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Hurriyat delegation meets PoK leaders
Hardliners need to change their outlook: Mirwaiz
Militants desperate to sneak into J-K from
Rajouri: Army
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Avalanche warning after heavy snowfall in Valley
Kashmir wetlands a treat for birdwatchers
Government promises a school at every 1km
Minister for opening of Kargil-Skardu road
97 ceasefire violations along Line of Control this year
Ring road project fails to take off
8 killed, one injured as minibus falls into gorge
Adequate staff to be deployed in exam centres
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Hurriyat delegation meets PoK leaders
Srinagar, December 16 Soon after their arrival in the capital city of Pakistan, the delegation members held “detailed meetings” with the ‘president’ and ‘prime minister ’of Pakistan-occupied Kashmir (PoK). Earlier while talking to mediapersons at Lahore airport, Mirwaiz termed Kashmir as a trilateral issue between India, Pakistan and Kashmiris and called for its resolution through tripartite talks, a Hurriyat spokesman said in a statement issued here. “On his arrival at Lahore airport on Saturday evening, Mirwaiz in clear terms described Kashmir as a tripartite issue between India, Pakistan and the people of Kashmir which needs to be resolved through tripartite dialogue,” the spokesman quoted Mirwaiz as having told reporters on his arrival in Pakistan. “Mirwaiz said the basic purpose of his visit was to ensure participation of Kashmiris in the ongoing comprehensive dialogue between the two countries,” the spokesman said. The Hurriyat delegation had left Delhi airport on Saturday evening for Lahore airport, and from there it is scheduled to travel to Islamabad. “After having an overnight stay in Lahore, the delegation reached Islamabad today (Sunday) morning, where they were welcomed by the leader of the Kashmir Chapter of the Hurriyat Conference and other Kashmiris,” the spokesman said. The Hurriyat delegation had a detailed meeting with the ‘president’ and ‘prime minister’ of PoK later in the day. “Mirwaiz along with other delegation members held a detailed meeting with PoK ‘president’ Mohammad Yaqoob Khan and ‘prime minister’ Choudhary Abdul Majeed. Both the sides exchanged their views on the political situation in Kashmir and other policy matters with an open mind,” the spokesman said. Later in the evening, the spokesman said, Mirwaiz inaugurated a medical college in Islamabad dedicated to the memory of his late father Mirwaiz Farooq, who was assassinated by unknown gunmen in the early 1990s. During their weeklong stay in Pakistan, the Hurriyat delegation is scheduled to meet Pakistan Prime Minister, Foreign Minister, Leader of the Opposition and other Kashmir-related groups. The delegation is expected to return on December 23. The other members of the Hurriyat delegation include Prof Abdul Gani Bhat, Moulana Abbas Ansari, Aga Syed, Bilal Gani Lone, Mussadiq Aadil and Mukhtar Ahmad Waza. |
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Hardliners need to change their outlook: Mirwaiz
New Delhi, December 16 In an exclusive interview to The Tribune before leaving for the five-day Pakistan visit from the Capital last evening, chairman of the moderate Hurriyat Mirwaiz Umar Farooq said the time had come for the leadership of Kashmir to take ownership of the issue and contribute to the ongoing dialogue process rather than exhibit an outlook that doesn't help to deliver an alternative. “Kashmir is not a bilateral problem. We are the principal party in the trilateral dispute and we must be engaged in the dialogue process, especially when both India and Pakistan are talking. We are visiting Pakistan to see how the leadership there can associate us to the dialogue process. Our objective is not to make this visit a process and not an event. With India also we want to talk. After all our principal problems are with India,” he told TNS. Hurriyat hardliner Syed Ali Shah Geelani has rejected the invitation to Pakistan, saying trade ties between India and Pakistan can’t change the ground reality in the Valley. Separatist leaders Shabir Shah and Yasin Malik are also not visiting Pakistan, exposing divisions within the separatist ranks on the issue. Responding to evident divisions, Mirwaiz said "some of his friends" (read the hardliners) needed to change their outlook and start engaging with the dialogue process somewhere. “Some of our friends need to have a more objective approach to the issue. The leadership of Kashmir must deliver an alternative. It has been 65 years. Criticism for the sake of criticism will not help. What have they (read the hardliners) got with their approach? They need to change their outlook and start somewhere,” said Mirwaiz, who was recently named among top PhD scholars by the Kashmir University for his work on Islamic studies. The Hurriyat moderates are visiting Pakistan after five years and hope to impress upon the leaders there to make Kashmir-related commitments in the manifestos ahead of elections next year. While separatists like Shabir Shah (head, J&K Freedom Party) feel it's not a good time to visit Pakistan given the looming political uncertainty and business of Pakistani leadership in elections, Mirwaiz feels the opposite. “This is the best time to visit Pakistan. Every political party is developing its agenda and we can engage with them on how to move forward. They can go to the people with something concrete in mind on Kashmir. Tehreek-ke-Insaaf chief Imran Khan has been talking about his vision of Kashmir. Let us hear what he has to say,” said Mirwaiz, leading a seven-member delegation of All Party Hurriyat Conference to Pakistan. On their agenda is the consolidation of progress on recent confidence-building measures (CBMs) between the two countries and demand for Kashmir-related CBMs. “We want to contribute to the process of dialogue. We will discuss issues of the AFSPA withdrawal, accountability and political prisoners with Pakistan and seek its support for easier regimes on cross-LoC trade, travel permissions to the other side of Kashmir and water agreements where
Kashmiris must be given incentives,” he said. |
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Militants desperate to sneak into J-K from
Rajouri: Army
Jammu, December 16 “Militants are now focusing on Rajouri and Poonch districts to infiltrate into the state as the passes in mountainous areas have been closed due to heavy snowfall,” Lt Gen DS Hooda, General Officer Commanding (GOC) of White Knight Corps, told mediapersons on the sidelines of a flagging in ceremony of an educational tour at 16 Corps Headquarters in Nagrota here. The GOC was responding to media queries on recent recurring ceasefire violations by the Pakistan army in the Krishna Ghati sector in Poonch district. The Pakistan army had used mortar shells and rockets to create panic among people living in forward areas. “Most of the attempts are being made from the Krishna Ghati sector but we are well-equipped and ready to face any challenge. No successful infiltration attempt has been reported so far. We have been able to successfully thwart the infiltration bids. The number of infiltration attempts is on the rise,” said Lt Gen Hooda. The GOC, however, claimed that a small number of militants were operating in Kishtwar, the Gool area of Reasi district and the interiors of Rajouri. “Their (militants) number is very less as the security forces have eliminated almost the entire top leadership from the region,” the GOC said. On a question regarding the Union Home Minister’s statement that the Armed Forces Special Powers Act would not be revoked till the restoration of peace in Jammu and Kashmir, Lt Gen Hooda refused to comment, saying, “It was a political issue.” Earlier, the GOC flagged in an educational tour of 23 youth from Surankote Degree College and Government Degree College, Poonch. The tour called ‘Paigam-e-Aman’ was organised by Rashtriya Rifles Battalion under the aegis of the Counter Insurgency Force (Romeo). During the 13-day-tour, the youth visited Trivandrum, Kanyakumari, Ooty, Mysore and Bangalore. Lt Gen Hooda, while addressing the gathering, said, “We must try and provide youth with every opportunity to grow and progress as they are the future of the state. It was a small contribution by the Army aimed at providing exposure to the youth of the state.” |
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Avalanche warning after heavy snowfall in Valley
Srinagar, December 16 The avalanche warning has been issued for the Uri, Tangdhar, Machil, Keran, Chowkibal and Gurez regions, all located close to the LoC in north Kashmir, an official of the state Disaster Management Cell said. He said the warning had also been issued to people living in the upper reaches of the Banihal area and areas surrounding the Jawahar tunnel along the Jammu-Srinagar National Highway, which is the only surface link connecting the region with the rest of country. The highway was closed to traffic for the last two days and thrown open to one-way traffic today. “A medium-danger avalanche warning has been issued to people in these areas,” said Aamir Ali, coordinator of the state Disaster Management Cell. He said residents of these areas had been advised to take precautionary measures and not go near avalanche prone zones. The official said the avalanche warning had also been issued for Gulmarg in north Kashmir which attracts hundreds of tourists each day. The mountainous areas of the Kashmir valley received heavy snowfall last week as the arrival of western disturbances continued to affect the weather for the last four days. The Valley is gearing up for a harsh winter, which is set to begin later this week, when “chillai kalaan” - a 40-day-long harshest phase of the season begins. Last winter, the remote mountainous areas of the Valley were hit by several avalanches in which several people, including many soldiers were killed. |
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Kashmir wetlands a treat for birdwatchers
Srinagar, December 16 At present, over 2.5 lakh migratory birds from different countries have flocked to Hokersar, Shalbug, Haigam wetlands and Wular Lake in north Kashmir. “Over 2.5 lakh migratory birds are currently settled in different wetlands of Kashmir, with the majority of the birds in Hokersar wetland on the outskirts of Srinagar,” said Abdul Rauf Zargar, wildlife warden at Hokersar Wetland. With water levels increasing in the wetlands due to recent snowfall and rains, the authorities are expecting more arrivals particularly in the protected wetlands like Hokersar. “Now more and more migratory birds are flocking to Hokersar and we expect the number of these birds to increase in the coming days,” Rauf said. The authorities expect over half a million migratory birds this season in the Kashmir wetlands. Before reaching Kashmir from faraway countries and regions like Siberia, China, Central Asia, Western Europe and Japan, these migratory birds travel thousands of kilometres for their annual sojourn to the wetlands of Kashmir. As the temperatures in these regions drop to considerable low levels, these birds are forced to traverse long distances to escape extreme winter conditions in their summer habitats and search for food in different wetlands in comparatively warmer zones like Kashmir. By mid-January, when the temperatures in Kashmir plummet and the water in the wetlands freezes, the presence of the migratory birds decreases, said Rauf. These migratory birds stay in Kashmir wetlands for over a month or two and finally start the return leg of the annual sojourn in mid-January or afterwards depending upon the winter conditions and availability of food in the Valley wetlands. The commonly sighted migratory birds in the wetlands of Kashmir include grey-legged goose, pintail, Gadwalls, common teal, brahminy duck, tufted duck, garganey, mallard, common merganser, northern pintail, common pochard, ferruginous pochard, red-crested pochard, ruddy shelduck, northern shoveler, and Eurasian wigeon. Wildlife authorities pointed out that there was a worrying aspect too to increased water levels in non-protected wetlands like the Wular Lake. “The increased water levels means that poachers have more access to the inner patches and interior parts of the Wular Lake, which plays host to lakhs of migratory birds. When the water level is low, it becomes dangerous for the poachers to cross marshy patches of the lake,” Rouf said. The disturbance created by the poachers in the Wular Lake, also forces birds to settle in other protected wetlands like Hokersar, Shalbug and Haigam, the authorities pointed out. Winged guests
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Government promises a school at every 1km
Jammu, December 16 Minister for Revenue, Relief and Rehabilitation Raman Bhalla, while addressing a function today after laying the foundation stone of additional rooms at Government High School in Digiana in Jammu district under the Rashtriya Madhyamic Shiksha Abhiyan (RMSA), said the government was making sincere efforts to provide all infrastructural facilities to students in every nook and corner of the state so that they would not face any inconvenience in getting quality education. The government was committed to opening new schools at every one kilometre, he added. The Minister, while urging the parents to send their wards to schools, said the Education Ministry had launched a door-to-door campaign to identify those children who had not enrolled in the schools due to financial constraint. In this regard the government had to bear Rs 3,000 for each child for providing scholarship, uniform, fee and books. The government has decided to open new schools, but the condition of the existing schools has been deteriorating every passing year due to apathy of the state government. Official documents reveal that a number of government schools have been recording zero per cent results during the last two years. As many as 152 government schools (116 in 2009 and 36 in 2010) registered zero per cent results in the Jammu province in class X exams conducted by the Jammu and Kashmir Board of School Education (JKBOSE). Nineteen government schools in 2009 and 22 in 2010 failed to register any pass percentage. In Jammu province, 14 government schools in 2009 and 15 in 2010 recorded zero per cent results in class XII exams. Five government schools in the Kashmir region also failed to register any pass percentage during the academic session 2009-10. The latest Economic Survey report says 3,202 primary schools, 773 middle schools, 51 high schools and 4 higher secondary schools are without government-owned buildings. The newly upgraded institutions, including 450 high schools and 243 higher secondary schools have deficient accommodation. |
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Minister for opening of Kargil-Skardu road
Jammu, December 16 He urged for removing man-made barriers between people living on both the sides of the Line of Control (LoC). Interacting with some members of the Gilgit-Baltistan Assembly, led by Aamina Ansari, Akhoon said people from both the sides were yearning for the revival of trade and bilateral relations which would begin an era of peace, development and prosperity in the region. Ansari was accompanied by Anayatullah Khan Shumali. Akhoon advocated opening of the Kargil-Skardu road on the pattern of the Poonch-Chakan-da-Bagh and Uri-Muzaffarabad roads for trade and bilateral relations between the two sides, adding that public representatives of the Gilgit-Baltistan Assembly should pass a resolution in the legislature to impress upon the Pakistan government to remove restrictions across the road. He apprised the group about initiatives taken by him in this regard and said he had raised the issue with Prime Minister Manmohan Singh who had shown a positive response. He said the revival of people’s movement across the Kargil-Skardu road would bring economic prosperity in Kargil and Leh districts by way of trade and commerce activities. “The fruit business will especially get a boost,” Akhoon said. MLC Aga Syed Ahmad Rizvi was also present on the occasion. |
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97 ceasefire violations along Line of Control this year
Jammu, December 16 “This year so far there have been 49 truce violations along the LoC in the Jammu region compared to 13 last year, which clearly indicates that this year the Pakistan army has tried more desperately to push militants from across the LoC,” said a senior Army officer. The LoC in Kashmir this year has so far recorded 47 violations compared to 39 last year, he added. The LoC in the Kashmir valley is being manned by 15 Corps while the same in the Jammu region is being guarded by 16 Corps. “The statistics speak for themselves. This year Pakistan was more desperate to push militants into the state to replenish depleting cadres of various terror outfits but we maintained a strict vigil along the LoC thwarting their attempts,” said the officer. The officer said recent violations by Pakistan since November 25 in the Krishna Ghati (KG) sector of Poonch district amply indicated its designs. “We have restored near normalcy in the state by sacrificing our officers and men in the line of duty. Therefore, we will not allow Pakistan to revive militancy. The remaining militants are being chased relentlessly by the forces and they will soon meet their fate,” he added. The truce deal between the two countries had come into force on November 26, 2003. Targeting KG sector
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Ring road project fails to take off
Jammu, December 16 The NHAI, the executing agency of the project, is yet to start the formulation of detailed project reports (DPRs) on the project involving an expenditure of about Rs 3,000 crore. Official sources said no progress had been made on the project so far and even the work on DPRs for the two ring roads — one each in Jammu and Srinagar —could not be started. On September 25, the Chief Minister had given a nod to the construction of Jammu and Srinagar ring roads to decongest traffic and cater to futuristic requirements of both the capital cities. Omar had directed the NHAI to formulate the DPR and put up the proposals to the Roads and Buildings Department for finalisation. RP Singh, Project Director of the NHAI, Jammu, said they were awaiting a final alignment approval from the state government to start work on the DPR. “The DPR will be formulated only after the state government approves alignment for the ring road in Jammu which will start from Raipur near Vijaypur and meet the national highway at Akhnoor town from where it will go up to the Nagrota bypass. The road project will be about 60 km in length,” Singh said. In Jammu, the four-lane ring road will involve an expenditure of Rs 1,355 crore. It will have four major bridges in phase-I and four similar bridges in phase-II, while a total of nine minor bridges will be constructed in two phases. As many as 317 culverts will be constructed in two phases. There will be two flyovers in each package. Under package-I, the road length from Raipur to Akhnoor would be 43 km and in package-II, it would be 16.9 km (from Akhnoor to the Nagrota bypass). Sources said no headway had been made in the road project for Srinagar which would start at Galandar near Pampore and meet the Srinagar-Muzaffarabad highway near the Narbal junction in phase-I. |
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8 killed, one injured as minibus falls into gorge
Batote, December 16 Police sources said all the victims were locals. The seven persons, including the driver, were killed instantly. One more passenger succumbed to his injuries while being taken to District Hospital in Doda. The only injured passenger was also admitted to District Hospital, Doda. The rescue operation was going on till reports last came in. |
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Adequate staff to be deployed in exam centres
Jammu, December 16 Sources said there was every possibility that the number of examination centres across Jammu would go up due to an increase in the number of candidates appearing in the annual exams. Keeping this in mind, the education board has decided to depute its staff in examination centres to avoid any problems. A total of 8,432 candidates had appeared in Class XII annual examination of the winter zone at 97 centres across the Jammu division in 2011. Similarly, 36,038 Class XII candidates had appeared in the annual examination of the summer zone at 332 examination centres. During Class X annual examination of the winter zone in 2011, 18,271 students appeared at 189 centres while during the summer zone, 48,600 Class X students appeared in the examination at 472 centres across Jammu. Javed Khatib, Joint Secretary, Secrecy Wing of JKBOSE, said, “The possibility of an increase in the number of examination centres across the Jammu division cannot be ruled out. The school education board is gearing up to ensure that examinations are conducted in a proper manner.” “There will be adequate deployment of staff in all examination centres, particularly in remote areas, to ensure that candidates strictly adhere to guidelines set up by the authorities,” Khatib said. “Sometimes it is not possible to deploy board staff at exam centres in remote areas due to their engagement in election duty or other important events. In such cases, school administrations have been told to look after things,” he said. “There has been an improvement in Class X and XII results which shows the candidates are preparing ahead of their exams. It is an encouraging sign for parents and the school education board,” he said. |
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