Jammu, March 21
Separatist leader and president of the Jammu and Kashmir Democratic Freedom Party (JKDFP) Shabir Ahmed Shah has said without involving the people of Jammu and Ladakh regions, a permanent solution to the Kashmir problem is not possible.

Shah is camping in the Jammu region for the last 10 days and has held closed-door meetings with “like-minded” people to open a channel of communication with local residents. As his first interaction at Kathua on March 13 was disrupted by the activists of the BJP, Shah decided to hold closed-door meetings to avoid such incidents.

“For the last 10 days, I have been interacting with the people of Samba, Kathua, Udhampur and Jammu districts,” Shah told The Tribune. He added that, “The aim of organising such interactions is to remove the mistrust and mis-understanding created by certain vested interests in the minds of people for petty political gains”.

“I want to convey to the people of the Jammu region that the question of ignoring them in finding a solution to the Kashmir problem does not arise because the residents of Ladakh and Jammu are equal stakeholders in the issue,” Shah said. He added, “During my interactions I have been trying to convince the people that the division of the state is not in the interest of any region”.

Asked why he was hesitating from holding a dialogue with the elected representatives of the Jammu region, Shah said first he wanted to interact with “like-minded” people to open a communication channel. “It is just the beginning and with time the dialogue process will involve all people of the Jammu region”.

Shah said the separatist leaders were ready to participate in the dialogue process provided the government created a conducive atmosphere for talks. “We firmly believe that dialogue is the only way to solve any problem, but it is the duty of the government to create a favourable atmosphere”. He asked the government to stop repression in the Valley and then start a result-oriented dialogue with different stakeholders to restore a sustainable and lasting peace in the region.

Jammu, March 21
Politicking over the panchayat elections have picked up, as the Congress and the BJP have kick-started their campaigns. While the BJP has started an aggressive campaign protesting that the panchayat elections are being held without incorporating the 73rd Amendment of the Indian Constitution in the Jammu and Kashmir Panchayat Raj Act, the Congress on the other hand has started holding public meetings to ensure the maximum participation of people in the elections.

Although the elections would be held on the non-party basis, the Congress leaders, including some ministers, today addressed more than 12 public meetings of the party workers. The vice-president of the Pradesh Congress Committee (PCC) and chairman of the Rajiv Gandhi Panchayati Raj Sangthan, Yashpal Khajuria, addressed meetings in Udhampur and asked people to take part in the elections in a large number.

Senior Congress leader and former minister Mula Ram Sharma addressed a series of public meetings in the Raipur Domana Assembly segment. Another Congress leader, Hari Singh, convened meetings in the Purmandal block of the Vijaypur Assembly segment and urged the party workers to participate in a large number in the coming elections.

The BJP, on the other hand, said the forthcoming panchayat elections announced by the NC-Congress government were a fraud with the people of the state. “The government’s intentions are not to empower the people at the grass-roots level, but the whole exercise is aimed at getting crores of rupees as funds from the Union government,” said Shamsher Singh Manhas while kick-starting a campaign against the elections.

Manhas said, “The whole process of panchayat elections is going to be a futile exercise because on the one hand it is being held without implementing the 73rd Amendment of the Indian Constitution and on the other no proper groundwork has been done for conducting the elections”.

Interacting with mediapersons, Manhas said the government authorities at the block level was totally ignorant of the accurate information to be provided to the candidates. He added that the party would take the issue to the public and expose the real intentions of the government.

Jammu, March 21
Even as some political groups have been demanding the creation of separate development councils for the twin border districts of Poonch and Rajouri on the pattern of Ladakh Autonomous Hill Development Council, the state government has ruled out such possibility as the topography of both regions were entirely different.

According to a document prepared by the state Planning Department, the topography of Poonch and Rajouri districts was different from that of Leh and Kargil. “These two districts remained cut off from the rest of the state during winter and are called a cold arid desert,” the document stated and the department made it clear that there was no proposal under consideration of the state government for setting up hill development councils for Poonch and Rajouri districts.

According to official documents, during the year 2010-11, Rs 34.55 crore has been released as additional funds to various districts of the Jammu province. Of this amount, Rs 5.77 crore has been disbursed for Poonch and Rajouri districts. As far as additional funds for development are concerned, a maximum of Rs 6.39 crore has been released for the most backward district of Reasi, while Rs 1.75 crore has been given to Doda district.

Jammu, March 21
Governor NN Vohra and Chief Minister Omar Abdullah today stressed the need for the implementation of an action plan on a time-bound basis for the progressive growth of agriculture, horticulture, forestry, fisheries, poultry farming, mushroom cultivation, dairy farming, sheep and goat rearing, animal husbandry and allied sectors, which had the potential of generating employment for the youth of the state.

The Governor and the Chief Minister were addressing the 20th university council meeting of the Sher-e-Kashmir University of Agricultural Sciences and Technology (SKUAST-K), Kashmir, at Raj Bhawan here today.

The Governor stressed the need for a time-bound action for the development of pastures and increased fodder production to meet the emerging requirements of livestock. He said there was need for drawing a comprehensive road map for the next 20 years to achieve the targets.

Referring to the need for a large-scale seed replacement to increase agricultural productivity, he said in order to achieve even 10 per cent seed replacement every year, it would be necessary to draw up crop and district-wise action plans and monitor their progress on a monthly basis.

The Governor asked the vice-chancellors of both agriculture universities to formulate a time-bound programme for the procurement of breeder seeds and their distribution to the farmers. He reiterated the importance of an effective monitoring mechanism to ensure that the requisite infrastructure was created.

Omar, who is also the Pro-Chancellor of the university, emphasised on creating centres of excellence by focusing on the sectors with a high growth potential on a sustained basis. Minister for Agriculture Ghulam Hassan Mir observed that some initiatives had already been taken to secure seed replacement of maize and potato crops. He added that both agriculture universities and the Agriculture Department had to play a pro-active role in the production of high quality seed, keeping in view the requirements of various areas of the state.

The Vice-Chancellor, SKUAST, Kashmir, Dr Tej Partap, dwelt on various components of Rs 100 crore special grant announced by Prime Minister Manmohan Singh for the university. He also made a detailed presentation on the achievements of the university and major tasks to be handled during the next few years.

The meeting was also attended by the Vice-Chancellor, SKUAST, Jammu, Dr B Mishra, Commissioner/Secretary, Finance Sudhanshu Pandey, Principal Secretary to the Governor RK Goyal and Director, Research, SKUAST-K, Dr Shafiq A Wani.

Jammu, March 21
Governor NN Vohra has mourned the death of Teja Singh, a former chairman of the J&K Public Service Commission.

In a condolence message, the Governor expressed sympathies with the bereaved family and prayed for eternal peace to the departed soul. Recalling Teja Singh’s rich administrative experience in the governance of the state from Maharaja Hari Singh’s time onwards, the Governor observed that he had benefited a great deal from his discussions with Teja Singh, particularly regarding the evolution of the Kashmir issue. — TNS

Srinagar, March 21
The Chief of the Army Staff, Gen VK Singh, arrived here today on a two-day visit to the Kashmir valley to access the security situation in the state. Accompanied by his wife Bharti Singh, Gen VK Singh was received by Lt-Gen KT Parnaik, Army Commander, Northern Command, and Lt-Gen SA Hasnain, Corps Commander, Chinar Corps.

The Army Chief reviewed the operational preparedness of the Army in the Valley in view of the changing environment and the security scenario. He met the troops deployed in the high altitude areas and on the Line of Control. His wife, Bharti Singh, visited the Army Base Hospital in Srinagar and interacted with patients. — TNS

Jammu, March 21
The police arrested seven persons, including six women, for attacking a team of police and officials of the Jammu and Kashmir State Housing Corporation when it went to remove encroachments form the Channi Himmat area today. Two policemen were injured in the incident.

While officials said the corporation had already compensated them, the people, who had been living in temporary shelters on the government land, denied the claims. When the team of police and corporation officials reached the spot and started removing encroachments from the corporation land, those who had made temporary shelters on it, a majority of them women, entered into a verbal duel with the team members and attacked them with stones and lathis. Two policemen were injured in the attack.

According to the police, it had removed encroachments from the corporation’s land last year also, but those who had built makeshift structures on it had attacked it even then.

Jammu, March 21
Following the death of Pradesh Youth Congress (PYC) leader Raja Maroof Khan in an accidental firing last evening in Poonch district, a mob, including Khan’s relatives and friends, staged a protest at Thannamandi in Rajouri district today demanding a probe into the incident.

The protesters alleged that Khan, a budding leader who had contested the last Assembly elections as an Independent candidate, had been murdered. They said Khan had developed a good rapport with some of the senior Congress leaders and had become a force to reckon with in Rajouri district in a short span.

Following the protests at Thannamandi, Additional SP of Rajouri district Mohammad Shabir rushed to the spot to pacify the protesters.

“I assured the protesters of an impartial probe into the incident and thereafter they left peacefully,” the ASP told The Tribune over phone.

Meanwhile, people from all walks of life have mourned the death of Maroof Khan. Khan, a former vice-president of the Pradesh Youth Congress (PYC), died under mysterious circumstances in Rajouri when he along with his colleague had gone in the forest for hunting. Khan was reportedly hit in his head by an accidental gunshot. A group of Youth Congress leaders led by PYC senior vice-president RS Pathania reached Thanamandi in Rajouri to attend his burial.

Later, a meeting was held to pay tributes to Khan. While offering a tearful adieu to Khan, Pathania recalled his contribution to the Youth Congress in the state. He termed Khan’s death as an irreparable loss to the Congress.

Dr Gurdeep Singh, district tuberculosis officer, also expressed condolences to the bereaved family. Youth Congress leader from Kishtwar Sheikh Nasir Hussain also condoled Khan’s death.

An emergency meeting was held at the PCC headquarters here under the chairmanship of Balvinder Singh Sambyal, state chief organiser of the Congress Seva Dal, to pay tributes to Khan. PYC chief Shoaib Lone described Khan as a dedicated worker of 
the party. 

Jammu, March 21
The death of a woman and her newborn baby due to the alleged negligence of doctors at Shri Maharaja Ghulab Singh Hospital (SMGSH) triggered a protest here today.

Poli Devi (30), wife of Kuldeep Singh of Kuta Morh, was referred to the SMGSH from the district hospital, Samba, yesterday. Poli delivered a baby last night. However, the baby died two hours after the delivery while the mother breathed her last this morning.

The infuriated members of Poli’s family accused the SMGSH doctors of negligence for not attending to the woman properly. They alleged that Poli’s condition deteriorated since the delivery and they repeatedly approached the doctors to attend to her.

The protesters were soon joined by BJP workers, who brought the body outside the hospital and shouted slogans against the hospital administration. They demanded the suspension of the doctors, who allegedly did not attend to Poli. Later, they took the body to nearby Indira Chowk and blocked vehicular traffic for half an hour. However, the protesters relented after senior police and administration officials intervened and assured them of a probe into the matter.

Meanwhile, members of Poli’s family reportedly left the hospital without a post-mortem on the body. The hospital authorities have constituted a three-member panel for inquiry into the incident.

Srinagar, March 21
Amnesty International today demanded the repeal of the Public Safety Act (PSA) in Jammu and Kashmir, alleging that it had been used as a “revolving door” to detain up to 20,000 persons without trial since the start of militancy two decades ago. The human rights watchdog said the PSA detentions were being used by the state authorities as a “punitive” measure in cases where they could not or would not be able to convict the detained person in the criminal court of justice.

“The PSA is being used to disable the first and second tiers of the pro-independence leadership in Kashmir, taking them out of circulation. It is also being used to detain minors in some cases,” Amnesty’s Campaigner for India-Asia Pacific programme Bikramjeet Batra said today at a news conference while releasing a report on the use of the PSA in the state. He said according to the data collected by the Amnesty during its research, 8,000 to 20,000 persons had been detained under the PSA over the past 20 years.

“We have studied 600 cases of PSA detentions and found that in most of the cases, the persons have been detained for their activities being prejudicial to the security of the state or for maintaining public order,” Batra said.

Under the PSA, a person can be taken into preventive custody for two years without a charge or trial if he or she is deemed a threat to the state.

Batra said while the activities prejudicial to the security of the state had not been defined in the act, the definition for maintaining public order was so wide that “anyone can be detained under the PSA”. “It is being used as a parallel or informal criminal justice system,” he alleged.

The report also called upon the Union and state governments to carry out an “independent, impartial and comprehensive” investigation into the allegations of torture against the detainees and abuse and make the findings public.

Asked about the Amnesty’s stand on the Armed Forces Special Powers Act (AFSPA), Batra said the human rights body’s stand on it was very clear that it needed to be repealed both in Jammu and Kashmir and Northeast. “We have been demanding the repeal of the AFSPA since 2005 both in Jammu and Kashmir and Northeast,” he said.

Meanwhile, various separatist organisations here have welcomed the Amnesty’s report on the violation of human rights in Kashmir. These organisations, mainly the hardline Hurriyat Conference led by Syed Ali Geelani, have been blaming the police and the security forces for alleged human rights violations.

More than 110 persons were killed in clashes between the protesters and security forces during the five-month unrest in the Valley last year. The moderate APHC chairman, Mirwaiz Umar Farooq, said, “The International Red Cross had previously shown its concern. The Amnesty should use its good offices and prevail upon India to stop rights violations in Kashmir. The report corroborates our stand that Kashmir has been turned into a police state”.

Jammu, March 21
The internally displaced militancy affected people held a demonstration against the state government at the Mubarak Mandi complex here today. The migrants under the banner of the Tehreek-e-Insaaf had announced to gherao the Secretariat to force the government to address their demands.

As the protesters tried to march towards the Civil Secretariat, a contingent of police stopped them from proceeding further.

Speaking to mediapersons, the chairman of the Tehreek-e-lnsaf and former MLA, Mohammad Farooq Mir, accused the state government of having an apathetic attitude towards the militancy affected people of Jammu. “The militancy victims of the Jammu region are on the verge of starvation and the successive governments in the state have failed to mitigate their sufferings,” he alleged, maintaining that they were being discriminated against and not treated on a par with the Kashmiri Pandit migrants.

Mir said over 50 per cent cases under the SRO-43 were pending in the Jammu province. “The successive state governments have failed to compensate us,” he added.

Mumtaz Hussain Bukhari, another activist, reiterated their demands regarding the constitution of a high-level committee to assess the losses suffered by terror-hit people of Kishtwar, Doda, Ramban, Reasi, Kathua, Rajouri and Poonch districts. He demanded an economic package for the affected people and reservation for their wards in educational institutions, especially in professional colleges.

Mohammad Aslam Kohli, president of Tehreek-e-lnsaf, said thousands of people from the Jammu region, who were affected by the militancy, were forced to migrate, but a majority of such families had not been registered as migrants so far.

Ghulam Mohi-ud-Din Beig, chief organiser of the organisation, said the Doda migrants had been protesting for the last five years, but the government had not paid heed to them.