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NC, PDP yet to officially condemn Pak brutality
Widespread protests against jawans’ killing
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Despite Indo-Pak tension, trade across LoC runs smoothly in Uri
Centre unhappy with debate on AFSPA by National Conference leaders
NC leader’s remarks objectionable: Cong
Panchayat body seeks CM’s resignation
State awaits survey result to make water security plan
Now, employees to observe 5-day strike from Feb 19
Night temperatures in Valley continue to dip
Passport office project hangs fire
JCB used to rescue pregnant woman in Shopian
Kashmiri plays strike a chord with audience in Delhi
Minister for timely completion of judicial infrastructure
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NC, PDP yet to officially condemn Pak brutality
Jammu, January 11 Leaders of the National Conference and the PDP were quick to support continuation of the ceasefire pact on the LoC after brutal killing of two Indian soldiers on January 8 at Mendhar in the Poonch sector, but they have not uttered a single word to express sympathy with families of the two slain soldiers. The incident took place on January 8 but to date the coalition regime has not issued an official statement to condemn the brutality of the Pakistan army and express sympathy with the families of the two martyred soldiers, Lance Naik Hemraj and Lance Naik Sudhakar Singh. Today, Chief Minister Omar Abdullah and PDP patron Mufti Mohammad Sayeed issued two different statements in which both leaders favoured continuation of the ceasefire pact on the LoC but in their statements they did not mention the martyred soldiers. Omar, while addressing a function at Pune, said the ceasefire pact between the two countries must continue because its violation adversely affected the When asked to respond to the killing of two Indian soldiers along the LOC, Omar said: “We have already condemned it strongly. We want the ceasefire between the two countries to continue because its violation affects the J&K population”. Stressing the need of ceasefire all along the Line of Control (LoC), Mufti Mohammad Sayeed today said political leadership of India and Pakistan must step in to arrest the escalating tension. “We stress the need for maintaining the spirit of the ceasefire all along the LoC at any cost,” Mufti said. Jammu and Kashmir Pradesh Congress Committee (JKPCC) chief said, “Ours is a national party and our leadership as well as the Central government has strongly condemned the inhuman and barbaric incident.” |
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Widespread protests against jawans’ killing
Jammu, January 11 The Jammu Mahanagar unit of the BJP staged a demonstration at Kachi Chwani Chowk and said the Congress-led UPA government should reconsider its foreign policy towards Pakistan. Chanting slogans against Pakistan, BJP activists led by district party president Rajesh Gupta said the Central government should not escape from its responsibility by just issuing a statement of condemnation. “The decapitation of the Army soldier is indicative of the barbaric mindset of the perpetrators of the heinous act. Holding talks with the Pakistani government for improving bilateral relations and making the situation peaceful seems to be a pipe dream,” the BJP leader said. He said the BJP would not allow any political setup in the country to fiddle with the nation’s interests and would not allow the sacrifices of brave soldiers to go waste. “Let the enemies of India take notice that these cowardly acts will not deter the brave soldiers of our country from defending every inch of our country,” he said. In Rajouri, people belonging to all communities staged a massive protest against the killing of two soldiers by Pakistani troops. The protesters gathered at the main bus stand in Rajouri and raised slogans against the Pakistani army for the act. They demanded that the Government of India should snap all ties with Pakistan at all levels. Sushil Sharma, a local leader, said “We condemn the barbaric act of Pakistan in which two soldiers were killed and their bodies mutilated. This is an inhuman act. Dialogue and terrorism can’t go together. On the one side, Pakistan is continuously violating the ceasefire treaty on the LoC and killing our soldiers and on the other hand, we are playing cricket and trading with them. We should snap all ties and relations with the country.” The protesters submitted a memorandum to the district administration and the GOC, 25 Infantry Division, at Rajouri. In Reasi, BJP activists and local people held demonstrations and urged the international community to boycott Islamabad. Led by BJP district president Ajay Nanda, the activists raised anti-Pakistan slogans and slammed the Congress for going “soft” on Pakistan. “The Indian Government has adopted a soft attitude towards Pakistan, which is unfortunate and will not be tolerated at any cost,” Nanda said. In Jammu city, members of the Dogra Front and Shiv Sena under the leadership of president Ashok Gupta took out a procession from Rani Park to City Chowk against the recurring ceasefire violations by the Pakistani army. Gupta said the Pakistan government and its army were responsible for the incident and the Government of India should deal with them firmly. “The engagement process with Pakistan should be re-looked into. Indians want peace with neighbouring countries and such barbaric acts are not acceptable,” he said. |
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Despite Indo-Pak tension, trade across LoC runs smoothly in Uri
Salamabad, January 11 In fact, trade activities at the trade facilitation centre here were uninterrupted even on the day when the Pakistani troops had killed the soldiers. “Trade has been smooth for past four days on the Uri-Chakothi route. The tension along the LoC did not affect business between the two countries,” the custodian of the Salamabad centre, Nazir Ahmad Baba, told The Tribune. The centre is located close to Churanda village, where the armies of the two countries have been frequently exchanging fire since October 2012. In fact, two days prior to Pakistan’s LoC intrusion in Poonch, it had alleged that one of its soldiers had been killed and another injured in the Haji Pir sector in Uri after Indian troops crossed the LoC. Both countries have denied conducting these raids across the LoC. The trans-LoC trade on the Uri-Chakothi axis is conducted for four days in a week and this week, trade was done on all days without any break. “Since Tuesday, 201 trucks have crossed the LoC to Pakistan-Occupied Kashmir (PoK) while 128 trucks have come this side,” Baba said. While the cross-LoC business was smooth via Uri, it was suspended on the Poonch-Rawlakote route in Jammu on Thursday. “The situation should remain peaceful between the two countries because the smooth functioning of the cross LoC trade will largely depend on peace being maintained by the two sides,” said Bashir Ahmed, a trader. “The smooth functioning of the cross-LoC trade in past few days despite the tension between the two countries is an indication that peace is the only way to go ahead,” he said. After the ceasefire along the LoC in 2003, the two countries started the Srinagar-Muzaffarabad bus service on April 7, 2005. Almost three years later, cross-LoC trade between the two countries started. The bus service is availed by divided families, who have relatives on both sides of the LoC. The two steps are considered both by New Delhi and Islamabad as major confidence-building measures between the two countries after the partition. |
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Centre unhappy with debate on AFSPA by National Conference leaders
Jammu, January 11 The Army, which until last year used to give an instant response to public statements on the withdrawal of the AFSPA that provides immunity to the security forces in their counter-terrorism operations in Jammu and Kashmir against any act of omission and commission, has chosen to keep quiet on the issue. “The public statements are not worth replying to” is the feeling in the top echelons of the Army. Besides separatists, both the National Conference and opposition Peoples Democratic Party are in the frontline seeking the withdrawal of the AFSPA from the state. Chief Minister Omar Abdullah, however, has qualified time and again that he was only for phased withdrawal of the special powers of the Army from some of the areas where it had not operated for years together. “At this point of time when Pakistan has raised tensions on borders by its cross-LoC raids, killing two Indian soldiers and repeated ceasefire violations, raking up the issue of withdrawal of the AFSPA was like giving a handle to Pakistan,” said a highly placed source in the Union Home Ministry. Home Minister Sushil Kumar Shinde has already refused to withdraw the special powers of the security forces in Jammu and Kashmir, where they are battling an “open aggression” by Pakistan and fighting terrorists in the hinterland. If any reminder was needed to tell how active the militants were in the Valley, it was evident in the killing of yet another sarpanch in Sopore, a town 50 km north of Srinagar on Friday. The killing of sarpanch Habibullah Mir in his house compound in Bomai, Sopore, in the morning, underscored the apprehensions of the police and security forces that Pakistan had activated militants in the state, a senior police official said. The Centre, the sources said, was unhappy with the anti-Army statements, particularly with regard to
the AFSPA. Meanwhile, it has also taken a very serious note of National Conference general secretary Sheikh Nazir’s statement, calling for plebiscite in the state, something that UN resolutions had proposed in 1948. “Sheikh Nazir seems to have borrowed the lexicon from separatists like Syed Ali Shah Geelani, who have failed to come out of the mindset of the 1940s,” commented a senior functionary of the Congress. Nazir, it was pointed out, should have known that his party was in power with the support of the Congress and such statements were suicidal in the 21st century. If he had such reservations, he should have spoken when National Conference leader Sheikh Mohammad Abdullah accepted power in 1975. That was the time
when the Plebiscite Front was disbanded. The raising of such sensitive issues when Pakistan is bent upon widening the conflict on the LoC through ceasefire violations, killing of Indian soldiers in the most brutal manner, it is felt by the Centre would worsen the matters. |
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NC leader’s remarks objectionable: Cong
Jammu, January 11 Sharma has said such leaders represent “sick minds” within the party as the NC leadership had always advocated a strong bond with the Centre and the Congress. In a statement issued here today, he said leaders like Sheikh Nazir lived in a fool’s paradise. “Politicians like him and others were responsible for misguiding and exploiting the sentiments of the Kashmir youth, pushing the state into the worst kind of turmoil and destruction,” he said. “These leaders have betrayed the faith of people and Delhi”, he said. |
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Panchayat body seeks CM’s resignation
Jammu, January 11 The AJKPC expressed shock and resentment over the killing of its senior leader and sarpanch Habibullah Mir by unidentified gunmen in Zanskar in Baramulla district in the Kashmir valley. The deceased sarpanch was one of the office-bearers of the 32-member executive body of the AJKPC. Terming the killing of the sarpanch as “total failure” of the state government, AJKPC chairman Shafiq Mir demanded that the Chief Minister and the Panchayati Raj Minister should step down immediately as they could not protect the elected panchayat members who had openly been threatened by militants. “We have been urging the state government to take precautionary measures but instead of taking immediate steps to provide adequate security to the elected panchayat members, the Chief Minister resorted to political gimmicks and announced the MLC election,” Mir said. He said it was “highly shameful” that four panchayat members had been killed by terrorists so far but the Chief Minister was trying to play down these incidents by resorting to rhetoric that all these killings might not have been done by terrorists. Anil Sharma, general secretary AJKPC, while criticising the state government for its “tardy response” to provide security to 33,000 panchayat members said it had, time and again, made requests to the Centre and the state authorities but they had failed to provide security to AJKPC members. “It is high time the Union Government stepped in to save the precious lives of the 33,000 elected representatives of the people in Jammu and Kashmir,” Sharma said. |
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State awaits survey result to make water security plan
Jammu, January 11 The water-mapping survey through the use of remote sensing started in 2010 under a Centrally-sponsored project to gauge the level and quality of groundwater resources and to analyse if they will meet the future need of a 1.25-crore population. The state has so far used only 16 per cent of the available groundwater but the government wanted to conduct a comprehensive study to exploit the resources. Sources said the findings of earlier surveys had disappointed the planners as high contents of iron and fluoride in water had been detected at many places but the ISRO survey assumes significance as for the first time the state will have a comprehensive data about its water resources, which will help in chalking out a strategy for future. Officials said surveys conducted in recent years had put forth alarming results, particularly in the Kashmir valley, which has an abundance of glacier-fed streams. In the Jammu region, surveys have shown either an absence of hydro reserves or poor quality water, which in turn has thrown a tough challenge before the planners. Official sources said in places such as Lolab and Kupwara, which are witnessing acute water scarcity, high mineral content has been found in newly-found groundwater sources, which has cast a shadow over the plan to exploit these on a massive scale. The groundwater in Rajouri, Poonch, Doda, Kandi belt and southern districts is at places where it is difficult to extract at the moment. Prof Shakeel Ahmed Romshoo, Department of Earth Sciences, Kashmir University, who is part of the project, said the survey was important to frame a water policy. He said, “The survey is in its last phase and by the end of 2013, it will be completed. So far, a lot of data about the groundwater potential and underground reservoirs has been collected. The final report will be available in a few months.” Prof Romshoo said the data would help in managing the water resources in a better way and in finding ways to extract water. The state is endowed with thousands of glacier-fed rivers and streams, but in recent years due to the affect of global warming and over-exploitation of water bodies, most of these are receding. |
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Now, employees to observe 5-day strike from Feb 19
Srinagar, January 11 Addressing a press conference here, JCC leader Khurshid Alam called for a strike from February 19 to 23. He said the employees would also hold district-wide protests on February 19 followed by "secretariat gherao" in Jammu on February 23. Alam termed the recent talks offer of the government a “time-wasting” tactic, saying previous attempts to resolve the employees’ issues through dialogue had failed. After a series of protests and strikes by the employees last year, the government had reached an agreement with the JCC wherein the employees were assured that a decision on their demands would be announced by September 30. However, the JCC then resumed protests, saying the government had failed to fulfil the promises made to them. When asked that the people were being subjected to a lot of problems due to frequent JCC strike calls, Alam blamed the government for the same. He said the JCC would not be forced to call for strikes if the government agreed to their demands. He said the JCC may be "forced" to go for an indefinite strike if the government failed to meet their demands by February 23. The employees’ demands include release of arrears recommended by the Sixth Pay Commission, enhancement of retirement age from 58 to 60 years, removal of pay anomalies and regularisation of daily wagers and casual workers working in various government departments. The other JCC demands are inclusion of five years of contractual service of Rehbar-e-Taleem (ReT) teachers in the service book and regularisation of education volunteers after seven years of service. Alam said the JCC will announce the future course of action on February 23. |
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Night temperatures in Valley continue to dip
Srinagar, January 11 Srinagar city recorded 10.2°Celsius maximum temperature, an increase of one degree from yesterday, an official of the Meteorological Department said. Similarly, Qazigund, the gateway to Kashmir, recorded the maximum temperature of 10.1°C as compared to yesterday’s 8.5 °C. Other parts of the Valley too witnessed a sunny day. The border town of Kupwara recorded the maximum temperature of 10.9°C while tourist resort Pahalgam in south Kashmir recorded 7.3°C day temperature. However, night temperatures continued to dip further. Srinagar saw a low of -4°C as compared to -2.6°C the night before. Qazigund recorded -4.8°C minimum temperature as compared to -3.2°C the night before. Pahalgam, Kupwara and Gulmarg saw a low of -8.5°C, -3.6°C and -9.0°C, respectively. The weatherman has forecast snow and rainfall from Saturday night. Director, Meteorological Department, Sonam Lotus said snowfall was expected in the upper reaches of the Valley tomorrow night and also on Sunday. He said Srinagar too was likely to receive light snowfall while the MeT office had forecast light rainfall in the Jammu region on January 12-13. The Valley is currently going through 'chillai kalaan' --- the harshest 40-day winter period beginning on December 21. Besides Kashmir, the Ladakh region too continued to remain in the grip of cold wave with the Kargil area recording -4.0°C maximum temperature. Leh recorded 0.8°C maximum temperature. Kargil and Leh saw a low of -18.0°C and -17.0°C, respectively. Meanwhile, one-way traffic continued to ply on the Srinagar-Jammu national highway — Kashmir’s only surface link with the rest of the country. |
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Passport office project hangs fire
Srinagar, January 11 The Passport Office in Srinagar currently operates from a hotel on the banks of Dal Lake. Regional Passport Office, Srinagar, issued 61, 400 passports in 2012, an increase of 48 per cent in issuance rate of passports from 2011. “As the tourists are returning to the Valley, the passport office should be shifted from Boulvard as it is the hub of tourism activity,” said Abdul Rashid, a houseboat owner. “We have been demanding that the office be shifted, but so far the government has not done any thing.” In fact, the Regional Passport Officer, Srinagar, Firdous Iqbal, said they had already acquired land for the new office complex. “The Ministry of External Affairs has already acquired land for the Passport Office, Srinagar, at Rajbagh with the support of the state government. Within two years we should have a state-of-the-art building for the passport office. The location of the new office will also be convenient for the applicants,” Iqbal said. Earlier, the Passport office was housed in a Sports Stadium. However, it was shifted to a hotel in Boulevard in 2005 after militants carried out a suicide attack on Bakshi stadium, where it was located. Two security men and two militants were killed in the attack. After the attack the passport office was closed for some time but it reopened and started functioning from the hotel at Boulevard. |
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JCB used to rescue pregnant woman in Shopian
Srinagar, January 11 Dr Showkat Hussain Parray, Block Medical Officer, Shopian, said on December 30, Sakeena, an Accredited Social Health Activist (ASHA), a worker from Reshinagri Bala village informed him over the phone that an expectant mother, M Aqsooda Akhter, was going through labour pains and could not be brought to the nearest Primary Health Care Centre (PHC), Vehil, 12 Km from the spot. He said though the ambulance driver was asked to bring the patient but the ambulance got stuck in the snow at Kanijullar village, 7 km from Reshinagri, as the route was covered with snow. “Then I went to Kanjuillar and mobilised the Rapid Response Team (RRT), which included Tahir Ahmed, Mehmmod Ahmed, Health Educators and Farooq Ahmed. The team reached the spot with a JCB and brought the woman along with ASHA worker to Kanjiullar, where the ambulance of the PHC, Vehil, was waiting. The expectant mother was shifted to the ambulance and brought to the PHC Vehil, where all the staff was waiting for the patient to conduct the delivery. The woman delivered a baby girl through normal delivery on December 31 at 7 pm,” he said. Dr Yash Pal Sharma, Mission Director, NRHM, said the cost of hiring the JCB were met under the Janani Shishu Suraksha Karyakram (JSSK) scheme. |
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Kashmiri plays strike a chord with audience in Delhi
Srinagar, January 11 ‘Aalaw- The Calling’, which was staged at the LTG Auditorium by a group of Kashmiri artistes today, told a tale of a mother whose longing to see her son’s dead body never ends. The play’s director, Aalaw Arshad Mushtaq, says it is a Kashmiri adaptation of a popular Irish play, ‘Riders to the Sea’, by John Millington Synge. Earlier on January 7, director M Muzamil Hayat Bawani gave a fresh lease of life to late US-based Kashmiri poet Agha Shahid Ali’s poem, ‘The Country Without a Post Office’, by staging it in the form of an Urdu play which was presented by NSD graduates. Bhawani Vashir Yasir, Kashmir’s renowned playwright, had translated the poem in Urdu. Simple yet powerful imagery helped Bhawani score with the audience. It recreated how lovers, soldiers and mothers suffered in the 1990s, when the most potent form of communication — hand-written letters — could not be sent. |
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Minister for timely completion of judicial infrastructure
Jammu, January 11 The minister was speaking at a review meeting convened to oversee the status of work on various projects being undertaken across the state for the augmentation of judicial infrastructure. Sagar said the agencies concerned should work in close coordination so that the projects are completed in time and in accordance with the approved design and plans. He said, “We have undertaken the process of strengthening the judicial infrastructure across the state so that people living in rural and far-flung areas get the much-needed legal aid on their doorsteps.”
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Control (LoC) has evoked strong reaction across the nation, but the main political parties of the state --- the National Conference, Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) and the Congress --- have not come out with any official statement on the inhuman act of Pakistani army.
Salamabad, January 11
Jammu, January 11
Srinagar, January 11
Srinagar, January 11
