Jammu, January 2
With elections round the corner, the political sloganeering has already started in Jammu and Kashmir. While so far the debate would revolve around the greater autonomy, self-rule and demilitarisation, now the ruling People's Democratic Party (PDP) has gone a step ahead saying, the state could have its own currency once self-rule was introduced.

Interestingly, this did not come just from a party leader, but the Finance Minister, Tariq Hamid Qarra. He is also the general secretary of the PDP, which shares power with the Congress in the state. There has been no official reaction from the government, which ideally should have been there since Qarra holds the all important portfolio of finance.

During the release of the official calendar of the Jammu and Kashmir Bank at Srinagar yesterday, Qarra, while responding to the queries of the reporters was quoted having said, the state could have its own currency after getting self-rule.

On the face of it, the assertion appears to have mere symbolic since it has been made when the countdown for the assembly elections in the state has already begun. It is less than 10 months before the elections are scheduled to be held in Jammu and Kashmir. Such statements are quite expected.

The PDP is known for raking up controversial and emotive issues since it wants to counter the greater autonomy plank of its arch rival- the National Conference. In fact, the greater autonomy is considered to be the best possible option available for resolving the current crisis in Kashmir.

Obviously to snatch the initiative from the NC, the PDP has always tried to go much further, far beyond the NC. It is in the same context that it has been raising the issue of self-rule and demilitarisation, which was originally suggested by Pakistan President, Pervez Musharraf.

The idea of separate currency appears to be the latest in the ongoing war of specially conceived ideas and tactfully coined phrases for resolving the Kashmir issue. At best, it appears to be aimed at appealing to the emotions of Kashmiris on the eve of elections in the state.

Qarra had referred to Northern Ireland, which he said, despite being part of England had its own currency. Needless to mention that most of the European nations, including England, have already moved towards a common currency. 

Jammu, January 2
Yesterday's expansion of the 22-member council of ministers, headed by Ghulam Nabi Azad, failed to give representation to all districts in Jammu and Kashmir. Though the Chief Minister included four more faces in the ministry, as his hands were tied by the law pertaining to the size of the ministry, six districts out of 22 remained unrepresented in the council. On December 10 Azad had inducted a PDP MLA, Muzaffar Hussain Baig, in the cabinet.

Azad had no alternative but to leave Kupwara district unrepresented because neither the Congress nor the PDP had been able to win a single seat out of five from this district. He could have inducted Ghulam Mohiuddin,who had won the Handwara seat as an independent candidate and later joined the PDF.He was a member of the council of ministers headed by Mufti Mohd Sayeed but Azad preferred to induct a Congressman in the ministry.

The Poonch district also remained unrepresented though in the recently held byelections a Congress candidate, Jehangir Mir, had won the Poonch-Haveli Assembly seat.

Among other districts that remain unrepresented in the cabinet are Ramban,,Shopian,Bandipore and Kulgam. Baramula district is on the top with four legislators in the council of ministers which is followed by Anantnag and Jammu districts with three MLAs from each district in the ministry. Budgam district gets two seats in the ministry and the remaining 10 districts,including Kishtwar,Leh and Kargil, get one seat each.

The Chief Minister had to assuage the ruffled feelings of many an aspirant for the cabinet berth which was evident from the fact that the Raj Bhawan had received names of only two legislators, Mulla Ram and Abdul Gani Vakil.till 3.30 P.M. when the scheduled time for the swearing in ceremony of new ministers was 4 p.m.The Chief Minister was closeted with senior party functionaries for a couple of hours and the Raj Bhawan was informed that the names of two other legislators would be given just five minutes before the swearing-in ceremony.

While today's expansion gave SCs representation in the ministry with the induction of Mulla Ram, the Sikhs and Kashmiri Pandits found no place.The fair sex again remained unrepresented though the Congress had Mrs Khem Lata Wakhloo and Ms Suman Bhagat as members of the assembly.

Jammu, January 2
Was it a communication error or a intentional act? The absence of Leader of the Assembly Abdul Rahim Rather during the oath taking ceremony of four ministers here on Tuesday in the Raj Bhawan has given his critics reasons to speak.

Rather has claimed that he was invited for the event and that’s why he had not gone to the Raj Bhawan yesterday. “I had not boycotted the function but I will not like to go there uninvited.”

However, the Raj Bhawan sources said invitation letters were sent to all leaders of major opposition parties, including Dr Farooq Abdullah, Omar Abdullah of National Conference, BJP MLA Jugal Kishore and to Rather, leader of the opposition in the Assembly.

The sources said, “Our job is to send invitation and it is the discretion of the leaders to be present or not at the swearing in ceremony of ministers.” The sources said not a single invitee from the opposition camp was present at the yesterday's oath ceremony function when they had received the invitation letters.

The Raj Bhawan sources said, “The messenger who had been sent to deliver the invitation letter at the residence of Rather had been told that the NC leader was away in Srinagar.”

When Rather was apprised of the version of the Raj Bhawan on the issue he said, “I am in Jammu. I have been in Jammu for the last three days.” 

New Delhi, January 2
Concerned over recent developments in Pakistan, the All-Party Hurriyat Conference wants an early return of political stability in the country as the future turn of events there can have a direct bearing on the dialogue process for resolution of Kashmir issue.

All-Party Hurriyat Conference chairman Mirwaiz Umer Farooq told The Tribune over telephone that stability in Pakistan was important for the dialogue process and for the future government to work on a "strong and bold ideas."

Mirwaiz said that former Pakistan Prime Minister Benazir Bhutto was not averse to new ideas on Kashmir and her party PPP may also continue with a flexible approach. The coordination between various institutions in Pakistan was vital for Pakistan's stability, he said, adding that the Army always had a say in the policy concerning Kashmir. "President Pervez Musharraf will continue to play an imporatnt role at least on Kashmir," he said.

Looking at middle-of-the-year timeline for concrete talks on Kashmir, the APHC leader said he was confident that the new government in Pakistan would adopt a flexible approach on the Kashmir issue. Mirwaiz said the delay in finding a solution to the Kashmir problem would increase the risk factor in view of the rise in extremism and terrorism.

On the APHC's talks with the government, he said nothing was on and these were more or less over. "Nothing happened on the suggestions we gave," he said.

Insisting that the government had a status quoist appraoch, Mirwaiz said that it would be making a grave mistake by taking reduction in violence in the valley as sign of return of normalcy. "The situation can change anytime. Militancy may be at a low ebb now but it can flare up anytime, " he said.

Answering queries, Mirwaiz said that recent developments in Pakistan may encourage New Delhi to harden its position vis-a-vis Kashmir. "There is a lobby in the capital which feels it is winning Kashmir. But they are living in fool's paradise. We are sitting on gunpowder," he said.

Another senior Hurriyat leader Bilal Lone, who represents People’s Conference in the APHC, said New Delhi should not seek to gain time on the Kashmir issue following developments in Pakistan but move ahead. "The ball is in its (government's) court. It may draw inferences from any weakening of President Pervez Musharraf’s position, but it also has to display will power,” he said.

Seeking to view the recent developments in Pakistan from the viewpoint of Kashmir, he said that extremists can take over if moderates were sidelined. Lone said that the Hurriyat Conference’s dialogue with the central government had “broken down” as there were no tangible results on the ground. “This way we are giving extremists a stick to beat the moderates,” he said.

Lone said he would oppose any move for resumption of dialogue with the government and would convey his view to other leaders of the amalgam.

Asked about the recent spate of violence in the neighbouring country, he said it had consequences for India. “People in Delhi should understand that people who can come to Islamabad can also come there,” he said, adding that people in Kashmir would not remain untouched from any rise in violence.

Referring to the assassination of political personalities in the subcontinent, including that of Indira Gandhi, he said Pakistan would come out of its present problems.

Lone denied possibility of the Hurriyat Conference taking part in assembly polls in the state this year. “We are not there for power politics,” he said. 

Srinagar, January 2
The Kashmir valley continued to reel under intense cold wave as night temperature remained more than seven degrees below freezing point, resulting in a thick layer of ice over the Dal Lake.

The night temperature recorded in Srinagar city was minus 7.4 degrees Celsius, which was the coldest night of the season so far, an official of the meteorological department said.

The night temperature was more than five degrees below normal for this part of the year.

The sharp dip in minimum temperature has resulted in freezing of the lake. A 5 to 6 inches thick layer of ice had formed along the banks of the lake while the interiors of the lake also froze but the thickness of the ice was much lesser.

There were also reports of frozen taps and water bodies from several parts of the valley, including the city.

However, the days in the valley are unusually warm at 8.8 degrees celsius, which is at least five degrees above normal, the official of the MET department said.— PTI

Srinagar, January 2
The Jammu and Kashmir Bank stock today scaled new heights on the bourses when it crossed the 1,000 mark on the National Stock Exchange before closing at Rs 934.35. Opening at the previous close of Rs 870.10, the bank stock reached 1005 mark.

Analysts credited the strong fundamentals of the bank for this phenomenal performance and to the fact that the bank has been able to position itself uniquely in the Indian Banking sector.

Since last couple of years when the bank stock was trading between 250-300, the bank has changed its business strategy by way of refocusing its J&K state operations and developing a slew of financial products to cater to grossly under-serviced local economy, a spokesman of the bank stated here.

Chief Minister Ghulam Nabi Azad has expressed happiness over the value of J&K Bank share crossing Rs 1,000 saying that the important milestone achieved by the Bank was indicative of sound health of the prestigious financial institution of the state.

He appreciated the strategy and the leadership taking the bank to lofty heights. He said the achievement was a matter of joy and pride for the entire Jammu and Kashmir and its people.

“Our mission is to empower the people of state. In the past we have tried to maximise profits without directly linking it to the impact on the welfare of the society as a whole,” said Dr Haseeb A Drabu, chairman and chief executive of the bank.

“What we have now embarked upon now is the combination of the sensibility of the social enterprise with the form of a for-profit business", he stated. The chairman added that the Bank’s investor profile had also shown quite an interesting qualitative change. Earlier the bank stock was being held by a handful of foreign institutional Investors (FIIs) most of them being short term "hedge fund investors" but as on date more than 70 best-of-the-breed "long-on" investment houses are having the bank stock on their books, he added.

Referring to the overwhelming interest that FIIs showed in the Bank Dr Drabu said some of the biggest names in the world figure in the seventy plus funds that have invested in the bank. The list was truly international, with funds from USA, Europe, Singapore, Japan, Sweden, Mexico and Spain on long term.

Jammu, January 2
The experts have a piece of advice for finance minister Tariq Hamid Karra-- in spite of making big promises, focus on redressing issues related to the common man.

Our state is marred by the problem of unemployment where there is no work for educated youth, said Professor Abdul Wahid Qureshi, a noted economist and outgoing vice-chancellor of the University of Kashmir.

“I expect that the finance minister in his budget should stress on generating avenues of providing employment to educated state youth,” he added.

“As we know that every educated youth cannot be absorbed in the government sector, the government should facilitate private sector jobs for them. Also it should make an overseas employment corporation that would help in absorbing skilled and semi-skilled youth of the state in jobs outside the state and the country.”

Professor Qureshi further said the budget should be aimed at providing basic infrastructure to the people. “Roads in our state need major attention. Traffic has increased manifolds but roads remain the same that make journey and transportation a torturous affair,” he said.

Adding, “The sectors which need immediate attention in this budget are, health, education, roads, electricity, connecting bridges. These facilities provided to the people in real sense means development.”

Professor Qureshi wants the finance minister to take measures of price hike in addition to imposition of certain new taxes on the earning class.

“As our state already runs in a deficit, I suggest that some sectors should be brought under the preview of taxes. In our state horticulture sector though being the biggest income generator does not fall under tax and it should be brought under it. State should also impose profession tax; we don’t have property tax in our state people here build big building so property tax should be added,” he said.

Adding he said, “Local resources needs to be mobilised and price control measures should be adopted to ease the burden on common man.”

Sharing the common sentiment of price control with Professor Qureshi, Ram Sahai, president of Chambers of Commerce of India, Jammu said, “Our state became the first state in the country to impose Vat completely, which increased the state revenue by 40 per cent, but the continuation of toll tax entry in our state has resulted in unprecedented price hike in the state. The government had earlier promised us that it would reduce the toll tax that at present is at Rs 40 per quintal, which increases the price of the item.” 

Srinagar, January 2
In a memorandum of understanding (MoU) signed between the German Cleft Children’s Aid Society and the Mangalore-based, Maaya Foundation, free services would be offered to poor children suffering from cleft lip and cleft palate functional defects of their face from birth.

The MoU was signed by Stefan Rivald from the German aid society, Prof K.S. Rao from the Maaya Foundation, Mangalore, and Prof Ghulam Jeelani, director, The Care Hospital.

The free services for surgical treatment have been offered by The Care Hospital and Dr Naureen Memorial Trust, Bemina, to help poor children in the valley who can not afford the cost of the treatment or have to wait for years to get themselves treated.

Medical director, The Care Hospital and and Dr Naureen Memorial Trust, Dr Ghulam Jeelani said surgeries for such children would be done free of cost. He said there was no exact statistics as to how many children suffered from these disorders in the valley. He added that only one child in about 8,000 children was born with such a defect.

“Due to various reasons, children with a poor socio-economic background normally suffer from the defect,” Dr Jeelani said. “These patients otherwise have to wait for about two years for a surgical treatment in the designated hospital here. Most of these patients can not afford the surgery as it costs not less than Rs 20,000 in the private hospitals,” he added. 

Jammu, January 2
To press their demand for the grant of relief benefits to bifurcated ration cards holders, the All Youth Wing of the All India Kashmiri Samaj (YWAIKS) today held a protest rally outside the civil secretariat in Jammu.

President, YWAIKS, R.K. Bhat said the bifurcated families of displaced Kashmiri Pandits who fell under the non-relief benefit category had been denied relief benefits by the state government.

“Our parents were in government services, but we are not, then why are we being denied of relief benefits given to family members of those who were given relief benefits,” said R.K. Bhat.

The protest rally organised by the YWAIKS started from the office of the relief commissioner, Jammu, and culminated outside the civil secretariat.

A delegation led by YWAKS president and other prominent leaders of Kashmiri Pandits met chief secretary B.R. Kundal and apprised him of the problems being faced by them. The chief secretary assured the delegation that their genuine problems would be addressed and a decision to this regard would be taken by the state government.

For the past 23 days, members of the YWAIKS have been observing a chain hunger strike. They state that if their grievances were not addressed, they would further agitate on the issue.

Jammu, January 2
Union minister of state for commerce, Jairam Ramesh, today stressed the need for a permanent marketing centre for Kashmiri handicrafts in New Delhi. He said the Central government had identified 20 kanals for developing a marketing and exhibition centre exclusively for Kashmiri handicrafts.

Inaugurating the Kashmir Handicrafts Expo Exhibition, 2008, here today, Jairam said the Centre had received a proposal from the state government for setting up a permanent marketing and exhibition centre for Kashmiri handicrafts in the capital. He said such a centre would give a fillip to the handicraft expo and added that such expos should be organised in other states as well.

Power minister Nawang Rigzin Jora; state minister for industries Ramesh Chander and a number of handicraft exporters were also present on the occasion.

Enumerating the steps undertaken by the Centre and the state government for promoting handicrafts, Jairam said incentives for the paper-mache craft had been enhanced and the recently concluded buyer-seller meet at Srinagar had been made a permanent feature. On the development of infrastructure, Jairam said a Rs 30 crore international trade centre was being set up at Pampore. He said it would be fifth in the country after Chennai, Bangalore, Kolkata and Guwahati.

Similarly, he said a craft development institute and institute of carpet technology were also being set up in the state under the Prime Minister's Reconstruction Plan.

Jammu, January 2
There seems to be no respite for commuters and pedestrians in the city who completely rely on the privately-owned public transport system here.

Overloading and playing of high-pitch music systems inside mini buses and matadors has become a major problem for commuters who have no other alternative but to travel in these vehicles.

Indeed, traffic police personnel manning roads seem to have turned a blind eye towards the increasing grievances of commuters who face many hardships, as drivers and private transport operators openly flout traffic rules.

“They (traffic police) only want their “fee” and they don’t care about the common man who faces many hardships due to the problems these drivers and the transport operators create,” said Subhash Kumar, a postgraduate student of Jammu University.

Overloading of matadors has become a great problem and not only are these vehicles overloaded, but people can be seen hanging on the doors and rear of these vehicles.

“They stuff you like animals and nobody is there to listen to your complaints. Many a times we met officials in the Traffic Police Department but nobody paid heed to our problems. They are awaiting for a disaster to happen,” said Pardeep Singh, another postgraduate student.

Though many people have lost their lives in accidents, steps have not been taken to check overloading and playing of high-pitch music systems in such vehicles.

Pardeep informed that at various occasions, the traffic magistrate carried out surprise inspections, but the drivers of these vehicles had made special hideouts for hiding these music players. Another problem that the commuters faced was the rash driving by drivers of these vehicles, he added.

“Accidents have become common in the city and its due to the negligence of the Traffic Police Department. Steps need to be taken if we want to save the lives of people so that they don’t become victims of rash driving,” said Ashok Mehta, a resident of Gandhi Nagar, Jammu.