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Muzaffarabad bus service resumes
Hurriyat for early opening of trade route
Fruit growers threaten fast
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‘No shortage of medicines’
Cops, protesters clash: 6 injured
Comparison with
Hurriyat shameful: Samiti
Amarnath Land Row
Amarnath Land Row
Rift in PCC over Geelani’s pro-Pak remarks
Kashmiri migrants
oppose Geelani’s statement
Mirwaiz replaces pro-Pak men in committee
State Cong leaders to meet high command
BJP warns Centre on ‘peace talks’
Mani Mahesh Yatra
Lawyers to boycott courts till Aug 25
Janmashtami after two decades
‘Eidgah chalo’ march today
Ban on posters in Bandipora
Govt office ransacked
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Muzaffarabad bus service resumes
Srinagar, August 21 Tight security arrangements were in place for the operation of bus services ‘Karavan-e-Aman’ from here carrying the passengers to Uri and returning from the other side of the LoC on the occasion. In all 160 passengers crossed the LoC today, including 100 from this side and 60 others from the PoK. Those who proceeded from this side included 32 on their first trip to PoK, while 68 others were on their return to PoK, officials here said. Of the 60 passengers coming from PoK included 42 on their first trip to Kashmir and 18 others who returned here after visiting their relatives in PoK. The fortnightly bus service that was started on April 7, 2005, has been operating to facilitate the meeting of divided families on the two sides. |
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Hurriyat for early opening of trade route
Jammu, August 21 "We should have an alternative trade route to ensure uninterrupted flow of consumer items into the valley and for exporting fruit and other items from Kashmir," said a senior APHC leader, who is also a member of the executive committee of the separatist conglomerate. Requesting anonymity the APHC leader said today that "we seek reopening of an alternative trade route not only because of the current economic blockade but also on account of the frequent blockade of the Srinagar-Jammu highway owing to snow and landslides. Asked whether the onus now lay on Islamabad after Delhi has submitted its proposal to Islamabad, he said it was the responsibility of both. The APHC leader stated that the list of import and export items submitted by Delhi to Islamabad was too small to "cater to our requirements. "We want a comprehensive import-export list of items to be traded through the Srinagar-Muzaffarabad road", the
leader said.
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Fruit growers threaten fast
Srinagar, August 21 "We have decided to go on an indefinite fast on the Srinagar-Muzaffarabad road if the situation arising out of continuous attacks on truckers on the highway does not improve in the next few days," Fruit Growers Coordination Committee president Ghulam Rasool Bhat told reporters. Contradicting the government's claim that the traffic on the arterial road connecting Kashmir with the rest of the country was plying smoothly, Bhat claimed that a fruit-laden truck was burnt three days back by protesters.
— PTI
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‘No shortage of medicines’
Jammu, August 21 “We are in constant touch with all the district presidents of pharma associations in Kashmir and the Drug Control Department had also assured that there was no dearth of any medicine in the valley,” JKPA general secretary Rakesh Gupta said in a statement issued here. “The statements of shortage are being mongered by few people in the valley who were trying to promote regional divide and disturb communal harmony,” Gupta said. The association, however, clarified that some urgent supplies of medicines were got air-lifted to Kashmir and also medicines worth more than Rs 2 crore have been dispatched by road.
— UNI
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Cops, protesters clash: 6 injured
Srinagar, August 21 Groups of professionals, like the Pharmaceutical Managers Club, also carried out the march and displayed placards which called for intervention of WHO and the Red Cross, alleging scarcity of essential drugs and surgical items in the valley. The open defiance of authority, which is being repeated in recent protests with alarming frequency, was on display again as a group of youths mounted Clock Tower in Lal Chowk and pinned green Islamic flags. Though there was a large crowd near Lal Chowk, small groups of protesters could be seen trooping through the city and myriad emotions, ranging from professing allegiance to rabid Islamic ideology to pro-Pak and pro-azadi, were on display. Some youths in Jawahar Nagar cried "aayi aayi azadi aayi, Laden wali azadi aayi (Here comes the freedom which Laden wants)" and even as many around them looked at them in bemusement. The police and the CRPF have been asked to not intervene in such marches as the state authorities believe that it would only further provoke the people. "It may be unlawful but we have to look at larger issues," a senior police official said. There were reports of clashes between the police and protesters at a few places. The police fired tear gas shells at them in Nowpora in downtown when the protesters pelted stones at them and tried to force their way through the barricade. Six persons, including a cop, were injured. A police spokesman said they cane-charged protesters at a few places but the demonstrations remained largely peaceful. However, business went on as usual in the city with markets, educational facilities open and transport facilities operating in full steam. The calm and day-to-day life prevailing in the valley for the past three days in likely to end today as separatists have called people for congregating in Eidgah tomorrow, where they would decide their future plans.
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Comparison with
Hurriyat shameful: Samiti
Jammu, August 21 Taking serious note of the remark of Congress spokesperson Manish Tiwari, the samiti expressed that it had clearly exposed the Congress leadership at the Centre and the manner in which it was looking at the mass movement of Jammu people. It added while local Congress leaders were rendering their support to this movement of nationalistic people, their central leadership was turning a blind eye to it. "The comparison of this people's movement to the secessionist activity of the Hurriyat in Kashmir is shameful," the samiti said. The samiti urged local Congress leaders to impress upon their high command leading the ruling UPA regime headed by Dr Manmohan Singh to concede the demand of restoration of land to the Amarnath Shrine Board or else resign from the Congress and join the mass movement. "The contradiction between the approach of local Congress leaders and policies of their high command is creating misconception about the role of local Congress leaders and creating a situation of mistrust and conflict. In this scenario, if any untoward incident or clash takes place during the protests or demonstrations, the responsibility shall lie on the local and central leadership of the Congress," the samiti averred. Taking serious note of the incidents of looting and arson in Jammu and its outskirts, the samiti alleged that "some government agents are involved in these incidents". The samiti reiterated its demand for recalling Governor N.N. Vohra who has been "adopting wrong policies to sabotage the on-going movement". Names panel for talks
The samiti has constituted a four-member panel for holding talks with the committee set up by the Governor to find an amicable solution to the Amarnath land row. The samiti has named Tilak Raj Sharma, Dr Narinder Singh, Brig Suchet Singh and Pawan Kohli as the members of the panel. |
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Govt inertia rued
Tribune News Service
Jammu, August 21 "It would soon be two months since our agitation started. While the Centre has resorted to a do-nothing approach in Jammu, it has failed miserably in dispelling the canard of economic blockade of the valley and helped the separatists in furthering their agenda through the “Muzaffarabad chalo” and “Pampore chalo” calls. The situation is worsening day by day and though it is already too late the Centre should wake up before things reach the point of no return," said Mahinder Sharma, a bank employee. "It took the Governor around a month to invite the Amarnath Yatra Sangharsh Samiti for talks while the Centre sent an all-party delegation to the state after 38 days of the agitation. It seems that the government's strategy is to wait for the Jammu agitators to exhaust. However, if the powers that be think that our agitation will lose steam with time they are highly mistaken. We won't rest till the land is restored to the Shri Amarnath Shrine Board," said Hitendra Gupta, a college student. "It is surprising that the Centre has been indifferent to the demands of the people of Jammu, who have been holding protests with the Tricolour in their hands and chanting Bharat Mata ki Jai. On the other hand, the Union Home Minister was quick to respond to the separatists' demand for opening trade through the Muzaffarabad road and wasted no time in expressing India's willingness for the same," said O.P. Kaul, a retired government employee. Third SSP in 50 days
In its bid to normalise the situation, the administration has replaced Jammu SSP S.D.S. Jamwal with Manohar Singh. Jamwal had replaced Alok Kumar only last month. Manohar Singh will be the third district police chief in the past 50 days. People here feel that the move merely shows the frustration of the administration and shifting of the SSP would not help in bringing about a change in the ground situation. "The government should instead focus on addressing the root cause of the problem and hold a meaningful dialogue to meet the samiti's demands at the earliest," they opined. |
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Amarnath Land Row
Qazigund, August 21 The 80-km-long Srinagar-Qazigund stretch of the Srinagar-Jammu national highway, emanating from Lower Munda near Qazigund (gateway to the Kashmir valley), presents a distinct scenic beauty through lush green paddy fields and clusters of bowing willow and Chinar trees. But presently the mood is marred by the bitterness that has emerged due to the Amarnath land transfer issue. The number of vehicles to and fro the highway transporting Kashmir fruits and merchandise, has drastically declined from thousands to hundreds due to the crisis, which has engulfed the state for about two months now. If it was “victory” for the agitators in Kashmir in June after the cancellation of the controversial order, those agitating in the Jammu region seemed to be stuck until some acceptable solution is carved out. A question mark can be seen on every face, that be of a driver, businessman or a security personnel. The hoteliers, dhabawallahs, vendors of Kashmir handicraft items, shawls, dry fruit dealers and many more await normalcy to be restored because their livelihood is at stake. For many truck and taxi drivers, it is difficult to forget the traumatic experience they went through when attacked by agitators in the Jammu region. This highway township, which used to hum with brisk business with the arrival of tourists and merchandise, looks sleepy like any other distant township of the valley. “The tourist bus is coming….look”, says a policeman on duty in the market place as he watches a lone SRTC bus carrying half the strength of tourists. He points out that a few vehicles carrying tourists move towards Srinagar during day time, and this was the only one this afternoon. Mostly, the trucks carrying supplies to the valley move in convoys from Jammu to the valley during night hours. Two trucks carrying fresh pears from Sopore are halted on the roadside by the drivers, who are curious to know the possibility of safe movement towards Punjab markets. One of the drivers, Manzoor Ahmad, has reluctantly ventured out after spending 25 days at home after getting a truckload of rice from the FCI. His problem is that if the produce does not reach within a week, it will rot. He is not sure regarding the safety but he has to this risk. He is not happy with the role of the police in Udhampur-Lakhanpur region during his last trip to Kashmir. The trucks were attacked but cops proved helpless. His associates, Ghulam Hassan and Mukhtar Ahmad lament that they ventured out only twice during the past two months. “We will go to Muzaffarabad”, says a group of drivers equivocally as they gather near the highway to get their damaged vehicles repaired. The doctors at the local hospital say they have treated at least 30 persons, mostly drivers, who were beaten up or burnt by the rioters outside the valley over the past one month. All victims belong to the Kashmir valley from Qazigund in the south to the extreme northern areas. One of the three patients with burn injuries has been referred to the SKIMS, Soura in Srinagar.
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Rift in PCC over Geelani’s pro-Pak remarks
Udhampur, August 21 A group of Congress leaders, including a veteran leader from Kishtwar, has distanced itself from the statement issued against Geelani. While addressing a rally at Srinagar two days back Sayeed Ali Shah Geelani had stated that nothing short of accession with Pakistan would be the solution of the vexed Kashmir problem. He had further stated that people of Kashmir had the relation of religion with Pakistan and because of Islam people of Kashmir were Pakistani. Geelani's statement has created a furore in political circles. The state BJP has stepped up attacks on the state government for not taking action against the Hurriyat leader. Keeping in view the anger of people of Jammu against the state government, senior Congress leaders of the Jammu region issued a statement two days back in which they demanded the arrest of Geelani on the sedition charge. The names of all senior and veteran Congress leaders from the Jammu region were mentioned in the press note issued by the PCC spokesman. Interestingly, PCC vice-president Sheikh Ghulam Hyder, whose name was mentioned in the press note, distanced himself from the statement against Geelani. In a statement issued here today, Hyder said his name was wrongly written in the press note. He further said that he was not a signatory to the press note and the statement was issued by the Congress spokesman without his consent.
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Kashmiri migrants
oppose Geelani’s statement
Jammu, August 21 “Geelani is free to speak for himself and those who support his ideology, but he has not been given the mandate to speak for every Kashmiri,” said Sunil Pandit residing in Muthi camp. He said Kashmir was the birthplace of the uprooted seven lakh Kashmiri Pandit community and other nationalist. He said this big population of migrant Kashmiris were the aborigines of the state and there was no confusion whatsoever as regards the accession of the state on October 26, 1947 with the Indian Union. Neelam, a resident of Patta
Bohri, said if Geelani called himself a Pakistani, a mechanism should be put in place to pave the way for him to have a safe passage to that county. Octogenarian Sham Lal, who belongs to Sopore, wherefrom Geelani had contested multiple Assembly elections prior to 1990, said by such slogans, the Hurriyat leader was befooling the innocent masses of the state, while as the fact was that Geelani’s close relatives were well settled in other parts of the country, away from the valley. An activist of Panun Kashmir wondered why Geelani was not uttering a word on the demand of Kashmiri Pandits for a separate homeland within Kashmir with a Union territory status. Advocate Chander Kumar said there were a number of provisions in Ranbir Penal Code
(RPC) and Indian Penal Code (IPC), where under any person, speaking against the unity and integrity of the nation could be taken to task. “What for are these RPCs and IPCs if not evoked at the right time on an appropriate person,” he asked. |
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Mirwaiz replaces pro-Pak men in committee
Srinagar, August 21 The coordination committee, an amalgam of separatist leaders, social and religious organisations, spearheads a agitation in protest against the “economic blockade” of the Kashmir valley. Dominating the proceedings during a mammoth rally on August 18, Geelani made a ‘Kashmir is Pakistan’ slogan against the spirit of collective leadership and much to the annoyance of his colleagues. Shah and Khan speak for Hurriyat unity. But there is a strong opposition to the merger conditions laid down by Geelani particularly from Mirwaiz’s supporters like Abdul Ghani Bhat and Bilal Lone. Meanwhile, another tussle is also going on over other leaders in the committee. “We have made our displeasure known to Mirwaiz over Sajjad Lone’s presence and told him he is not welcome in the committee,” said Ayaaz Akbar, a spokesman for Geelani
faction. Ayaaz Akbar was all praise for Shabir Shah and Nayeem Khan and said they have played a big role in the movement. Mirwaiz played down their removal, saying they were pre-occupied with other responsibilities. Sources said JKLF chairman Yaseen Malik is an open critic of “Kashmir is Pakistan” idea and an ambivalent Mirwaiz is closer to him than Geelani. |
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State Cong leaders to meet high command
Jammu, August 21 According to Raman Bhalla, who was the first former MLA and minister belonging to the Congress, to court arrest here yesterday while extending support to the ongoing agitation over the revocation of the land order, said today that "our political rivals have started convincing people that the land order was revoked by the Congress-led government which had added to our problems." He said "we have decided to take a group of party leaders to Delhi tomorrow to seek Delhi's intervention in the land row so that an early solution was found to the satisfaction of the people of the Jammu region. "In reply to question Bhalla said: "Several Congress leaders, including MPs belonging to the Jammu region and former ministers and legislators, had extended their
support to the agitation because had we not done so our houses would have been attacked." In this connection he referred to the attack on senior Congress leader and former deputy chief minister Mangat Ram Sharma, by agitators in Jammy today. “We will apprise the Congress high command about our problems
which had made it difficult for us to keep our vote bank intact.” |
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BJP warns Centre on ‘peace talks’
Jammu, August 21 State BJP vice-president Hari Om today stated this while reacting to the comments of M.K. Narayanan, National Security Adviser (NSA), who had visited Srinagar yesterday to take stock of the situation. He said suggestions of Narayanan - the law and order authorities must refrain from using force against the extremists,
as it was time to resume dialogue with them - were based on unrealistic premise. He said the government was playing dangerous game by ignoring the agitation of Jammu region. Hari Om said the Prime Minister often asked that political parties must rise above partisan politics to help resolve the Amarnath land issue and defuse the volatile situation in the state, but he should first rein in Congress spokespersons like Veerapa Moily and Munish Tiwari, and differentiate between Jammu nationalists and Kashmiri separatists. According to him, the Prime Minister must recognise the fact that it
was his party which first allotted the land at Baltal to the Shri Amarnath Shrine Board for creating facilities on temporary basis for the pilgrims and then took a complete u-turn and revoked the land diversion order to “appease the fanatics”. |
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Muslims bid farewell to Hindu brethren
Tribune News Service
Udhampur, August 21 A large number of Muslims, led by former minister and sitting MLC Mohammad Sharief Naiz, arranged a rousing reception for more than 1000 Hindu devotees at Kalgoni temple in Bhalessa. “We want to set an example for rest of the state to follow,” Naiz told The Tribune over the phone, adding, “At a time when both Jammu and Kashmir regions have been simmering over the Amarnath land row, Hindus and Muslims of this district have jointly organised this function to bid farewell to the pilgrims of Mani Mahesh.” Naiz said sole aim of organising such a function was to give a befitting reply to those who have been desperately trying to create divide between the two communities. Devotees were asked to pray for the lasting and sustainable peace in the state. A religious function was organised in the temple which was attended by members of both the communities. The Mani Mahesh yatra begins on Krishna Janmashtami and concludes on Radha Ashtami every year. This year is commencing on August 24.
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Lawyers to boycott courts till Aug 25
Jammu, August 21 “We have decided to abstain from attending courts till August 25 in support of the samiti’s bandh call,” Bar Association of Jammu (BAJ) president B.S. Salathia told reporters. BAJ will, however, continue to fight for the cases of those who are being arrested by the police during agitation, he said condemning the firing of teargas shells on protesters. “We are of the opinion that the inefficient handling of such situations contributed to the deteriorating law and order and resulted in imposing unwarranted curfew, causing harassment to the public at large,” he said.
— PTI |
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Janmashtami after two decades
Srinagar, August 21 This would be for the first time after a gap of two decades that the festival is being organised at the temple. According to Sudarshan Das, head priest at the temple, all arrangements have been made for the festival that is expected to attract a large number of devotees of Lord Krishna. The event is being organised under the aegis of International Society for Krishna Consciousness (ISKCON). The programme includes Shobha Yatra (Jhanki) on Saturday that would pass through the city from Habba Kadal, Barbar Shah, Ram Temple, Regal Chowk, Lal Chowk, Hari Singh High Street and old secretariat to reach back to its place at Zaindar Mohalla. Jhankis have been a rare site in Kashmir since the eruption of militancy about 18 years ago, when the majority of Kashmiri Pandits migrated from the valley. The festival would be concluding on Monday.
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‘Eidgah chalo’ march today
Srinagar, August 21 Taking note of the earlier rallies and marches, the police and security agencies are taking every precautionary measure to thwart any untoward incident. The committee would make the future course of action public at
Eidgah. The Committee comprising both factions of the Hurriyat Conference, JKLF,
Dukhtaran-e-Millat, Jamiat-e-Ahle Hadith and other social and business organisations, protest the “economic blockade” and targeting of Kashmiris in the Jammu region. Meanwhile, the Committee at its meeting held at Mirwaiz manzil here yesterday decided to observe a complete shutdown for the next four days across the valley starting tomorrow. It has also given a call for ‘Lal Chowk
Chalo’ for Monday. |
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Ban on posters in Bandipora
SRINAGAR: The district election officer (DEO), Bandipora, has banned pasting of posters and paintings on walls in the district in the view of upcoming elections.
The district administration is the first among all districts of the state to set up a control room to strictly enforce the market checking after the normal business activities resumed in the valley after several days of strike. The DEO had asked sectoral heads of the district to ensure that no notices, posters are pasted and no paintings are made on the walls of government or private buildings, Panchayat ghars, schools by any political candidate or party during electioneering so that public property is not defaced.
— UNI |
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Govt office ransacked
Udhampur, August 21 The procession, taken out by the activists of the Amarnath Yatra Sangarsh Samiti in the town, was joined by thousands near the DIC. As the office was functioning, protesters stormed into the premises and restored to stone-pelting. Some youths ransacked the office and damaged furniture and window panes. Coming out of the premises, the unruly mob damaged a vehicle parked inside the premises. Later the mob reached the DC office and closed its doors. In the evening, hundreds of people took out a procession and shouted slogans against the UPA government. |
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