Jammu, November 29
Seeing no hope for the Congress in the next Lok Sabha elections for its weak-kneed approach in tackling terrorism, National Conference (NC) patron Farooq Abdullah, however, felt that India couldn’t fight the scourge single-handedly.

He strongly advocated joint efforts by the international community including India and Pakistan to nip the evil, which he said had become a threat to the entire humanity across the globe.

Though he ruled out involvement of Pakistan behind the Mumbai terror attack but felt that terror outfits like the Jaish-e-Mohammed, Laskhar-e-Toiba and Taliban had gone out of the control of their ‘creators’.

Responding to media queries here today, Farooq said instead of wasting time in blame-game and finding fault with our intelligence agencies, we should take stringent measures to secure our country exactly the way US had done after 9/11. Their intelligence agencies worked together doing the post-mortem and since then there has been no single terror attack in the US, he added.

He said time has come for the international community, particularly countries like the US, UK, France and China to hold the Security Council meeting against terrorism.

We must make a combined effort to deal with the problem and at the same time help the Pakistan government and its people to come out of the morass of terror, he said.

“Pakistan President Asif Ali Zardari and PM Yousuf Raza Geelani themselves are in a catch-22 situation and hence linking the Pakistan government with the Mumbai attack would not be wise on our part”, he added.

“While the new government is still feeble and being a nuclear-capable state grappling with terrorism, it becomes altogether significant for India to help Pakistan to get rid of terrorism”, he said, adding that fighting terror single-handedly was not possible for any country. He said that the people behind sustaining terror outfits like Jaish, Lashkar and Taliban should be exposed and brought to book.

When asked whether such attacks leave an impact on prospects of ruling parties during elections, he said, only results would tell the difference but the people certainly feel that ruling parties in New Delhi are not doing enough to check terrorism. On the occasion Ramesh Mahajan of the Congress and Kuldeep Singh of the National Bahujan Party joined the NC.

Srinagar, November 29
PDP president Mehbooba Mufti has said while the perpetrators of the horrible Mumbai terror carnage have to be brought to justice for the dastardly act, the attacks should not be, however, used to target a particular community.

Addressing the election rallies in Budgam district today, Mehbooba said terror had no religion as the innocent civilians cutting across religious or ethnic divide had fallen to the bullets of the assailants in Mumbai. “It would not only be unfair but unjustifiable to use these attacks to demonise or censure a particular community or members of a particular religion,” she said.

Mehbooba, according to a PDP spokesman, added that Kashmiri students and businessmen in various states had, especially, started feeling insecure in the aftermath of these attacks and they need to be reassured of their safety and security by the Central government and the respective state governments.

She said in the new scenario of terrorism, it became imperative to go deep into all aspects of the muddle with open mind.

Srinagar, November 29
An electorate of 3,41,004 voters will decide the fate of 71 candidates in the fray for the five assembly constituencies in Kupwara district, which will go to the polls in the third phase of elections tomorrow.

These constituencies include Karnah, Kupwara, Lolab, Handwara and Langate. The total number of polling stations set up in these five constituencies is 448 as compared to 399 in 2002.

Karnah with 14 contestants has an electorate of 26,591, for which 58 polling stations have been set up. It was represented by Kafil-ul-Rehman of the National Conference for the last two consecutive terms. Those contesting include Kafeel-ul-Rehman (NC), Raja Manzoor Ahmed (PDP), Syed Yasir Shah (INC), and 11 others include those from different parties and are independents.

There are 19 candidates in the fray from the Kupwara constituency, which has an electorate of 90,594, while the number of polling stations in the constituency is 111. Mir Saifullah of the NC was elected from the constituency for the last two consecutive terms in 1996 and 2002. Those in the fray include Mir Saifullah (NC), Fayaz Ahmad Mir (PDP), Ch. Salam-u-Din (INC), and 16 others. Prominent woman candidate in the fray is Shabnam Lone, an independent. She is the daughter of the former Hurriyat leader, Abdul Ghani Lone.

The Lolab constituency with 10 candidates in the fray has an electorate of 85,474. The total number of polling stations in the constituency is 110. Qaiser Jamshed Lone of the NC was elected from this constituency in 2002. Those in the fray are Qaiser Jamsheed Lone (NC), Abdul Haq Khan (PDP), Abdul Rahim Wani (PDF), Farooq Ahmad Mir (INC), Muneer Ahmad Khan (Panthers Party), Manzoor Ahmad Ganai (Independent), Mohammad Maqbool Shah (Independent), Mahawali Khan (Independent), Barkat Ali Khan (ANC) and Abdul Haq Malik (BSP).

In the Handwara constituency, there are13 candidates in the fray with an electorate of 78,118. The total number of polling stations in the constituency is 93. Independent candidate Sofi Ghulam Mohi-ud-Din was elected from this constituency in 2002 securing 15,389 votes out of a total of 32,976 votes polled. Sofi is again pitted against Ch. Mohammad Ramzan (NC), and 11 others.

Langate, with 15 in the fray, has an electorate of 60,227. The total number of polling stations in the constituency is 76. Sharief-ud-Din Shariq of the NC won the assembly constituency in 2002 elections by defeating his nearest rival Sultan Panditpuri of the PDP.

Srinagar, November 29
Elaborate security arrangements have been made for the third-round of the seven-phased assembly elections in Jammu and Kashmir with five constituencies of Kupwara district going to polls tomorrow.

Troops of 109 companies of additional security forces besides J&K police has been deployed at 448 polling booths spread over the five segments - Karnah, Kupwara, Lolab, Handwara and Langate- to instil confidence among over 3,40,000 voters including 1,63,389 women, who are expected to exercise their franchise.

Almost all 448 polling booths have been put under 'hypersensitive' and 'sensitive' categories.An average 53.15 per cent voting was recorded in these constituencies in 2002 with Karnah recording the highest of 65.37 per cent and Lolab the lowest - 46.89 per cent.

The highest number of candidates fighting from a single assembly segment is Kupwara (19), followed by Langate (15), Karnah (14), Handwara (13) and Lolab (10).

The entry of Shabnum Lone, daughter of slain Hurriyat leader Abdul Gani Lone, Taja Parveen (Independent), Syeda Begum (BSP), Shafeeqa Begum 
(National Panthers Party) and Shameema Rehman (BSP) and three Hindus Sameer Raina, Shadi Lal Kant (Both of the National United Front) is expected to 
bring a tough fight among the candidates. — PTI

Ancient temples of Dera Babour dating back to the 10th century are mute witnesses to the political activities in the area over the centuries, with no exception to the present day politicians. The region (that now falls in the Ramnagar constituency) has cried for the attention of the politicians who have ruled the area. But till date, the people in this constituency of Udhampur district hope for development and improvement in their area.

A stronghold of the Jammu Kashmir National Panthers Party (JKNPP) and the BSP, the constituency on the northeast of the Dhar road leading from Samba to Udhampur will go to the polls on December 17. It will see almost a straight contest between JKNPP’s sitting MLA Harshdev Singh and BSP’s Vinod Sharma. The BSP has fielded an upper caste Brahmin in an attempt to repeat the Uttar Pradesh’s “social engineering” experiment. Caste, therefore, will play an important role in this constituency spread over the Kandi area of Jammu division.

Ramnagar, one of the three seats in Udhampur district, was a reserved constituency from 1967 to 1987. Though it is no longer reserved, the presence of a large number of Scheduled Caste (SC) population leads to polling on the community basis.

Varinder Singh, block secretary of the Young Panthers - youth wing of the Panther’s Party - rattles the achievements of Harshdev Singh to say that the party will retain the seat for the third consecutive term, despite a mood for change in other constituencies.

“Despite being an opposition MLA, the JKNPP has managed to get roads built, fire station constructed, an SDM’s office at Basantar and get a grant of Rs 14 crore for the Mansar Development Authority that will develop the area. The JKNPP also get a centre of the state board of education in Ramnagar, approval for a degree college and a model high school at Chunanta, besides other things, which is an achievement”, feels Kamal Sharma, a resident of Kaghote village in the constituency.

With development as the main agenda, the JKNPP has a good chance of retaining the seat. Even Congress general secretary Rahul Gandhi addressed his first public rally at Udhampur in the state realised the importance of development for the people. “You vote for the Congress for “over-all development, peace and prosperity” he told a gathering of 4,000 odd for the three constituencies of Udhampur district, namely Ramnagar, Udhampur and Chinanai.

Kathua, November 29
Election observer of the Kathua and Hiranagar assembly constituencies Adhar Sinha, election observer of the Billawar and Basohli constituencies Mayank Warwade and Kathua, district election officer (DEO) Mandeep Kaur today convened a meeting of representatives of all political parties and contesting candidates. The politicians were apprised of the model code of conduct.

Among others, Kathua assembly constituency RO D. R. Sharma, Hiranagar constituency RO S. K. Kapoor, Basohli RO P. S. Rathore, Bani RO Vivek Sharma and Billawar Assembly constituency RO M. Raju were also present on the occasion.

The election observers listened to the queries of the contestants and asked them send their specific complaints to the observers, district election officer or returning officers.

The observers also reviewed the arrangements made for counting of votes in counting halls at Government Degree College, Kathua.

The DEO asked the representatives of political parties and contestants to submit forms along with photographs of their polling agents well in advance for their timely appointment. She also exhorted for proper maintenance of election expenditure register.

Earlier Sinha had detailed discussions with Mandeep Kaur and , Kathua SSP S.P. Pani and reviewed the implementation of the model code of conduct.

Srinagar, November 29.
The CPM state secretary, Mohammad Yusuf Tarigami filed his nomination papers from the Kulgam constituency of south Kashmir today. Two other party candidates, Mohammad Amin Dar and Mohammad Yaqoob Ganai also filed their nomination papers from Homshalibugh and Devsar constituencies, respectively.

These constituencies are going to the polls in the sixth phase of elections on December 17, and it was the last date for filing of nomination papers today. Tarigami has represented his home constituency of Kulgam for the last two consecutive terms. The Homshalibug constituency of the newly created district of Kulgam, where the CPM candidate, Mohammad Amin Dar filed nominations, and the Devsar constituency of Anantnag district where Mohammad Yaqoob Ganai filed his nomination papers are going to the polls in the sixth phase.

In his telephonic address at Kulgam from the hospital here, Tarigami alleged that some political leaders with vested interests had been rousing the passions of the people by way of hollow slogan mongering for their narrow political gains.

He appealed his people not to fall prey to these politicians, who were desperately trying to grab power. He urged the people to avail this opportunity to get rid of such forces.

He said at the time of elections only promises were made, but successive governments despite tall claims, failed in mitigating their sufferings.

Jammu, November 29
The Jammu and Kashmir National United front (JKNUF), a party of displaced Kashmiri Pandits, has decided not to field candidate from the Habba Kadal constituency, which falls in Srinagar district. The decision was taken in its Political Affairs Committee (PAC) meeting, which was presided over by its national convener R.K Mattoo, here today.

The PAC felt that a messy situation had been created by some over ambitious Kashmiri Pandit individuals, who had shown their eagerness to fight elections from some constituencies in Kashmir valley especially in Srinagar district, which had sizable number of Hindu votes.

The committee found that it would undermine the winning chances of only potential Kashmiri Hindu candidate. It said his victory would provide voice to the displaced community in the assembly. Mattoo said the PAC would assess the winning potential of the contestants from the community affiliated to any party and would extend support to them.

He added with a view to avoid division of Kashmiri Hindu votes, the JKUNF had successfully persuaded a large number of candidates to stay away from the contest to brighten the chances of strong candidates of the community.

Jammu, November 29
Two minor boys were killed today after sustaining gunshots from a service pistol of a Punjab police cop at a marriage ceremony in Badyal Qazian village in RS Pura sector near here.

Official sources said the mishap occurred during a marriage ceremony when an ASI of the Punjab police, Surjeet Singh, in an inebriated condition, tried to open fire in the air to celebrate the occasion.

The sources said some of his friends, who wanted to prevent him from doing so, tried to snatch the pistol, and in the process, 11-year-old Sonu and 9-year-old Akash, both residents of Badyal Qazian village sustained gunshots.

The boys had come along with their families to attend the marriage ceremony.

The sources said the barat had come from Gandhi Cant area of Jalandhar to solemnise marriage of Sandeep, son of Ved Prakash, with Sunita, daughter of Chuni Lal, in the village.

Sonu died on the spot, while Akash succumbed to his injuries at the Government Medical College, Jammu.

The ASI has been absconding after committing the crime under the influence of liquor, the sources added.

Meanwhile, the police has detained the groom and his father along with few baratis.

Srinagar, November 29
Curfew was today imposed in Shopian district of Jammu and Kashmir following demonstrations against the alleged custodial killing of a person in the district.

The curfew was imposed as a precautionary measure this afternoon to maintain law and order as agitated villagers took to streets to protest against the alleged custodial killing of Ghulam Hassan Malla (35), a resident of Chottipora-Shopian, official sources said.

The villagers alleged that Malla was picked up by the 62 Rashtria Rifles troops and the local police two days ago for questioning and was killed during interrogation.

Malla’s body was handed over to the police by the security agencies at around 12 pm sparking off protests by the locals. As the news of the alleged custodial killing spread, the people demonstrated outside the police station demanding action against the security personnel involved in the “cold blooded murder” of Malla.

The police informed Shopian Deputy Commissioner Mohammad Ramzan Thakur, who ordered imposition of curfew in the district as a precautionary measure. Thakur rushed to the Shopian police station to pacify the agitators, sources said. — PTI