The Tribune, Chandigarh, India

	Valley shivers, Srinagar records coldest night at -5.5°C Tribune News Service Srinagar, January 8 The Valley is witnessing severe cold wave conditions with the temperature continuing to remain several degrees below the freezing point. In Srinagar city, the mercury fell overnight to minus 5.5°C, which is nearly three degrees below the average normal and lowest temperature of the season so far, an official of the Meteorological Department said. Srinagar witnessed minus 4.9°C on Sunday night, minus 4.6°C on Saturday night and minus 5.4°C on Friday night. Due to the sub-zero night temperatures, the water bodies in Kashmir, including the Dal Lake, remain covered with a layer of ice since the last few days. The water supply to residential houses has also been affected as water pipes have frozen. The dry spell, which has brought the mercury down drastically, is likely to end later this week when snow and rains are expected in the upper reaches. Over the last 72 hours, the mercury has continuously remained below the freezing point in the Ladakh region. Leh town in Ladakh recorded a minimum temperature of minus 17.8°C while the maximum temperature was minus 1.4°C. The maximum temperature in Kargil district was minus 4.8°C while the night temperature fell to minus 20°C, the official said. Pahalgam in south Kashmir saw a minimum temperature of minus 9.2°C while the day temperature was recorded at 5.5°C, the official said. Qazigund recorded a maximum temperature of 9.9°C while the minimum temperature was minus 5.6°C.
	Omar believes 1990-type militancy cannot return Arun Joshi Tribune News Service Srinagar, January 8 The fantastic story of Kashmir in 2013 is that the calendar year of the start of militancy, 1990, cannot ever return to this place, though a single misstep in handling the situation can trigger the 2010 type street protests and violence. The certainty about not reopening of the dark chapters of bullets and bombs in 2013 is rooted in the new aspirations of the people of the Valley, who have seen disastrous consequences of violence for the past 22 years which left more than 50,000 dead. Now, there is a new hope among them that peace can deliver economic and social dividends. “No one wants violence to be back, our image has suffered a lot,” said Ghulam Rasool Wani, who recently retired from government service. “Enough is enough”. This positive change in the mood of the people is reflected on the streets, with most of the bunkers having been dismantled, and people feeling free to roam about even in sub-zero temperatures and tourists having food in the open outside Krishna Dhaba, near Sonwar, a posh locality in Srinagar. Chief Minister Omar Abdullah told The Tribune that “1990 can never return to Kashmir”. His confidence emanates from the fact that the state police and civilian authorities have gained command of the situation. A fair assessment of the situation, the front line role of the Kashmir police, has laid the foundation for a better rapport between the people and the authorities. While the Chief Minister was very categorical in his assertion that the 1990-type militancy and violence could not ever return to the state, he is still haunted by the thought of the recurrence of the 2010-type street violence. As many as 120 people were killed that year; it is a scar that will not disappear too quickly. Although many consider 1988 the year when the bombs first exploded in Kashmir, but militancy and counter-insurgency started in 1990. It was then that encounters and firing by home-grown militants and counter insurgency operations started in Kashmir, shattering peace in the Valley. This time, economics, too, has come into play. The biggest confidence measure has come from tourists, mostly domestic, who did not stop coming to the Valley even in the severest of the winter chill, and headed for Gulmarg and Pahalgam — the two world famous tourist resorts in the Valley. This is something new in the life of those who were born and brought up during militancy. “I had not seen this kind of tourist arrival to Kashmir ever before,” says Tanvir Ahmad, a taxi driver. He is in his mid-twenties and wants to replace his old vehicle with “a new and an expensive one, because tourists prefer that”. In September last year, 670 flights landed at Srinagar airport, bringing tourists. That number is in addition to thousands who travelled by road to Srinagar. That speaks volumes about how destination Kashmir has beckoned people outside of Kashmir, be they big spenders or employees who made use of LTC. However, the year 2010, which saw street protests, can stage a comeback because even a single misstep can ruin the gains of 2011 and 2012 — the two most peaceful years. “Had there been any casualty in Pulwama incident, things could have gone bad,” Omar said while referring to a recent incident in the south Kashmir district in which the Army is alleged to have opened fire on civilians. The Army, however, had denied the allegation. The police did some damage control. It took control of the situation. Immediately, the authorities clamped curfew and the police lodged an FIR against the Army. The political promise of a probe and the police reaction to the whole situation helped public anger to subside and prevented protests from spreading to other places. The police in Kashmir has brought about a change in its attitude. Its leadership and rank and file understand that actions speak louder than words. And they take action in time before things go wrong.
	Hurriyat wants Kashmir resolution through dialogue Srinagar, January 8 The Hurriyat Conference has said it believes in meaningful talks over Kashmir with the Centre and termed its recent Pakistan visit as a continuation of this policy. A Hurriyat spokesman said this while reacting to a statement by Chief Minister Omar Abdullah. The Chief Minister had on Monday accused separatist leadership in the state of being “non-serious and lacking sincerity” on finding a solution to the Kashmir issue. Terming the statement of the Chief Minister as “contrary to the realities”, the Hurriyat spokesman said such statements were deliberately being issued to create confusion. He said Omar Abdullah as the Chief Minister had failed to solve the daily problems faced by poor Kashmiris. “It would be better for him (Omar) to remain focused on improving the administration for which he had asked for votes from people,” the spokesman said. “The All Parties Hurriyat Conference believes in solving the Kashmir issue through a meaningful dialogue. The recent visit of the Hurriyat to Pakistan was the continuation of this policy,” he said. The conglomerate, he said, has so for conducted several rounds of dialogue and negotiations with both India and Pakistan over the Kashmir issue. “However, it was due to the stubborn Indian stand during such negotiations that the talks have failed to yield results so for,” he said. He said the Hurriyat Conference had “already put some suggestions before the Central government for paving the way for talks on Kashmir. “These suggestions would have helped in creating a conducive atmosphere for talks over Kashmir. Unfortunately, so far Delhi has responded coldly to these suggestions.”
	NC represents aspirations of all regions, says minister Tribune News Service Jammu, January 8 Minister for Industries and Commerce SS Slathia yesterday said the next two years would bring about socio-economic transformation of the state and said all promises made to the people would be fulfilled. Addressing a public gathering at Sakhani in Vijaypur, Slathia said, after grappling with the troubled times for more than two decades, the state under the leadership of Chief Minister Omar Abdullah was marching at a full pace towards development and prosperity, adding that it was our mission to provide uniform opportunities of progress and equitable justice to all. “Infact ascending of Omar on the political arena of the state is the beginning of a new dawn of hope and optimism,” Slathia said. Slathia said the National Conference (NC) was the single largest political party in the state which represented the urges and aspiration of the people of all three regions of the state, which had distinct and peculiar religious and geographical characteristics. He said the NC was the real democratic and secular party which was committed to unity, integrity and honour of the state. Cautioning the people about conspiracies of some defeated politicians to disintegrate the state on a regional and religious basis, Slathia vowed to defeat their nefarious anti-people designs. Without naming the PDP and the BJP, Slathia said they were the ones who flared up regional and communal frenzy in the Kashmir and Jammu divisions in 2008 and brought mayhem, death and destruction in the state, besides putting the people to great hardships. Referring to the performance of the coalition government during the last four years, Slathia said the state had witnessed steep growth and development in all spheres and sectors and seen improvement in the security situation. He reiterated the resolve of the coalition government to empower panches and sarpanches, adding that honorariums and insurance cover for them was under active consideration of the government. He also reiterated to explore every possibility for generating jobs for the unemployed youth, adding that the Chief Minister has recently announced to fast-track the recruitment process for 80,000 vacancies in various departments.
	Congress does U-turn on West Pak refugee rights Bows to pressure from National Conference, separatists Dinesh Manhotra Tribune News Service Jammu, January 8 Succumbing to the pressure of coalition partner National Conference (NC), the Congress today took a U-turn on granting citizenship rights to the West Pakistani refugees who have been living in Jammu since 1947. West Pakistani refugees, the majority of whom are Dalits, have been denied citizenship rights by the successive state governments. Two days back while addressing a gathering of West Pakistani refugees near Vijaypur, Revenue, Relief and Rehabilitation Minister Raman Bhalla had asserted that the state government would bring a Bill in the next session of the Assembly to amend the J&K Constitution to grant Permanent Resident Certificates (PRCs) and domicile certificates to these “stateless” refugees. With leaders of the National Conference and separatists of the Valley taking strong exception to the Congress minister’s statement and threatening to oppose any move to grant citizenship to these “stateless” refugees, Bhalla immediately took a U-turn and tried to downplay what he had promised during the rally of West Pakistani refugees. “We will try to evolve a consensus on granting citizenship rights to West Pakistani refugees,” Bhalla today told The Tribune. Changing his earlier stand, the minister clarified that the Bill would be introduced in the Assembly provided there would be a consensus on the issue. “To amend the Constitution, two-thirds majority in the Assembly is required,” he argued and hoped that political parties across the state would adopt a humanitarian approach on the issue. Sources in the Congress said the party leadership had asked ministers not to make any promise regarding the resolution of the “humanitarian” issue of West Pakistani refugees because the party did not want to have any confrontation with the National Conference. “It is all due to the pressure of the National Conference that the Congress leadership has failed to effectively take up the issue of West Pakistani refugees,” a source said. Although the Congress has succumbed to the National Conference, West Pakistani refugees are hopeful that the party leadership would solve their issue. “The Omar Abdullah-led government is surviving all due to the support of the Congress, so there is no reason for the Congress leadership to succumb to any pressure,” said Labha Ram Gandhi, chairman of the West Pakistani Refugees Action Committee (WPRAC). “We are hopeful that this time the Congress leadership would not backstab us and prevail upon the National Conference and other groups to solve our problems by adopting a humanitarian approach,” he added. Gandhi, however, warned that this time the refugees would not allow the National Conference and other parties to organise public meetings if these parties opposed their citizenship rights. “Our patience is running out. The future of our three generations has already been ruined due to the denial of basic constitutional rights. We will not allow our next generation to face the same situation,” he said.
	Cong legislator against acquisition of refugees’ land Tribune News Service Jammu, January 8 Congress legislator Ravinder Sharma opposed the acquisition of land belonging to 1965 and 1971 refugees for the third phase of the Industrial Growth Centre (IGC), Samba. The House Committee of the Legislative Council today reviewed the status of acquisition of land of the IGC, Samba. Sources said while reviewing the cases of land acquired by the authorities for the third phase of the IGC, Samba, it emerged that the land belonging to the refugees was also acquired by the authorities. Sharma, who is member of the House Committee, opposed the acquisition of refugees’ land and told the authorities to prepare a list of all the refugees whose land was acquired for the first and second phase of the IGC. He directed the authorities concerned not to acquire even an inch of land belonging to the refugees. Meanwhile, an official handout issued here said the Committee examined the report on the present status of the land acquisition process for the IGC, submitted by the Deputy Commissioner, Samba, and the Managing Director, Jammu and Kashmir State Industrial Development Corporation, in pursuance of the directions of the Committee, after its members inspected the site recently. The Committee was informed that 125 kanals had been acquired while negotiations were on with the locals whose land came in the area identified for the IGC. After threadbare discussion, the Committee permitted the Revenue and Industries Departments to go ahead with the acquisition process under Section 17 as authorised by the government. The Committee also directed the officials concerned to furnish the details of the acquisition of the land belonging to the local people for its scrutiny. The Committee met under the Chairmanship of Ajatshatru Singh. Vijay Bakaya and Ravinder Kumar Sharma were also present.
	High Court closed for winter vacation till January 24 Tribune News Service Srinagar, January 8 The courts in the state are closed for winter vacations. However, the Chief Justice has nominated three judges as “vacation judges” to hear urgent matters during this period at the Jammu and Srinagar wing of the high court. While the J&K High Court shall be closed for winter vacation till January 24, the courts and offices in subordinate and lower judiciary will be observing the vacation till January 19. “The High Court of Jammu and Kashmir will remain closed for winter vacation from January 5 to January 24,” the Registrar General of the J&K High Court said in notification issued here this week. Chief Justice MM Kumar has nominated Justice Mohammad Yaqoob Mir, Justice Muzaffar Hussain Attar and Justice Hasnain Masoodi as vacation judges for both wings of the high court for hearing matters of urgent nature during the vacation period. For the Jammu wing, the notification added, Justice Hasnain Massodi will function as vacation judge from January 14 to January 17, and from January 21 to January 24. For the Srinagar wing, Justice Yaqoob Mir will be the vacation judge from January 14 to January 17, and Justice Muzaffar Hussain Attar will serve as vacation judge from January 21 to January 24. The subordinate courts of Kashmir province and the courts located at Bhaderwah, Kishtawar, Doda, Batote and Banihal of the Jammu division shall observe vacation from January 5 to January 19.
	AFSPA not used for a year in urban areas: CRPF IG Our Correspondent Anantnag, January 8 Inspector General (IG) of the CRPF SS Sandhu today maintained that the Armed Forces Special Powers Act (AFSPA) has not been used for more than a year now and said security forces had been enjoying good public support in recent times. Speaking to the media on the sidelines of a function here, the CRPF IG said the AFSPA would be used by security forces when needed. “For the last one year, the AFSPA has not been used and it will be used only when the need arises,” said the IG. He said it might be in use in the border areas, but certainly not in urban areas of Kashmir. Sandhu said security forces had been successful in gaining public trust and were enjoying a good deal of public support in its anti-incumbency operations in the Valley. “The people of Kashmir are fed up of militancy and have been extending full support to security forces in fighting militants,” he said. He said the people of Kashmir and security forces were working in tandem. He said security forces were taking utmost care of collateral damage during anti-militancy operations. He said the firing incident in Pulwama during an encounter was not part of the encounter. “An inquiry is going on in the firing incident and the report will speak for itself. All I can say is that the security forces did not fire,” said Sandhu. Ten people were injured after the Army allegedly opened fire on civilians during an encounter in Pulwama district. While the Army has been denying the allegations, the civilians maintain that the Army fired on them. A magisterial probe has been ordered into the incident and an FIR registered against the Army.
	Guv condoles death of SAF founder Jammu, January 8 Governor NN Vohra has condoled the death of Madanjeet Singh, founder of South Asia Foundation, who passed away in France on Sunday. The Governor recalled Singh’s contribution towards the establishment of the South Asia Foundation (SAF). The SAF is a non-profit and non-political organisation, with a core objective of promoting regional cooperation. The Governor, who is the Chairman of the Institute of Kashmir Studies, University of Kashmir, particularly recalled Singh’s invaluable support to the development of the institute and help in enabling it to offer scholarships to academics and others for pursuing research projects on varied subjects. The Governor conveyed his sympathy to the bereaved family and prayed for eternal peace to the departed soul. — TNS
	Hideout busted in Baramulla Tribune News Service Srinagar, January 8 In a search operation, the Baramulla police and the Army busted a militant hideout in the Tangmarg forests and seized arms and ammunition. “The police and the Army launched a search operation in the forest area of Buta village in the jurisdiction of the Tangmarg police station and busted a hideout. Two AK-47 magazines, three Chinese pistols, four UBGLs, two RPGs, two rounds of RPG ammunition and four grenades were recovered from the hideout,” a police spokesman said.