Jammu, August 27
The Jammu and Kashmir Government and various Hindu religious bodies are heading for a confrontation with the latter announcing that they would take out a Janmashtami procession on the traditional route here on August 31 despite the curbs imposed by the district administration.

The decision was taken here today at a meeting that was attended by leaders of the Sanatan the Dharam Sabha the Dharmarth Trust and several other religious, social and commercial organisations. The procession was cancelled yesterday in protest against the withdrawal of permission by the authorities to allow them to pass through Rajinder Bazar.

The decision comes amidst resentment brewing among the people here over the sudden withdrawal of permission by the district administration to take the procession through Rajinder Bazar yesterday. As a sequel to the administration’s decision, the organisers decided not to take out the procession on the eve of Janmashtami that was being celebrated here today.

The procession led by the idols in a golden chariot was being taken out from the famous Raghunath Temple for the past about 150 years and this is for the first time that the organisers, in protest against the “adamant” attitude of the authorities, decided not to take out the procession in which hundreds of people participate.

Mr Diwakar Singh, president of the Dharmarth Trust that manages the Raghunath Temple and is the main body to organise the procession, was critical of the authorities that withdrew the permission to let the procession pass through Rajinder Bazar.

He said the Muslim Federation had also pleaded that the procession should be allowed to pass through the traditional route.

Dr Ramakant Dubey, president of the VHP, said while the Chief Minister, Mohammed Sayeed, was keen to get all road links with Pakistan reopened, his government was putting restrictions on the movement of idols of Hindu gods and goddesses within the state during religious functions.

He alleged that the Deputy Chief Minister, Mr Mangat Ram Sharma, and other Congress ministers belonging to Jammu had miserably failed on the sentimental issue.

Mr Dharam Chand Prashant, a former MP and historian, lamented that the nearly 150-year-old tradition of the procession that was started during the reign of Maharaja Ranbir Singh was broken because of the “adamant” behaviour of the authorities.

It is learnt that on August 20, the authorities granted permission for the procession to pass through Rajinder Bazar, but later withdrew it on August 24. However, officials claimed that permission was granted only to make an announcement regarding the procession and not for taking out the procession through Rajinder Bazar.

The procession always passed through the bazaar, but because of communal tension a few years ago, the route was diverted. However, this time confusion was created because of the authorities first granting permission to adopt the traditional route and later withdrawing it.

Srinagar, August 27
While the authorities are trying to fully implement the ban on political speeches from Muslim shrines and mosques under the Wakf Board in Jammu and Kashmir, separatist leaders have strongly reacted to the move describing it as uncalled for. They include the leaders of both factions of the Hurriyat Conference, Mirwaiz Umar Farooq and Syed Ali Shah Geelani.

The Mirwaiz, or chief priest of Kashmir, Moulvi Umar Farooq, who heads the Awami Action Committee, a constituent of the Hurriyat Conference, sharply reacted to the decision while addressing a Friday congregation at Jamia Masjid here yesterday.

The Mirwaiz, who is also the chief of the United Council of Clerics, announced that a meeting of its top clerics in the state would be called soon to discuss the issue in its proper perspective. He said Islam was a complete way of life where religion and politics could not be separated. “We will not like people without religious education to take over unholy political means to exploit the public sentiments from mosques and shrines” he said.

Reacting to the decision, Syed Ali Shah Geelani held that the government had no power to stop the “pro-freedom and pro-Islamic” leadership from addressing people from shrines and mosques. This decision, he said, amounted to promotion of alien culture in Jammu and Kashmir at the behest of the government led by Mufti Mohammed Sayeed. He added that religion and politics in Islam were not separate.

The order to ban political speeches was issued in September 2003 when the Wakf Board came into existence after the Mufti government wrested control of the Jammu and Kashmir Muslim Auqaf Trust from the National Conference. Instructions had been issued to the local representatives of over 100 mosques and shrines under its control in the state and these had been implemented to a great extent. The issue came to the fore recently after moderate APHC leaders Mirwaiz Umar Farooq and Abdul Ghani Bhat sought permission to address a Friday congregation at a shrine in the Sonwar area here.

Over the decades, shrines and mosques in Kashmir have played a vital role in politics. The main shrines of the valley, including those at Hazratbal, Chrar-e-Sharief, Aishmuqam and the shrine of Makhdoom Sahib here, are under the control of the Wakf Board, while the main mosque of Jamia Masjid, the domain of Mirwaiz Umar Farooq, is outside its control. The Hazratbal shrine, housing the relic of Prophet Mohammad, has served as a religious and political platform for the National Conference founder leader, Sheikh Mohammad Abdullah. For his contemporary, Bakshi Ghulam Mohammad, it was the shrine of Sheikh Noruddin Wali at Charar-e-Sharief.

Jammu, August 27
Activists of the Khalistan Zindabad Force (KZF) are reportedly trying to revive militancy in the border areas of Jammu and Punjab. The KZF chief, Ranjit Singh Neeta, who is camping in Pakistan for the past several years, is said to be funding his supporters in Jammu for kicking up subversive activities.

According to senior police officials, Neeta had sent several lakhs of rupees through a border smuggler, Tulsi, for distribution among the KZF activists and their active supporters. However, Tulsi distributed a part of the money and the rest was used for his comforts, forcing him to go underground to avoid retaliation from the KZF activists.

The officials said the police arrested two KZF activists recently in Jammu along with arms and explosives. During their interrogation, the two KZF activists had revealed that Neeta, who is among 20 hardcore militants having sought shelter in Pakistan whose repatriation was being demanded by India, had become active again after the agencies across the border had been goading him to persuade his supporters in the Jammu border areas to kick up subversive activities.

In order to lure youths living in the Jammu border areas into militancy, the KZF activists were raising huge resources through smuggling of charas and opium from across the international border in Jammu. A police officer said contraband worth between Rs 30 and Rs 50 lakhs was being smuggled from across the international border between Akhnoor and Kathua. The officer said the border routes at Kanachak and Akhnoor in Jammu were the usual smuggling zones.

The police officer said that smuggling of charas and opium from across the border had dropped considerably soon after the border was fenced. He said the level of smuggling had increased with the indirect assistance from Pakistani and Indian border guards.

Srinagar, August 27
Two militants were killed in an encounter with the security forces and over 600 kg explosives seized in Anantnag today, while one person was killed elsewhere in the state.

Two Pak militants of the Lashkar-e-Toiba (LeT) were killed in an encounter with the security forces in the Achabal area of Anantnag district yesterday, the police said. They were identified as Shabir Ahmad, alias Zubair, and Saifulla from Pakistan. One AK rifle, one carbine and nine rounds of ammunition were seized from the site of encounter.

The security forces seized 6 quintal explosives in a joint operation in Anantnag. Further details were awaited.

In another search operation, the security forces seized a pistol, two magazines and 60 rounds from Jabda Kamalkote in the Uri area of Baramula district.

A human head, reportedly of Mohammad Qasim, was found in forest area of Astan Marg in Doda district, the police said. The deceased had gone to the forest for grazing cattle.

The police seized 15 kg explosives and three batteries from the Kotli Kalaban forest area in Manjakote sector of Rajouri district yesterday.