Jammu, October 31
While hectic lobbying for ministerial berths is on by the coalition partners in the Ghulam Nabi Azad-led government that would be sworn on November 2, serious differences have surfaced within the Panthers Party on the issue of supporting the government from outside.

The Education Minister, Mr Harshdev, who belongs to the Panthers Party, has put a question mark on the decision of supporting the Azad government from outside that was taken at a meeting of the party chaired by Mr Bhim Singh here yesterday.

Mr Harshdev has said that he was not aware of any such decision in his capacity as leader of the Panthers Party in the House. An appropriate decision would be taken at a meeting of the legislature party here this evening.

It is learnt that Mr Harshdev, who is related to Mr Bhim Singh, and the Minister of State for Animal Husbandry, Mr Yashpal Kaundal, have virtually raised a banner of revolt against the decision of keeping out of the ministry. The two other MLAs of the party, Mr Balwant Singh Mankotia and Mr Faqir Chand, will participate in the meeting tonight. However, Mr Bhim Singh, who is a member of the Legislative Council, left for Delhi this afternoon reportedly to meet top leaders of the Congress.

Mr Bhim Singh today warned that anyone defying the resolution of the plenary session of the party would not escape disciplinary action. He said that he had already sent a letter to Governor S.K. Sinha, conveying the decision of the party supporting the Azad government from outside.

Meanwhile, the announcement of Mr Azad that he would constitute a small ministry has made many Congress men rush to Delhi. The Deputy Chief Minister, Mr Mangat Ram Sharma, who was not in the Azad camp was in the national capital where he was busy meeting senior Congress leaders. It is learnt that he favoured two Deputy Chief Ministers, one from the Congress and the other from the PDP, in the Azad ministry. He was, so far, not keen on joining the ministry as a Cabinet Minister and would prefer to become the Speaker of the House.

The Azad supporters were also trying to clip the wings of Peerzada Sayeed by floating the idea of one man-one post. Mr Sayeed is, at present, holding two posts of the PCC chief and an Minister in the coalition government and was in the race for chief ministership.

There were indications that Mr Azad, while restricting the size of his ministry though the law pertaining to the issue was not applicable in J&K, might not be in a position to oblige all present ministers.

The independents, including Mr Babu Singh, Mr Abdul Majid Wani and Mr Puran Singh, who were considered as Azad loyalists, are likely to be re-inducted in the ministry. Mr Abdul Gani Vakil, who was elected recently as an MLC, is also a hot contender for ministerial berth.

Srinagar, October 31
The Jammu and Kashmir Governor, Lieut-Gen S.K. Sinha (retd), has invited the newly elected leader of the Congress Legislature Party (CLP), Mr Ghulam Nabi Azad, to form the new government in the state. Mr Azad had called on the Governor at Raj Bhavan yesterday and staked his claim for the post of Chief Minister and submitted relevant papers.

Mr Azad, according to a Raj Bhavan spokesman here today, would be sworn in Chief Minister on the November 2 at 5 p.m. at Sher-e-Kashmir International Convention Complex (SKICC). He was unanimously elected leader of the CLP here yesterday, a day after Mufti Mohammad Sayeed submitted his resignation to the Governor.

Srinagar, October 31
When he put in his signatures as president of the Jammu and Kashmir State Youth Congress chief 31 years ago, it was unthinkable that Mr Ghulam Nabi Azad would become the Chief Minister of his home state. Now the signatures were put in the presence of Ms Ambika Soni — one of the two observers of the party high command on the occasion of Mr Azad’s election as CLP leader here on Sunday.

With his 28 years of political experience outside the state out of which he spent 25 years in Parliament, Mr Azad does not feel as an alien. He made it clear soon after being elected the CLP leader here yesterday. Recalling his first election to the Lok Sabha from Maharashtra from a constituency with only two per cent of Muslim population, he made it to Parliament thanks to the overwhelming support to a youth from Jammu and Kashmir. “There is a wrong impression about India in Kashmir, he commented in support of his argument. The country has great love for Kashmir and the people of this state have the support of not one crore of its population but that of 101 crore population of the whole country,” he said. That was clear from overwhelming response of relief to the quake-affected population. The 56-year-old Congress leader, at present Union Minister for Parliamentary Affairs and Urban Development, will be the 10th Chief Minister of the state and the first from outside Kashmir. He is a post-graduate in Zoology and had his education at Bhaderwah, G.G.M. Science College, Jammu, S.P. College, Srinagar and Kashmir University, Srinagar.

Hailing from Soti village of Bhaderwah in Doda district of the Jammu region, Mr Azad after completing his postgraduate degree held the position of Block Congress Committee, Bhalesa between 1973 and 1975. Soon after he was elevated to the post of President, Pradesh Youth Congress, Jammu and Kashmir from 1975 to 1977. He also remained a member of the State Congress Executive Committee from 1975 to 1985. From 1975 to 1988, Mr Azad was president of the District Congress Committee, Doda, during which he also remained a general secretary of the All-India Youth Congress from 1977 to 1980.

He was first elected to the seventh Lok Sabha from Washim in Maharashtra in 1980 and was also member of the Congress executive committee of Maharashtra from 1980 to 1996. He held various positions in the Union Council of Ministers in Congress governments.

Returning to his home state of Jammu and Kashmir, Mr Azad became the president of the State Congress Committee in March 2002 and held the post till August 2004. The return of Congress party to the state legislature which rose from mere seven seats in the 1996 elections to 20 in 2002 elections, is being credited to the leadership of Mr Azad, who led the 2002 elections as the PCC chief. He was re-elected to the Rajya Sabha in November 2002 from Jammu and Kashmir.

Jammu, October 31
The All Party Hurriyat Conference (APHC) leadership, has welcomed the Indo-Pak agreement on keeping open five border points for enabling people to send relief material for those affected by the recent earthquake on either side of the LoC. It also said that this step was fourth in the process of normalisation of relations between the two countries.

A former APHC chairman, Prof Abdul Gani Bhat, said here today, “The opening of the five border points supplemented by other confidence building measures could lead to the final settlement of the Kashmir issue.”

He said that ceasefire on the LoC, reopening of Srinagar-Muzaffarabad road and permission granted to the APHC leaders for visiting Pakistan were the first three measures that led to the “mellowing of hatred, anger and mistrust between the two sides.”

The APHC leader said that “The 58-year long barriers preventing people from either side of the LoC from meeting one another should be removed permanently. In any civilised society barriers on interaction were not tolerated.”

In reply to a question Professor Bhat said that the APHC executive committee members have left to the party chairman, Molvi Umar Farooq, to finalise the quantum of material aid that could be delivered to the tremor hit people on either side of the LoC by APHC activists and supporters. He made it clear that “we do not want any publicity gains as we cannot compete with other organisations in collecting material aid for the earthquake hit people because we do not have big resources.”

Asked whether invitation for another round of talks with the Prime Minister, Mr Manmohan Singh, had been received by the APHC leadership Professor Bhat said “We have not received any invitation. I believe that the next round of talks may begin somewhere in the middle of next month as by that time the festival season would be over and the government may have tackled the post-quake problems in Jammu and Kashmir.”

He said, “Since we have been always in favour of an amicable settlement of the Kashmir issue through a sustained dialogue we expect several rounds of talks with the Governments of India and Pakistan because as representatives of the sentiments of people of Kashmir our involvement in the process of dialogue is imperative.”

Srinagar, October 31
The 15-year-old militancy in Jammu and Kashmir has impacted the small but politically powerful community of Mohyal Brahmins, which traces its links to the family of Prophet Mohammad.

According to the Mohyal Sabha, the community’s welfare organisation, its members living in the areas of Baramulla, Poonch, Rajouri and Naushera near the Line of Control have been facing the wrath of the militants for more than a decade.

“Since many Mohyals live near the LoC, they have to face the problems of militancy”, says community leader N.L. Bakshi. Most of the 5,000-member strong community now lives in Jammu, says Mr Bakshi, a former IAS officer.

Only a handful has stayed behind to run businesses like money-lending and agriculture.

However, the prolonged militancy has forced the Mohyals, who arrived here after Partition, to relocate to Jammu. Here members of the community have formed enclaves like Resham Ghar, Bakshi Nagar, Rehari and Sarwal to keep their unique traditions intact, says Mr Bakshi.

Ironically, the Mohyals’ ancestral links to Prophet Mohammad haven’t helped them. According to lore, a community chieftain named Dutt joined the army of Alexander the Great during the latter’s voyage back home to Greece.

The Mohyals believe that Dutt and his band moved on to Arabia after the death of Alexander at Babylon where they grew close to the family of Prophet Mohammad.

During the war of Kerbala fought in 681 AD, an ancestor Rahib Sidh Dutt, is believed to have fought alongside the doomed army of Hussain, sacrificing seven of his sons.

Srinagar, October 31
Militants killed a village defence committee (VDC) member while an ultra and a trans-border smuggler were arrested in Jammu and Kashmir during the past 24 hours, an official spokesman said today.

He said militants kidnapped Narayan Dass, a VDC member, at Khoura Chingam in Doda district of Jammu region and later killed him.

The security forces and the Jammu and Kashmir police, in a joint operation, busted a militant hideout and seized 168 cartridges, besides a large quantity of edible items, including dry fruits, milk powder, rice and sugar at Gondoh in the same district last evening.

The police arrested a militant and seized one AK rifle, one magazine and three cartridges from him.

A report from Jammu, quoting the police, said a trans-border smuggler, Manga Ram, alias Mangu, was arrested at Akhnoor last evening.

Incriminating documents and cuttings of some Pakistani newspapers were seized from him.

Panic gripped the heart of the city today when the security forces noticed an unclaimed box near the Palladium cinema.

People ran for cover as soon as the security forces cordoned off the area to defuse the ‘’bomb’’.

It turned out to be a false alarm as the unclaimed box contained apples and some clothes.

The entire Lal Chowk area was heavily crowded at the time in view of the approaching Id.

CRPF spokesman R.K. Singh and Senior Superintendent of Police, Munir Khan said it was not a bomb, but the unclaimed box contained apples and clothes. — UNI