J A M M U   &   K A S H M I R

Baramula byelection: Mufti launches campaign
Srinagar, April 3
Former Chief Minister Mufti Mohammad Sayeed yesterday formally launched the campaign for three Assembly constituencies going to byelections in Baramula district and announced the candidature of PDP contestants saying that they would be the candidates of Congress-PDP coalition partners.

Jehad council chief takes U-turn
Not to float political party
Jammu, April 3
Chief of Muzaffarabad-based United Jehad Council Syed Salahuddin has taken a U-turn on his recently announced policy of taking part in the ongoing dialogue after floating a political party when the other day he declared that he was neither toying with the idea of forming a political party nor participating in any political dialogue.

Amarnath yatra from June 11
Jammu, April 3
The annual Amarnath yatra to the cave shrine in South Kashmir Himalayas will commence from June 11, official sources said here today.

Cong councillor shot
Srinagar, April 3
Militants shot dead a Congress councillor and injured a contractor in the Kashmir valley overnight, official sources said today.

Baramula byelection: Mufti launches campaign
Tribune News Service

Srinagar, April 3
Former Chief Minister Mufti Mohammad Sayeed yesterday formally launched the campaign for three Assembly constituencies going to byelections in Baramula district and announced the candidature of PDP contestants saying that they would be the candidates of Congress-PDP coalition partners. With this it has been made clear that the main coalition partner, the Congress would not be fielding its candidates in any of the constituencies, though a section of the State Congress party was keen on contesting the elections. Its main candidate would be in the Chief minister, Ghulam Nabi Azad, who is to contest from his home constituency of Bhaderwah in Doda district of Jammu region.

The PDP candidates for three constituencies in Baramula district include Dilawar Mir, Moulvi Iftikhar Hussain Ansari and Javed Ahmad Beigh from Rafiabad, Pattan and Sangrama constituencies. Mir and Ansari had already represented their respective constituencies for two consecutive terms in the 1996 and 2002 elections as National Conference candidates. Both of them had resigned from the party and membership of the Legislative Assembly last year to join the PDP. Mr Javed Beigh, nephew of the Deputy Chief Minister Muzaffar Hussain Beigh, will be contesting for the first time from Sangrama constituency. It had fallen vacant following the killing of former minister and MLA, Dr Ghulam Nabi Lone in October last year.

Speaking on the occasion, the PDP patron Mufti Mohammad Sayeed asked the people to judge its candidates on the basis of performance of the coalition government. He said that the PDP, which entered into a coalition arrangement with the Congress party over three years ago, had a political and economic vision. Mufti held that the economic and development policies of the coalition government laid the foundation of the resolution of various issues. He appreciated the forward movement of the coalition government in which a change was affected in the post of the Chief Minister, saying that the programme continued to be the same.

Mufti was accompanied by senior party leader and the Deputy Chief Minister, Muzaffar Hussain Beigh and the three candidates, Moyulvi Iftikhar Hussain Ansari, Mr Dilawar Mir and Javed Beigh.

Meanwhile, the notification for Rafiabad, Sangrama and Pattan Assembly constituencies was issued by the Returning Officers concerned of these constituencies on Friday last. According to the notification issued by the Returning Officers of these constituencies, forms of nomination papers can be obtained from the offices of Returning Officers concerned and Assistant Returning Officers from March 31 up to April 7. The said nomination papers can be delivered between 11 A.M to 3 P.M by the candidate or his authorised agent to the Returning Officers and Assistant Returning Officers at their offices up to April, 7. Accordingly, the nomination papers will be taken up for scrutiny on April 8 in the offices concerned. The withdrawal of candidature can be delivered by the candidate or his authorised agent or election agent at the offices of respective Returning Officers and Assistant Returning Officers before 3 PM on April 10, 2006. In the event of the election being contested, the poll will take place on April 24.

Jehad council chief takes U-turn
Not to float political party
Our Correspondent

Jammu, April 3
Chief of Muzaffarabad-based United Jehad Council Syed Salahuddin has taken a U-turn on his recently announced policy of taking part in the ongoing dialogue after floating a political party when the other day he declared that he was neither toying with the idea of forming a political party nor participating in any political dialogue.

In his latest statement, Syed Salahuddin said “we have in Syed Ali Shah Geelani our political face in Kashmir.”

He said he had no plan of forming a political party because the political job was being performed by Mr Geelani in Kashmir.

Earlier, Mr Salahuddin had announced that militant leaders were ready to take part in the dialogue with the Government of India provided the government declared a unilateral ceasefire. He had even hinted that he had plans of floating a political party.

The statement had immediate response from political observers in Jammu and Srinagar who had stated that Mr Salahuddin had fallen out with Mr Geelani, his mentor, and wanted to push the aged separatist leader to the wall.

These observers had also explained that the utterances of Mr Salahuddin were the result of pressure having been mounted on him by the establishment in Islamabad which no longer treated Mr Geelani as its trusted man in Kashmir.

However, latest reports from across the border said two major factors had been responsible for Mr Salahuddin’s U-turn to his plan.

First he seems to have buckled under the pressure exerted on him by Amir of Jamait-e-Islami in Pakistan, Qazi Hussain, and the leaders of the Command Council of Hizbul Mujahideen, of which Mr Salahuddin is the supremo.

Reports said that besides Jamait-e-Islami leadership in Pakistan majority of field commanders of Hizbul Mujahideen continue to support the leadership of Syed Ali Shah Geelani and they did not want Mr Salahuddin to float a front against Mr Geelani.

Secondly, Syed Salahuddin had expected the Government of India in general and the Chief Minister, Mr Ghulam Nabi Azad, in particular to respond favourably to his demand for a unilateral ceasefire in Kashmir so that he (Salahuddin) could come forward for taking part in the dialogue process.

The Government of India did not react. The Chief Minister of Kashmir, Mr Ghulam Nabi Azad, turned down the demand for a unilateral ceasefire on the plea that the security scenario was not yet conducive for a ceasefire.

In fact the Government of India is in favour of a bilateral ceasefire as the experiment it conducted with introducing noninitiating combat operations in November 2000 had not only failed but allowed an opportunity to militants for strengthening their bases.

Amarnath yatra from June 11

Jammu, April 3
The annual Amarnath yatra to the cave shrine in South Kashmir Himalayas will commence from June 11, official sources said here today.

The Jammu and Kashmir government and Sri Amarnath Shrine Board (SASB) have started work on the infrastructure for the two month-long pilgrimage.

The SASB has decided to make provisions for operating helicopter services and has called bids from private operators to provide cheap and better chopper services.

Efforts are also being made to install BSNL towers at Baltal to provide telecommunication facilities for pilgrims.

The Jammu and Kashmir Tourist Development Corporation will mobilise resources to provide quality services to pilgrims. — PTI 

Cong councillor shot

Srinagar, April 3
Militants shot dead a Congress councillor and injured a contractor in the Kashmir valley overnight, official sources said today.

Body of a woman was killed out from Dal Lake today, official sources added.

They said a Councillor of the Sopore Municipal Committee (SMC) Mohammad Afzal was shot at and critically wounded by militants from point blank range at Krankshivan colony last evening. He was shifted to hospital where he was declared brought dead.

Mr Afzal, who was elected as an independent candidate from ward two of the SMC, later joined the Congress.

He was the first politician killed by militants after notification for the byelections in three Assembly segments in the north Kashmir district of Baramula was announced.

Sources said militants shot at and wounded contractor Syed Rehman at Bandipora in north Kashmir. He has been hospitalised. — UNI