Srinagar, January 13
While Chief Minister Omar Abdullah has appealed to the BJP not to go ahead with its plan to hoist the National Flag at Lal Chowk here on January 26 as part of its Rashtriya Ekta Yatra, separatists have given a call for a peaceful march to Lal Chowk on Republic Day.

Speaking at a function here today, Omar Abdullah said it was strange that after 1992 when the BJP hoisted the National Flag at Lal Chowk,it had again thought of hoisting the flag,which had exposed its intention to create trouble in the Valley.

He appealed to the party not to create trouble and stop the yatra as it would not serve any purpose.He said the situation in Kashmir had improved after great efforts .

Resenting the BJP president, Nitin Gadkari’s views on Kashmir, JKLF chairman Mohammad Yasin Malik called for a peaceful march to Lal Chowk on Republic Day to counter the BJP’s plan.

Malik described the statement of the BJP chief in Kolkatta yesterday as a declaration of a war against the people of Jammu and Kashmir. This was negative politics, Malik said, and called for keeping such politics outside the state. He said Gadkari’s statement was aimed at votebank politics. Such an approach would lead to trouble not only in the state but also in the entire sub-continent, the JKLF chairman held.

He lamented that the BJP had a different approach while it was in power and was now taking another stand.

He pointed out that the then BJP-led government had taken the initiative to have talks with Pakistan and the people of Kashmir to resolve the issue. Malik held that Kashmir issue was not a border dispute between the two neighbouring countries of India and Pakistan, but a matter of the political future of the people of the state. Since 2008, the people of Kashmir,who had been resorting to a peaceful and democratic approach had become victims of state terrorism.

The moderate faction of the Hurriyat Conference led by Mirwaiz Umar Farooq also extended support to the JKLF’s call and said the stand of the BJP was unwarranted.

An executive committee meeting of the faction here today deliberated upon the proposed Secretary- level talks between India and Pakistan. A spokesman of the party later said the talks would be meaningful only if the Hurriyat leadership was involved in the process.

Srinagar, January 13
Chief Minister Omar Abdullah today said the admission of a Hurriyat leader on the killings of his two colleagues was an eye-opener for all and time had come to stop all kinds of bloodshed in Kashmir.

Addressing a function here today, he said the Hurriyat factions should read the writing on the wall and realise that a dialogue with the Centre was the only solution of all issues. The Chief Minister said use of gun and politics of strikes in Kashmir over the years had not yielded anything in terms of progress in the resolution of the issue.

Referring to the role of the Centre’s interlocutors, the Chief Minister said they had good intentions and full mandate of the Union Government for a dialogue with all groups and submit their recommendations to the Centre.

Apparently referring to Geelani, Omar said separatists should give up their double standards on talks. “Those who have double standards should desist from it. When they can meet Ramvilas Paswan and other leaders, why should they shy away from meeting the interlocutors?” he asked.

Jammu, January 13
Pakistan troops resorted to firing of small arms on forward Indian posts along the Line of Control (LoC) in Poonch district, injuring a jawan last night. Sources said the Pakistan troops opened unprovoked fire last night on the forward posts in the Shahpur-Kerni sector. The Indian troops retaliated and the exchange of fire continued till early morning.

“The Pakistani troops opened small arms fire in the Shahpur-Kerni sector in Poonch district,” an Army spokesperson told The Tribune. “We also responded appropriately to their unwarranted act and the intermittent exchange of fire continued till the wee hours today,” he added.

The spokesperson said a jawan, identified as sepoy Madan Singh, sustained splinter injuries.

The firing was aimed at the NPP and Shahpur forward posts along the LoC for pushing militants into Jammu and Kashmir from PoK, he added.

“We have sought a flag meeting with our counterparts, but there has been no response so far from the other side,” said the spokesperson. This was the second ceasefire violation by the Pakistan troops this year. Earlier on January 2, the Pakistan troops had violated the ceasefire at the Nangi Tekri area in the same district by opening unprovoked fire on Indian posts.

Meanwhile, the Army apprehended a sympathiser of militants from the Gagarsola area of Ramban district last evening. He was identified as Ashraf of Gagarsola in Gool tehsil of the district.He was later handed over to the police.

Jammu, January 13
The Army today averted a tragedy by detecting a powerful Improvised Explosive Device (IED) on the Jammu-Poonch Highway.

“A road opening party of the Army detected a powerful IED around 7.55 am in the Mankote area. In fact, we had a specific intelligence input of an IED planted under a culvert,” said an Army spokesperson.

Subsequently, traffic movement was stopped and the bomb disposal squad neutralised the IED around 11.15 am, he added.

The spokesperson described it as a handiwork of suspected militants.

Udhampur, January 13
Thirty persons were injured when the bus in which they were travelling fell into a gorge, near Panjar village, about 40 km from here, today.

Five persons were said to be in a critical condition and were admitted to the district hospital, Udhampur, the police said.

It added that the accident took place when the bus (JK 02 D 9283) from Udhampur to Moongri was not given side by another vehicle coming from the opposite direction, due to which the bus skidded and fell into the gorge.

Local residents and passersby immediately came to the rescue of the injured.Information about the accident was also sent to the nearest police station at Panchari.

Some of the injured were rushed to Medical Sub-Centre, Panjar, and Primary Health Centre, Moongri, while some were admitted to the district hospital, Udhampur.

All the injured were under observation and might be referred to the Government Medical College and Hospital, Jammu, if their condition deteriorated, doctors attending on them said.

A case has been registered.

Jammu, January 13
Notwithstanding opposition by other parties, the BJP has started preparations for the forthcoming Rashtriya Ekta Yatra, which is slated to reach Jammu on January 24 after passing through different parts of the country.

National leaders of the BJP have been camping in Jammu to review arrangements relating to the arrival, stay and culmination of the yatra in the state. National convener of the BJP morchas and cells, Mohinder Pandey, who was in Jammu, convened a meeting of senior leaders to review the arrangements.

Besides attending a joint meeting of the BJP and the BJYM leaders at the party headquarters, Pandey, also held separate meetings with the state president and other senior leaders.

The BJP state president, Shamsher Singh Manhas, while chairing a meeting, said it would be a rare moment in the history of Jammu and Kashmir when thousands of youth, from different parts of the country, would arrive in the state for three days as part of the scheduled yatra. He said it would be for the first time that people of different cultures and faiths would display unity and oneness for a noble cause. Manhas strongly criticised some Kashmir-based leaders of the coalition parties for objecting to the visit of the BJYM activists from other parts of the country to the Valley, and misleading the public that it would result in disturbances.

Pandey expressed satisfaction over the arrangements.He said it would really be a test of the nationalist zeal of the people in the state and appealed to the masses to welcome this yatra with an open heart so that a clear message went to the state Chief Minister and others that the honour of the National Flag was of utmost importance and no force could stop any Indian from hoisting it in any part of the country.

Jammu, January 13
Governor NN Vohra flagged off a group of 30 students from the remote areas of border districts of the Jammu province on a two-week-long Bharat Darshan tour organised by the BSF here today.

Students in the age group 12-15 will visit several places of historical and cultural importance during the tour. The places to be visited by them include Chandigarh, Mathura, Jallianwala Bagh and the Golden Temple, the Taj Mahal, Fatehpur Sikri, Gwalior, Tekanpur, Jaipur and Delhi.

They are also scheduled to call on the President at the Rashtrapati Bhavan, meet the Director-General, BSF, and witness the Republic Day Parade at New Delhi, besides enjoying a Metro ride in New Delhi.

Speaking on the occasion, the Governor, said India was a multi-lingual, multi-religious and multi-cultural country with varied geographic and climatic zones.

He added that this composite and pluralistic ethos was the example of the unity in diversity that needed to be further strengthened.

He said such educational tours provided an opportunity to students to travel and live together, which promoted brotherhood, camaraderie and the spirit to help others.

Referring to the study tours organised by the Army for the students of the remote areas of the state, the Governor said these children often met him and shared their travel experiences with him.

He added that such tours helped students to be familiar with the development witnessed by the country in various fields and broadened their horizons.

He lauded the BSF for taking the initiative to organise such tours for the children of the remote areas and asked the touring children to maintain a diary regarding their daily observations and experiences. He asked the IG, BSF, Jammu Frontier, to organise an essay wring competition for the children after their return from the tour.

The Governor added that he would present awards to three children whose essays would be adjudged the best.

He visited the photo gallery at the Frontier headquarters of the BSF where the photographs of the Bharat Darshan tours organised for the children by the BSF during 2008-09 and 2009-10 were displayed.

S Chattopadhyaya, IG, BSF, Jammu Frontier, in his address of welcome , appreciated such tours being organised by the BSF to expose the children to the rich heritage and culture of the country.

He also gave details of various schemes being implemented by the BSF for the benefit of the residents of the border areas.

JS Oberoi, DIG (G), in his introductory remarks, spoke about the places to be visited by the students during the tour, while Jagat Singh, DIG/PSO, presented the vote of thanks.

New Delhi, January 13
In a significant development which will pave the way for thousands of victims of human rights violations in Jammu and Kashmir to approach the National Human Rights Commission, the commission has set aside the contention of the state government that “it does not have jurisdiction to give recommendations in a case of death caused by police atrocity”.

The commission said its recommendations did not interfere with any of the heads of legislation, and thus were in agreement with the law.

Its order came on the government’s refusal to pay Rs 5 lakh as recommended by the commission to kin of a rickshaw-puller, Mohan Lal, who died allegedly in police custody on July 2, 2003.

The commission had made the recommendation on August 19, 2009, but the state government, quoting an Act governing the NHRC, said it did not have jurisdiction over the state.

However,the commission said its order was not regarding the violation of human rights, if any, arising out of any legislation by the state. “A rickshaw-puller was arrested and allegedly tortured and killed in police custody. The acts alleged were not in the discharge of maintaining any public order and there was no case registered against him. It was also not part of any investigation.It is a clear case where the police has tortured a person and killed him,” the NHRC said, adding that the impugned order did not interfere with any law.The commission asked for a compliance report from the government along with proof of payment in six weeks.

Jammu, January 13
The Adbi Kunj organised a special literary meet, “Thitharti Hoe Ek Sham Tale Adbi Kunj Ke Charag Jale”, at its centre here today.

According to a statement issued here, it was presided over by a well-known Kashmiri and Hindi poet and singer Santosh Shah Nadan. Another renowned Urdu and Kashmiri poet, Ghulam Nabi Gofil,was the chief guest.

The first session was a special criticism round in which MS Kamra presented an Urdu ghazal, “Bhola Hoya Wo Nagma Bisra Hoya Tarana Lo Yad Geya Hia Guzra Hoya Zamana”. Kamra also presented a Hindi short story.

Other programmes included a Hindi short story, ‘Avshakta’ by KL Dewana, an Urdu write up, a special readout by Jaswant Singh, and an Urdu translation, ‘Mera Aakhari Safar’ of a Hindi satirical story, ‘Meri Antim Yatra’ by journalist Balram.

The poets who recited ‘kalam’ in Urdu, Hindi, Dogri, Kashmiri and Gojari included Jaswant Singh, Dr Bharat Bhushan Gupta, KL Dewana, Sanjeev Kumar, MS Kamra, Choudhary Adries Ahad, Rajeev Kumar, Rajeshwar Bhakhari, Ved Upal and Sham Talib.

Jammu, January 13
The Pradesh Youth Congress led by RS Pathania, senior vice-president, today celebrated Lohri with inmates of Bal Niketan, Ambphalla.

The Youth Congress activists gave biscuits, toffees, chocolates, groundnuts and gachaks to the inmates and vowed to take special care in the all-round development of the children in times to come.

Addressing the Youth Congress activists and the inmates, Pathania said, “The purpose of celebrating Lohri with the children is that we want to give a message that the Youth Congress, under the leadership of Rahul Gandhi, wants to work for the uplift of the neglected sections of society”.

Meanwhile, the National Secular Forum (NSF), RS Pura unit, organised a programme and celebrated Lohri with jawans of the 35th Battalion of the BSF at the Octroi Post in the RS Pura sector.

Vikas Sharma, state president, NSF, said, “Let history be created with love and affection, peace and stability.”

The jawans expressed their overwhelming joy and extended gratitude to the NSF activists for remembering them on the festival.