Srinagar, January 6
Peoples Conference chairman Sajad Gani Lone here today released “Achievable Nationhood”, a vision document on the resolution of Jammu and Kashmir conflict and lasting peace with maximum achievement of people’s aspirations.

The document comes after a year of his holding a meeting with Prime Minister Manmohan Singh as part of the dialogue process with different groups in the trouble-torn state.

“The document achieves unification of the two parts of Jammu and Kashmir through an elaborate arrangement of sectoral overlaps and creation of a wide range of joint institutions,” Sajad Lone said. He said the document propounded the creation of a single Jammu and Kashmir Economic Union that would result in the formation of a boundary-less and prosperous state.

The 265-page document aimed at opening a discourse and building a consensus in the state so as to evolve consensus, Sajad Lone said. “The document is by no means exhaustive and is rather put forth to introduce new ideas, critical thinking, a set of clear criteria and an exhaustive agenda for public discourse,” he added.

Sajad Lone parted ways with his elder brother, Bilal Ghani Lone, who is an executive member of the moderate faction of the Hurriyat Conference, after the assassination of their father, Abdul Ghani Lone, on May 21, 2002.

“The document is being placed before the people with an appeal that we apply our hard-earned learning curves towards the future and enter collectively into a process of visionary introspection,” Sajad Lone said. The document was open to the people and the leadership in both neighbouring countries, he said. He said it was not easy to describe the document in a single line as it was the first detailed and comprehensive document from a political party.

“It is a concrete and diagnostic analysis of the conflict that takes a multi-disciplinary academic approach ranging from history, psychology, politics, international law, conflict resolution, diplomacy and economics,” he said.

“The document is an “eclectic blend” of the Hong Kong model in terms of independence and powers of the government of Hong Kong,” Lone said.

The document envisages the creation of five new overlapping relationships within two power sharing structures. These include the relationships between Jammu and Kashmir and India, PoK and Pakistan, Jammu and Kashmir and PoK, Pakistan and Jammu and Kashmir, and PoK and India. Lone uses J&K S for Jammu and Kashmir and J&K M for PoK, while he uses J&K for the entire Jammu and Kashmir as it existed at the time of Partition.

Jammu, January 6
Describing corruption as no less than terrorism, Chief Minister Ghulam Nabi Azad said today that it had eaten into state’s economy and put brakes to development in the state.

Mr Azad was addressing a vigilance officers’ conference organised by the state vigilance organisation here.

The need of the hour is to check and book the elements in society who abet and propagate corruption by way of inducements. “Unless everybody among us is sincere and committed to transparent and honest management of affairs and act as watch dog to identify corrupt practices, society cannot be purified from the evil.”

He said as compared to Rs 35,000 crore resource mobilisation by way of taxes in Andhra Pradesh and Rs 32,000 crore in Maharashtra, Jammu and Kashmir's annual tax revenue is just Rs 156 crore, which clearly depicts the grim scenario of the state.

Chief Minister said there was need for upgrading the DVO system by placing senior-most officers as vigilance officers in certain departments whose only job should be to look into complaints against corruption and refer their findings to the minister concerned directly.

Others present on the occasion included chief secretary C. Phonsog, Director-General of Police Gopal Sharma, Director-General, Vigilance and Enforcement, Andhra Pradesh, R.R. Girish Kumar and IG, Vigilance, S.K. Mishra.

Jammu, January 6
The Governor, Lt-Gen (retd) S.K. Sinha, today called for compatibility between service and industrial sectors to sustain economic development of the country.

Inaugurating a national seminar on “Emergence of Service Sector-led Growth - Reality or Myth” at Shri Mata Vaishno Devi University in Katra this morning, the Governor said the service sector had immensely contributed to the growth of the Indian economy, taking the GDP rate to 57.75 this year.

The Governor stressed the need for extending the benefits of service sector to hitherto not covered 367 million people in the country.

“If we do so, then only the growth of development can sustain.”

He noted with satisfaction that India is fast reaching the level of developed nation and is poised to be a global economic power.

The Governor referred to huge donations being offered at the Vaishno Devi Shrine and said rightly a part of it was being spent on strengthening the facilities for pilgrims thronging the shrine in lakhs every year. Rich in resources, the Shrine Board had, alongside improving facilitations for pilgrims, switched over to other sectors to serve the mankind.

In this context, he made a mention of the upcoming the state-of-the -art Shri Mata Vaishno Devi Institute of Medical Excellence and Shri Mata Vaishno Devi University.

He said a business management course had been started in the university and its first batch brought laurels to it by getting 100 per cent placements in reputed multinational and national companies.

The Vice-Chancellor, Prof N.K. Bansal, also spoke.

Srinagar, January 6
One person was killed and 21, including 17 civilians, were injured in a grenade explosion at Shopian in Pulwama district of Kashmir today.

Two more, including a constable, were killed in separate incidents across the valley today, the police here said.

The police said militants hurled a grenade at a patrol party at Gol Chakri, Shopian, in Pulwama district today. Mohammad Yusuf of Kapran was killed while 21, including 17 civilians and four security personnel, were injured in the explosion.

Unidentified militants shot dead a contractor, Ghulam Hassan Bhat, at Dangiwacha in Baramula district of Kashmir this afternoon.

Constable Chand Mohammad, who was undergoing treatment, succumbed to his injuries at the SKIMS, Soura, here today. He was injured in a firing incident at Pampore,15 km from here, on the Srinagar-Jammu National Highway on Saturday last. 

Jammu, January 6
West Pakistan refugees today urged Chief Minister Ghulam Nabi Azad to grant citizenship rights to them and also permit them to vote in the assembly elections.

Deputations of West Pakistan, occupied Kashmir (PoK) and Chhamb refugees led by MP Lal Singh called on Mr Azad here this afternoon and presented a charter of demands for early consideration.

The refugees pleaded for a special package for their rehabilitation, that included citizen rights, right to vote, free education for children and reservation for employment in state and central government departments. They complained that their children were not allowed to join jobs under the state government. They were eligible to vote only for the Lok Sabha elections and not for the state assembly poll.

The deputation of PoK refugees demanded compensation for their properties left at the time of displacement. They demanded that the general policy for free education for their children be made so that their children were not deprived of education.