Udhampur, September 16
The on-going ‘war' between two erstwhile coalition partners, the Congress and the Jammu Kashmir National Panthers Party (JKNPP), has given sleepless nights to BJP leaders. Although the Panthers Party has been targeting policies of only the ruling coalition, the BJP leadership has reasons to be concerned at offensive attitude of the Panthers as the latter virtually has hijacked the agenda of the saffron party.

The state unit of the BJP has been adopting a wait-and-watch policy, but party leaders here and Reasi districts are finding it difficult to counter campaign of the Panthers Party. In these two districts, the Panthers Party has been strengthening its organisation at grassroots only by raking up issues dearer to the BJP. The Panthers Party has been highlighting pro-Jammu issues to make a dent among BJP supporters.

The Panthers Party has consolidated its position in many new areas at the cost of the BJP. Udhampur district, which earlier was considered a BJP citadel, has now been turning into a stronghold of the Panthers Party. In the 2002 Assembly elections, it was BJP versus Panthers in three seats of the district. The Panther Party had wrested two seats, Udhampur and Chenani, from the BJP.

BJP leaders of Udhampur are of the view that if the party failed to foil offensive posture of the Panthers, the party will be wiped out in the next Assembly elections next year.

“We have to expose the double standards of Panthers Party leaders'', said senior BJP leader Pawan Gupta who had lost Udhampur, a traditional BJP seat, to Panthers Party candidate Balwant Singh Mankotia in the 2002 Assembly elections. “Panthers Party leaders had enjoyed power for three years. When they were thrown out of power they started raking up pro-Jammu issues'', he said admitting his party had failed to expose ‘misdeeds’ of Panthers.”

Aggressive campaign of the Panthers Party in the past one month has further created tension among BJP leaders as the party has projected itself as crusader for Jammu's cause. Treatment meted out to Panthers' Party leader Harsh Dev Singh in the just-concluded Assembly elections has provided enough ammunition to the party to go on the offensive.

Poonch, September 16
The Rajouri police has booked six persons of the majority community for abducting a young married woman of the minority community and her mother from their Kalalkas village.

Sources said a First Information Report (FIR) under Section 366 of the RPC against Abid Hussain, Sajjad Ahmed, Muhammad Mukhtiyar, Sarfraz, Sahid Ahmad and Arif was registered for kidnapping Lovely Reena and her mother Champa Devi while they had gone to nearby forest to collect firewood.

Police sources said Capt Purshotam Singh (retired), father of Lovely, in an FIR with the police had alleged that both women were kidnapped by Sajjad, along with the other accused, on September 12 and since then they were in the captivity of the accused. He has also sought help of Hindu bodies in the matter.

The police has sent parties to trace the victims.

Meanwhile, the sources said Lovely allegedly had illicit relationship with the main accused Sajjad and both had eloped from home a few months back with Rs 2 lakh. But the duo were traced and the matter was settled, the sources added.

Soon after the matter was settled by the families mutually,Capt Purshotam Singh married his daughter off. But she allegedly continued to have relations with Sajjad.

Officiating SSP, Rajouri, Tej Ram Katoch said police teams had been sent to ascertain the whereabouts of the missing women. "We are also looking into the allegations levelled by the retired Captain", he said.

Srinagar, September 16
The last word on the political feud in the coalition government over divesting a Cabinet minister of the forest portfolio may not have been heard yet, but the officialdom is rife with speculation whether a rather ambitious move by officials of the state Forest Corporation to import timber from abroad was 
driven by some 
ulterior motives.

Doubts over the purpose of import exercise, which would have been first for the state in its history if approved, have strengthened as it has come to light that the Finance Department had raised serious objections to the proposal, days before Qazi Mohammad Afzal was divested of the forest portfolio.

Officials told The Tribune that the Finance Department had returned the file as it found that there was hardly any rationale behind the proposal, and officials of the corporation had apparently not done the homework. "Basics like the kind of timber needed to be imported and the likely countries from where the import was to be made, were not mentioned.

They also did not bring on record why the government should import when so many private players were in the field, and why the import was needed at all as there were hardly any visible signs of a timber crisis," an official said, adding that the finance department had put these things on record thus almost scuttling the move.

Technicalities like where from the foreign exchange would come for the purchase, and the gap, if any, between the demand and supply were also not mentioned, the mandarins of finance department said on the file. It appears as if, officials said, that the corporation had fixed its mind on the import for reasons needed to be examined.

Finance minister Tariq Hameed Qarra, who incidentally hails from the same party, PDP, as Qazi Mohammad Afzal, had also approved objections raised by his department. Officials, though, added that it would be too early to draw any conclusion.

Some reports had earlier linked Afzal with some import scam in the forest department, but Chief Minister Ghulam Nabi Azad cleared the clouds saying the minister was not comfortable with some recalcitrant officials in his department and that is why he removed him.

However, Afzal took it as an affront on him saying he was removed in a bad manner and has so far refrained from joining works in the Urban Development Department, which is also with him. The government has ordered an inquiry into the matter.

Udhampur, September 16
Security forces have launched a massive operation in the Mahore area of Reasi district to track down militants who have snatched a rifle from a Village Defence Committee (VDC) member.

According to an official spokesman, a group of three militants barged into the house of VDC member Abdul Rashid and decamped with his rifle and bullets. Another report said militants snatched a rifle from Abdul from Salooki village of Mahore.

According to another report, security forces have recovered a huge quantity of arms and ammunition from a militant hideout in a remote village of Mahore tehsil.

An official spokesman said on a specific information, 51 Rashtriya Rifles launched a search operation at Shikari village of Mahore. During the operation security forces busted a hideout and recovered a large quantity of ammunition. As much as 13 kg of RDX, eight Chinese grenades and some other ammunition were recovered during the operation which was launched late Saturday night.

Udhampur, September 16
A symbol of Hindu-Muslim unity, Mela Patt began today at the Vaisuki Naag temple of Bhaderwah. Members of both communities participated in the traditional festival which symbolises old customs, tradition and century-old culture of hospitality, fairs and festivals of 
Bhaderwah.

Every year the festival begins on the occasion of Naag Panchami. This year's mela comes on the third day of the month of Ramzan. Muslims join Hindus to mark the beginning of the festival.

Mela Patt is celebrated every year in the Khakal Mehalla compound on Naag Panchami . Celebrations are held seven days after the Kailash yatra and last three days.

It is celebrated to mark the spiritual victory of Raja Nagpalover Akbar. Akbar showered the Raja with wealth when he left 
his darbar.

The fair starts at 4 am and ends at sunset. Amidst the beats of drums and blowing of horns, complemented by harmonious notes of the flute, a person carries the `patt' or the silk on his head from the house of Raj Guru or the royal priest in procession led by musicians dancing to the 
compound.