhat. A Tata Sumo was also seized from them, he said, adding that three persons, all residents of Tral, were taken into custody for questioning.
— PTI |
|
RSS chief unhappy with Pak response to peace moves Jammu, December 7 He accused the military rulers of Pakistan of not responding positively to the 12-point friendship offer of Prime Minister Atal Bihari Vajpayee as they wanted to keep the pot of hatred between the two countries boiling, even though the people wanted the relations to improve. Mr Sudarshan, who reached here on a four-day visit, was addressing a gathering of RSS activists at Parade Ground here in the heart of the city. He said Pakistan had half-heartedly responded to the offer of friendship of Mr.Vajpayee. India has always wanted friendly relations with its neighbour, but Pakistan does not want to do so as the leadership there will lose its importance once the situation normalises, he added. He warned that the sinister designs of Pakistan to capture Kashmir by infiltrating terrorists would never succeed. The ISI of Pakistan is systematically trying to alter the demographic character of Jammu & Kashmir and Assam through infiltrations. Bangladeshis are being infiltrated in Assam and seven districts have been turned into Muslim majority areas, he alleged. He said friendly relations with Pakistan would not be restored until it stopped cross-border terrorism. Mr Sudarshan regretted that Article 370, which provided a special status to Jammu and Kashmir, was proving to be an obstruction in the emotional integration of the state with the rest of the country. Similarly, the IMTD Act in Assam is also posing a threat as it prevents Bangladeshis from being repatriated, he stated. He clarified that the RSS was not a communal organisation and it stood for unity among Indians. The RSS chief said Muslims here should not yearn for a minority status, as they were part and parcel of India. The Parsis, who came from outside and genuinely deserved a minority status, had given up the claim, he said. He said the bonds between the people of India and Pakistan were strong as there was an overwhelming response when Noor came to India for treatment. Mr Sudarshan said Muslims here should consider themselves Indian nationals as they had roots in this country. They are known as Indians even when they visit Mecca. He stressed for unity among people of all religions to make the country strong. To live with dignity, efforts of the enemy to weaken the county by dividing people on the basis of religion and other issues should be foiled, he stated. The RSS chief alleged that the media at the national level was being controlled by people who were against Hinduism as a whole. An attempt was being made to project Hindus as communal, he claimed. Among the others present on the occasion were Dr O.P. Mengi, chief of the state unit of the RSS, Mr K.L.Bhatia, Head of the Law Department, Jammu University, and Mr Dinesh Kumar, regional in charge of RSS in Jammu & Kashmir, Punjab, Haryana and Himachal Pradesh. |
|
Sudarshan to meet Muslim leaders Jammu, December 7 Mr Sudershan arrived here today on a four-day tour. This is perhaps for the first time that the RSS chief will be meeting members of the Muslim community here. It is learnt that certain prominent persons from the Muslim community from the Kashmir Valley will also come here to meet him. It is learnt that Muslims in a large number have been invited from various parts of the state to meet Mr Sudershan. It is pertinent to mention here that in general the Muslims, particularly in the Valley, believe the RSS to be an enemy of the community. He will also meet the senior functionaries of the RSS who have been at loggerheads with the local leadership of the BJP which resulted in a rout of the party in the recent assembly elections. |
|
|
25 killed as bus rolls into nullah Jammu, December 7 Twentytwo persons died on the spot, while three succumbed to their injuries in hospital at Ramban on the Jammu-Srinagar highway. The condition of eight injured persons was stated to be critical and they were being sent here for treatment in the medical college. The police and doctors rushed to the spot on receiving the report of the accident. |
|
|
Poor response to bandh ruffles hardliners Jammu, December 7 This has also exposed the following of Mr Geelani among the people after the split in the Hurriyat Conference and brought to the fore the desire of the masses for restoring peace in the state. Mr Geelani apparently wanted to kill two birds with one stone by calling for the bandh to coincide with the day of demolition of the Babri Masjid. Firstly, according to observers, he wanted to demonstrate his strength in the valley vis-à-vis the Hurriyat leadership. Secondly, he probably wished to reiterate that no talks with the Centre would be acceptable to the people of Kashmir without Pakistan being a party to it. However, he has miserably failed to achieve both objectives as there was hardly any impact on normal life in the valley due to the partial bandh. Reports indicated that most of the shops were open and public transport plied as usual. There were only a few stray incidents of violence. Mr Geelani had given the bandh call following the denial of permission by the government to hold a public meeting yesterday to coincide with the anniversary of demolition of the Babri Masjid. It is being alleged by the supporters of Mr Geelani that the Mufti government used force to make the bandh unsuccessful. People were allegedly detained to prevent them from mobilising the masses. A government spokesman said Mr Geelani was asked to organise the public meeting on any day except December 6 when sentiments of people could have been whipped up due to fiery speeches of hardliners. While the Hurriyat Conference led by Moulvi Abbas Ansari is in favour of hammering out a solution to the Kashmir problem through a dialogue with the Centre, Mr Geelani has broken away as he insists that the talks should be tripartite, with Pakistan as a party. Mr Ansari has appreciated the initiative of the Centre to nominate Mr L.K. Advani, Deputy Prime Minister, for holding a dialogue with separatists. It is being alleged that Mr Geelani, who is on parole from the Ranchi jail, is becoming desperate as indications have started coming that a dialogue between the Centre and the Hurriyat would be held soon. His effort was to thwart the process so that the “pot of dispute” kept boiling. Over the years, Mr Geelani has come to be known as one who represents the viewpoint of Pakistan as far as the Kashmir problem is concerned. The split in the Hurriyat had come only because of the hard line taken by him. The Chief Minister, Mufti Mohammad Sayeed, is systematically getting hardliners isolated as the people in the valley have started seeing a ray of hope from his healing touch policy and his relentless demand to the Centre for involving all shades of opinion in the peace process. |
|
|
Don’t pose threat to govt, Cong urges dissidents Jammu, December 7 The plea was made during a two-hour session that PCC president Ghulam Nabi Azad and AICC general secretary Ambika Soni had with the dissidents here last evening. Mr Azad told newspersons that problems in the coalition government were inevitable but there was no threat to the government. Ms Soni admitted that there were some differences but these could be sorted out.The two leaders had reached Jammu in the wake of reports that the dissidents in the Congress had received feelers from the National Conference securing their support for overthrowing the PDP-led coalition government. A number of dissident leaders,including Mr Raman Bhalla and Mr Yogesh Sawhney, in separate meetings with Mr Azad and Ms Soni, had given vent to their feelings, blaming the party leadership for their failure to strengthen the Congress in the state. Mr Bhalla informed Mr Azad and Ms Soni that the Congress legislators had been reduced to a non-entity by ministers and
bureaucrats.” In support of their contention, the dissidents referred to the way their recommendations were rejected not only by the ministers belonging to the PDP but also by those who belonged to the Congress. “How can we strengthen the congress when we cannot see a single youth, recommended by us getting a government job?”, they asked Mr Azad. They openly held the weak party leadership responsible for the rapid “erosion” in the Congress strength, adding that the loss in the Congress is a gain for the PDP. When Mr Azad expressed his displeasure over the meetings, the dissidents had with National Conference leaders, Mr Bhalla and others denied that they had met any senior functionary of the NC. They, however, informed Mr Azad and Ms Soni that some NC leaders had conveyed messages to them, which they had ignored. The dissidents told Mr Azad that despite representing key constituencies in the Assembly, they had been sidelined even by congress ministers. Mr Azad and Ms Soni requested the dissidents to avoid steps that could aggravate the rift within the Congress and widen the gap between the PDP and the Congress. Later, AICC leaders met Chief Minister Mufti Mohammad Sayeed. They suggested to the Chief Minister to accommodate two dissidents in the Council of Ministers in the interests of the coalition government. They also pleaded with the Mufti that the Congress legislators’ recommendations and viewpoints should be given adequate weightage. |
|
|
PDP demands probe into Farooq’s assets
Srinagar, December 7 “The government should order a probe into Dr Abdullah’s assets in the state and abroad. His bank accounts should be seized and the source of the family’s immense wealth investigated,” a spokesman of the PDP said in a statement here. “If no member of the Abdullah family ever did a known business or held a regular job, how could huge estates be constructed and royal estates sustained?” he asked. The party also demanded probe into the appointment of Dr Abdullah’s son-in-law as the Director of Software Park during National Conference rule in the state. About Dr Abdullah’s statement that he would use his good offices to mend fences between the two factions of the Hurriyat Conference, he said it was a “u-turn” for Dr Abdullah as he had in the past been insisting that no talks should be held with Hurriyat unless they swore by the Constitution. “Dr Abdullah once said `Hurriyat walon ko Jhelum mein phenk do, taki woh Pakistan pahoonchay (throw them into the Jhelum so that they reach Pakistan)’,” he said. He, however, welcomed the change of heart exhibited by Dr Abdullah on the dialogue process. “Dr Abdullah’s speech was a welcome acknowledgement of the policies of the coalition government,” he said.
— PTI |
|
J&K likely to sack 40 tainted officials Jammu, December 7 It is reliably learnt that the government has prepared the first list of 40 tainted officers, most of them engineers, for being sacked. A high-level committee was appointed some time ago by the coalition government to identify the officers who were allegedly involved in corruption and nepotism during the previous regime of the National Conference. The state Cabinet had recently authorised the Chief Minister, Mufti Sayeed, to dismiss the gazetted officers. The timing for issuing the sack orders was still being discussed, but the action was expected next week. The ruling PDP and its coalition partners, Congress and Panthers Party, had in their election manifestos pledged to sterm out corruption which was allegedly patronised in the state by the National Conference rulers. The coalition partners as well as the general public had now started attaching motives due to the delay in taking action against the tainted officers although the Mufti government had completed a year in office. |
|
M.L. Koul dead Jammu, December 7 He was cremated here today and a large number of political leaders and mediapersons attended the funeral. The Chief Minister, Mufti Sayeed, and the Deputy Chief Minister, Mr Mangat Ram Sharma, have mourned the demise of Koul. A condolence meeting was held in the Information Department. |
| HOME PAGE | |
Punjab | Haryana | Jammu & Kashmir |
Himachal Pradesh | Regional Briefs |
Nation | Opinions | | Business | Sports | World | Mailbag | Chandigarh | Ludhiana | National Capital | | Calendar | Weather | Archive | Subscribe | Suggestion | E-mail | |
