J A M M U   &   K A S H M I R

Azad, Mufti condemn attack on tourists
Srinagar, May 27
Jammu and Kashmir Governor, Lt Gen (retd) S K Sinha, Chief Minister, Ghulam Nabi Azad and several other leaders have condemned the grenade attack on the tourist bus in which four persons were killed and six others were injured at Batpora on Thursday evening.

Hurriyat rejects autonomy proposal
Srinagar, May 27
Rejecting the Centre’s autonomy proposal for Jammu and Kashmir, the Hurriyat Conference yesterday demanded involvement of leaders of both sides of the divided Kashmir in order to reach a negotiated settlement of the Kashmir issue.

Srinagar-Gulmarg traffic resumes
Srinagar, May 27
Traffic between Srinagar and the tourist spot of Gulmarg resumed after a gap of about four weeks today after having been disrupted due to damage to a bridge over the Firozpur nullah at Kunzer, about 25 km from here.

Army officers inspect a reconstructed bridge, connecting Gulmarg with Srinagar, before its inauguration in Baramula on Saturday. — PTI photo

3 militants found killed
Jammu, May 27
Bodies of three foreign militants were found in the Saidini area of Chhatru tehsil in Doda district of the Jammu region in the wee hours yesterday.

Conference a failure: Mann
Srinagar, May 27
Mr S. S. Mann, chief of the Shiromani Akali Dal (Amritsar), has described the recent roundtable conference, held here, as a futile exercise as it did not involve all voices of the people of Jammu and Kashmir.

Fida, Soz bereaved
Srinagar, May 27
Chief Minister Ghulam Nabi Azad visited the residence of Prof Fida M. Hassnain, a well-known historian, here today and expressed grief on the death of his son Imtiyaz Fida.

Azad, Mufti condemn attack on tourists
Tribune News service

Srinagar, May 27
Jammu and Kashmir Governor, Lt Gen (retd) S K Sinha, Chief Minister, Ghulam Nabi Azad and several other leaders have condemned the grenade attack on the tourist bus in which four persons were killed and six others were injured at Batpora on Thursday evening. Separatist political parties and leaders and those associated with the tourist trade have also expressed concern over the incident and appealed for peace.

The state government released ex-gratia of Rs. 2 lakh each for the next of the kin of four tourists killed and Rs 10,000 each for those injured in the attack.

Mr Azad termed the attacks on visiting tourists as an attack on the economy of Kashmir. This, he said, created problems for those associated with tourism. Bridges, schools, hospitals and other public utility infrastructure destroyed by militants since 1990 was being reconstructed. The efforts were on to upgrade the tourism infrastructure in the state to create jobs for the youth of the state.

Mr Azad held that since 1990, around 1500 calls of hartals had been given by militants and their sympathisers to paralyse the economy of individual Kashmiris.

The state government had launched a campaign to attract tourists to the valley so that the trade is revived. On the appeal of the state government, free trade routes between the borders were proposed to be started within two months, which would lift the economy of Jammu and Kashmir. Under the doctrine of "Khushal Kashmir", new economic chapter was being opened in the state.

The PDP patron and former Chief Minister, Mufti Mohammad Sayeed, has described the incident as unfortunate and an attempt to damage the state economy. He recalled the strenuous efforts of coalition government during last three-and-a-half years for revival of tourism and bringing it back on rails.

He called for isolation of such elements bent upon disrupting the peace process and tourist influx and appealed to the people related with tourism to uphold the age-old and traditional hospitality and also give protection and guidance to tourists.

A joint meeting of tourism and travel trade bodies here yesterday expressed sympathies with the kith and kin of the deceased and appealed to every citizen to play his role in protecting and safeguarding the tourists visiting the state.

Mirwaiz Umar Farooq, chairman of the moderate APHC, has demanded a judicial probe into the incident.

Hurriyat rejects autonomy proposal

Srinagar, May 27
Rejecting the Centre’s autonomy proposal for Jammu and Kashmir, the Hurriyat Conference yesterday demanded involvement of leaders of both sides of the divided Kashmir in order to reach a negotiated settlement of the Kashmir issue.

“Hurriyat wants to clarify that the Kashmir issue is a trilateral problem, involving India, Pakistan and people of Jammu and Kashmir. We will not be part of the dialogue wherein internal autonomy will be discussed, which is a futile exercise,” moderate Hurriyat chairman Mirwaiz Umer Farooq said here.

Bilaterial negotiation between New Delhi and Srinagar and New Delhi and Islamabad had failed to address the problem. If India wanted to resolve the Kashmir issue through a roundtable, it should involve the leadership of Kashmiris on the either side of the Line of Control and Pakistan because the Kashmir issue had all the three parties involved in it, he told a Friday congregation.

Mirwaiz also sought a timeframe for the solution to the Kashmir issue.

Turning to the mainstream parties, Mirwaiz said those parties which attended the roundtable conference should clarify their positions with regard to everlasting solution to the Kashmir issue.

“If they are well-wishers of the Kashmiris they should understand the stark realities,” he said, but did not elaborate. — PTI

Srinagar-Gulmarg traffic resumes
Tribune News Service

Srinagar, May 27
Traffic between Srinagar and the tourist spot of Gulmarg resumed after a gap of about four weeks today after having been disrupted due to damage to a bridge over the Firozpur nullah at Kunzer, about 25 km from here.

The bridge was retrieved and reconstructed at the new site within two weeks by Army engineers in collaboration with the civil authorities and engineers of the Gulmarg Development Authority to end the inconvenience to the people of the area and tourists visiting Gulmarg.

The bridge was damaged due to heavy rain on May , disrupting traffic on the vital 50-km-long road between Srinagar and Gulmarg. The reconstructed bridge was inaugurated and opened to traffic by the Works Minister in the presence of senior Army and civil dignitaries.

3 militants found killed

Jammu, May 27
Bodies of three foreign militants were found in the Saidini area of Chhatru tehsil in Doda district of the Jammu region in the wee hours yesterday.

The Deputy Inspector-General of Police of the Doda Range, Mr L.T. Mohanty, said it was not clear whether these militants were killed in an encounter with the security forces who were also in the area for carrying out anti-terrorists operations.

Meanwhile, reports have attributed the reason of killing of these militants to infighting among them.

Mr Mohanty said the militants were of the Harkat-ul-Jehadi. — UNI

Conference a failure: Mann

Srinagar, May 27
Mr S. S. Mann, chief of the Shiromani Akali Dal (Amritsar), has described the recent roundtable conference, held here, as a futile exercise as it did not involve all voices of the people of Jammu and Kashmir.

Mr Mann demanded “solid steps” to be taken for the resolution of the Kashmir issue by implementing UN resolutions, restoration of pre-1953 position, and taking up the issue of detained Kashmiris. — TNS

Fida, Soz bereaved

Srinagar, May 27
Chief Minister Ghulam Nabi Azad visited the residence of Prof Fida M. Hassnain, a well-known historian, here today and expressed grief on the death of his son Imtiyaz Fida.

Imtiyaz Fida, son-in-law of Union Water Resources Minister Prof Saifuddin Soz, died of an ailment here this morning.

PDP patron and former Chief Minister Mufti Mohammad Sayeed and his daughter and PDP president, Ms Mehbooba Mufti, have also expressed grief and sorrow over the demise of Imtiyaz Fida. — TNS