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PM urged to defer move to reopen Muzaffarabad road
APHC to debate on PM’s speech today
Gupta flays govt stand
on Kashmir
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1 killed, 4 hurt in blast at funeral
Jammu varsity being inspected for ISO certification
Army sends 30 students on excursion
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PM urged to defer move to reopen Muzaffarabad road
Jammu, November 17 In separate press notes on the eve of the Prime Minister’s visit here, these organisations have urged him to defer the idea of reopening the road linking Srinagar with Pakistan- occupied Kashmir (PoK). The AISSF, the PoK Refugees Welfare Forum, and the All Communities Unity Forum have pointed out that hundreds of refugees allotted evacuee properties will once again be uprooted in case the Srinagar-Muzaffarabad road is
reopened. The Evacuee Property Act of Jammu and Kashmir provides that the people who have migrated to Pakistan following Partition can reclaim their properties when they return. These organisations have alleged that issues like reopening of the road and the Women’s Citizenship Bill are the brainchild of those who represent about 10 per cent of the electorate in the Kashmir valley and want to destabilise the region. These organisations have expressed support to the initiative taken by Dr Manmohan Singh for a peaceful and negotiated settlement of the Kashmir issue. Mr Paramjit Singh, president of the state unit of the AISSF, has urged the Prime Minister not to follow any Kashmir-centric policy and not to get carried away by the shrewd moves of the “communal and biased” leadership of Kashmir. Mr Rajinder Kumar Sharma, general secretary of the PoK Refugees Welfare Forum, has urged Dr Manmohan Singh to persuade the state government to confer property rights to the refugees who have been living here for the past 57 years. The All Jammu and Kashmir State Akali Dal chief, Mr Jagdev Singh, in a press note, has demanded that minority status be granted to communities in a minority in the state and a separate minorities commission be set up here. He has demanded that more employment opportunities be created in view of growing unemployment and the upper age limit be relaxed for the overaged unemployed. Mr Jagdev Singh has urged the Prime Minister for early rehabilitation of refugees from PoK, adding that a reservation of 4 per cent in government jobs should be made for wards of PoK refugees and they should be included in Indo-Pak talks on Kashmir. He has welcomed the decision of the Prime Minister to reduce the strength of troops in the valley and described this as another step towards restoring peace in Kashmir. |
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Red alert ahead of PM’s Jammu visit
Jammu, November 17 The Prime Minister, who flew to Srinagar today from New Delhi, would arrive here tomorrow on the concluding day of his two-day visit to the state. Soon after his arrival here, he is scheduled to visit Kashmiri migrants’ camp at Muthi near here. He will also address a public meeting at Parade Ground, which has been made out of bounds for civilians. Later, he would chair a meeting of the Unified Command of the Army, BSF, CRPF, police and civil administration and review the prevailing security situation in the Jammu region. He would also meet delegations of various political parties and address a press conference at Raj Bhavan. He will fly to New Delhi in the evening. Massive security arrangements have been made. A mock exercise was also conducted by the police in the afternoon and amid tight security, a cavalcade of cars was taken to the places where the Prime Minister would be visiting. The police has also decided not to allow any private and passenger vehicle tomorrow till the Prime Minister leaves for New Delhi. Surprise checking is also being conducted by police in hotels, lodges and restaurants. Policemen in mufti have also been deployed outside religious places and on roads.
— UNI |
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APHC to debate on PM’s speech today
Srinagar, November 17 “We will react to Dr Singh’s speech only after the EC members, highest decision-making body of the Hurriyat Conference (HC), meets at its Rajbagh headquarters here tomorrow,’’ Chairman Mirwaiz Moulvi Omar Farooq said. “We have heard the public speech of Dr Manmohan Singh but did not find answer to our proposal to allow the HC leaders to visit Pakistan before holding the third round of talks with the Centre,’’ he said. Mirwaiz Omar said the EC committee members besides holding deliberation on Dr Singh’s speech will also discuss other matters of the amalgam. He had said yesterday that amalgam leaders will not meet Prime Minister Manmohan Singh during his two-day visit to Jammu and Kashmir. “The third round of talks with the Centre are possible only after we are allowed to visit Pakistan.... the Hurriyat Conference has no desire to meet the Prime Minister till then,’’ he said. He said the amalgam was not against holding the dialogue with the Centre on the Kashmir issue but it should be meaningful and result-oriented to permanently resolve the vexed issue. “We have been saying time and again that the dialogue process between all the three parties concerned is the only way to find a durable and peaceful solution to the issue’’, he said, adding that the Hurriyat had already held two rounds of talks with the Centre.
— UNI |
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Gupta flays govt stand
on Kashmir
Jammu, November 17 Mr Gupta said here today that Parliament had unanimously adopted a resolution reaffirming that the entire territory of Jammu and Kashmir was an integral part of India and Pakistan had no locus standi on it. He said such moves were alarming and indicated that the Congress leadership had not learnt a lesson from such a division in 1947 and people were still facing troubles and turmoil. Blaming the Congress leadership for the Kashmir trouble, Mr Gupta observed that their follies had resulted in problems for which the entire country had to pay a heavy price. The peace processes initiated by the Vajpayee-led NDA government was aimed at reducing tension with Pakistan and create harmony between the people on both sides. He said people on both sides wanted peace, but the need was to strengthen the process and not create more problems by further dividing the state. Mr Gupta stressed the need for pressurising Pakistan to stop killings and cross-border terrorism first and thereafter any talk about reducing the strength of troops should be done. |
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1 killed, 4 hurt in blast at funeral
Jammu, November 17 The IED had been planted by militants underneath the ground on which two pyres were laid in the morning to cremate the bodies of Roshan and Sanjeet, who were killed by militants yesterday in the Tund forests of Bonjwan, where they had gone to collect firewood. The police said the IED was triggered by militants at about 11 am with a remote control device, seconds before the pyres were to be lighted. In the blast, Roshan’s brother Lekh Raj was killed on the spot while Daya Krishan, his son Madho Lal, Vijay Kumar and Rajesh Kumar sustained critical splinter wounds. The injured were hospitalised. Police and Army jawans, who were in the vicinity, launched a massive operation in the area to track down the militants. Soon after the blast, some angry villagers held an anti-government demonstration.
— UNI |
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Jammu varsity being inspected for ISO certification
Jammu, November 17 The Vice-Chancellor, Prof Amitabh Mattoo, has to a large extent streamlined the functioning of the university with the objective of getting the prestigious ISO certification that will help attract foreign students for higher studies. The three-day final audit programme by the ISO agency started yesterday and the local staff engaged in the job was hopeful of a positive outcome. Dr Rajiv Gupta, who is heading the ISO cell of the university, said the system of monitoring, teaching and examinations had been streamlined during the past about two years when Mr Mattoo became the Vice-Chancellor. The ISO certification is expected to benefit the university, which has already been chosen by the UGC for the promotion of higher studies among foreign students. One of the major achievements of the university during the past two years has been providing opportunities to students to interact with national-level dignitaries who were invited to the campus. This has provided a good exposure to students on a variety of subjects. |
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Army sends 30 students on excursion
Jammu, November 17 Under Operation Sadbhavna, the children accompanied by their teachers and a project officer, will visit Delhi, Ahmednagar, Bangalore and Mysore, according to a press note. The group was flagged off by Brig A.K. Pathak, Commander, 2 (Independent) Armoured Brigade, from Pathankot yesterday. In his address, Brigadier Pathak told students to spread the message of national integration, literacy and development
and hoped that the excursion would motivate them.
— PTI |
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