Srinagar, December 14
While the Majlis-e-Mushawarat has called for a general strike in Kashmir tomorrow against the CBI report on the alleged rape and murder of two Shopian women, separatist organisations have extended support to the bandh call.

Senior separatist leaders, including hard line APHC chairman Syed Ali Geelani, Hurriyat Conference (moderate) chairman Mirwaiz Umar Farooq, JKLF chairman Yasin Malik and Shabir Ahmad Shah, supported the bandh call.

The High Court Bar Association also extended support to the strike call.

Meanwhile, PDP president Mehbooba Mufti has alleged that the series of investigations into the Shopian case was aimed at shielding the culprits rather than bringing them to book. She claimed it revealed the government’s inability to investigate the case properly.

Addressing a workers’ convention in Chrar-e-Sharief, Mehbooba hoped that the High Court would pursue the report of the CBI as it was the last hope of people and ensure that justice was done to the family of the victims.

She held that it now looked that all investigation was done to prove the initial view of Chief Minister Omar Abdullah that “it was a case of drowning”.

Mehbooba said for any investigation it was necessary that “the civil society feels satisfied with its standards of objectivity and professionalism”.

There was pretty little that the CBI could have found out so late in the day, the PDP chief said. 

Srinagar, December 14
Neelofar Jan’s husband and Asiya Jan’s brother Shakeel Ahangar, and the Majlis-e-Mashawarat today accused the CBI of hushing up the case of their alleged rape and murder and asked the Division Bench of the High Court headed by Chief Justice Barin Ghosh to stop the CBI from presenting its “power point presentation” in open court.

The Bench then decided to see the over two-hour long presentation in private, barring any media and other non-interested parties.

Shakeel and the Majlis later burnt a copy of the chargesheet, handed over to Shakeel by the Bench on their request, outside the High Court premises.

Mian Qayoom, president of the Kashmir High Court Bar Association, said the CBI action “proved that there was no rule of law in Kashmir”. “It has let off the real accused and implicated innocent doctors, lawyers and civilians,” he said.

The CBI had made the presentation to substantiate its findings as per the Bench’s direction in October when it had asked the agency to make a presentation of its probe. The Majlis also withdrew itself from the case accusing the CBI of subverting justice and told the Bench that it was not interested in watching its presentation.

The Chief Justice told the Majlis and Shakeel that the CBI’s finding was not a “gospel truth” and they could see it and later make their observations before court. However, they declined the request and asked the Bench to decline the CBI plea for a public presentation, as it would hurt their sentiments. The Bench was initially of the view that a public presentation would serve things better as lawyers and others could see it, but changed its mind after Shakeel’s protest.

Srinagar, December 14
Apart from unravelling facts in the Shopian case, the CBI has also traced the author of an insinuating letter that had accused Neelofar Jan’s husband Shakeel Ahangar of engineering the murder of two women because he did not approve of the anonymous writer’s relation with his sister Asiya Jan.

The letter was in fact written by a police constable, the CBI said, to mislead the investigators.

Constable Yaseen Ganie had apparently written the letter to deflect the heat from police officials, who were initially accused of destructing evidence to save the real culprits. Four cops, including SP Javid Iqbal Mattoo and DSP Rohit Baskotra, were arrested.

The letter was delivered at Shopian police station by post and reached there when the special investigation team (SIT) of the state police was probing the sensational case. The writer had claimed that he and Asiya had studied together and were in love, but Shakeel was opposed to their relation.

The CBI said the report of a handwriting expert from the state’s forensic lab, Srinagar, had found that Ganie’s writing matched with the anonymous author of the letter. It believed that some police personnel could be behind it, as they were facing the heat at that time. It collected samples and Ganie was caught.

The CBI told the High Court that it was filing a chargesheet against him under Sections 203 (giving false information) and 211 (false charge of offence made with intent to harm others) of the RPC. 

Jammu, December 14
The Terrorism Affected People’s Front (TAFP) of the Jammu province today asked the state government to constitute a panel and compensate for the losses caused to nearly 3,000 uprooted families across the region in the past two decades.

The TAFP also requested Prime Minister Manmohan Singh to announce a special package for the militancy-hit people of the province, equivalent in terms of cash and kind provided to their counterparts in the Kashmir valley in the past 20 years.

After militancy-affected families from the Jammu region continued to get a raw deal from the successive regimes in the state and at the Centre, over 300 delegates from Poonch, Rajouri, Reasi, Udhampur, Kathua and Doda districts floated the TAFP.

Addressing mediapersons here today, front chairman Brig KS Kotwal (retd) said the state government and the UPA government should take immediate steps for ensuring relief and rehabilitation of internally displaced families of the Jammu region.

The government should also construct houses in clusters in their respective areas with adequate security arrangements in place to rehabilitate them, said Kotwal.

“Successive regimes in the state and in New Delhi have always given a raw deal to the displaced families of the Jammu region,” he said. We demand a special employment package, interest-free loan for unemployed youth and a comprehensive development package for the people of terrorism-hit areas of Jammu, he added.

Till the time panel to assess the losses suffered by such families comes up, the government should provide an interim cash relief of at least Rs 2 lakh to each of the affected families, he said. The retired Army officer alleged that the government had always followed Kashmir-centric policies at the expense of the Jammu region.

Militancy affected families of the region lost their main sources of sustenance like agriculture, animal husbandry and forest produce and now they were faced with starvation, he said.

The TAPF has also decided to organise awareness programmes at the district, tehsil and block levels involving intellectuals, lawyers, religious, social and political organisations followed by rallies, court arrests and shutdowns to press the government for initiating requisite exercise.

On exclusion of Kashmiri Pandits from the TAPF, he said they were being entertained by the successive governments since 1989 when they migrated from the valley and, hence, had been excluded from the front.

Jammu, December 14
The Panun Kashmir today expressed concern over the “quiet dialogue” between the Central government and separatists in the state.

Addressing a press conference here, Dr Ajay Chrungoo, chairman of the Panun Kashmir, alleged that the Government of India appeared to be satisfied in assuming the position of a neutral arbitrator between the patriotic, nationalist and the anti-nationalist forces in the state.

“It seems that forces which are determining the content and character of the ‘quiet dialogue’, which the Government of India has stared, are actually striving to dilute and destroy the national consensus on the indivisible unity of India of which Jammu and Kashmir is an inseparable part,” said the chairman.

He warned that any further strengthening of the exclusion of the state from the secular organisation of India by acceptance of the greater autonomy, self-rule or Musharraf’s plan would open the way for total balkanisation of India.

Chrungoo repeated that internal reorganisation of Jammu and Kashmir, which includes creation of the union territory of Panun Kashmir on north and east of the Jehlum, is the only solution to the problems in the state.

Jammu, December 14
In yet another day of protests in the winter capital, several organisations staged protests today and urged the government to fulfil their demands as early as possible.

On the 10th day of their indefinite fast, another fasting agricultural technocrat Nadeem-ul-Rehman was forcibly shifted to the Government Medical College and Hospital (GMCH) after his condition worsened.

Jammu, December 14
The Pakistani side once again denied having any role in the cross-border firing that took place yesterday at the Balad border outpost in Ramgarh sector in Samba.

The BSF had called a flag meeting to lodge a protest with the Pakistani rangers over the infiltration bid that the BSF had foiled, the bid was aided by heavy fire from across the border.

However, the Pakistani rangers denied having any role in the firing and the infiltration bid. “As usual they (Pakistani rangers) expressed their ignorance about the incident, but we have lodged a strong protest with them,” said a senior BSF officer.

He said the flag meeting was held at the Balad outpost where the incident had taken place.

During the flag meeting that lasted for around 15 minutes the BSF raised the issue of Pakistani rangers abetting the cross-border infiltration; however, the Pakistani side denied having any role in it.

Meanwhile, even as the Pakistani rangers denied having fired on the Indian border outpost, the BSF had to fire at two locations along the border in Kathua after noticing suspicious movement near the border. The firing took place in the forward areas of Karol Krishna and Pahadpur border outpost in Kathua district today.

“Some suspicious movement was seen along the IB in these two border outposts, so the troops deployed there had to fire, but we can’t exactly say that it was an infiltration bid,” said a senior BSF officer.

Jammu, December 14
A fire that had broken out in the Kulgori forest belt in occupied Kashmir (PoK) near the Balakote sector of Poonch and spread to the Indian side has been doused,but not before it caused damage to many trees and also exploded several landmines that were planted by the forces to check infiltration.

The security forces are trying to find out whether it was a deliberate attempt by the Pakistani side to damage the landmines or an incident

Though the fire has caused a considerable damage to the forest cover, it is not in the interest of the infiltrators as they take the advantage of the thick vegetation to enter into the Indian side.

Speaking to The Tribune, Brigadier-General Staff of the Nagrota based 16 Corps which mans the Line of Control (LoC) in the Jammu region, Gurdeep Singh, said, “It was a fire that was caused due to the dry grass on both the sides; the fire has been doused.”

He said due to the fire 12 landmine explosions took place in which no one was injured.

When asked if the fire was a deliberate attempt by the Pakistani side to push in militants, he ruled out any such possibility, saying that there was no chance of infiltration as the security forces were always alert.

As per the information, the fire that started from the Kulgori forest belt in the PoK spread to Rani Tikri, Cheer and Chatali forest belts in the Balakote area, resulting in the explosion of 12 landmines planted by the security forces along the LoC to counter infiltration. “The fire that broke out yesterday was extinguished this morning and there was no loss of life or injury to anyone,” the Brigadier said.

He said this was not for the first time that fire from across the border had engulfed areas along the LoC on the Indian side. This kept on happening whenever there was a dry spell

“The fire is mostly caused due to the dry grass on both sides of the LoC. There is no rain or snow in the area where the incident of fire has taken place,” Singh said.

Jammu, December 14
Chief Minister Omar Abdullah has emphasised on a proactive foreign policy rather than a reactive one.

Omar, who during the NDA regime at the Centre held the portfolio of the Minister of State for Foreign Affairs, said today that in the present day public perception and mood had a great impact on the formation of the foreign policy. “Gone are the days when the foreign policy was framed in the South Block in isolation. Nowadays, we observe a direct impact of people’s opinion on the foreign policy,” he said.

Omar was delivering the inaugural lecture at a three-day international conference on ‘Policy, People and Peace -Democratisation of Foreign Policy in Parliamentary Democracy: Canada, India and Beyond’ at Jammu University. He said the democratisation of the Indian foreign policy was gaining ground with the growth and development of modern India.

The Chief Minister identified three important ingredients of “strong democratic institutions, spread of education and growth of media” as the major aspects for the democratisation of foreign policy in India.

He said at present we observed that Indian people were proactive in reacting and expressing their views on the international issues having a direct and indirect impact on the country.

“Our democratic institutions, intelligentsia and media actively and openly dwelt on issues like nuclear deal, Copenhagen conference, environment policy etc. having an impact on India. The pros and cons of the foreign pacts and agreements were being extensively deliberated upon on various forums, conferences and media. This influenced the foreign policy framing and helped democratise the foreign policy. The threadbare debates in Parliament on foreign pacts and issues and the candid views of members all the more influenced the democratisation of the foreign policy,” he said.

The Chief Minister said people in Jammu and Kashmir were all the more alive to the development of the foreign policy, especially vis-à-vis Pakistan and China, as the state had a direct impact on the peace and development contours.

Speaking on the occasion, Vice-Chancellor of Jammu University Varun Sahni said the 19 important aspects of the Indian foreign policy are -- India a large country; an emerging power; a regional power; an Asian power; a nuclear weapon state; a country with disputed borders; an arms buyer; a target of terrorism; a developing economy; a globalising economy; a technology-driven economy; an energy deficient economy; a liberal democracy; a multi-cultural society; an ancient civilisation; a divided and violent society; a diaspora community; and a concern for common cause.

Jammu, December 14
Lambasting the Congress-National Conference regime for its failure to solve basic problems of the masses, the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) yesterday regretted that instead of addressing problems of the common man,the government was more concerned about transferring government officers from one place to another.

“Transfers have become an industry under this dispensation where ministers and ruling elites have been transferring employees for their petty political and personal gains”, said general secretary of PDP Balbir Singh while addressing a series of meetings in the Greater Kailash and Talab Khatakina areas in connection with the preparations for the forthcoming civic bodies elections.

“The only noticeable achievement of the 11 month-period of this coalition regime is the wholesale transfers of officers”, he said and regretted that though problems of the common man had increased, the government was not serious about them.

Residents of all regions of the state had been struggling to get basic amenities like drinking water, power and ration but the government seemed to be non-serious about providing these basic facilities.

Exhorting party workers to expose the misdeeds of the government , Balbir Singh regretted that the National Conference had not learnt any lesson from its past mistakes.

He pointed out that promises made by the National Conference during the assembly elections remained only on paper. “Instead of fulfilling the commitment which the party had made with the people during assembly elections, this government has been deceiving the people by making false statements”, he said and mentioned the much-publicised employment policy announced by Chief Minister Omar Abdullah.

“The employment police announced by the Chief Minister is nothing but a cruel joke and fraud played on the state’s educated unemployed youth”, he observed.

Sayeed Asgar Ali, Shanti Devi, Ashiq Hussain, Deepinder Kour, Nirmal Singh and others also spoke.

Jammu, December 14
At a time when troop withdrawl is a contentious issue between the state and the Centre, the state government has initiated the process for the vacation of hundreds of government and private buildings currently in possession of security forces.

The Home Department today constituted three committees to speed up the process. A govt note released here said on the instruction of Chief Minister Omar Abdullah, the committees would prepare an authentic database on all government and private buildings partially or wholly occupied by the Army, paramilitary forces and state police in a month.

These will prioritise the vacation of government and private buildings under the occupation of security forces, monitor their shifting from government and private buildings to alternative accommodation and determine sites for the construction of such alternative places.

A high-level committee at the state level has been constituted to oversee the works of two division-level panels and take such decisions as may be necessary for the early vacation of government and private buildings.

The high-level committee is headed by the Financial Commissioner, Home. The other members of the committee are the Director-General of Police, the Chiefs of Staff, Headquarters of 15, 16, 9 Corps, the Special Director-General, CRPF, the Principal Director, Defence Estate, Jammu, and the Inspector- General, BSF, J&K. 

Udhampur, December 14
President of the Udhampur Municipal Committee (MC) Ashok Gupta, belonging to the Congress, was removed after a no-confidence motion was passed against him in the General House meeting held here today.

Interestingly, Mohan Bodhraj, Congress councillor from Ward No. III, voted for the motion, though a day before state Congress secretary Shakil Shah had asserted that all Congress councillors would boycott the meeting. Of the total 17 councillors, 10 turned up at the meeting and voted Gupta out. The Congress and the BJP has seven members each, while two belong to the Panthers Party and one is Independent.

Gupta alleged the meeting as ‘unlawful’ because it was conducted in violation of the relevant provisions of the Municipal Act. “I have challenged the decision of the meeting in court,” he said, adding that the role of the Executive Officer (EO) of the MC was not aboveboard.

Jammu, December 14
The security forces gunned down two dreaded Hizbul Mujahideen terrorists, including a self-styled section commander, in a fierce encounter in the Amri area of Gandoh in Doda district this morning.

Official sources said the troops of the 26 Rashtriya Rifles and the police had launched a search operation in the Amri area of Gandoh late last night.

This morning, the security forces laid a cordon around a cave where the militants were hiding, they said, adding that armed with sophisticated weapons the terrorists opened indiscriminate fire on the security men and tried to break the cordon in a bid to escape. However, both terrorists were killed in the retaliatory fire.

The slain ultras were later identified as Hizbul’s section commander Yasir Wani, alias Abbas Mubassar, of Tendla in Gandoh and Mushtaq Ahmed, alias Abu Talla, of Kither Bonjwa in Kishtwar.

Prabhat Singh, SSP, Doda district told The Tribune that with the killing of Yasir and his accomplice Mushtaq the Hizbul Mujahideen had suffered a major blow in Doda district.

“Yasir, a section commander active in the area since 2003, had been involved in several militancy-related incidents, while Mushtaq had joined the outfit in 2006,” said Parbhat Singh.

We also seized a rich haul of arms and ammunition, including AK rifles and hand grenades, from the hideout, he added.

Doda headquarters SP Mohammed Arif Rishu said Yasir was wanted by the police in a few cases.

An encounter with the militants took place around 9 am and it continued for nearly an hour. The terrorists were killed, said the SP. However, no casualty or injury to anyone was reported on the side of the security forces.