The Tribune, Chandigarh, India

	Musharraf has changed stance on Kashmir: Geelani S.P. Sharma Tribune News Service Jammu, December 13 The statements of the foreign office of Pakistan that it never claimed Kashmir as its integral part and the earlier four-point formula for peace offered by Gen Pervez Musharraf have triggered a bitter debate in the state on whether Pakistan is sincere in what it is saying. These statements of General Musharraf have become a talking point in almost every household. While most Kashmir-based political parties have appreciated the statements originating from Islamabad, those in Jammu have adopted a more cautious approach, as “Pakistan has never been sincere in the past”. Prof Amitabh Mattoo, Vice-Chancellor, Jammu University, today said the statements were a “test of Pakistan’s sincerity”. Professor Mattoo, who is an expert in international relations and was earlier Professor of the subject in the JNU, told the TNS that if Pakistan was sincere it should first stop terrorist violence in the state. This would be the first test of Pakistan’s sincerity for having friendly relations with India, he opined. Prof Hari Om, a historian and vice-president of the BJP, said it was a complete change of Pakistan’s stand on Kashmir, if the Pakistan foreign office spokesperson Tasnim Aslam meant what she said on Monday. He described these statements as “belated, but a step in the right direction”. However, the statements coming from Islamabad have upset Hurriyat hardliner Syed Ali Shah Geelani. In his strongly-worded reaction, he said the conflicting statements of General Musharraf and his foreign office had put a question mark on their sincerity. Mr Geelani, who is considered the voice of Pakistan in Kashmir, went to the extent of accusing General Musharraf of kneeling down on the Kashmir issue. However, political observers read much between the lines in what General Musharraf and Tasnim Aslam have said. While, General Musharraf had said in a TV interview that under the four-point solution Pakistan would give up its old demand for a plebiscite in Kashmir and forget all UN resolutions, Tasnim clarified that there was no shift in the country’s legal position on the dispute, which was based on UN Security Council resolutions. Senior PDP leader Ghulam Hassan Mir has described General Musharraf’s statement as “realistic”. He said the UN resolutions have become redundant. The mistrust between the two countries should be removed, he added.
	Azad reviews security situation Union Home Secy also present at the high-level meeting Tribune News Service New Delhi, December 13 Jammu and Kashmir Chief Minister Ghulam Nabi Azad today reviewed the security situation in the state at a high-level meeting here with senior officials led by Union Home Secretary V.K. Duggal. The meeting deliberated upon issues of logistic support to the Central para military forces operating in the state, strengthening of the Jammu and Kashmir police and coordination and sharing of intelligence. Installation of high power transmitters by Prasar Bharti, progress on the construction of two-room tenements in Jammu and enhancement of cash and ration for Kashmiri migrants were also discussed at the meeting. Top officials from the ministries of Home Affairs, Defence, Railways and Information & Broadcasting attended the meeting. The meeting, almost on the pattern of those held by the Unified Command, expressed concerns at reports of some fake surrenders to army units in the frontier districts, official sources said. The meeting, which was also attended by senior army and intelligence officials, discussed the framing of a mechanism whereby the antecedents of any Kashmiri resident, detained in any part of the country, could be verified within 24 hours, the sources said. Azad had raised this issue with Prime Minister Manmohan Singh and others during recent meetings and sought the Central government’s immediate intervention to counter the random picking up of Kashmiri youths. Couter-infiltration measures like the repair of the fence along the Line of Control and providing logistic support to paramilitary forces deployed in the state for counter- insurgency operations were taken up at the meeting, the sources said. Meanwhile, enior BJP leader and member of the Working Group Prof Chaman Lal Gupta today raised questions on the “consensus” in the Working Group on confidence-building measures in the state. In a letter to Working Group chairman M.H. Ansari, Professor Gupta said he was surprised to go through media reports that recommendations of the Working Group had been approved with consensus. Releasing copies of the letter to mediapersons, Professor Gupta said when the Hurriyat Conference and the National Conference had boycotted the Working Group and the suggestions of the BJP had been discarded, there was no question of the body having made certain recommendations with a consensus. He pointed out that too much emphasis was laid on the so-called human rights violations although the issue was not on the main agenda of the Working Group. “It has become a fashion to talk about human rights violation in one form or the other in a bid to malign the security forces that are guarding the borders of the country,” he said. Human rights violations had been done by gun-wielding terrorists, but it was strange that instead of suggesting measures to firmly deal with them, efforts were on to demoralise the security forces fighting the enemy. Professor Gupta, who was Minister of State for Defence during the NDA regime, said India’s security forces were best in the world as far as their record of protecting the human rights was concerned. They were not only fighting a proxy war but also coming to the rescue of suffering masses during calamity. He pointed out that no recommendation for strengthening the village defence committees, which are playing an important role in defending the village folk, had been made by the Working Group. He regretted that the group had also not made any recommendations for rehabilitation of the refugees and those who migrated from Kashmir because of terrorism. No steps had been recommended for protecting the property of the migrant Kashmiris. He said any efforts to restore normalcy would remain futile until secessionism was curbed with determination and any demand based on communal consideration, may it be self-rule or autonomy, was snubbed.
	BJP leader questions ‘consensus’ on CBMs in Working Group Tribune News Service Jammu, December 13 Senior BJP leader and member of the Working Group Prof Chaman Lal Gupta today raised questions on the “consensus” in the Working Group on confidence-building measures in the state. In a letter to Working Group chairman M.H. Ansari, Professor Gupta said he was surprised to go through media reports that recommendations of the Working Group had been approved with consensus. Releasing copies of the letter to mediapersons, Professor Gupta said when the Hurriyat Conference and the National Conference had boycotted the Working Group and the suggestions of the BJP had been discarded, there was no question of the body having made certain recommendations with a consensus. He pointed out that too much emphasis was laid on the so-called human rights violations although the issue was not on the main agenda of the Working Group. “It has become a fashion to talk about human rights violation in one form or the other in a bid to malign the security forces that are guarding the borders of the country,” he said. Human rights violations had been done by gun-wielding terrorists, but it was strange that instead of suggesting measures to firmly deal with them, efforts were on to demoralise the security forces fighting the enemy. Professor Gupta, who was Minister of State for Defence during the NDA regime, said India’s security forces were best in the world as far as their record of protecting the human rights was concerned. They were not only fighting a proxy war but also coming to the rescue of suffering masses during calamity. He pointed out that no recommendation for strengthening the village defence committees, which are playing an important role in defending the village folk, had been made by the Working Group. He regretted that the group had also not made any recommendations for rehabilitation of the refugees and those who migrated from Kashmir because of terrorism. No steps had been recommended for protecting the property of the migrant Kashmiris. He said any efforts to restore normalcy would remain futile until secessionism was curbed with determination and any demand based on communal consideration, may it be self-rule or autonomy, was snubbed.
	Govt contemplates power-saving steps Our Correspondent Jammu, December 13 Reeling under an acute power crisis, the Jammu and Kashmir Government is contemplating a few power saving measures to bridge the gap between demand and supply of energy units to ensure uninterrupted supply of power during peak winter season. At present against the total demand of over 1200 MW, the state is receiving little over 800 MW of power units from all its sources. This includes the additional quota of 200 MW sanctioned by the Centre last year, leaving a gap of more than 400 MW required to ensure uninterrupted power supply. Among various measures, switching over to use of compact fluorescent lamps (CFL), prohibition on use of luxury heating appliances during day time and regularisation of more illegal power connections in both industrial and domestic sectors to boost revenue figures is on top of the agenda of the state Power Development Department to set its own house in order. According to Power Minister Nawang Rigzin Zora, "the state government is working on a proposal making it mandatory for state government offices to switch over to the use of efficient CFLs in order to save power". After introducing electronic meters in the state this would be the second major initiative of the department aimed at reducing the power losses, official sources said. An order in this regard was earlier issued last year but things remained the same, official sources said, expressing their unhappiness with the poor response from various departments. "This time the state government is not taking any chances and is going to make it mandatory for all the state government departments to immediately switch over to the use of CFLs in order to save precious energy units under stipulated time period". For defaulters a separate provision for penalty would be introduced to achieve the target in time, "sources said. Soon after taking over in November, 2005, Chief Minister Ghulam Nabi Azad had launched a power saving campaign and had announced crackdown on power defaulters.
	HC stays proceedings in Pathribal case Srinagar, December 13 The Jammu and Kashmir High Court today stayed the proceedings in the Pathribal killings case before the Chief Judicial Magistrate till December 27 and issued notice to the CBI on an appeal filed by the five Army officers accused of shooting five civilians in a fake encounter in March 2000. Mr Justice Mansoor Ahmad Mir stayed the proceedings in the case before the CJM, Srinagar, Mr M.Y. Akhoon, after hearing defence counsel Anil Bhan’s application. He also directed that notice be issued to the CBI which had investigated the case. The CBI had filed the charge sheet on May 11 before the CJM against Brig Ajay Saxena, Lt-Col Brahendra Pratap Singh, Major Saurabh Sharma, Major Amit Saxena and JCO Idrees Khan for allegedly killing five civilians in a fake encounter at Pathribal in the wake of the Chittisinghpora massacre of 35 Sikhs in March, 2000. The Army counsel and the defence counsel for the accused had contested the CBI charge sheet, saying it was not maintainable in the court of law without prior sanction from the Centre for prosecution of the accused officers. However, the CJM on August 24 had set aside the objections raised by them observing that the issue of seeking sanction could be decided during the course of the trial or even at its conclusion. The Army counsel and the defence counsel challenged the order in the Sessions Court, which upheld the lower court order. In his application before the High Court, the defence counsel maintained that since the accused were operating in their area of jurisdiction, any action taken by them, including the killing of the five civilians, was in the line of duty. He pleaded that prior sanction from the Centre for prosecution was necessary for the trial of the accused officers as provided under Section 7 of the Armed Forces Act. The Army has also sought prior sanction from the Union Government for exercising the option of court martial against the accused. The Army, which had been asked by the CJM to exercise the option of conducting court martial proceedings or allow the civil court to try the accused, has already filed a similar petition before the High Court. It has been listed for December 29. Five civilians were allegedly killed by the Army a few days after the Chittisinghpora massacre in March, 2000, and dubbed them foreign militants responsible for the cold-blooded murder of the Sikhs. — PTI