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Two militants killed as Army foils intrusion bid
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Sarpanches go to Rahul with their demands
3 detained in killing of deputy sarpanch
73rd Amendment issue likely to rock NC-Cong coalition
MLA holds protest to draw Pranab’s attention to Afzal’s mercy plea
Kashmiris for cessation of all forms of violence: Mirwaiz
Tourism Dept eyes adventure tourism to woo more visitors
Raise the bar, Guv tells educational institutes
Cabinet okays skill development policy
Congress pays tribute to Bhagat Singh
A question mark over two bodies
DRDO’s Leh lab bags award
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Two militants killed as Army foils intrusion bid
Jammu/Poonch, September 27 Three soldiers also sustained injuries in the operation but the Army denied it. Official sources said around 2 am today a group of eight to 10 armed militants tried to infiltrate into the Indian side from the stretch between the Roshni post and the Gun Hill post in the KG sector. The area is being manned by the 1st Maratha Light Infantry under the KG Brigade. “The group had crossed the LoC and was near the barbed fence when alert soldiers challenged them and opened fire. While one terrorist was killed instantly, others took cover behind the rocky terrain but kept firing on the troops,” a source said. Around 5.15 am, the troops succeeded in eliminating one more terrorist. “Around 9 am, an Army chopper landed at Balnoi helipad in the KG sector and returned around 9.20 am probably ferrying injured soldiers to a hospital. Around 10.10 am, another chopper carrying a senior Army officer landed at the same helipad and returned around 10.40 am. The officers had come to take stock of the situation,” said the source. “Since the terrorists had crossed the LoC, the Pakistan army didn’t open fire,” said the source. The entire operation ended around 8 am and thereafter the Army retrieved the bodies of the slain terrorists from the encounter site. The terrorists were carrying two bags with names “Abu Mahaj (Kandahari, Kashmiri) and Abu Hanjla alias Abu Tala (Afghani) written on them, he said. The slain ultras aged around 25 years were in Army fatigues. Their bodies were later handed over to the police. The Army later recovered a rich haul of arms and ammunition from them that included two AK-47 rifles, 10 magazines of AK, 193 rounds of AK ammunition, one UBGL, eight UBGL grenades, three Chinese hand grenades, two Taiwan-made GPS devices, two Nokia mobile phones, two SIM cards, one map sheet of Mendhar, one compass and Rs 12,000 in Indian currency besides an Urdu newspaper “Jarar” of PoK. The newspaper had pictures of recent protests in Rajouri and Kashmir against the anti-Islam film but with distorted reports depicting the protests as anti-Army, said the source. The terrorists were also carrying packaged juice made in Afghanistan. Following the firing by Indian soldiers that killed the two ultras, the remaining militants were seen being shifted to safety in a Pakistan Army vehicle through a night-vision device, the source said. The KG Brigade Commander, Brig Tejinder Pal Singh, said the Army had been regularly getting inputs of intrusion attempts in the KG sector and had accordingly readied a strategy. “Militants have been kept in various launch pads in Kotli but we are vigilant. Because of our alertness, we have been able to foil this attempt,” said Brigadier Singh. “The Army is regularly getting inputs of more such attempts but we are alert to the situation,” he added. However, the Defence PRO, Col RK Palta, merely said a group of four to five suspected terrorists attempted an infiltration bid that was foiled effectively. Arms haul in Kupwara Srinagar: An infiltration bid was foiled and arms and ammunition were seized near the LoC in the Keran sector of Kupwara district on Wednesday night. An Army spokesman said soldiers noticed suspicious movement of a few persons near the LoC in Keran. On being challenged, the infiltrators returned towards Pakistan-occupied Kashmir, leaving behind six gunny bags. "The bags contained 10 AK-47 rifles with 20 magazines, 98 Chinese pistols with 196 magazines and two sub-machine guns with four magazines, all of which were brand new," the spokesman said. |
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Sarpanches go to Rahul with their demands
New Delhi, September 27 “We told Rahul Gandhi the Congress should quit the alliance if it continues to be non-serious about adopting the 73rd Amendment of the Constitution empowering village panchayats. He remained silent,” said Mir Shafiq, convenor, J&K Panchayat Conference. The village representatives held an hour-long meeting with Rahul at his residence. Gandhi assured the sarpanchs that he would soon visit the state and meet the panchayat members. Another assurance Gandhi gave related to compensation for the families of slain sarpanchs from the state and a provision of security to 4125 sarpanchs and 30,000 panches in the state. “We had three principal demands, with which Rahul Gandhi concurred. First, we asked him to tour the state. Second, we demanded security, and third, we sought compensation for the kin of the slain representatives. He agreed to all,” Shafiq said. The amount of compensation and the modalities of the security cover are being worked out by the visiting sarpanches with two members Rahul Gandhi has nominated. “He told us to discuss the twin issues with his nominees and assured us of help,” Shafiq said. Not all the visiting elected representatives seemed convinced about the positive outcome of the meeting. Khursheed Ahmad Malik, a sarpanch from Kokernag village in Anantnag questioned the seriousness of the Congress in demanding panchayat empowerment by way of the 73rd Amendment, envisaging financial powers to the panchayat members. “The state government treats us like second class citizens. Since February 27 this year, three sarpachs have been killed. We are not getting cooperation. We asked the Congress general secretary why his party was adopting a dubious role on the issue by saying one think inside the assembly and another outside. They should pursue the 73rd Amendment issue seriously. We feet discriminated because we don’t have the same rights as the elected panchayat members in kerala, Tamil Nadu and Rajasthan have. The Congress must restore the trust deficit,” Malik said. The elected panchayat members asked parties to stop playing politics on the matter. Mir Shafiq said the state government should determine who the killers of sarpanchs were. |
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3 detained in killing of deputy sarpanch
Srinagar, September 27 Police sources said those detained by the police were from Nowpora Kreeri village and the police suspect that some locals might have had a role in the killing of the 38-year-old deputy sarpanch on Sunday evening. “We have detained a few locals and are questioning them. The killing would have not been possible without the support of a local person,” said a police officer. “We are working on various leads and hopefully the culprits will be brought to justice shortly,” he added. The police officer said that apart from the militant angle, they were looking into various aspects as the Teli family had a dispute over a piece of land in the village. “We are looking into all angles,” he said. Teli, who was associated with the National Conference, was shot dead outside his home at Nowpora Kreeri around 8.45 pm on Sunday. Teli is survived by his wife and three children. Teli was the second panchayat member to be killed in the past two weeks. On September 10, sarpanch Ghulam Mohammad Yatoo was shot dead in Palhalan village of Baramulla district. The two killings triggered resignations of panches and sarpanches in three districts of north Kashmir. The police sources said over 150 panches and sarpanches had resigned through newspaper advertisements in the past four days. At some places, the panches and sarpanches announced their resignation over the public address system. Over 800 panchayat members have quit this year, the sources added. |
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73rd Amendment issue likely to rock NC-Cong coalition
Jammu, September 27 Furious over the stand taken by the CM, which is contrary to what the Congress vouches for, the party has decided to vociferously oppose the issue and for this, Youth Congress activists have already taken to the streets. Sources in the Congress said after the President’s visit concludes, a delegation of state party leaders would visit New Delhi to discuss the issue with the Central leadership. The CM had also targeted J-K Pradesh Congress Committee
(JKPCC) chief Saifuddin Soz recently, saying that he was politicising the killings of panchayat members. Congress leaders are of the opinion that by taking on Soz for staunchly demanding the extension of the 73rd Amendment in the state, Omar had snowballed the issue into a big controversy. Also, stunned by Chief Minister’s remarks that two Congress ministers had opposed empowerment of
panchayats, the party leadership is keen to identify the accused party ministers who have been opposing the directions of the high command. “The disclosure by the Chief Minister has raised a finger on the intention of the Congress so the leadership has initiated efforts to identity ministers who are publicly supporting the 73rd Amendment but internally opposing it,” sources said, adding that embarrassed over the disclosure, the party leadership had decided to take the issue of
panchayats’ empowerment to a logical conclusion so as to improve the image of the party in the public. “Ethically, the CM should disclose the names of the Congress ministers who had opposed empowerment of
panchayats,” Soz told The Tribune. “There is no reason why he should hide the names,” he said, making it clear that the party would not compromise on its
stand. PCC spokesman Ravinder Sharma told The Tribune that the CM’s remarks had triggered strong resentment among party workers. “Those who are demanding greater autonomy for the state are not even ready to delegate the existing powers to the Panchayat Raj institutions, which form the base of any democratic system,” he said. |
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MLA holds protest to draw Pranab’s attention to Afzal’s mercy plea
Srinagar, September 27 Rasheed said he wanted to remind the President about the clemency appeal of Afzal Guru, which is pending before him. Holding placards and banners, which read ‘clemency for Guru, unconditional release of all political prisoners, revocation of contentious laws like the Armed Forces Special Powers Act (ASPA) and the Public Safety Act (PSA)’, Rasheed and his supporters organised a dharna at Regal Chowk in Srinagar. While Rasheed addressed his supporters and raised slogans, the police personnel present at the venue did not prevent the MLA or his supporters from Langate in north Kashmir from staging a sit-in. Later, Rasheed along with his followers marched towards the Lal Chowk area. He asked his supporters to disperse peacefully near Press Enclave. “I had voted for Pranab with the hope that that he will sign the mercy petition of Afzal Guru. Today when he is in Srinagar, I am holding this protest to remind him that Afzal guru’s mercy petition is still pending before him,” Rasheed said while talking to the media at the dharna site. Rasheed said he and his supporters were also demanding revocation of “black laws” like the AFSPA and PSA. Shutdown hits life Normal life in Kashmir was today affected due to the strike called by separatists. The shutdown call was given by hardline Hurriyat chairman Syed Ali Geelani against the visit of the President Schools, banks, offices, shops and other business establishments in Srinagar and other parts of Kashmir remained closed and public transport was off the roads. However, private vehicles could be seen plying in different parts of the city. |
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Kashmiris for cessation of all forms of violence: Mirwaiz
Srinagar, September 27 The remarks were made at the Organisation of Islamic Conference (OIC) Contact Group meeting on Kashmir in New York today, a Hurriyat spokesperson said. “Let it be known to the entire world that Kashmiris want a peaceful resolution of the conflict, they only want redemption of their pledged right of self determination in the UN Charter,” the spokesman quoted from the speech of the Mirwaiz. “We believe in cessation of all forms of violence and it is essential to acknowledge that the present phase of Kashmir’s struggle is peaceful but between 2008 to 2010, more than 125 young protesters were killed by the state’s forces,” said the Mirwaiz in his address. The Mirwaiz highlighted the role played by the OIC in keeping Kashmir on the “international radar’ and said, “It is our concerted appeal to the OIC to approach various international forums to evolve a global consensus for
amelioration of the sufferings of the people of Jammu and Kashmir.” Although the Mirwaiz welcomed the renewed Indo-Pak engagement, he expressed his skepticism over the final outcome of the dialogue between the two countries. Demanding an “inclusive, time framed dialogue over Kashmir”, the
Mirwaiz urged that “authentic Kashmiri leadership should be an inseparable component of the engagement”. The meeting was attended by foreign ministers of Pakistan, Saudia Arabia, Turkey, Nigeria and the President of Pakistan Occupied Kashmir, said the spokesman.
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Tourism Dept eyes adventure tourism to woo more visitors
Srinagar, September 27 “Our focus is on adventure tourism... we have plans of promoting adventure sports like rock climbing, mountaineering, mountain biking and water sports in a big way,” Parvez told The Tribune. He said water sports would be the top priority while promoting adventure sports in the Valley. While several water sports tournaments have been held in the past, Parvez said the four-day-long National White Water Slalom Kayaking & Canoeing Championship, which is starting tomorrow at Sonamarg in Ganderbal district, will see the participation of 140 national-level players. While the Tourism Department is hopeful that the event would attract the lovers of water sports in future, Parvez said they were organising the Shikara Festival, too, at Sonamarg on October 2. The kayaking and canoeing championship is being organised by the Jammu and Kashmir Kayaking and Canoeing Association and sponsored by the Tourism Department and J&K State Sports Council. The Tourism Department had organised a five-day national rock climbing championship here earlier this month in an effort to promote adventure tourism. As the Tourism Department has set a target of receiving 18 lakh tourists this year, Parvez said the Valley had received 10 per cent more tourists as compared to the corresponding period last year. However, he did not disclose the number of tourists that have visited Kashmir so far this year. Parvez said the department would enter into more public-private partnerships (PPPs) to improve the existing tourism infrastructure in the Valley.Incidentally, around 13.5 lakh tourists had visited Kashmir last year after the industry was hit hard for three consecutive years earlier due to the Amarnath land row agitation in 2008, the infamous Shopian incident in 2009 and the summer unrest of 2010. |
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Raise the bar, Guv tells educational institutes
Srinagar, September 27 The Governor, who is also the Chancellor of the University of Kashmir, was speaking at the 18th convocation of the university, where the President of India Pranab Mukherjee was the chief guest and Chief Minister Omar Abdullah was the guest of honour. Referring to the ‘Grade A’ status of the university given by the National Assessment and Accreditation Council (NAAC), the Governor said all the stakeholders should work tirelessly so that at least 80 percent of the institutions of higher learning in the state could secure similar accreditation in the next few years. He said the Kashmir University had a glorious history of having produced well-known scholars who made a mark in various spheres but a tense atmosphere in the state in the past few years affected the university. Vohra said efforts were being made to restore the university’s standing. Governor Vohra said the state’s people were lucky to have two agriculture universities, besides seven other varsities, including two Central universities. He called upon the youth to take optimum benefit out of these institutes to be able to contribute to the growth of the state and the country. The Governor thanked the President for gracing the occasion with his presence and congratulated all those who received degrees, honours and awards at the convocation. Aiming high Referring to the ‘Grade A’ status of the Kashmir University given by the National Assessment and Accreditation Council, the Governor said all the stakeholders should work tirelessly so that at least 80 per cent of the institutions of higher learning in the state could secure similar accreditation in the next few years.
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Cabinet okays skill development policy
Srinagar, September 27 “To chalk out an integrated strategy for enhancing the employability of the youth in the state and to address the growing skill gap among youth, the state government with its Skill Jammu and Kashmir Business Plan 2012-17 envisages grooming 9.1 lakh youth during the plan period,” a government spokesman said. “To achieve the target, an estimated Rs 1,575 crore will be required in sectors such as vocational and technical education, micro small-scale industry, horticulture, tourism, IT, health and animal husbandry," he said. The spokesman said with the intervention of the Sher-i-Kashmir Employment and Welfare Programme for Youth, the state government had been successful in creating the first-ever credible scientific database of unemployed youth in the state. “The number of unemployed youth registered in various district employment and counselling centres of J&K state is 6.04 lakh till January 2012. The data indicates the magnitude of the challenge,” he said. The Skill Jammu and Kashmir Business Plan, 2012-17, also envisages establishment of the Skill Development Centre and introduction of the Knowledge Centre Programme (KCP). The Cabinet has also given approval to the regularisation and promotion of some officers in the Jammu and Kashmir Economic and Statistics (Gazetted) Service. Killing of panchayat members condemned The Cabinet condemned the killings of panchayat members and expressed sympathy with the families of the killed PR representatives. It directed the Deputy Commissioners to expedite the process of granting compensation to the families of the deceased and to consider appointment of the next of kin of the deceased on compassionate grounds. |
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Congress pays tribute to Bhagat Singh
Jammu, September 27 The function was presided over by Jammu District Congress Committee president and former MLA Om Chopra and attended by senior PCC leaders Dharam Pal Sharma, Hari Singh, Ravinder Sharma, Indu Pawar, Kanta Bhan, Krishan Lal Gupta, Manmohan Singh, SR Sudhir and DS Langeh besides block and ward presidents. Floral tributes were paid to the martyr while speakers recalled his contribution to the freedom struggle. Om Chopra, in his presidential address, said Bhagat Singh did not believe in violent means as he used only that bomb which caused a lot of smoke but did not kill anybody. He said the freedom fighter wanted to draw the attention of the world towards the plight of his countrymen and spoke highly of his strong feelings for the freedom of the country.
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A question mark over two bodies
Jammu, September 26 The Kashmiri Muslim families had staked their claim to the bodies and subsequently buried the bodies in a graveyard at Ganderbal. The State Human Rights Commission (SHRC), which a few days ago received the DGP’s response in the case, now plans to get the bodies exhumed for conducting a DNA test on them. The case pertains to four Hindu labourers -- Bhushan Lal of Mangoo Chak, Ram Lal of Lalyal, Satpal of Chatha and Ashok Kumar of Pathankot. The labourers were allegedly approached by four Army personnel, including an officer, on April 12, 2004, at Gole Market in Gandhi Nagar here. The Army men had allegedly promised them a monthly salary of Rs 6,000 besides free lodging and clothing on the condition that they would work in Kashmir. Madan Lal, father of Bhushan Lal, submitted before the SHRC that after their wards left for Kashmir on April 13, 2004, he along with the families of three other labourers approached the Army authorities at Satwari to enquire about the wellbeing of their kin but in vain. A year later, Madan Lal was shocked to get an anonymous letter purportedly written by an Army officer that stated that their wards had been killed on April 20, 2004, in a fake encounter in the Markul area of Kashmir. The anonymous letter also had the names of 12 Army men, who allegedly took part in the fake encounter. A police report also substantiated the allegation, stating that the Army unit at Devar on April 20, 2004, had lodged a written report at Lalpora police station claiming that it had killed two “terrorists” in the Markul area. Incidentally, the whereabouts of two other labourers still remain a mystery. Following the killing of two “terrorists”, two Kashmiri men named Noor Mohammed Shah and Syed Mustafa Shah of Chont Wali War in Ganderbal had staked their claim on the bodies. Subsequently, on June 23, 2004, the decomposed bodies of the “terrorists” were exhumed and handed over to Noor and Syed but without the DNA tests. The Kashmiri men later buried the bodies in a graveyard in Ganderbal. |
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DRDO’s Leh lab bags award
Chandigarh, September 27 The award was presented by Prime Minister
Manmohan Singh to Dr RB Srivastava, Director, DIHAR; and Dr W Selvamurthy, Chief Controller, Defence Research and Development Organisation (DRDO); at Vigyan Bhawan in Delhi, read
a statement issued here today. DIHAR, a constituent laboratory of the DRDO, through its multidimensional research and development efforts has brought about qualitative and quantitative changes in agriculture, animal husbandry and cold desert flora of Ladakh. It has identified suitable varieties and developed agro-practices of 78 types of vegetables and 30 types of high altitude medicinal and aromatic plants to boost local production in the cold desert region. DIHAR has developed and successfully commercialised seabuckthorn products. The seabucktorn berries had no commercial value in the Ladakh region till the first seabuckthorn processing unit was established in
Leh by the DRDO. Now, it has become an additional source of income for farmers. The contributions of DIHAR has helped enhance the availability of fresh foods such as vegetables, fruits, milk, meat, eggs, supplementary herbal products and medicinal and aromatic plants to troops through local farmers.
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Jammu/Poonch, September 27
Elected representatives from village panchayats across J&K today met Congress general secretary Rahul Gandhi and sought security for panches and sarpanches in the state. They demanded the Congress withdraw support to National Conference if it continued to delay panchayat empowerment.
Srinagar, September 27
Chairman of the moderate faction of the Hurriyat Conference Mirwaiz Umar Farooq said a line should be drawn between struggle for self determination and terrorism, adding that Kashmiris wanted an end to all forms of violence and a peaceful resolution of the Kashmir conflict.
While World Tourism Day is being celebrated across the globe today, the state government is planning to give a further boost to the local tourism industry by promoting adventure tourism in a big way to attract more visitors to Kashmir.
With the Kashmir valley witnessing a booming tourism season this year, the Director, Tourism, Talat Parvez, said the main focus of the department was to promote adventure tourism.