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Afzal’s family wants his body, writes to govt
Clampdown on media in Valley
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Women activists back kin’s demand for last rites
National seminar on PoK liberation on Feb 22
Nomads of Changthang region facing shortage of fodder
Students leave for educational tour
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Afzal’s family wants his body, writes to govt
Baramulla, February 10 “Afzal Guru was executed in Tihar Jail on February 9, so it is our moral right to receive his body in order to perform his last rites according to the Islamic law (Shariah),” reads the family letter addressed to the District Magistrate. The family said that due to curfew restrictions, they have sent the letter through an electronic mail. “As it was not physically possible to hand over the letter due to curfew restrictions, the District Magistrate advised us to mail to him on his official e-mail address so that he could process it accordingly,” said Yasin Guru, cousin of Afzal. “We have sent the letter to the DM today and are also sending a hard copy to his office.” The District Magistrate, however, said he had not yet seen the letter. “But as and when I see it, I will process it further as desired under the law,” he added. “As per the process, in such cases, I am supposed to forward the letter to the Divisional Commissioner, Kashmir, who will then forward it to the J&K Home Department. After the government approval, the letter will be forwarded to the Delhi Government,” the District Magistrate said. Already, Afzal’s family through their lawyers at Delhi have written to the Director General (Prisons) of Tihar Jail, Vimla Mehra, seeking the possession of his body to perform the last rites. The letter written by counsels N D Pancholi and Nandita Haksar on behalf of Afzal’s wife was handed over to the Tihar Jail authorities on Saturday afternoon.
Afzal’s village sealed
The situation in Afzal’s native village Jageer Doabgah and its neighbourhood continued to remain tense for the second day on Sunday. The village is still out of bounds for the outsiders who want to go there to condole. The security forces have sealed all three entry points to the village where Afzal’s family lives. |
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Clampdown on media in Valley
Srinagar, February 10 One of the Valley’s widely circulated newspaper, Greater Kashmir, published a news report on its website yesterday evening, saying the government had issued a directive forbidding the newspaper publishers to print their Sunday editions. News portals carried the news content and websites of local newspapers also updated the news on their websites, but it was inaccessible to readers because the Internet services were down. Only some BSNL subscribers had access to the Internet. Local journalists termed the decision to clamp down on the media as unfortunate as “newspapers” remained the only viable source of information for people. They said security forces and the authorities had allowed them to perform their duties during the day time, but issued the orders of not publishing the newspapers in the evening. “We went to various places in Srinagar and its outskirts amid curfew to report the situation. It was hard, but we performed our duty. It is sad the newspapers couldn’t reach the people today. The media has been gagged in Kashmir earlier also when the situation has become precarious,” said Manzoor-ul-Hassan, correspondent with Greater Kashmir. The sources said police personnel made rounds of printing offices of newspapers and ensured their closure on Saturday night. Publisher and editor of Kashmir Reader Showkat Ahmad alleged high-handedness by the police and security forces, saying the copies of the newspaper were seized from their office in Srinagar on Saturday night. “Policemen were waiting at the main spot where hawkers receive consignments. The request to the policemen by some office staffers to leave some newspaper copies for the office use was turned down. Our staff had put in a lot of effort to publish the newspaper despite curfew and pressures,” he said. At some places in the uptown areas of Srinagar, Chanapora, Natipora, Hyderpora and Sanat Nagar, some TV news channels were being beamed till Sunday afternoon. However, private cable operators have stopped beaming news channels to all areas of the downtown Srinagar on the directions of the state authorities. Minister for Rural Development Ali Mohammad Sagar told The Tribune that the restrictions on the media and Internet services would continue and a decision would be taken on it only after the situation was relatively calm. The restrictions on the media and the Intenet has led to angst among the people. The journalist community of the Valley is calling it a curb on the freedom of expression. |
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Afzal’s execution has dealt a blow to trust: Mehbooba
Srinagar, February 10 “Not only the people of Jammu and Kashmir but also the people of the country, including former Prime Minister Atal Bihari Vajpayee and Prime Minister Dr Manmohan Singh, have invested a lot in the peace process and the reconciliatory process between the people of J&K and the rest of the country. But now, the trust that was developed through a series of confidence-building measures will get a setback. This action (Guru’s execution) has once again created more trust deficit, more alienation in the state, especially in the Valley,” Mehbooba said while addressing mediapersons at her Gupkar residence. Mehbooba flayed Omar Abdullah for “belittling” the office of the Chief Minister. “If he (Omar) is saying that he was not in the know of things, he is playing a part in belittling the office of the Chief Minister. He is a part and parcel of the UPA government. What is he doing in the chair if an execution of a resident of the state leads to martial law- like situation here where newspapers and the Internet are banned,” she said. PDP spokesperson Nayeem Akhtar, who was present at the press conference, said: “If the Chief Minister cannot be taken on board on such a big decision, what is the purpose of electing the government.” Flaying New Delhi for jumping the queue, as many convicts, including the killers of former Prime Minister Rajiv Gandhi were waiting execution, the PDP president alleged that Guru had been hanged to divert attention from issues the Centre was facing which included corruption, crime and bad governance. “This execution may have given satisfaction or some sort of relief to the families of those killed in the Parliament attack. It may have given some brownie points to the Congress against the BJP in its so-called war on terror, but it was done in a shameful manner,” Mehbooba said. She said the execution was carried out to “shut the mouth” of the BJP and was not an antidote for every ill while adding that the Centre should have allowed the family to meet Guru before executing him. The PDP reiterated its demand that Guru’s body be handed over to his family. Mehbooba appealed to the people of the country to refrain from jingoism and allow normalcy to prevail in Kashmir. |
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Curfew to be relaxed after assessing situation: Official
Baramulla, February 10 Kashmir Divisional Commissioner Asgar Samoon said this today after holding a meeting to review the law and order situation at Baramulla in north Kashmir. The Divisional Commissioner was briefed about the situation by the district officials during the meeting. Baramulla Deputy Commissioner Ghulam Ahmad Khawaja was also present at the meeting. “The overall situation in the region, especially in north Kashmir, is tense but under control,” he said. “The decision regarding the relaxation of curfew would be taken by the respective district magistrates after reviewing the situation on a day to day basis,” said Samoon. During his visit to north Kashmir, the Divisional Commissioner visited various sensitive areas in Baramulla, including the Khanpora locality. Later in the evening, Samoon visited the volatile Sopore town, which is the hometown of Parliament attack convict Afzal Guru, who was hanged in
the Tihar jail yesterday morning. On being told that many ambulances were either stopped or damaged by security personnel today, Samoon said instructions had been issued to the district magistrates and police officers concerned for ensuring the hassle-free movement of ambulances. |
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Women activists back kin’s demand for last rites
Srinagar, February 10 Interestingly, Chief Minister Omar Abdullah today said not letting Afzal’s family meet him before his death was “outrageous”. Describing it as the saddest moment for any woman who comes to know about her husband’s death through a relative, Shameema Firdous, chairperson, State Women Commission, said, “As a woman, I have all sympathies for Tabasum (Afzal’s wife). It is heart-wrenching when you do not even know that your husband is dead. The Centre should let them perform his last rites.” Afzal Guru’s family had earlier written to Tihar Jail Director seeking his permission to offer “Namaaz-e-Jinaazah” at his funeral site in Tihar Jail. Prof Hameeda Nayeem, a Kashmir University professor and human rights activist, said not letting a woman or a child to meet her husband/ father was violation of basic human laws. “I am among many Kashmiris mourning Afzal’s death along with his brave wife. It is sad that even her least expectations weren’t met. We should not expect anything,” Prof Nayeem said.
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A secret message that kept Kashmir’s officials speculating
Srinagar, February 10 While these senior police officers ensured that the “secret” remained a closely guarded one and the news was not leaked, however, at the same time, massive security preparations started in Kashmir. The district police heads were given an indication of the “emerging situation” only after 2 am. At 2 am during the intervening night of February 8-9, finally a senior police official sent “detailed text messages” to superintendents of police across all the districts informing that Afzal Guru was to be hanged in next few hours, highly placed sources said. The police officials were asked to ensure the secrecy and take immediate measures to implement curfew in their areas. By 4.30 am, Srinagar and all other towns that were to be placed under curfew were barricaded. “As the massive security was being thrown around across the Valley, the lower cadre of the police and paramilitary forces started speculating about the unprecedented security. A few were told that curfew was imposed as Hurriyat hardline leader Syed Ali Geelani was seriously ill. While others were told that the Grand Mufti- who was in controversy after the recent fatwa over the all-girl rock band- was likely to be arrested, which could invite large trouble in the Valley,” said a senior police officer. “Some were told that a massive mock drill was to be conducted to check security preparations.” He said instead of calling directly on their phones, the officials were informed through text messages only to ensure that the secret message was not traced or picked up. The district magistrates of all 10 districts of the Valley were also informed at 4 am about the possible execution as they had to pass orders for imposition of curfew and deployment of the men and machinery. The entire situation was being monitored by senior police officials from Srinagar. As the dawn broke on Saturday, the Valley was already under curfew and the residents, who were still unawares, too, were eager to know the exact reasons behind curfew. As the rumours about Afzal’s hanging poured in, people switched their TV sets on only to see that Guru had been executed.
Unprecedented security
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National seminar on PoK liberation on Feb 22
Jammu, February 10 The Jammu and Kashmir Study Centre, a research group affiliated with the Sangh Parivar, is going to hold a national seminar on February 22 on “liberation” of the PoK and problems being faced by ethnic minorities in the PoK and Pakistan. The group has chosen February 22 for holding the seminar because on
February 22, 1994, Parliament had unanimously passed a resolution in which Pakistan was asked to vacate the areas of the Indian state of Jammu and Kashmir which they
had occupied through aggression. Sources said the Sangh Parivar had roped in more than 30 speakers across the country, including some prominent writers and retired Army Generals to participate in the day-long seminar. “After the seminar, an aggressive campaign would be launched for the liberation of the PoK,” a member of the Study
Centre said, adding that a blue print in this regard had already been formulated. Besides reminding the Union Government
about the resolution to liberate Pakistan-occupied Kashmir, the aim of the seminar is also to highlight the plight of the refugees living in the Jammu region since 1947. Refugees from the PoK who have living in the Jammu region have been demanding settlement of compensation cases. “As a large number of the PoK population lives as refugees in Jammu and 24 seats belonging to the
PoK area are vacant in the Jammu and Kashmir Assembly today, we would exert pressure on the
government to allot these Assembly seats to refugees living in Jammu and
Kashmir,” said Study Centre leader. A special session would be devoted to highlight the plight of Shia minorities of the Gilgit-Baltistan area under the occupation of Pakistan. “Some speakers from the Gilgit area also invited to the seminar so that they can highlight their plight before Indian
intelligentsia,” one of the organisers said while adding that invitation would also be extended to some Shia leaders from Kargil who have been fighting for the cause of the Shias of Gilgit. Some influential Shia leaders of Kargil are already in touch with the BJP to highlight the plight of the Gilgit-Baltistan people at the national level. |
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Pilgrims below 13 yrs, above 75 not eligible for Amarnath yatra
Jammu, February 10 He disclosed that the National Disaster Management Authority had conducted tabletop exercises at Baltal and Nunwan during last year’s yatra and recommended that no pilgrim under the age of 11 years, above the age of 80 years and no woman with more than six weeks pregnancy should be allowed to undertake the yatra. The Nitish K. Sen Gupta Committee, which was set up in 1996 to inquire into the tragedy in which 243 persons were killed in the yatra area, had also recommended that no person under the age of 15 years and above the age of 65 years should ordinarily be encouraged to undertake the pilgrimage. Choudhary said the SASB at its 24th board meeting deliberated upon the recommendations of the National Disaster Management Authority (NDMA) and Nitish K. Sen Gupta Committee regarding the age limit of the yatris to reach a decision. The decision of the SASB will help ensure that only physically fit pilgrims embark on the arduous yatra. |
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Nomads of Changthang region facing shortage of fodder
Leh, February 10 Executive Councillor of the Ladakh Autonomous Hill Development Council, Leh, Gyurmat Dorjey, who also belongs to the Changthang region, said, “The unprecedented snowfall in Changthang, which created havoc, lasted for two nights and three days.” Dorjey, while quoting Nyoma SDM, said 5,500 sheep and goats had died due to starvation. “Chief Minister Omar Abdullah has been apprised about the current situation in Changthang and a request has been made to him for the immediate release of funds so that fodder and feed can be purchased,” said Dorjey. The Leh-Nyoma road and other link roads leading to Changthang have been blocked due to the
heavy snow, restricting the district administration from reaching out to the people. Dorjey said an emergency meeting was held between Chief Engineer of Himank Brig Hadeer Razvi and DIG of the Indo-Tibetan Border Police (ITBP) Jaspal Singh for early clearance of snow. The ITBP DIG has been requested to help in the snow clearance work. |
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Students leave for educational tour
Srinagar, February 10 The tour is being organised under the aegis of
Chinar Artillery Brigade and will conclude on February 23. “The Sadbhavana tour will enable the children to understand the cultural diversity, rich heritage and industrial progress in the rest of the country,” the Army officer said. |
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Army denies ceasefire violation in KG sector
Jammu, February 10 “There were no ceasefire violations at night on February 9 or in the morning of February 10 in the KG Sector as reported,” the PRO said. |
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