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Mufti, Mehbooba, legislators surrender security
Time to look for Bakula’s successor
Forces to soon vacate Srinagar hotels,
Five suspected sites excavated at Bhaderwah
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4 militants killed, one surrenders
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Mufti, Mehbooba, legislators surrender security
Jammu, February 6 Earlier during the day, the Mufti wrote a letter to Mr Azad asking him to withdraw his and Ms Mehbooba’s security. All other legislators of the PDP, who held an emergency meeting in the evening to discuss the situation, also followed suit and told the Chief Minister that they did not want the security cover as he had linked withdrawal of the security forces from the Kashmir valley with the security of the legislators. Ms Mehbooba has convened a meeting of the political affairs committee of the PDP here on February 10 to discuss the latest political situation as well as the developments in the valley following exposure of the fake encounters in which four innocent persons were killed by the police and security forces. The PDP has 18 members in the Assembly and seven in the Upper House. Both Mufti and Ms Mehbooba had been provided with Z-plus security. The action of the PDP was in retaliation to the yesterday’s statement of Mr Azad in the Assembly that the legislators demanding repeal of the armed forces special powers Act and withdrawal of troops from the valley should first surrender their own security in case they felt that the situation was congenial to do so. The PDP and National Conference MLAs had made the demand in the House while protesting against the fake encounters in the valley. In his letter, the Mufti has told Mr Azad, “It has been a consistent view of the Peoples Democratic Party that a dignified solution to the problems facing Jammu and Kashmir can come only through dialogue and peaceful means. This view is fortunately gaining momentum across the Subcontinent and as part of the reconciliatory process we have been suggesting a gradual reduction of forces, empowerment of the State police and withdrawal of Armed Forces Special Powers Act. These steps, we believe, would help early restoration of peace and improvement in the human rights situation”. “It had on occasions been reported that you have linked the acceptance of these suggestions to personal security arrangements for politicians who demand it. This was reported in the media on earlier occasions. But we always thought this could not have come from the Chief Minister as personal security is a subject completely separate from general law and order, political and security situation of a place. This is nothing peculiar to J&K as the public personalities are protected everywhere in the country irrespective of all circumstances”. “But during the discussion on Budget demands for your departments on Monday, you stated on the floor of the House that those leaders, who want a gradual reduction of security forces from the state with greater involvement of the state police and withdrawal of Armed Forces Special Powers Act should give you in writing to surrender their personal security”. “We believe that surrendering personal security by us would earn your endorsement to our suggestion, as has been stated by you in the state Assembly and you would take steps in this direction so that the people of the state get the relief that we envisage through these measures. Accordingly, I am writing this letter to request you to please withdraw my personal security and that of Ms Mehbooba Mufti, MP, with immediate effect,” he further wrote in the letter. |
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Time to look for Bakula’s successor
Jammu, February 6 The Kushok Bakula died on November 4, 2003, in Delhi and, thereafter, the Ladakhis are without the institution. The Ladakhis believe that the time to search for the new Kushok Bakula has come as the incarnate must be three years old now and in a position to give clues of his being the spiritual leader. Sras Rinpoche, a nephew of the last Kushok Bakula, has been given charge of his four major monasteries, Spituk, Saboo, Stok and Sankar. He will hold the charge till the re-incarnate is found, says Mr Nawang Rigzin Zora, Power Minister. He is one of the highest qualified spiritual leaders in Tibetan Buddhism and is Head Lama of Rizong and Samstanling monasteries. Recently, there were rumours of the re-incarnation having taken birth as several parents claiming their child to be the reincarnation of the Kushok Bakula approached the regents. The Ladakhis have been praying for the early rebirth of the Bakula. Mr Chhering Dorje, Chairman, Ladakh Hill Development Council, told this correspondent over the telephone from Leh that the exercise to trace the re-incarnation would begin soon. He denied that the re-incarnate had been spotted although it is believed that the Kushok Bakula has been reborn. He said the Dalai Lama would be consulted to identify in which direction the re-incarnate would be spotted. The higher lamas in Ladakh might also be in a position to give a clue. But it is time the search begins, he added. The Kushok Bakula is worshipped like a god not only in Ladakh, but in various other parts of the world.
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Forces to soon vacate Srinagar hotels, says CM
Jammu, February 6 Without giving the exact number of hotels presently occupied by the armed forces in Srinagar, he said that the security forces have already vacated 17 such hotels. The remaining such premises would gradually be vacated as the government was in the process of acquiring land on the periphery of Srinagar city, Chief Minister Ghulam Nabi Azad said in a written reply during question hour in the Upper House. Stating that the Srinagar Deputy Commissioner had been asked to acquire alternative land for the security forces, he said once the land was made available and construction work completed all hotels would be vacated simultaneously. Also replying to a query regarding the occupation of such hotels by employees of the state Legislature, he said that some residential flats had already been constructed and allotted to several of these employees. “However, as and when the situation in the Valley improves, the hotels will not be hired for the ‘Darbar move’ employees,” he added. The issue of the armed forces camping in Srinagar hotels was raised by Mr G N Shaheen of the National Conference, who stated in one of his supplementary queries that there was no need of the forces. When asked for the list of hotels still occupied by the security forces, the minister concerned said the government would soon provide the list in the House. The matter of unemployment in J and K was also raised in the House today by PDP’s Nizamud-din-Bhat. Minister of Labour and Employment Taj Mohiudin clarified that there were presently 1,00,014 professional unemployed graduates in the state as on December 2006. “The state government is mobilising all-possible sources for meeting the unemployment problem. In order to accommodate more and more educated youth, including professional graduates in public sector, a number of schemes are under implementation,” the minister said. The government had appointed 6,956 educated unemployed youth, including engineers, doctors and teachers, on contract basis since September 2003 and the process of contractual appointment was still going on, he said. The minister pointed out that the government had approved engagement of all unemployed agriculture graduates and postgraduates as on date as ‘Rehbar-i-Zirat’ on a monthly honorarium of Rs 1500, to be implemented from April 1, 2007. J&K second most corrupt state: Study
With a promise to cleanse the system, the Jammu and Kashmir Government today acknowledged that a study by Transparency International organisation had rated J and K as the second most corrupt state in the country. However, the state government had taken several measures in the past one year to fight the menace of corruption, which mainly included empowering the state Vigilance Bureau, access of the Vigilance department staff to far-flung areas, Chief Minister Ghulam Nabi Azad said in a written reply in the Legislative Council today. “Investigating officers have been asked to camp in districts like Kupwara, Doda, Rajouri and Poonch so that complainants have easy access to them,” the Chief Minister stated. After J&K had been marked the second most corrupt state in the
country, the number of cases registered, trap cases, number of cases challaned and sanctions to prosecutions accorded by the state government had been the highest in 2006 in recent years, the CM added. |
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Five suspected sites excavated at Bhaderwah
Doda, February 6 According to official sources, reports of 17 missing persons are registered at Bhadarwah police station. Sites, suspected to have the remains of the missing persons, were excavated by their relatives with the permission of the local administration. Five sites were excavated, but nothing was found. The grave-digging work was completed in the presence of the Sub District Magistrate, the Tehsildar, the ASP, doctors and the president of the Anjuman Islamia Bhadarwah. The SDM, Bhadarwah, appealed to the people to maintain peace and cooperate with the administration without indulging in ''rumours and false propaganda mooted by anti-social elements.'' Earlier, a large number of the people observed a complete bandh in Bhaderwah demanding excavations in the security force camp, which troops have been occupying for the past 14 years. On a call of the Anjuman Islamia, people came on to the streets demanding the digging at the Army camp at Dandi, 2 km from Bhaderwah town. — UNI
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4 militants killed, one surrenders
Srinagar, February 6 He said troops of Rashtriya Rifles (RR) and Special Operation Group (SOG) of the Jammu and Kashmir police conducted a search operation at Daderkote village in Kulgam in Anantnag district this afternoon. During the operation, an encounter took place in which two Hizbul Mujahideen militants — Javid Ahmad Ganaie and Sajjad Ahmad — were killed. One AK rifle and other arms and ammunition were recovered from the slain militants.
— UNI |
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