J A M M U   &   K A S H M I R

Chopper crashlands, six injured
Katra, November 6
Six Vaishno Devi pilgrims had a miraculous escape when a private helicopter they were flying by, crashed while making an emergency landing at Serli village, 3 km from here. All six passengers,members of two families of Noida, Delhi, received injuries.

NC, PDP leave little space for Hurriyat
Jammu, November 6
The two mainstream political parties, the National Conference and the People’s Democratic Party have left little space for the All-Party Hurriyat Conference in the Kashmir valley. The two parties have already established firmly among people, who have started participating in their public rallies.

JSM seeks statehood for Jammu
Jammu, November 6
In view of the Assembly elections in the state due next year, political parties active in the Jammu region have again raised the issue of statehood for Jammu. The Jammu State Morcha has demanded reorganisation of the state of Jammu and Kashmir into three distinct political units.

JKLF not allowed to launch phase II of Safar-e-Azadi
Srinagar, November 6
Jammu and Kashmir Liberation Front chairman Mohammad Yasin Malik here alleged that he was prevented by the administration from launching the second phase of Safar-e-Azadi from Doda in the Jammu region yesterday.

Activists of the Jammu and Kashmir Salvation Movement hold a protest rally in Srinagar on Tuesday. They were protesting against alleged human rights violations in the Kashmir valley. — Tribune photo by Mohd Amin War

Restrictions on sale of fireworks
Udhampur, November 6
To check indiscriminate storage and sale of crackers on Diwali district magistrate, Udhampur, O.P. Kalandria exercising powers under Section 144, Cr PC, has imposed restrictions on the storage and sale of crackers in the district.

2 AK-47 rifles, ammo found
Rajouri, November 6
The Army recovered arms and ammunition in the Dumgali area of Budhal here yesterday. Defence spokesman Col S.D.Goswami said on a tip-off troops of 51 Rashtriya Rifles (Mahar) of Uniform Force launched a search and recovered a store of arms from Dumgali, north east of Budhal.

Chopper crashlands, six injured
Tribune News Service

Katra, November 6
Six Vaishno Devi pilgrims had a miraculous escape when a private helicopter they were flying by, crashed while making an emergency landing at Serli village, 3 km from here. All six passengers,members of two families of Noida, Delhi, received injuries.

Additional superintendent of police (ASP), Katra, Ashok Sharma said conditions of all injured were stable and out of danger.

Sources said the chopper owned by Himalayan Aviations was on its way to Sanjichhat from Katra. Just after taking off, the chopper developed a snag and the pilot had to make an emergency landing near a gurdwara at Serli village. Eyewitnesses said the chopper did not land properly and it tilted a little, causing injuries to the passengers.

Soon after the incident, a police party from Katra reached the spot and shifted the victims to Katra Hospital.

Injured passengers have been identified as Atul Goel, Megha Goel, Akash, Satish, Eshita and Rajni, all residents of New Delhi.

This was the fourth such accident in the Trikuta Hills. The worst-ever incident took place on January 30, 2001, when five Armymen ,including a Brigadier were killed when an Army Aviation Chetak helicopter crashed near Sanji Chhat in the ranges of the Trikuta hills at shrine of Mata Vaishno Devi.

The chopper used to operate on the Katra-Sanji Chhat route for Vaishno Devi pilgrims.

However, another senior police officer in Katra said the Shri Mata Vaishno Devi Shrine Board authorities have been requested to keep a check on such private choppers, which often change the route to reduce distance.

These choppers follow shorter routes to save fuel, but put passengers to a grave risk.

The Jammu and Kashmir government has already issued show-cause notices to two private helicopter operators running sorties between Katra and the Vaishno Devi shrine-Deccan Aviation and Himalayan Aviation Services, as these were not flying on the route prescribed by the directorate-general civil aviation, risking lives of passengers on board and also of residents of Katra town.

NC, PDP leave little space for Hurriyat
Vimal Sumbly
Tribune News Service

Jammu, November 6
The two mainstream political parties, the National Conference (NC) and the People’s Democratic Party (PDP) have left little space for the All-Party Hurriyat Conference in the Kashmir valley. The two parties have already established firmly among people, who have started participating in their public rallies. With the passage of time and also because of its internal squabbling, the Hurriyat has also lost is credibility as the main representative of the secessionist viewpoint in the valley.

In fact, once veteran Jamat-i-Islami leader Syed Ali Shah Geelani opted out of the Hurriyat, it lost its left-over representative character. To top it all, the Central government also appears to be pushing the Hurriyat further to the margins. Today the Hurriyat is striving hard for survival.

Sources close to Hurriyat leaders revealed that the organisation at one stage was even prepared to give a “serious thought” to participating in the elections. But it wanted certain guarantees like some sort of a political package or share in power. However, this was

strongly resisted by mainstream parties, particularly the NC and the PDP. “Let them contest elections like us and establish their representative character,” said a senior PDP leader.

Practically Hurriyat, the moderate faction, led by Umar Farooq, consists mainly of the Awami Action Committee, which has a limited base in the interior areas of Srinagar city. The other leaders in this faction like Maulvi Abbas Ansari, Prof Abdul Gani and Fazal Haq Qureshi do not have any mass base.

Compared to this, the hardline faction of the Hurriyat, led by Geelani, does have following across the valley. In fact, this faction exclusively represents the Jamat viewpoint. The Jamat faction will never reconcile to anything less than secession.

There are other splinter groups led by people like Shabir Shah of the Jammu and Kashmir Democratic Freedom Forum, Yasin Malik of the Jammu and Kashmir Liberation Front and Sajad Lone of the Peoples Conference.

Malik is an ex-militant, while Shah has remained behind bars for a long time. Lone is the son of senior politician-turned-secessionist leader Abdul Gani Lone, who was assassinated by militants in 2001.

These leaders have also been trying to adopt a moderate line. With limited, rather restricted, pockets of influence, these leaders cannot serve much purpose for New Delhi.

JSM seeks statehood for Jammu
Tejinder Singh Sodhi
Tribune News Service

Jammu, November 6
In view of the Assembly elections in the state due next year, political parties active in the Jammu region have again raised the issue of statehood for Jammu.

The Jammu State Morcha (JSM) has demanded reorganisation of the state of Jammu and Kashmir into three distinct political units. The morcha has demanded that the three regions - Jammu, Kashmir and Ladakh - be made three separate states.

President of the JSM Varinder Gupta said,“The successive state and Central governments are giving a ‘step motherly’ treatment to the Jammu region as Jammu is being denied basic infrastructure as compared to the Kashmir region,” he said.

He said people of Jammu had been demanding “adequate” representation in Parliament, state Legislature, civil secretariat, recruitment agencies, public sector, state corporations and professional institutions.

The party also alleged that since Independence and the accession of Jammu and Kashmir with the union of India, only the Kashmir region had been given a preferential treatment. “Since 1947, Kashmir and leaders from Kashmir have been given preferential treatment by the Centre whereas Jammu is subjected to discrimination by the government,” Gupta said.

“The migrants from Kashmir get Rs 4,000 relief per family for one month, whereas the migrants from the Jammu region get only Rs 1,600 per month. Isn’t this discrimination against the region?” Gupta asked. Citing the figures from employment exchanges in both regions, Gupta said, “Till September 2006 the registered unemployed youths in Kashmir were only 35,329, whereas during the same period 63,613 unemployed youths were registered in the Jammu region” he said.

JKLF not allowed to launch phase II of Safar-e-Azadi
Tribune News Service

Srinagar, November 6
Jammu and Kashmir Liberation Front (JKLF) chairman Mohammad Yasin Malik here alleged that he was prevented by the administration from launching the second phase of Safar-e-Azadi from Doda in the Jammu region yesterday. Its first phase to garner support of people of the state in talks to resolve the Kashmir issue, which began on May 20 last, was covered in 114 days across the valley.

At a press conference here yesterday, Malik alleged that he and his party colleagues were prevented from launching Safar-e-Azadi despite proper permission in this regard. He was prevented, a day before the scheduled launching of the Safar-e-Azadi from Doda town, Malik said. A decision on starting phase II of Safar-e-Azadi to tour the Jammu region, would be taken soon, he told reporters here. Others allegedly arrested prior to the journey included Mohammad Zaman Mir, Iqbal Gandroo, M.Yasin Bhat, S.Kahld, Mustaq Ahmad Khan, Imran Zargar and senior trade union leader Sampath Prakash. They had left here for Doda on Saturday morning to undertake the journey.

Restrictions on sale of fireworks
Tribune News Service

Udhampur, November 6
To check indiscriminate storage and sale of crackers on Diwali district magistrate, Udhampur, O.P. Kalandria exercising powers under Section 144, Cr PC, has imposed restrictions on the storage and sale of crackers in the district.

The district magistrate has ordered that no fireworks, crackers or explosive material will be stored or sold at places other than specified by the executive officer, Municipal Council, in Udhampur town limits and the tehsildars outside the town’s limits. Cracker dealers will have to seek permission from the district magistrate or additional district magistrate, Udhampur, for areas within municipal limits and tehsildars concerned for other areas in the district. The cracker dealers will put up stalls at the stipulated places only mentioned in the licence after getting clearance from the police. The electrical fittings should be of standard quality and not in close to explosive stocks.

The order also bans stocking of fireworks, crackers before November 7 for whosesale purposes and retail sellers will not sell crackers before November 7 and after Diwali.

2 AK-47 rifles, ammo found
Tribune News Service

Rajouri, November 6
The Army recovered arms and ammunition in the Dumgali area of Budhal here yesterday.

Defence spokesman Col S.D.Goswami said on a tip-off troops of 51 Rashtriya Rifles (Mahar) of Uniform Force launched a search and recovered a store of arms from Dumgali, north east of Budhal.

The arms include two AK-47 assault rifles, four hand grenades, assorted ammunition and other war-like stores.