Jammu, February 22
The ruling Congress has rejected the demand of its coalition partner-Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) for a special meeting of the Cabinet to discuss the issue of pullout of armed forces from Kashmir and repeal of the Armed Forces Special Powers Act (AFSPA).

Rejection of the demand reportedly came after a meeting of Chief Minister Ghulam Nabi Azad and PCC chief Peerzada Sayeed with the Congress president Sonia Gandhi and other central leaders at Delhi on Tuesday.

Health Minister Mangat Ram Sharma, who was also present reportedly at these meetings, said today the Congress was not in a position to oblige patron of the PDP Mufti Sayeed on the issue.

Mr Sharma said the Congress was a national party and had to keep several aspects in mind.

He said the Mufti might be invited to Delhi by the Congress high command or some senior ministers to discuss the issue. However, there was no question of convening a special meeting of the cabinet here.

Mr Muzaffar Hussain Beig, former deputy chief minister and architect of the PDP’s self-rule proposal, said the issue would be settled in next few days otherwise the media would get some big news. He refused to reply questions whether the PDP would go to the extent of pulling out of the coalition.

Mr Sharma and Mr Beig were busy discussing the issue in the Assembly this afternoon while nominations for the legislative council seats were being filed.

Agriculture minister and leader of the PDP legislature group A.A. Zargar on February 17 written to the Chief Minister seeking a special meeting of the Cabinet to discuss the two issues. Earlier, he tried to raise the issue at the Cabinet meeting on February 15.

Mufti Sayeed, his daughter Mehbooba Mufti, PDP ministers and legislators have already surrendered their personal security on the plea that the security scenario in the state had changed and the time had come for gradual pullout of troops and repeal of the special powers Act.

Mr Beig yesterday explained the PDP was asking for the reduction of troops in a measured, responsive and responsible manner from the state. If this could be done in Punjab, why not in Jammu and Kashmir?

He said the Chief Minister should, in the right spirit of coalition, convene a special meeting of the state cabinet to discuss demands of the PDP.

Meanwhile, there were reports of Mr Pranab Mukherjee, foreign affairs minister, having talked to Mr Mufti on telephone on the issue. However, reaction of the letter was not known.

It is worth mentioning that the PDP had raised the demand following fake encounters in which innocent persons were killed recently in the valley.

Jammu, February 22
The PDP leadership has made it clear that it is not pressing for the instant demilitarisation in Jammu and Kashmir.Instead it favours gradual withdrawal of troops so that land and houses,including orchards, occupied by the security forces are restored to the owners.

Commenting on the reported threat by the PDP of pulling out of the coalition government in case its demand for demilitarisation and repeal of the Armed Forces Special Powers Act was not accepted the party general secretary, Nizam-ud-Din Bhat, said here today:"we want gradual reduction in the strength of the troops deployed in the state.We are not demanding instant demilitarisation."

He said, "till today the PDP has not dished out any threat of quitting the coalition government."He stated that the party leadership was discussing the issues of demilitarisation and scrapping of the Armed Forces Special Powers Act not only with its coalition partner,the Congress, but with the Centre also.In this connection a senior party leader, Muzaffar Hussain Baig, had met Chief Minister Ghulam Nabi Azad,in Jammu yesterday.

Party sources said Mr Baig had gone to Azad to convey views of Mufti Mohd.Sayeed, PDP patron,on demilitarisation and the repeal of the Armed Forces Special Powers Act.The main aim was to secure Azad's support for the demand so that the matter could be discussed with the Centre by the party MP, Mehbooba Mufti,who heads the organisation.

While the PDP leadership has started airing its demand on the withdrawal of troops with vigour and has secured support from another coalition partner, the People's Democratic Front (PDF),headed by Hakim Mohd.Yasin,Transport Minister, senior functionaries of the Army and the intelligence agencies have already conveyed to the Centre that the time was not ripe for carrying out demilitarisation in the state.

At the sametime official sources said today that the government was considering gradual withdrawal of troops especially from those areas where the level of militancy-related violence had declined considerably.Mr Muzaffar Hussain Baig,a former Deputy Chief Minister and a senior PDP leader,has also supported the idea of withdrawal of troops from areas which had been cleared of the menace of militancy.

Srinagar, February 22
The 300-km-long Srinagar-Jammu National highway remained closed for the second day today due to landslides and shooting stones.

About 4,000 passengers have been stranded at different places on the highway. The stranded passengers at Ramban today staged a demonstration against the state government for failing to provide any shelter or relief and not making any arrangements for them.

The highway, which connects the Kashmir valley with rest of the country, remained closed for traffic due to landslides and shooting stones at Penthal, a traffic police official said.

The Border Roads Organisation (BRO) has pressed men and machines into service to ease the highway traffic as soon as possible, he said.

In case the highway was reopened, only stranded vehicles would be allowed to move towards their respective destinations, the official said, adding no vehicle was allowed from Srinagar or Jammu today.

A portion of the road near the hill was badly damaged due to the shooting stones from a hilltop at Penthal, Mr Tariq Ahmad, working for a media organisation said.

Mr Tariq, is among the about 1,000 passengers, including women and children, stranded at Ramban.

Priests of the local mosques asked the locals to allow stranded passengers to take shelter in their houses because of extreme cold conditions, he said, adding stranded passengers took shelter in mosques and local schools.

About 100 passengers, who had no money, started journey on foot towards Banihal after some officials said that highway would remain closed because of continued shooting stones, official sources said.

They said about 3,000 others were stranded at different places on the highway. Hundreds of trucks, carrying essential commodities from Jammu to Srinagar were also stranded on the highway, they added. — UNI

Srinagar, February 22
Militants killed two persons and injured three others while the security forces arrested four ultras, including a top commander of Hizbul Mujahideen (HM) in Jammu and Kashmir over night, an official spokesman said today.

He said militants resorted to indiscriminate firing on a group of people at Damhal Khushipora in Anantnag district last night. The injured were admitted to hospital where one of them died, he said.

He said militants kidnapped and later killed Manzoor Ahmad Sheikh at Wahipora in Pulwama.

Pulwama superintendent of police Natish Kumar said a police party on a tip-off conducted a search operation at Shopian this morning.

During the operation the police arrested HM commander Bashir Ahmad Wagay, a resident of Teldora, he said.

Wagay, active in South Kashmir for the past six years, had crossed over to Pakistan occupied Kashmir (PoK) in 1990. He returned here through the Poonch sector in 2000 after receiving arms training in different PoK camps.

Wagay was wanted in a number of militancy related incidents in the Shopian and Pulwama areas, Mr Kumar added.

A spokesman said the security forces arrested three militants along with one AK rifle, three magazines, 26 cartidges and one pistol at Pattan in Baramula district. — UNI

Srinagar, February 22
Panic gripped the Jehangir Chowk area here this morning when an unclaimed suitcase was found lying on roadside.

The police immediately reached the spot and suspended road traffic as a precautionery measure.

However, the bomb disposal squad found clothes in the suitcase, apparently left by a passenger, officials said, adding traffic resumed on the road after remaining suspended for nearly half 
an hour. — PTI