The Tribune, Chandigarh, India

	War of words between NC, Cong intensifies Mustafa Kamaal slams Cong’s ‘negative’ attitude towards NC Arteev Sharma/TNS Jammu, September 3 The war of words between coalition partners National Conference and Congress seems to be getting murkier with every passing day. In a fresh salvo against the Congress, NC’s firebrand leader Mustafa Kamaal today said his party couldn’t afford to “lose its popularity” because of the “negative” attitude of Congress ministers. “Congress ministers are heavily biased against NC workers as they pay scant attention to their genuine demands,” said Kamaal while addressing party workers’ meetings at Manjakote and Rajouri on the second day of his visit to Rajouri district. Yesterday, Kamaal, who is the NC additional general secretary and the Chief Minister’s uncle, had said that his party would not hesitate to snap ties with the Congress if the ministers from the party continued to “harass” his party workers. He had also stated that the alliance was under threat in the state “due to the policies and politics being played by the Congress”. Interestingly, Congress has also been raising the same issue. Senior Congress leaders have repeatedly accused the NC ministers of “discriminating” against the party workers. “The NC cannot afford to lose its popularity because of the negative attitude of the Congress. Being the premier regional party in the state with a chequered history, it is fully qualified to serve the people and address all their concerns — be they economic, developmental or political,” Kamaal said. Reacting sharply to statements of the NC leader, Congress spokesperson Ravinder Sharma said his accusations were totally baseless. “If there is any issue, it should be discussed in the Coordination Committee, which is a high-level body formed to sort out all issues within the coalition government. He is in the habit of making objectionable and unpleasant remarks against the Congress, which irks the workers,” Sharma said. He asked the NC leadership to control Kamaal from “damaging the interests” of the coalition government. On November 11 last year, NC president Farooq Abdullah had asked Kamaal to quit the party posts of additional general secretary and the chief spokesman hours after the latter’s statement on AICC general secretary Rahul Gandhi. Kamaal had said that Rahul “has no role in running the Jammu and Kashmir government.” His statement had come in response to a remark by Congress state chief Saifuddin Soz, who quoted Rahul as saying that he was not happy with the governance in the state. Later, he was again appointed as the NC additional general secretary.
	Cong wants NC to return portfolios to its ministers Seeks intervention of party high command in matter M Aamir Khan Tribune News Service Srinagar, September 3 A day after Congress leaders cautioned the party high command over its ties with the coalition partner in Jammu, another set of Congress workers staged a protest here against the National Conference (NC) seeking return of ministerial portfolios to the party. The protesters led by ex-general secretary of the J-K Pradesh Congress Committee G M Shah, who had lost the 2008 Assembly elections from the Sangrama constituency in Baramulla district, demonstrated at the Press Enclave today and sought the intervention of UPA chairperson Sonia Gandhi and other senior Congress leaders. “Our ministers have been targeted and deliberately pressurised by the National Conference and they are unable to work properly. We appeal to Sonia Gandhi and (Union Health Minister) Ghulam Nabi Azad to intervene so that the portfolios are returned to our ministers,” Shah said. He also said the high command was not taking “much interest” in the affairs of the state and that their intervention was necessary for keeping up the morale of party leaders and workers. The protesters were seeking the return of portfolios to G M Saroori, who resigned as Roads and Building Minister in 2010 after the name of his daughter surfaced in allegations of impersonation in an MBBS exam. Another Congress minister, Peerzada Mohammad Sayeed, lost his Education Minister portfolio earlier this year after his son’s name figured in an exam scam. The protesters claimed that the projects initiated by Azad during his tenure as the Chief Minister of the state were kept in limbo by the present government. They threatened to go on a hunger strike if the high command did not intervene in the state affairs. The Congress leaders had yesterday cautioned the high command against entering into an alliance with the NC in the next Assembly elections without taking local workers into confidence.
	RTI rules amended to remove anomalies, says state govt Tribune News Service Srinagar, September 3 The state government today said the recent amendments to the JK RTI Rules were aimed at removing anomalies in the execution of the RTI Act 2009. An official spokesman said the new amendments would bring the JK RTI Act on a par with the RTI Act of 2005 which is applicable in the rest of the country. “The JK Right to Information Rules, 2010, were aimed at removing anomalies in the execution of the Act by bringing it on a par with the Central RTI Act of 2005 and rules framed there under,” the spokesman said. The spokesman said certain discrepancies existed between the rules and the Act of 2009, as the mandate of the Act in the earlier rules was exceeded in respect of certain provisions which made it vulnerable to avoidable litigation. Last week, the state government brought the first amendment to the Act, which many information activists said weakened the Act. The spokesman said the provision regarding the initiation of criminal proceedings by the State Information Commission (SIC) clashed with the provisions of RTI Act, 2005. “It was an error which had to be corrected,” he said. The spokesman said the State Chief Information Commissioner (CIC) had told Chief Minister Omar Abdullah about the “glaring disparity between the fee structure and copying charges” under the state RTI rules, 2010, and the Central RTI Rules. “The CIC had accordingly recommended reduction in the fee and other charges,” the spokesman said. He said the SIC proposed modifications in Rules 2(I), 2(3), 2(m), 3, 7, 9, 10 and 36(3) of the JK RTI Rules, 2010. “A thorough exercise was conducted by the General Administration Department and it was felt that some provisions of the RTI Rules, 2010, go beyond the mandate of the RTI Act, 2009, as the said Act neither provides such powers to the Commission nor the Central RTI Rules envisage such powers to the Central Information Commission,” he said.
	2010 civilian killings: Police told to file status report in 37 cases Ishfaq Tantry Tribune News Service Srinagar, September 3 The Jammu and Kashmir High Court, which is hearing a PIL seeking investigation into civilian killings in the summer of 2010, has directed the police to file a status report in 37 cases wherein the police claimed to have registered FIRs. The court has directed the state government to file an affidavit, indicating the amount of ex gratia, if any, provided to the next of kin of those killed in the 2010 summer unrest and the report of the Commission of Inquiry (CoI) constituted by the government to probe 117 civilian killings in the 2010 unrest. The orders of the special Bench of the High Court comprising Chief Justice MM Kumar and Justice Mohammad Yaqoob Mir came today following hearing of a PIL, seeking registration of FIRs and judicial probe into 117 civilian deaths that took place in the summer of 2010. The PIL was filed by chairman of the Jammu and Kashmir Liberation Front Mohammad Yasin Malik before the High Court on January 10, 2011. “In July, 2012, the court had sought a status report in 37 cases of youths’ killings from the police. It had also directed the Commissioner Secretary, Home, to file an affidavit explaining the amount of ex gratia, if any, given to the affected families. It had also asked about the report of the CoI,” said Sofi Imtiyaz, who appeared on behalf of Zaffar Law Associates in the PIL today. No status report or affidavit has been filed so far, Sofi said. He said the Bench while repeating its earlier orders today, has now directed the DGP and Home Secretary to file their affidavits by October 3. The PIL is listed for further consideration on October 8. The Division Bench has also directed the secretary, Legal Aid Committee, to provide or nominate a lawyer for legal assistance to the next of kin, who were also present during the hearing today. The state in its earlier objections had sought the dismissal of the PIL.
	LS members to visit Valley on Sept 20 Tribune News Service Srinagar, September 3 A team of parliamentarians is coming to the Valley on September 20 to inspect various development schemes in Srinagar and Ganderbal districts. A high-level officers meeting was today convened under the chairmanship of District Development Commissioner, Srinagar, Baseer Ahmad Khan to review arrangements and modalities for the parliamentary delegation comprising 22 Lok Sabha members. The team will inspect 10 development projects in Srinagar district and six in Ganderbal district. The meeting was told that 10 liaison officers would be nominated to receive the delegation at the Srinagar airport on September 20. Those who attended the meeting included Superintending Engineers; Registrar, University of Kashmir; Chief Medical Officer, Srinagar; Executive Engineer, JKPCC; DySP (Headquarters), Security; DySP (Headquarters), Traffic; DySP (Headquarters), Srinagar; Executive Engineer, R&B; Executive Engineer, LAWDA; and Deputy Director, Protocol.
	Search for more militants on in Ganderbal forest Azhar Qadri/TNS Srinagar, September 3 A massive search operation has been launched inside a dense forest area of central Kashmir’s Ganderbal district where a counter-insurgency operation began on Saturday and continued for more than 60 hours. Two militants, believed to be from Pakistan, have been killed and their bodies recovered. A police officer said the body of a militant, who was killed on Sunday, was recovered on Monday morning, taking the toll of militant casualties to two. The officer said a massive search operation had been going on today in the Chattergul forest area, where the militants had built a cave hideout and where the fighting lasted for two days. He said no contact was established with the militant since yesterday evening when one more militant was killed. “We have found four boots at the hideout, which suggest the possibility of more militants in the area,” the officer said. The gunfight broke out between the militants and the security forces comprising the Special Operations Group of the police and the Army’s Rashtriya Rifles at 3 am on Saturday. The gunfight continued for two days till Sunday evening when the second militant was killed. Ganderbal district in central Kashmir has largely been cleared of militants as two of the longest surviving militants of the region, Mushtaq Khan, alias Mushtaq Jhangi, and Ghulam Nabi War, alias Haq Nawaz, were killed in two separate operations in October last year and July this year. Both the slain militants were residents of Ganderbal district. The district acts as a transit route for militants travelling from Bandipore, which borders the Line of Control in north Kashmir, to south Kashmir districts. An Army officer said the initial assessment suggested that there were six to eight militants in the area. He said there was no confirmation of their exact number. “These are only speculations. We cannot really say how many are there until the operation is over,” the Army officer said. He said two cave hideouts of militants were busted in the dense forest area.
	Despite border tension, Suchetgarh abuzz with tourists Sumit Hakhoo Jammu, September 3 Despite heightened tension between India and Pakistan on the international border (IB) and failure of the Tourism Department to create tourist-friendly facilities, nearly 4,000 people visit Suchetgarh every month for sightseeing. Though the Centrally sponsored project for the development of border tourism is running behind schedule and the government has set December, 2013, as a deadline to complete the works, the border outpost is already attracting a large number of tourists. Officials said for over a month, the security forces had not been allowing visitors to go close to the fencing area, which was earlier allowed under the close monitoring of the Border Security Force (BSF), though they were shown the bunkers and the working of the security forces in the sector. About four years ago, a project namely “Development of Border Area Tourism Circuit Jammu” was sanctioned by the Union Tourism Ministry under the Centre’s plan to develop Suchetgarh and the shrine of Baba Chamyal on the Indo-Pak border. “Five to 10 private vehicles visit the border area everyday and as per the data collected from the Taxi union, about 300 tourists use their services in a week. According to our estimates, 4,000 to 5,000 people visit Suchetgarh every month,” said Tourism Director Robin Singh Mehta. Before the Partition in 1947, Suchetgarh was an important trading point between Sialkot and Jammu. After the 2003 ceasefire agreement between India and Pakistan, the state government submitted a plan to the Centre in 2005 to develop Suchetgarh on the pattern of Wagah border in Amritsar sector. “The Wagah-type crossing is not possible in the near future, keeping in view the hostile neighbour, but other areas around Suchetgarh can be developed as tourist spots,” said a tourism official. However, another officer in the Tourism Department said the project, which includes construction of a tourist facilitation centre, landscaping and development of a terrace garden with fountains and development of a walkway to oversee the IB, was moving at a snail’s pace. “The situation at the Indo-Pak border in J&K is very volatile, which has affected work in the area and projects are lying incomplete,” he said. The Tourism Director assured that the upgradation of the RS Pura-Suchetgarh road and the renovation of heritage sites - the ancient Shiv temple and the Dargah of Baba Budan Ali Shah - will be completed next year.
	Govt rejects plea for release of life term convict Faktoo High Court demands convict’s jail record for its perusal Ishfaq Tantry Tribune News Service Srinagar, September 3 Ending all speculations, the state government has rejected the plea seeking the release of Muslim League chairman Ashiq Hussain Faktoo, alias Dr Qasim, from jail on the ground that his release will undermine public confidence in the justice delivery system. Meanwhile, the High Court has sought the jail record of Faktoo for its perusal next week. The court is hearing a petition, seeking the release of Faktoo from prison, which came up before Justice H P Singh today. “As on August 12, 2012, Dr Ashiq Hussain Faktoo has undergone actual sentence of 16 years, 7 months and 13 days,” the government has said in its objections filed to the court. Faktoo, however, has been seeking his release on the ground that he has already spent over 20 years in prison. Faktoo, who is hardline separatist leader Asiya Andrabi’s husband, was convicted of murdering human rights activist HN Wanchoo and was handed down a life term. He was arrested on December 5, 1992, along with two others in the case. “The terrorist act for which he is facing life imprisonment is a crime against society at large and his release from custody shall undermine the public confidence in the justice delivery system,” the government has said while rejecting his claim for release from custody. The government in its objections has also claimed that while being lodged in Central Jail, Srinagar, he was “found involved along with other inmates in the case regarding the use of SIM cards from inside the jail for mobilising/organising anti-national protests and violent incidents in Kashmir” during the 2010 unrest. The government has also claimed that “many released militants joined back militant ranks” after they were allegedly motivated by Faktoo in jail. Meanwhile, the High Court today directed the authorities to recall the jail record of Faktoo for its perusal next week after petitioner counsel Mian Qayoom raised certain contentions regarding the actual time spent by the convict in Central Jail in Srinagar while serving his life term.
	Set up panel to vet social status certificates, HC tells state DS Chauhan Legal Correspondent Jammu, September 3 A Division Bench of the Jammu and Kashmir High Court comprising Justices Virender Singh and Hasnain Masoodi while disposing of a PIL directed the state government to bring the mechanism devised under the Reservation Act and Rules for grant or issuance of a social status certificate (reserve category certificate) on a par with the directions of the Supreme Court so that all chances of any malpractice at the stage of grant or issuance of certificates were excluded by making necessary amendments in the provisions of the Reservation Act and Rules. “The state respondents shall set up a scrutiny committee at the division or district level so that the inquiry to scrutinise the social status certificate is completed expeditiously preferably within six months,” held the Bench. The petitioner, Anwar Chaudhary, a member of the J&K State Advisory Board for the Development of Gujjars and Bakerwal Tribals, showed inclination in safeguarding the rights of downtrodden communities in the state. He sought an issuance of appropriate writ, directing the state respondents to constitute a committee to scrutinise the social status certificates issued in the state from 1991, particularly the scheduled tribe certificates. He also sought the constitution of district-level scrutiny committee as per the directions and guidelines framed by the Supreme Court in a case titled ‘Kumari Madhuri Patil & another Vs Addl Commissioner, Tribal Development and others’. The Division Bench while disposing of the PIL observed that, “The admission wrongly gained or appointment wrongly obtained on the basis of a false social status certificate necessarily have the effect of depriving genuine Scheduled Castes or Scheduled Tribes or OBC candidates as enjoined in the Constitution. Genuine candidates are also denied admission to educational institutions or appointments to office or posts for want of social status certificate. Ineligible persons, who falsely gained entry, resort to dilatory tactics and create hurdles in completion of the inquiries by the scrutiny committee.”
	Ex-servicemen feel cheated over pension disparity Ravi Krishnan Khajuria/TNS Jammu, September 3 A state, which till now has produced four chiefs for the 13-lakh strong Army, including present incumbent General Bikram Singh, also simmers with discontent when it comes to the “one rank, one pension” demand of the ex-servicemen. The country today has over 3.5 million ex-servicemen and Jammu and Kashmir has 1.12 lakh of them. In the past, General NC Vij, General JJ Singh and General TN Raina from the state have headed the Army. “There is discontentment among veterans of the three services and widows in the state. They feel cheated over the pension disparity and other anomalies,” said Brig SS Saini (retd), president of the J&K Poorv Sainik Sewa Parishad. “The ex-servicemen strongly feel that it is time for the Centre to give all dues to them. Just see the plight of ex-servicemen — same rank, same area of service, same number of years and same working conditions but still disparity in their pension,” added Saini. The retired officer expressed regret that despite a number of rallies by veterans of three services in New Delhi till October 2010, when they returned 25,000 medallions and awards to Rashtrapati Bhawan in protest, no positive action was taken. Another retired officer of the rank of Major General, who wished anonymity, cited “a glaring instance of disparity”. “In the terror attack on the Indian Embassy in Kabul on July 7, 2008, where four Indians, including Indian Defence Attache Brigadier RD Mehta and Political Counsellor (Press) VV Rao, an IFS officer, were killed. The Defence Ministry had given pension and routine benefits to the widow of Brigadier Mehta, while the External Affairs Ministry had specially sanctioned life-time full salary of Rao and retention of the official bungalow to his widow,” he said. In the first week of July this year, Prime Minister Manmohan Singh had formed a panel to go into the anomalies and had asked it to give its report by August 8. We were also hopeful that the PM would announce something on August 15 but his speech disappointed us, added the retired officer. He also said the panel “had a cabinet secretary as its chairman and six other secretaries but none from the three services. To my knowledge, the report has not been submitted to the PM so far.” Incidentally, General Bikram Singh’s predecessor General VK Singh had twice written to the Centre on the issue.
	MLCs asked to submit questions by Sept 18 Tribune News Service Srinagar, September 3 All the members of the Legislative Council have been asked to send not more than seven starred and five unstarred questions and not more than two Bills by or before September 18. The session of the legislature has been summoned by Governor NN Vohra on October 1. An official spokesman said the members of the Legislative Council have also been asked to submit not more than one resolution by or before September 18, in relaxation of Rule 157 of Procedure and Conduct of Business in the Legislative Council.
	Bharatiya Yuva Morcha to hold rally in Kathua on September 5 Tribune News Service Jammu, September 3 To step up attack on the Congress, Bharatiya Janata Yuva Morcha (BJYM) national president Anurag Thakur would address a public rally at Ramleela Maidan in Kathua district on September 5. State president of the BJYM Munish Sharma said this while addressing mediapersons at the party headquarters here today. Sharma said the BJYM had launched a countrywide campaign under the slogan of “Congress hatao, Desh bachao” and as a part of the campaign the BJYM chief had been touring all the states to reach out to the masses, particularly youth, to educate them about the “anti-youth” and “anti-poor” policies of the Congress-led UPA government at the Centre. He said the NC-Congress coalition government in the state had also been adopting an “anti-youth” approach. He appealed to the youth to reach Ramleela Maidan.
	Farooq to discuss team selection on Sept 8 Vikas Sharma/TNS Jammu, September 3 The Jammu and Kashmir Cricket Association (JKCA) president, Dr Farooq Abdullah, has expressed concern over the prevailing grim scenario and decided to convene a meeting of the Working Committee on September 8 to decide the future course of action. Sources said the selection process of the state team for the forthcoming national-level tournaments, operation of accounts, court cases and final arrangements for selection trials are the top agenda at the meeting. Dr Farooq had recently convened a joint meeting of the Province-Level Committees with office-bearers of both the provinces. Manzoor Ahmad Wazir, JKCA treasurer, while confirming the development said, “The JKCA president is aware of the difficulties being faced by cricketers of Jammu province due to non-resumption of activities. We are hopeful of a positive outcome soon.” “Around 100 players, including 40 from Jammu province, are attending a coaching camp in the Valley under the supervision of coach Bishen Singh Bedi,” said Wazir. He said the meeting was attended by Romesh Mahajan, Tilak Singh, Brijender Singh and Nirmal Singh from Jammu province. For Kashmir province, Abdul Rouf, Majid Drabu, Shiban Lal, Iqbal Ahmad Shah and Naeem Ahmad Bakshi attended the meeting. The sources said the office-bearers of Jammu Province-Level Committee had apprised the the JKCA chief about the paucity of funds for resuming the activities. They said the officials expressed concern over the inordinate delay and appealed Dr Farooq to find a possible solution. “The calendar of activities for the upcoming season has already been announced and we are hopeful that the JKCA president will find a possible solution in the Working Committee meeting,” said a JKCA source.
	Sarpanch injured by neighbour in Banihal Our Correspondent Batote, September 3 The sarpanch of Khari-B (Upper) was grievously injured by his neighbours with a sharp-edged weapon in Banihal last night. The accused has been arrested by the Banihal police. Police sources said Abdul Majid Chopan was attacked by his neighbour, Abdul Gaffar Chopan, with an axe when Majid had just stepped out of his house at Tragan Khari. He was rushed to Sub-district Hospital, Banihal, from where he was referred to the Sher-i-Kashmir Institute of Medical Sciences, Soura, Srinagar. The police nabbed Gaffar from Sarachi Top in Khari. On sustained interrogation, he confessed to his crime. The police has recovered the weapon of offence and is investigating the motive behind the attack.
	Qaida’s e-magazine lured ‘individuals’ to target ‘political figures’ Azhar Qadri Tribune News Service Srinagar, September 3 Eleven terror suspects arrested in a major crackdown in Karnataka are believed to have been motivated by an online Al-Qaida magazine — a detailed and glossy militant journal which calls for attacks on political, economic, military and security targets. In the magazine’s ninth and so far the last edition, the Al-Qaida group had asked “individuals” to target “main political figures”, including “ministers, military and security leaders”. Other targets mentioned include “large strategic economic” locations like stock exchanges, military bases, media personalities and centres and centralised information and computer centres. In the nine editions released over a two-year period, the magazine used battlefield stories of Al-Qaida militants from around the world to lure others to join the group and published translated speeches of Osama bin Laden and articles of present Al-Qaida chief Ayman al-Zawahiri. A journalist, a doctor and a junior research fellow with the Defence Research and Development Organisation are among the 11 men arrested last week in Bangalore for plotting to carry out attacks and assassinations. The men, many well educated, are believed to have been inspired by the Al-Qaida e-magazine to become militants. The e-magazine was founded in 2010 by the Al Qaida’s Yemeni-Saudi branch “Al-Qaida in the Arabian Peninsula” and was produced by the militant group’s Al Malahem media wing. The glossy and slick e-magazine’s founding editor was a Pakistani-American Qaida militant named Samir Khan. The other key man behind the publication was Anwar al-Awlaki, a US-born Muslim preacher who later became one of the most wanted militants on the US hit list. Both the men were killed in a US drone strike in Yemen in September 2011. The e-magazine has rarely mentioned India in its nine editions, although India has been mentioned in many of the group’s videos. In the Al-Qaida documentary “Knowledge is for acting upon”, which was released on the fifth anniversary of 9/11 attacks, India was specifically mentioned on several occasions, including in a pre-recorded last will of a 9/11 hijacker. The online magazine’s eighth and ninth editions -- the last to be released so far — were released in May 2012, coinciding with the date of the US Navy Seals raid in Pakistan’s Abbotabad city which killed Osama bin Laden. Terror Propaganda * In the nine editions released over a two-year period, the online magazine used battlefield stories of Al-Qaida militants to lure others to join the group * The e-magazine was founded in 2010 by the Al Qaida’s Yemeni-Saudi branch. Its founding editor was a Pakistani-American Qaida militant named Samir Khan. * The other key man behind the publication was Anwar al-Awlaki, a US-born Muslim preacher who later became one of the most wanted militants on the US hit list