The Tribune, Chandigarh, India

	High Court functioning with half the strength Work suffers as seven of the 14 posts of judges lie vacant Ishfaq Tantry Tribune News Service Srinagar, August 19 With half of the posts of judges lying vacant at the Jammu and Kashmir High Court, the appointment of new judges is being awaited eagerly. Out of the total sanctioned strength of 14 judges, only seven are posted at the High Court, resulting in backlog of cases. On June 15, newly appointed Chief Justice of the J&K High Court Justice MM Kumar had said the decision on the panel of six judges, nominated by the High Court Collegium was expected by August. However, nothing has so far been done about the appointment of new judges at the High Court. “The strength of the judges at the High Court has not been increased, which has severely hit the work in courts. As per our internal assessment, the backlog of cases at the High Court has crossed 80,000,” High Court Bar Association general secretary GN Shaheen told The Tribune. The Bar Association has given several reminders to the authorities. The Collegium has reportedly recommended the names of five advocates and two judges for the vacant posts of judges at the High Court. The number has, however, gone down to six, after the death of Hakim Ishtiyaq Hussain recently. Hakim was one of the advocates nominated by the Collegium. The six names recommended for the posts of High Court judges include Special Judge, CBI Court, BL Bhat and Janak Raj Kotwal (Member, J&K Special Tribunal, Jammu) from the judges quota. The proposed names from the Bar quota include senior Additional Advocate General Ali Muhammad Magray, senior High Court lawyer Azhar-ul-Amin, advocate DS Thakur and Tashi Robertson from Leh. Sources within the judiciary said the file about the appointment of the new judges was with the Union Home Ministry. The Ministry is tasked with verifying the antecedents of the proposed persons before sending the file to the Supreme Court for final approval. The sources added that only three judges from the proposed six may be appointed as the High Court judges in the first phase.
	J-K lags behind PoK in setting up cross-border trade authority Majid Jahangir Tribune News Service Srinagar, August 19 While the cross Line of Control (LoC) traders here are waiting for the setting up of a trade authority in J&K, the federal government in Pakistan-occupied Kashmir (PoK) has constituted a separate authority to regulate trade and travel between the two parts of Kashmir. The PoK government passed an ordinance recently for regulating and facilitating cross-LoC travel and trade in a functional manner. “The ordinance that was passed for regulating the trade will help traders and travellers from PoK,” said Mubeen Shah, president, joint cross LoC Traders’ Union. “The cross-LoC traders in J&K had also appealed for constitution of a separate authority in the state. We are still waiting for an approval from the state and Central government,” he said. Shah said they had already mooted a similar proposal whereby the trade authority could boost the cross-LoC trade between the two sides. “The government is studying our proposal and hopefully, we will also have a similar authority,” Shah said, adding that the proposed authority will coordinate with the concerned departments to make the trade smooth. “The trade authority can act as a nodal agency for the traders and travellers,” said a cross LoC trader. A cross LoC bus,“Karvan-e-Aman”, was flagged off by Prime Minister Manmohan Singh and UPA Chairperson Sonia Gandhi on April 7, 2005. Three years later, cross-LoC trade also began in Poonch and Uri. As per the ordinance that is put on the website of the PoK government, the new authority will undertake functions in connection with cross-LoC travel and trade and has been assigned to devise strategies and improve theprocedures for facilitation of travel of state subjects.
	To ensure peace on Eid, separatists placed under house arrest Raids carried out to nab second-rung Hurriyat activists Ishfaq Tantry Tribune News Service Srinagar, August 19 In order to keep a tab on the activities of separatists on Eid, the Jammu and Kashmir authorities have put several senior leaders under house arrest. Besides this, the police has been carrying out raids across Kashmir to nab second-rung Hurriyat leaders and activists. Those under house arrest are hardline Hurriyat leader Syed Ali Geelani, moderate Hurriyat chairman Mirwaiz Umar Farooq, Tehreek-e-Hurriyat general secretary Mohammad Ashraf Sehrai, Jammu and Kashmir Liberation Front (JKLF) chairman Yasin Malik, Democratic Liberation Front chief Shabbir Shah and National Front chairman Nayeem Khan. Yasin Malik was put under house arrest by the police on Sunday, said a JKLF spokesman. “In the morning, a heavy contingent of the police and security forces sieged Yasin’s house and ordered him not to leave as he was detained,” he said, adding that Malik had earlier announced to offer Eid Namaz at the TRC grounds. Shahid-ul-Islam of moderate Hurriyat said Mirwaiz Umar Farooq was under house arrest since Saturday. Confirming that Nayeem Khan was under house arrest, a spokesman of the National Front told The Tribune that Khan was not allowed to move out of his house since Saturday evening. Similarly, Geelani and Ashraf Sehrai were also under house arrest since Saturday. While condemning the police raids, a spokesman of hardline Hurriyat faction, Ayaz Akbar, said, “The police has been raiding the house of Hurriyat leaders since Saturday evening. They raided my house. They also raided the houses of THK’s Mohammad Ashraf Laya in Baramulla, Shah Wali in Sopore and Mohammad Yousuf and Shakeel Yatoo in Shopian.” The separatist leaders in the Valley had chosen different venues for offering Eid prayers. However, as indicated by police sources, the authorities may allow only one or two moderate separatist leaders to offer Eid prayers at the Eidgah. Geelani and his associates may be barred from offering prayers at Hazratbal. A police official said the authorities did not want to take chances. “Keeping in view past experiences, we are not allowing anybody to disturb the peace. If left unchecked, even a small incident may lead to a major crisis in Kashmir,” he said, saying that the authorities might reconsider at the last moment.
	Eid prayers at Hazratbal shrine today Azhar Qadri/TNS Srinagar, August 19 Eid-ul-Fitr that marks the end of the fasting month of Ramadan will be celebrated across the Kashmir valley tomorrow. The two-day celebration commences with congregational morning Eid prayers followed by elaborate feasts at homes and visits to relatives and neighbours. Eid congregational prayers will be held at the Hazratbal shrine, Jamia Masjid, TRC Ground and Eidgah in Srinagar. Hundreds of people are expected to offer prayers at these places. Congregational prayers will also be held at local mosques and shrines across the city. The festival is also marked as a government holiday in schools, colleges and government offices. Residents across the Valley were glued to their television sets last night to know about the sighting of moon, which marks the end of Ramadan in accordance with the lunar calender. The sighting of moon in Peshawar, Pakistan, which was reported on Pakistani news channels last evening, confused many residents here about the date of the festival. Kashmir has historically followed Pakistan when it comes to the sighting of Eid moon. The situation became clear when the main moon-sighting committee in Pakistan and later the Grand Mufti of Kashmir made appearances on television channels, announcing that moon was not sighted anywhere and the festival would be celebrated on Monday.
	Youth Cong campaign fails to take off Dinesh Manhotra Tribune News Service Jammu, August 19 The much-publicised campaign launched by the Pradesh Youth Congress to get the 73rd and 74th Amendments of the Indian Constitution extended to Jammu and Kashmir proved to be a damp squib, as the factionalism-gripped party failed to mobilise youth for the campaign. The Youth Congress has also failed to get support from the parent organisation. On August 5, the Pradesh Youth Congress (PYC) had announced to launch an aggressive campaign in favour of the 73rd and 74th Amendments.
	Traders along national highway fear loss of business over road tunnel project Over 300 shopkeepers to be affected after completion of the tunnel Dinesh Manhotra/TNS Chenani (Udhampur), August 19 Work on the construction of one of the longest tunnels of the country is going on in full swing, but hoteliers and small shopkeepers of Chenani, Patnitop, Kud and Batote have some apprehensions over the project. They fear that their business would be affected after the completion of the tunnel. After completion of the 9-km-long tunnel, these areas would be cut off from the Jammu-Srinagar national highway. Businessmen who have their establishments on the 35-km stretch from Chenani to Nashri voice their apprehension. “Our business largely depends upon passengers who travel on the Jammu-Srinagar highway. Once the tunnel would be constructed, our area would be cut off and our business is likely to be badly affected,” said Rajesh Kumar, a local businessman of Kud, who demanded a comprehensive plan to ensure that business of shops in cut-off areas would not be affected. Echoing the concern, a dhaba owner in Kud demanded that they should be provided alternative spaces across the tunnel so that they could earn their bread and butter after the tunnel was ready. Over 300 small and big shopkeepers would be affected after the completion of the tunnel. The work on the construction of the road tunnel is going on in full swing. The work of carving out two lanes over 9 km shall take five years to complete. This prestigious and ambitious project on its completion would link Chenani tehsil of Udhampur district to the Nashri area of Ramban district on National Highway 1A. It would reduce the distance between the two places from 35 km to 9 km. The tunnel is being constructed in the landslide-prone zone of the highway. The tunnel will provide an all-weather route to motorists on NH1 between Jammu and Srinagar. It will be one of the longest road tunnels in Asia.
	Separatist leaders placed under house arrest Ishfaq Tantry Tribune News Service Srinagar, August 19 In order to keep a tab on the activities of separatists on Eid, the Jammu and Kashmir authorities have put several senior leaders under house arrest. The police has been carrying out raids across Kashmir to nab second-rung Hurriyat leaders and activists. Those under house arrest are hardline Hurriyat leader Syed Ali Geelani, moderate Hurriyat chairman Mirwaiz Umar Farooq, Tehreek-e-Hurriyat general secretary Mohammad Ashraf Sehrai, Jammu and Kashmir Liberation Front (JKLF) chairman Yasin Malik, Democratic Liberation Front chief Shabbir Shah and National Front chairman Nayeem Khan. Yasin Malik was put under house arrest by the police on Sunday, said a JKLF spokesman. Shahid-ul-Islam of moderate Hurriyat said Mirwaiz Umar Farooq was under house arrest since Saturday.
	MLA demands delimitation of Lok Sabha, Assembly constituencies Jammu, August 19 Demanding fresh delimitation of Lok Sabha and Assembly constituencies of Jammu and Kashmir to ensure fair representation to each region, former Union Minister and MLA Chaman Lal Gupta today contested the claims of the National Conference, Congress and their allies to treat all regions equally. Gupta also demanded permanent rehabilitation of migrants. In a statement issued here today, Gupta asked why there was an embargo on delimitation till 2026 and why the Congress had not moved a Bill to ensure fair delimitation even after promising this in its 2002 and 2008 election manifestos. Gupta also sought an explanation on how the number of voters in the Jammu region had decreased by about five lakh and increased in the Valley in the last few years.
	Govt casual towards problems of SCs: BJP Tribune News Service Jammu, August 19 The BJP today charged the National Conference-led coalition government with adopting a casual approach towards solving problems being faced by the Scheduled Castes (SCs) and other weaker sections of society. In a resolution passed in the one-day working committee meeting of the BJP Anusuchit Jaati Morcha, the party said the way the state government had introduced and “passed” the Bill to extend political reservation in Jammu and Kashmir was a clear indication that it was not serious about the issues of the SCs. The party said the Bill was introduced and passed in the Assembly without homework and later declared as “not-passed” by the Legislative Council. “The Law and Parliamentary Affairs Ministry had introduced a Bill for the extension of reservation for the SCs in the Legislative Assembly. Since it was a Constitutional Amendment Bill, it required a two-third majority in both the Houses of the Legislature for approval. The Bill was passed in the Assembly on the last day of the Budget session on April 4. The Bill was “passed’’ without a two-thirds majority. The next day, the Chairman of the Legislative Council and senior staff found that the legislation was a Constitutional Amendment Bill and required a two-third majority for passage. However, the Assembly had passed the Bill with simple majority. It was later announced that the Bill would be treated as “not passed’’. This shows the casual approach of the Parliamentary Affairs Ministry towards the reserved category in the state,” the resolution stated.