Jammu, January 24
Bouyed over the success of its first meeting to oppose the Working Group’s report on Centre-State Relations, the Jammu and Kashmir Peoples’ Forum, an outfit floated by social organisations, has intensified efforts to bring parties of Jammu and Ladakh on one platform to oppose the demand for self- rule and greater autonomy.

While forum leaders refused to divulge the future course of action, sources disclosed that efforts were being made to constitute a non-political platform wherein all political and social groups of Ladakh and Jammu regions would be roped in.

The groups have already rejected the Working Group’s recommendations and termed the report as “Kashmir-centric” and aimed at accomplishing the agenda of the ruling National Conference.

The sources said though the forum had been floated by pro-BJP organisations, it had been decided not to give much importance to the party in its activities.

“The BJP is already with us on this issue. We want to rope in other political groups like the Ladakh Union Territory Front (LUTF) of Ladakh and Jammu-based political groups like the Jammu and Kashmir National Panthers Party (JKNPP), the Bahujan Samaj Party and the Samajwadi Party”, a senior leader of the forum told The Tribune.

The leader said the LUTF, fighting for Union Terrority status for Ladakh, had already offered unconditional support to the forum and appreciated efforts to bring all nationalist forces on a single platform.

Recently, a meeting of the LUTF leaders was held with senior activisits of Jammu-based political groups in which it was suggested to jointly fight, what they called, pro-secessionist polices of the ruling National Conference and the PDP.

The forum at its first meeting to discuss recommendations of the Working Group had invited leaders of all parties, especially those who were members of the Working Group.

Jammu, January 24
The police today claimed to have busted a militant hideout in the Beri Rakh forest area of Mendhar tehsil in Poonch district here. The 49 Rashtriya Rifles, police and 152nd Battalion of the CRPF carried out a joint search operation in the area, where two militants managed to escape during an encounter last night.

A police officer said two RPG rockets, two booster of rockets, three Chinese grenades, one UBGL, two AK-47 magazines, one radio set, two wireless sets, three chargers and parts of AK rifles were seized from the hideout in the forest area.

In another incident, a youngster was reportedly injured in a mine blast at Bargal Kalan village near the international border in Akhnoor here today. Sources said in the upper area of the town, a mine blast took place at about 5 pm in which a 23-year-old youth, Sunil Kumar, received a severe leg injury. They further revealed the boy was rushed to a local hospital immediately after the incident.

However, the police denied reports of the mine blast taking place in the area. It said the boy got injured due to a bullet fired by a shooter in search of wild boar.

SHO Gian Chand Sharma of the Akhnoor police station said: “No mine blast has taken place in the area. However, a case has been registered and we are investigating the matter.”

Meanwhile, panic gripped Kishtwar town this morning after some notorious elements burnt the debris and garbage and ran away from the spot.

As per details, some unidentified persons set ablaze the trash near a police station and spread the rumour of a cylinder blast in the town.

A police officer confirmed that there was no such incident and some unidentified persons unnecessarily created the panic in the town. However, no one was injured, the police said. 

Jammu, January 24
To widen the access of melodious Gojri music, over 100 rare musical records of Gojri were today launched on globe’s most viewed video-sharing Internet portals You Tube and AOL videos by the Tribal Research and Cultural Foundation.

“We have successfully uploaded more than 100 top musical records acquired during field surveys on Gujjars conducted by our organisation,” Dr Javaid Rahi, national secretary of the foundation, said. “These records includes Gojri folk songs, baits, naats, si harfis, ghazals, epics and other videos reflecting the richness of our culture and are set to showcase the glorious ethos of tribal and nomadic life of Gujjars,” he added.

Rahi said those who browse “Gojri” on You Tube or AOL would have a glimpses of rare of rarest melodious songs sung by famous Gojri artists, including Begum Jan, Bashir Mastana, Parveena Jan, Noor Jan, Kartar Chand, Ghulam Mohammad Dansaliya, Mohammad Hussain Merasi, Jattu Merasi, Nizam Din Chouhan, Sufi Bashir Khatana, Zaman Sailani, Iqbal Malangami, Kailash Mehra, Suraj Singh.

He further said Internet users could also listen to the poetry of Gojri poets like Mian Nizam -ud- Din, Israel Asar, Sain Qadar Baksh, Khuda Baksh Zar, Noor Mohammad Noor, Shabaz Rajourvi, Iqbal Azeem, Naseem Poonchi, Mansha Khaki, Sabir Mirza, Shams Din Mehjoor and Rana Fazal.

Some videos acquired from Poonch, Rajouri, Kupwara and Baramulla and other parts of the state are rarest copies of folklore popular in the Himalayan nomadic groups which are facing a threat of extinction were also uploaded for reference and record.

Rahi said being nomad by culture, the Gujjars had a distinction over other tribal groups and these videos had been launched to highlight globally the nomadic costumes, traditions, food habits, living habits and other unexplored part of Gujjar culture which varies from area to area.

All videos uploaded by the organisation were available free of cost and could be downloaded from Internet.

The Tribal Foundation, working on Gujjars in and outside the country, has also launched first ever video channel on Internet. All these videos were also available at www.jammukashmir.tv.

Srinagar, January 24
The security forces had to call off an operation against militants in a village in Pulwama district after a youth died in a crossfire which led to massive protest demonstration by local residents.

The security forces late last night had surrounded a house in Kalampura village in the district after they got specific information of two Hizab-ul-Mujahadeen militants hiding inside a house.

“The Army and the police had specific information about the presence of two militants in a house. They asked the owner to check whether some militants were inside which the owner confirmed,” Pulwama SSP Kifayat Hyder said.

The house owner asked the security forces to give him time to evacuate his family. “When the owner came out, he told the security forces that the militants had managed to escape and had also taken one of his sons along with them,” the SSP said.

However, the youth returned after a few minutes which made the security forces suspicious. They asked him to show them the cowshed as they apprehended that the militants might have taken shelter there.

“As they were searching the cowshed, the militants hiding there fired at the security personnel in which Mushtaq Ahmed died,” the SSP said. The security personnel returned the fire, which led to a fierce gunfight between both sides.

In the morning when the news about the death of the youth spread, local residents held a massive demonstration against the security forces, which forced the latter to call off the operation.

The protesters alleged that Mushtaq was used as a “human shield” by security personnel, but the security forces dismissed the allegation, saying that Mushtaq died in the crossfire.

Tension prevailed in the district as the residents refused to bury the body of the youth and wanted action against the security personnel who allegedly killed him.

“I went to the spot and assured the locals that action would be taken against the guilty, whosoever he is. Finally, they decided to bury the body. An FIR in this regard has also been registered,” the SSP said.

He said the police had recovered one magazine and three empty cartridges from the area where the militants
were hiding.

Jammu, January 24
National Girl Child Day was observed by the staff members of project PAHL, run by the Damodhar Satri Udyog Sanstha, here today. Many slum children along with their parents and members from society attended the function.

A special lecture was organised wherein parents were told about the importance of education and good upbringing for a girl child.

As per members of the organisation, among 108 students enrolled under the project more than 70 are girl children. These street children are being imparted free education.

Secretary of the sanstha Sunita Chandra delivered the main lecture on how a girl child is no less than a male child.

Chandra said, “Parents should not discriminate among their children on the basis of gender. They must get equal opportunities to grow and compete.”

She maintained that a girl child is an asset and should not be treated as a liability. She urged the gathering to fight against the menace of female foeticide and malnutrition.

Members of the PAHL Seema Bhan and Aarti

Jatwar stressed upon the proper mental and physical growth of a girl child.

Chairman of the sanstha Onkar Nath Chandra was also present on the occasion.

Jammu, January 24
Natrang staged ‘Gatt’, a play written in Dogri and directed by Balwant Thakur, at Rani Park here today .Based on Kirshan Chander’s famous Urdu classic short story ‘Khadda’, the play is a hard hitting satire on the decay of human values.The play shows how people try to shirk their responsibilities and pass them onto others. Ironically, they indulge in chanting slogans, claiming to be redeemers of the suffering masses.

This message is beautifully brought out by the artistes in the play. It begins with a person falling into a ditch whose plea for help goes unanswered by one and all. Many people like surveyors, young men, religious leaders, cops, a politician and a foreigner pass by him but no one helps him out.

They all give different excuses for their inability in rendering help to the person in distress. The unemployed youth cites the reason of hunting for girls for being unable to help him get out of the ditch. The ‘sadhu’ showers blessings and prays for him.

The policeman lodges an FIR and asks him to report to the police station. The foreigner enquires about his choice between India and Pakistan. The situation becomes more dramatic when a minister, after a complaint about the worsening of the road condition, makes a round of the area.

Workers of the Public Works Department instead of taking out the man from the ditch place wooden planks on the ditch and create a stage for the minister’s public speech. The minister lists his achievements and lashes out at his opponents.

When the speech is over, the wooden planks are removed but no one pays any heed to the man who is in the ditch. He is left to fend for himself with no one coming to his rescue.

The play reflects the plight of the poor masses who continue to suffer for want of help from those at the helm of affairs.

The audience appreciated the play and lauded the performance of young actors.

Jammu, January 24
While intelligence inputs of possible air strikes by the Lashkar-e-Taiba have set off alarm bells in the state, DGP Kuldeep Khoda has said security agencies are fully prepared to deal with any eventuality.

The intelligence inputs say Lashkar has recently acquired para-gliding equipment and may use explosive-laden toy planes to hit VIPs during the R-Day celebrations. Responding to media queries here this morning at the Full Dress Rehearsal for the R-Day celebrations at MA Stadium, Khoda said, “Proper arrangements have been put in place to deal with any eventuality.”

The DGP said over 600 militants were still operating in the restive state. “Though the militants always want to strike, all the security agencies are coordinating with each other to thwart their nefarious designs,” added the DGP, saying various security agencies had been working in consonance to ensure incident-free celebrations. In fact, the state police along with the security forces had stepped up the vigil across the state to thwart designs of militants and anti-national elements, he said. “We would ensure that the Republic Day celebrations are conducted smoothly and peacefully across the state” he asserted, adding that nobody would be allowed to vitiate the peaceful atmosphere.

On the intrusion bid in Abdulian in the RS Pura sector yesterday, Khoda evaded a direct reply but said the police and other forces were fully prepared to ensure peaceful celebrations. Meanwhile, security has been beefed up around MA Stadium here.

Jammu, January 24
A newly constructed compound on the premises of Karbala at Pirmitha was inaugurated by BJP corporator Rajesh Gupta today. Although the compound was constructed for Shia Muslims, members of all the communities were present in the function.

The work had been undertaken by the Jammu Municipal Corporation. Gupta said the ward no 5 presented a true picture of secularism. He thanked the Muslims, which comprises majority of the population of the area, for bestowing the responsibility of taking care of developmental activists on the BJP. He said development of all the areas of the ward, irrespective of people, caste or creed, was paramount to him.

Karbala complex in charge Syed Abdul Qasim Rizvi and general secretary of Anjumam Imamia Fida Hussain Rizvi expressed their gratitude to the corporator for his efforts in making the ward as one of the model wards of the city.

They said Gupta had been regularly visiting the Pirmitha area, taking stock of the problems being faced by people and working honestly to solve the same. They expressed hope that he would continue to work with the same zeal in future as well.

Sohail Qazmi, Paramjeet Singh, Sheikh Masood, Reham Din Malik, Haji Mohd Qasim Baba, Syed Tajamul Hussain Qazmi, Jahagir Bhat, Imran Salaria, Ram Lubhaya, Tej Ram, were among those who were present on the occasion.