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Autonomy
the only solution: NC Nation page: Five Pak infiltrators killed in encounter Cong civic body candidate shot 15 mortar shells fired from across
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Autonomy
the only solution: NC Jammu, January 18 The two leaders, talking to this correspondent on the telephone, were reacting to the decision of the Union Home Minister, Mr Shivraj Patil, to initiate talks on the autonomy issue. Mr Omar Abdullah said the NC had been demanding since long that the report of the autonomy commission, prepared in 2000 during the party’s regime, should be discussed as a political solution. It was capable of setting the things right in the state. He said the NC had drawn the roadmap for peace in Kashmir through the autonomy report which no other party had done. The talk about autonomy should not be viewed as pro-Pakistan. There were two dimensions of the current turmoil in Kashmir that was caused due to alienation of the people. Secondly, J&K requires a political package which the NC was demanding from the Centre. The demand was reiterated when the Prime Minister, Dr Manmohan Singh, took various steps towards peace in the valley. Mr Omar Abdullah said the NC would constitute a committee to discuss the autonomy issue with the Centre. On the other hand, Prof Abdul Gani Bhat, does not see anything new in the announcement of the Home Minister. He said several Central committees set up on Kashmir to find a solution to the imbroglio, but none reached a conclusion. Moreover, such discussions would not solve the problem, unless the Centre addressed the sentiments rooted in the soul of Kashmir. He said the Hurriyat wanted to solve the issue through negotiations that should be result-oriented between India and Pakistan. No pre-conditions should be laid for these talks that should be the Kashmir specific. Prof Bhat said by making the announcement, Mr Patil was probably trying to give an impression that India was not rigid on the issue. His announcement was in reply to the flexibility that General Pervez Musharraf had shown for the settlement of the dispute. Meanwhile, the BJP has accused the Congress-led UPA government of vitiating the electoral scene in the state by making the announcement on the eve of the elections for the civic bodies. Prof Hari Om, vice-president of the state BJP, said the people of Jammu and Ladakh were against granting any autonomy to the state. It is pertinent to mention here that the state Assembly passed a resolution in 2000 demanding the implementation of the autonomy report. However, the Centre had rejected the resolution that sought restoration of the pre-1953 semi-sovereign status for Jammu and Kashmir with its complete control over all matters excepting foreign affairs, communication and defence. The NC during its regime set up a commission on autonomy. But earlier, a Cabinet sub-committee had sought to repeal all Central laws that were made applicable to J&K after August 9,1953, when Sheikh Abdullah was dislodged as prime minister and arrested.
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Five Pak infiltrators killed in encounter
Poonch (J&K), January 18 The security forces detected a group of ultras crossing over the LoC in the Balnoi area in the Mendhar sector around 1 a.m., the sources said, adding the troops challenged them immediately triggering a gunbattle. In the ensuing encounter, five ultras were killed and five AK rifles recovered from them. The Army has launched a search operation in the area to track down the rest of the militants, sources said. Meanwhile, the security forces have busted two militant hideouts in Rajouri district and seized a huge cache of ammunition and explosives, the sources said. The security forces recovered two grenades of under barrel grenade launcher, four hand grenades, five anti-personnel mines, two gelatine sticks, five bundles of cordex wire and 540 rounds of LMG ammunition, cartridges from a hideout in the Nowshera area of the district yesterday, they said. From another hideout at Darrah in the Thanamandi area of the district, forces recovered one AK magazine, 25 cartridges, one pistol with two magazines and one hand grenade, they added.
— PTI |
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Cong civic body candidate shot Srinagar, January 18 A police spokesman said here that militants fired upon Mohammad Nooruddin Sheerwani when he was coming out of a mosque after offering prayers in the Jamia Masjid area of the town last evening. He was shifted to hospital where he succumbed to the injuries, the police said. Mr Sheerwani, associated with the Congress, had filed his nomination papers for the forthcoming elections to the local body that went to the polls on January 29. Deputy Chief Minister Mangat Ram Sharma has expressed shock and grief over the killing of Sheerwani and described him as a true patriot. |
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15 mortar
shells fired from across border Jammu, January 18 A police spokesman said this evening that it was not clear whether these shells were fired by the Pakistanis or by militants who were trying to sneak into the Indian territory in the wake of this morning incident in which five militants were killed on the border in the Mendhar sector of Poonch. The spokesman said there was no damage as the shells fell on vacant spots. POONCH: In an early morning action, the security forces today gunned down five Pakistani militants who had sneaked into Poonch district of Jammu and Kashmir from across the Line of Control, defence sources said. The security forces detected a group of ultras crossing over the LoC in the Balnoi area in the Mendhar sector around 1 a.m., the sources said, adding the troops challenged them immediately triggering a gunbattle. In the ensuing encounter, five ultras were killed and five AK rifles recovered from them. The Army has launched a search operation in the area to track down the rest of the militants, sources said.
— PTI |
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