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Intel inputs warn of more intrusion bids by Pak
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News Analysis
2 jawans killed in friendly fire
State govt fails to enforce anti-begging law
Beggars on a roadside in Srinagar. Photo: Yawar Kabli
1,788 halqas without panchayat ghar
Work yet to begin on Pampore’s trade
centre
Justice eludes victims of Bijbehara
massacre
Daring Dragons hold silver jubilee celebrations
Members of the 153 Helicopter Unit, fondly called the Daring Dragons, commenced their silver jubilee celebrations at Udhampur on Monday. A Tribune photograph
CM lays foundation of J&K Bank’s north zone office
Chief Minister Omar Abdullah lays the foundation stone of the Kashmir
North Zone office of Jammu and Kashmir Bank at Sopore in Baramulla district on Monday. Tribune Photo: Amin War
Proposal to increase honorarium of SPOs sent to Centre
Anti-graft panel wants govt help to tide over staff, funds crunch
BJP criticises Omar’s AFSPA statement
Militant hideout busted in Kupwara
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Intel inputs warn of more intrusion bids by Pak
Jammu, October 22 “There are specific inputs with us that around 350 militants have been shifted to various launching pads on the other side of the LoC opposite the Poonch sector alone,” said a top Army source. Pakistan is desperate to replenish the depleting cadre of terrorists in the state. The near-normalcy, which has returned to J&K, is simply not digestible to them, he added. Yesterday, Union Home Minister Sushil Kumar Shinde had again accused Pakistan of fomenting trouble in India. “All along the LoC, the Army has alerted its troops and we are maintaining a strict vigil along the borderline,” said the source, who didn’t rule out the possibilities of forced intrusion bids under Pakistani fire in the days ahead. “Yes, there is a considerable increase in truce violations on the Indo-Pak border, which has become a daily affair but we are familiar with their tactics and accordingly have devised a strategy,” he added. A senior Army officer disclosed that this year so far there had been 70 truce violations by Pakistan troops along the 776-km-long LoC --33 in the area under the jurisdiction of 15 Corps in Kashmir and 37 in the area under 16 Corps in the Jammu region. Last year there were 42 violations --- 11 in the area under 15 Corps and 31 in the area under 16 Corps, he added. In this context, the Army has sent a classified report to its headquarters, he said. The 192-km-long international border with the BSF is also witnessing a spurt in Pakistani firing. Ceasefire Violations So far this year, Pakistan Rangers have violated the ceasefire 16 times compared to four times last year, said a senior BSF officer. “They also sniped at our boys killing three of them this year,” he added. The officer said that ever since the BSF detected Pakistan’s transborder tunnel in the Samba sector on July 27, there had been 11 truce violations by the Rangers from August 5 to August 21. We have sent a detailed report on the existing situation to the BSF headquarters, he said. India and Pakistan had agreed to a ceasefire along the LoC and international border in November 2003 as a confidence-building measure. This year so far nine soldiers and three border guards have been killed in Pakistani firing along the LoC and the international border. |
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News Analysis
Jammu, October 22 The Act was invoked in two stages in July 1990 and August 2000. The second phase was invoked when Omar’s father Farooq Abdullah was the Chief Minister of the state. That time the whole of the Jammu region had come under the AFSPA, which was earlier restricted to the Valley and 20 km radius from the Line of Control (LoC) in Rajouri and Poonch districts of the Jammu region. Omar raised the issue to a feverish pitch in October 2011 when he declared that the AFSPA would go within the next few days, while this Sunday he made the issue his mission. The mission to remove the AFSPA in a phased manner on Sunday was stated thus by him: Time is ripe for the phased withdrawal of the AFSPA. This declaration came on Sunday at the same police martyrs’ day function and at the same place — Zewan —where on the same day last year he had announced that the “black laws” (read the AFSPA and Disturbed Area Act) would be lifted from some areas of the state “within the next few days”. It is now a little over one year and that “within few days” statement has not been translated into action. The biggest stumbling block is the Army, which has the support of Defence Minister A K Antony, who has argued against the recall of the special powers even from some of the areas where the Army has not operated for years together. Union Home Minister Sushil Kumar Shinde, a softer version of his immediate predecessor P Chidambaram, has said “no to the lifting of the AFSPA” Difference of perception of the two sides — Omar Abdullah on the one side, and the Army, Defence Minister and Home Minister at the Centre on the other — is because both sides are locked in a debate about who has a better idea of the ground situation in Jammu and Kashmir. The Chief Minister has his own feedback — from the state intelligence agency, police and political workers. Much of his feedback comes from the main opposition Peoples Democratic Party, which criticises him day in and day out. The Centre has its own feedback. It has vast resources — Central agencies, military intelligence, paramilitary forces and Congress leaders — which offer it information. This pool gives the feedback that the AFSPA should stay. Three issues are at stake. One is the safety and security of more than 12 million people living in the state, particularly about 6 million of whom are living in the Kashmir valley. There is little doubt that militants are present in the state. They recently demonstrated their presence when they targeted a hotel on the outskirts of Srinagar, killing two of its employees. Second is the issue of human rights. The security forces have the powers to barge into the house of any person and ransack his house on the basis of their suspicion and they don’t have to offer any explanation for their acts of omission and commission. They have the powers to intrude into anyone’s privacy. Kashmiris have been opposing these powers to the security forces and their arrogant attitude, despite the “sadhbhavana” or “goodwill missions” that the Army organises for Kashmiri people. Third issue is regarding the propaganda. Some of the issues are blown up out of proportion, and at times some are imagined too. Like an incident of mass rape was reported from Kulgam last year, but all inquiries found that there was nothing of the sort. “Everything can be sorted out and the mechanism worked out as the Chief Minister has the powers to sign a notification and the special powers would disappear in as much time as he would take to sign Omar Abdullah,” said a senior officer privy to the whole gamut on the AFSPA. “But, I don’t want to take any unilateral decision. I want everyone on board,” the Chief Minister has
been telling reporters and interviewers. The Army has its own litany of arguments that says that the AFSPA cannot be done away with. The AFSPA is 22 years old in Jammu and Kashmir and Omar would be entering into the fifth year as head of the government in less than three months’ time, but the AFSPA is staying as of today. |
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State govt fails to enforce anti-begging law
Srinagar, October 22 Official sources said the state government refrains from counting the non-locals who arrive in the state and could be easily identified as beggars, which is why there is no adequate data on the number of beggars in the state. A major chunk of the beggar populace in the state comprises minors, women, and physically-challenged. The Jammu and Kashmir Prevention of Beggary Act, 1960, which aims at providing alternative means of livelihood for beggars and preventing begging at public places, has not been enforced by the state government. Section 4 of the Act clearly states that for begging purposes, a beggar cannot exhibit any wound, deformity or disease as it is a cognisable offence and can lead to his arrest without any warrant. Moreover, the Act deems it necessary to facilitate uniforms and improve the living standards of beggars in the state. However, as the begging menace thrives in the state, the authorities are busy playing blame-games instead of tackling the problem head on. Tourism Department officials said the growing number of beggars in the state poses inconvenience to tourists, especially foreign tourists, who are often nagged and chased by beggars. They said the district administrations and the municipal bodies lack coordination in effectively checking the menace, which has turned into a social problem. “Our market-checking squads have observed that a majority of the beggars present in the state are non-locals, especially from Bihar, West Bengal, Rajasthan and Bangladesh. The number of local beggars is proportionately small. They usually throng cities on occasions like Eid, Ramadhan, Diwali etc,” said an official. Srinagar Deputy Commissioner Baseer Ahmad khan said the implementation of the Act was a joint responsibility of the municipal corporation and the local police. “Even though we know that the problem has attained alarming proportions in the state, we have not been able to curb this menace. A more stringent set of rules is required to rid the state of the problem,” he said. Srinagar Municipal Corporation commissioner GN Qasba said acts of charity, which are done by the Muslims on occasions like Eid and Ramadhan, encourages beggars to throng the cities during these festivals. |
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1,788 halqas without panchayat ghar
Srinagar, October 22 This was revealed in official documents tabled by the Department of Rural Development and Panchayati Raj during the recently concluded autumn session of the Legislative Assembly. It has been stated that 899 panchayat ghar had to be constructed in the state but none of these have been set up as “it took a lot of time to identify the land”. “However, in the panchayat halqas where land has been made available, the work has been started and shall be completed within six months... 50 per cent of the panchayat ghar taken up are expected to be completed during the current financial year 2012-13,” the documents added. During 2011-12 and the current financial year, Rs 11,356.64 lakh has been released so far for the construction of panchayat ghar. An additional amount of Rs 5,795.14 lakh has been released for the renovation of the existing panchayat ghar. Incidentally, the state government had drawn a lot of flak from various quarters over its alleged failure to empower panches and sarpanches after the successful conduct of panchayat elections last year. And then earlier this month, the BDC elections were postponed after the Congress demanded incorporating provisions of the 73rd Amendment to the Indian Constitution in the existing J&K Panchayati Raj Act. The BDC poll was deferred as the government had earlier decided to hold the same without reservations for Scheduled Castes, Schedule Tribes and women, a move that was opposed by the National Panthers Party, BJP and the Congress. |
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Work yet to begin on Pampore’s trade
centre
Anantnag, October 22 In 2008, the then Chief Minister Ghulam Nabi Azad sanctioned a state-of-the-art Trade
Centre, which was to be completed at an estimated cost of Rs 48 crore. However, four years down the line, with no ground work whatsoever on the project, the land that had been identified for this ambitious project is lying idle. Handicrafts Department officials said out of Rs 48
crore, the Central Government had committed to pay Rs 30 crore and the rest of the amount was to be paid by the state government. “So far, we have only received Rs 5 crore from the
Centre,” said Muzaffar Hussain, Director Handicrafts, Kashmir. The civil societies of the district and people associated with handicrafts said the project had high hopes pinned to it by various sections of society. “Not only the project would have brought the handicrafts of Kashmir into global market but it would have also helped employment generation to a certain extent,” said Mushtaq Ahmad, a member of the Civil
Society,Pampore. The handicraft players said the project, once completed, would boost their business and curb the menace of duplicity in their business. The Handicrafts Department maintains that the Cabinet approval to the project has come in April this year and since then they had been working hard to get the work on the project started. “We had invited tenders from private players to partner us in the project. However, unfortunately nobody came forward,” director said. He added that the department was in talks with the Export Promotion Council for Handicrafts
(EPCH) and the deal had almost been sealed. “We will own the project and it will be co-managed by the department and the
EPCH. Given their expertise in the promotion of handicrafts, we also have high hopes pinned with it,” director added.
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Justice eludes victims of Bijbehara
massacre
Anantnag, October 22 “More than 15,000 civilians had gathered near the National Highway 1A, passing along the town, to protest against the siege of the Dargah at Hazratbal in Srinagar by the Army,” said a human rights activist. He said a unit of the 74th Battalion of the Border Security Force
(BSF) fired indiscriminately on the protesters. He said a report prepared by the Bijbehara enquiry Magistrate submitted to the government on November 13, 1993, asserted that the firing was unprovoked and barbarous in manner. “However, the thirteen BSF personnel charged for murder by the NHRC were later acquitted by the General Security Force Court,” said the activist. The
NHRC, too, dismissed the case in 2000, as it was denied access to the file cases by the Ministry of Defence and the Home Ministry. Meanwhile, people of Bijbehara town as well as some separatist leaders today paid floral tributes to the people killed in the massacre on October 22, 1993. A delegation from the Jammu and Kashmir Liberation Front, led by party vice-chairman Advocate Bashir Ahmad Butt, visited the martyrs’ graveyard here in
Bijbehara. People’s Conference chairman Mukhtar Ahmad Waza, too, visited the graveyard and prayed for the peace of these departed souls. People from all walks of life from the area attended prayer ceremonies held at the graveyard.
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Daring Dragons hold silver jubilee celebrations
Jammu, October 22 As part of the celebrations, a two-day symposium on ‘Glacier Operations’ began today which was attended by retired and serving officers of the unit. The roles of the unit include air maintenance, special helicopter-borne operations, communications, casualty evacuation and aid to civil authorities. The unit has been actively operating with the Indian Army in ‘Operation Meghdoot’ for the past 24 years, braving intense weather conditions and a challenging terrain to provide logistics support at Siachen Glacier, the highest battlefield in the world. The unit has also been actively engaged in counter-insurgency operations in the state, carrying out troop induction and de-induction without suffering a single casualty and has played a pivotal role in the completion of the anti-infiltration fence along the Line of Control. The unit has actively conducted rescue missions during natural disasters in remote areas of the state which were hit by heavy snowfalls, cloudbursts and earthquakes by evacuating casualties and carrying relief material to the areas.
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CM lays foundation of J&K Bank’s north zone office
Srinagar, October 22 He emphasised making loan disbursement hassle-free for people. “The disbursement of loans to farmers needs to be made time-bound to enable them to carry on agricultural activities as per the calendar and obtain results successfully,” he said and urged the bank to reduce the gap between credit and deposits. Omar also appreciated the bank for its positive role in the economic development and in keeping banking facilities available to people across the state. Meanwhile, the Chief Minister inspected the Sopore bypass bridge, which is being executed by the Border Roads Organisation. He also interacted with people on the occasion. “He heard their development demands patiently and said the government was keen to ensure holistic development in the state and to reach out all the areas in the process. He assured the people that their genuine demands would be given due consideration,” an official said.
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Proposal to increase honorarium of SPOs sent to Centre
Srinagar, October 22 The government has, however, ruled out fixing the honorarium of the Village Defence Committee (VDC) members engaged in counter-insurgency operations, saying their engagement is voluntary in nature. At present, the SPOs are given a monthly honorarium of Rs 3,000. However, as per the proposal submitted by the state government to the Union Home ministry, they plan to increase it to Rs 5,000 per month. The militancy-hit state has over 23,690 SPOs and 28,865 volunteers working with the VDCs, a majority of whom are engaged in anti-militancy operations, particularly in Jammu province. Out of these, more than 8,000 SPOs are working with the police on different operational duties in the Kashmir Division, while over 1,500 youth have been engaged as SPOs in Jammu province. “A proposal for enhancing the honorarium of the SPOs from existing Rs 3,000 per month to Rs 5,000 has been submitted to the Ministry of Home, Government of India, for concurrence on September 7, 2012,” the papers submitted by the government in the recently concluded Assembly session revealed. “The Ministry of Home affairs has been requested to accord sanction to the proposal,” it stated. The official papers state that as regards to fixing the honorarium of the VDC members, the government has no proposal as yet. “There is also no proposal for the payment of the honorarium to the volunteers working in the VDCs in view of the voluntary nature of their service,” the official papers revealed.
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Anti-graft panel wants govt help to tide over staff, funds crunch
Jammu, October 22 A New Delhi-based NGO, Transparency International, in a survey in 2005, had bracketed Jammu and Kashmir as the second most corrupt state after Bihar in the entire country. The panel, in its report, has clearly pointed out that it does not have adequate staff, infrastructure and a probe agency to help it with investigation. The Tribune on May 14 this year had reported about vacant posts, a missing investigating agency and overstretched staff. “Out of the five vacant gazetted posts, only three have been filled by the government in the last one year. Similarly, out of 28 non-gazetted posts, 16 are still vacant. Even the two posts of public prosecutors are lying vacant,” reads the report. The panel has also drawn the attention of the government towards the investigating agency which has not been provided to the panel so far, and this has been severely hampering its functioning. Inadequate staff and infrastructure had resulted in 324 cases pending till August 21 last year. However, orders were passed to transfer 282 cases to the Vigilance Commission in terms of the statutory provision made in Section 32 of the State Accountability Act. “As of August 21 this year, the panel had a pendency of 48 cases out of which 21 are being probed while remaining are at preliminary inquiry /under process stage,” reads the report. In 19 cases, the defendants, including a sitting minister of the ruling alliance and a former minister, approached the High Court, which stayed the proceedings. The panel, headed by Justice (retd) YP Nargotra as its chairperson, has also pointed out that insufficient funds were being provided to it. Incidentally, ever since the coalition government of the PDP and the
Congress came up with the anti-graft panel in 2005 to tighten the noose around corruption in the system, the Act has seen
amendments, which confined it to take cognisance of corrupt practices by politicians, ministers, MLAs and
MLCs. Chairpersons since 2005
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BJP criticises Omar’s AFSPA statement
Jammu, October 22 In a statement issued here today, BJP leader from Kishtwar Sunil Sharma said a number of militants were still active in hilly areas so the government should not give statements which demoralised the security forces. Echoing similar sentiments, a BJP leader from Rajouri, Vibodh Gupta, said the CM had been giving such statements only to demoralise the security forces who have been fighting Pakistan-sponsored militancy.
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Militant hideout busted in Kupwara
Srinagar, October 22 Ten AK-56 rifles, one AK-47 rifle, one PIKA gun, 12 rocket-propelled grenades (RPGs), 12 Chinese-made grenades, 447 AK-47 bullets, 40 PIKA bullets and five AK-47 magazines were recovered from the hideout, he said.
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