The Tribune, Chandigarh, India

	Tribune Exclusive Lashkar eyeing role of stakeholder in Kashmir Arun Joshi/TNS Jammu, February 13 There is something more than what meets the eye in the secret and open meetings of Kashmir’s separatist leaders with Hafiz Saeed, de facto chief of the Lashkar-e-Toiba (LeT), in the recent past. Separatists have been forced to toe a line to give Kashmiri colour and flavour to the LeT, which is primarily a Pakistani outfit that introduced “fidayeen” culture (suicide attacks on camps of Army and paramilitary forces) in Jammu and Kashmir immediately after the Kargil war was over in July 1999. In short, there is a clear design to make LeT a stakeholder in Kashmir, sources said. LeT and its cheer leaders had made such suggestions in the past too. To achieve this end, LeT proxies have also threatened those who ventured to open talks with the Centre in 2004. This could not have been a coincidence that Hafiz Saeed made it a point that the news of his meetings with the separatist leadership was brought to the attention of the Indian media. It was deliberate and a well-planned design to enhance the role of the LeT in Kashmir, sources said. It is an open secret that the moderate Hurriyat Conference led by Mirwaiz Umar Farooq was under threat of Pakistani militants from the day the conglomerate opened talks with the Central government in January 2004. In May 2006, while the then Pakistan president Pervez Musharraf asked the Mirwaiz to take part in the second Round Table Conference in Srinagar to be chaired by Indian Prime Minister Manmohan Singh, he refused to oblige the president. The Mirwaiz had disclosed this to this reporter on the eve of the second RTC in Srinagar. But, he had declined to divulge the details that time. Sources in the know of the separatist camp affairs told The Tribune that the LeT was pressing the separatists to shun the path of talks with the Government of India. That explains why the Mirwaiz or for that matter any other leader from his camp has not held talks with the Centre since May 3, 2006. The idea behind it was to have the LeT on board while talking to New Delhi. In other words, the sources said, the LeT that surfaced on the Kashmir scene in the mid-nineties wanted no talks between the separatists and the Centre. And when the Mirwaiz decided to respond to the “quiet dialogue and diplomacy” offer made by the then Home Minister P Chidambaram in October 2009, the prospects were cut with a murderous assault on Fazal-ul-Haq Qureshi — one of the members of the core team chosen for the dialogue — in December 2009. That was the end of the talks then and there itself. A pattern has been seen in this. First, Yasin Malik meets Hafiz Saeed in 2006, thereafter other separatist leaders hold meetings during their visits to Pakistan. And they all were offered warm hospitality by the Pakistani establishment. The jumble of threads is unravelling and the ambitions of the LeT and its leaders to make themselves stakeholders in Kashmir are being revealed. Hafiz Saeed sharing a dais with Yasin Malik in Islamabad, Pakistan, was just one small piece in the larger game, which the LeT is playing. First, it was through violence, now it is through alternative means — talks guided by the Lashkar, the sources said.
	Curfew relaxed, lifted in parts of Kashmir valley Tribune News Service Srinagar, February 13 As the situation remained peaceful, curfew was relaxed in some areas of Srinagar and major towns of the Valley today. Curfew was also lifted from some areas of Kashmir. The restrictions were in force after Afzal Guru’s execution on Saturday. With the situation remaining almost normal in the jurisdiction of five police stations during the relaxation period in Srinagar on Tuesday, the curfew restrictions were lifted from more areas today. The curfew was relaxed from 9 am in the areas under the Ram Munshi Bagh, Kothibagh, Sadder, Rajbagh, Lalbazar, Nigeen, Zakoora, Panthachowk, Parimpora, Bemina and Nowgam police stations here today, the police said. In Budgam district, the curfew was relaxed from 10 am to 12 noon, which was extended till the reports last came in. Relaxations were also given in parts of Baramulla and Kupwara in north Kashmir and Pulwama in south Kashmir. A police spokesman, quoting Kashmir IGP SM Sahai, said police personnel on the ground had been directed to exercise maximum restraint while tackling any law and order situation. The relaxation in the curfew-bound areas would be given after evaluation of the situation by the district authorities from time to time. The decision to extend the relaxation period would be taken after assessing the situation in these areas. The IGP said the availability of essential commodities was being ensured by the civil authorities at all district headquarters. He said the police was ready to assist in ensuring that the essential commodities were made available to the people, if asked to do so.
	81 CRPF men hurt in first two days of protests against Afzal’s hanging In every taxing situation, state relies on the force Ravi Krishnan Khajuria Tribune News Service Jammu, February 13 Despite being dragged into controversies every time the Valley erupts in protests, the CRPF remains at the forefront of maintaining law and order in the troubled state. Omar has often expressed the desire to bring the Jammu and Kashmir Police at the forefront to tackle the law and order situation in the state and reduce the presence of the central security forces. But the reality is that the state government continues to rely heavily on the CRPF not only in every taxing situation but also for mundane tasks. The backlash over Afzal Guru’s hanging from the Valley is again being largely borne by the CRPF. Following the death of a person in firing at Watergam in Baramulla district on January 10, the CRPF was again dragged into a fresh controversy. “In the initial two days of the curfew in Kashmir following Afzal’s hanging on January 9, frenzied mobs injured 81 CRPF personnel, some of them critically, and damaged 37 vehicles of the paramilitary force,” said CRPF Kashmir region IG, SS Sandhu. Despite injuries to 81 personnel in the first two days of protests in the Valley, the CRPF has been exercising utmost restraint. We have issued strict instructions to our personnel not to open fire even in case of severest provocation, added Sandhu. He said the CRPF personnel were being continuously briefed by top officers to lie low even during severe provocations. From protecting shrines and vital installations to fighting Pak-sponsored insurgency and enforcing curfews, the CRPF has been professionally performing various duties in J&K since 1989 when militancy had erupted, said the IG. Sandhu recalled how stone throwers during the 2010 summer unrest in Kashmir had left over 2,000 CRPF personnel injured. Some of them had been physically disabled for life. However, a top CRPF source confided to The Tribune that CRPF personnel had been told that if there was a firing from the crowds, firing by the CRPF men should be the last resort, that too under the orders of the respective commanders. “It appears the state government has no concrete plan up its sleeves to replace the CRPF and that is why we continue to perform duties like protecting prisons and shrines, which are not in the CRPF mandate,” said a senior CRPF officer. The CRPF, as of today, has 67 battalions in the state. One battalion comprises 1,151 personnel and officers. A Force to reckon with The CRPF has 67 battalions in the state. One battalion comprises 1,151 personnel and officers From protecting shrines and vital installations to fighting Pak-sponsored insurgency and enforcing curfew, the CRPF has been performing all kinds of duties in J&K since 1989, when militancy had erupted in the Valley During the 2010 summer unrest in Kashmir, stone throwers left over 2,000 CRPF personnel injured. Some of them were physically disabled for life
	Request of Afzal’s family sent to Centre Majid Jahangir Tribune News Service Srinagar, February 13 Five days after Afzal Guru was hanged, the state government has forwarded the request of the family for seeking his body for burial in Kashmir to the Ministry of Home Affairs (MHA) in New Delhi. Principal Home Secretary of Jammu and Kashmir Suresh Kumar today forwarded the joint representation of Afzal’s widow Tabasum and other family members to the Secretary of the MHA for “appropriate action”. “Ms Tabasum, Afzal Guru’s wife, and his other family member have made a request to the government to return Afzal’s dead body to them to enable them to perform the religious rites. The representation has been received through the Baramulla Deputy Commissioner and the Kashmir Divisional Commissioner. I am accordingly forwarding the representation for your appropriate action,” Suresh Kumar said in his letter to the MHA, New Delhi. On February 12, the family had moved an application before the Baramulla District Magistrate, seeking Afzal’s body, who was hanged on February 9 and later buried inside Tihar Jail. On the same day, the Baramulla District Magistrate had forwarded the family’s request to the Kashmir Divisional Commissioner and the state Home Department for necessary action. “It is our moral right to receive his (Afzal’s) body for last rites,” read the joint application by Tabasum, her son Ghalib, and Afzal’s elder brother Ajaz Guru. The family had on February 10 submitted the application to the Baramulla District Magistrate through an electronic mail. However, the authorities advised them to submit the hard copy before taking any action on it. Afzal’s family had said they would fight “tooth and nail” for the return of his body from Tihar. “It is also the responsibility of the state government to ensure that Afzal’s body is returned to us,” said Aijaz Guru. Kin yet to go through his last letter Srinagar: Afzal Guru’s family is yet to go through his last letter which he wrote moments before his execution in Tihar Jail on Saturday morning. The family says they are waiting for the response of the authorities over handing over Afzal’s body to them for burial in Kashmir. The letter written in Urdu by Afzal was posted by the Tihar Jail authorities on February 11 evening from the Parliament street, New Delhi, which was delivered to his family in Jageer Village of Sopore by the postal authorities on February 12. “The letter was delivered to us on Tuesday evening and was addressed to his wife Tabasum. But we have not gone through it yet,” said Yaseen Guru, Afzal’s cousin. Yaseen said the family was in shock and needed some time to emerge out of it. “Our family, especially Afzal’s wife Tabasum and son Ghalib, have not yet emerged out of the shock. So it wont be proper at this moment to show them the letter,” he said. The letter was penned down by Afzal around 6.40 pm on Saturday and was handed by him to the Tihar Jail officials who were present there.
	Epitaph on Afzal’s empty grave goes missing, resurfaces Majid Jahangir Tribune News Service Srinagar, February 13 An epitaph which was put on the empty grave of Afzal Guru at the Martyrs’ graveyard in Srinagar disappeared overnight but was found again within hours. Days after Afzal’s hanging, a grave was reserved for him in a graveyard in downtown Srinagar, adjacent to the empty grave of Jammu Kashmir Liberation Front founder Maqbool Bhat, who was hanged in Tihar Jail in 1984. A tombstone was also erected on Afzal’s empty grave on Tuesday. Local residents, however, were surprised to learn that the epitaph was missing today and the police was not allowing any one to go near the graveyard. “We suspect that it was taken away by the police and when they feared it might create anger among the people, it was restored to its place,” said a resident of Eidgah locality in Srinagar, which houses the largest graveyard and where hundreds have been buried in the two-decade-long militancy in the state. The police, however, denied taking away the epitaph placed near Afzal’s empty grave. “It is rubbish that we had taken the gravestone. From the past 20 years, Maqbool Bhat’s gravestone is there on his empty grave and nobody has taken it away. So why should the police take away Afzal’s gravestone,” said a police office in Srinagar. “These allegations of taking away the epitaph are far-fetched and aimed at defaming us,” he said. Human rights activist Khurram Parvaiz said the J&K Government was even scared of Afzal’s tombstone on his empty grave. “The Central government is sacred of his dead body and they buried him in Tihar Jail. The state government is scared even of his tombstone and they tried to take it away. The stone, however, resurfaced due to pressure from netizens,” said Khurram. Afzal’s epitaph, which has been written in Urdu, reads, “His remains are lying with the Indian Government as a trust of Kashmiri nation and we are waiting for its return.” Afzal’s family has been demanding his body be returned to the family so that he is buried in Kashmir. Afzal was buried in Tihar Jail soon after his execution, close to JKLF founder Maqbool Bhat’s grave in jail number 3 of Tihar.
	Omar now says there was no official ban on newspapers Local dailies hit stands after three days in Valley Bismah Malik/TNS Srinagar, February 13 Although local newspapers in the Valley hit the stands today after three days of “unofficial media gag” since Saturday, Chief Minister Omar Abdullah has said there was no official ban in place on the newspapers in Kashmir. The Chief Minister said the newspaper publications were choosing not to print their editions because restrictions due to curfew make delivery of newspapers impossible. “If there was a ban then it would have extended to their Internet editions as well which are regularly being updated. As the restrictions ease, the newspapers will resume publication because the problem isn’t with printing, it is with them being unable to sell. And, those continuously going on about a government gag would be well advised to produce a single copy of the gag order,” the Chief Minister posted on Twitter on Tuesday. Editors and publishers of local newspapers condemned Omar’s remarks, terming it inaccurate. “We were verbally communicated by the Station House Officers of various police stations on Saturday evening that Sunday editions of newspaper should not be printed. Police officers made rounds of printing offices of various newspaper offices on Saturday evening and Sunday morning to ensure that no newspapers were printed. Our vendors, hawkers, based in Srinagar and other districts, were harassed by the police and not allowed to circulate newspapers. The Chief Minister’s statement is unfortunate in this regard,” said Rasheed Makhdoomi, printer and publisher of Greater Kashmir, a daily newspaper. Local editors maintained that though no official document was sent to them by the state government directing the newspaper ban, police officer had even seized some of the printed copies of newspapers. “It is false that there was no ban on the printing of newspapers,” said Showkat Motta, editor of Kashmir Reader. He said the police had seized all copies of some local Urdu and English dailies on Saturday night. “I cannot digest that there was no ban on the publication of newspapers,” he told The Tribune. There were unwritten orders to stop the publications and similar messages allowing the publications of today’s newspapers, he said. Chairperson of the Press Council of India Justice Markandey Katju had written to the Chief Minister, criticising the ban. “My own thinking in the matter is this: no freedom can be absolute, and hence press freedom under Article 19(1)(a) of the Constitution can also not be absolute, but is subject to reasonable restrictions in the public interest vide Article 19(2),” Justice Katju had stated in his letter. “I believe that a letter was sent from the Press Council of India to the Chief Minister expressing serious concern on the issue,” said Manzoor Anjum, editor of local Urdu daily Uqaab. He termed the Chief Minister’s claims of no ban on publications as false, adding that some local editors had been informed late in the night on Saturday to stop the publication of their newspapers.
	BJYM demands action against Yasin Malik Tribune News Service Jammu, February 13 The Bharatiya Janata Yuva Morcha (BJYM) today held a protest against the Union Government for being indecisive on the issue of separatist leader Yaseen Malik’s sharing the dais with Mumbai attack mastermind Hafiz Saeed in Pakistan. A large number of BJYM activists raised anti-Congress, anti-UPA slogans and burnt the effigy of the Union Government. Accusing the Centre for being soft on separatism and terrorism, state president of the BJYM Ravinder Raina said the policies of the government had raised the morale of terrorists. He alleged that political patronage extended to separatist leaders by the Congress had confused the nation about its true character. Demanding “stringent action” against Malik, Raina said, “On reaching India, he (Yaseen Malik) should be arrested and booked under sedi-tion charges and his passport should be revoked immediately.” He said Malik should be put on trial for his evil demeanour and act of treason against the country. Raina said by taking a negative position on anti-terror laws such as the Prevention of Terrorism Act (POTA), the UPA government and the Congress had rendered security agencies handicapped in fighting anti-national elements and demanded re-enactment of the POTA to deal with separatism in the country.
	2 madrassa teachers held for burning feet of minor Ravi Krishnan Khajuria/TNS Jammu, February 13 Two religious teachers at a madrassa have been arrested for allegedly burning an 11-year-old student’s feet with an electricity iron. The teachers, who are now in a police lock-up in Rajouri town, resorted to this inhumane act because the minor allegedly had been missing his classes and didn't want to continue with his studies. The minor Mohammad Musharraf, who belongs to Ghaluti village in Rajouri district, was kept in a dingy room by the two religious teachers in a bid to hide their crime. “The incident came to light on February 10 when the boy’s maternal uncle, Abdul Haroof, went to meet his nephew. He saw Musharraf with severe burn injuries on his feet. The minor was kept in a room to keep the incident under wraps,” said the SSP, Rajouri, Mubassir Latifi. “Acting upon Haroof’s complaint, we immediately registered an FIR and arrested the two teachers on Monday,” he added. The madrassa — Nasurat-ul-Uloom — is situated in the Adharkote locality of Rajouri. “The child is now recuperating from his burn injuries in the Rajouri district hospital,” said the SSP. The teachers have been identified as Mohammad Jameel and Mohammad Anwar. “After torturing the child with a hot iron, the two teachers had confined him in a dingy room inside the seminary for over seven days,” said a police source. A case under section 343 and 324 of the RPC has been slapped on the two teachers. There have recently been two similar cases of teacher brutalities in Rajouri district. On December 6, the right arm of a nine-year-old girl was fractured after she was allegedly beaten up by a teacher for coming late to the school. On August 18 last year, a Class IX student suffered kidney failure after he was allegedly thrashed by a teacher in Rajouri district.
	Anti-graft panel closes inquiry against Rather Jammu, February 13 Jammu and Kashmir State Accountability Commission has closed the inquiry against Minister for Finance and Ladakh Affairs Abdul Rahim Rather regarding an allegation levelled by the Yuva Shakti Mission in which, inter alia, it was alleged that the Minister had given the “smart card” contract to his son. Earlier, some other allegations made by this organisation in its complaint were dropped by the commission suo motu at the preliminary stage of the inquiry. Immediately after the allegations were levelled against him, the Finance Minister had in a press conference on February 23, 2012, described these allegations as baseless. He had stated that some elements had launched a vilification campaign against him to tarnish his political career. Rather had filed a reply to the Accountability Commission even when it had become clear that the credentials of the complainant were not established. The commission in the concluding para of its order dated 12.2.2013 has said “therefore, this commission would not have the jurisdiction to proceed on anonymous complaints filed without giving sufficient particulars of the complainant(s) so as to identify them, like the instant complaint, as such we are unable to proceed further in the matter. — TNS
	LC poll to be ‘showdown’ between Azad and Soz Dinesh Manhotra Tribune News Service Jammu, February 13 A “political war” has erupted between the two Congress stalwarts, Union Health Minister Ghulam Nabi Azad and Jammu and Kashmir Pradesh Congress Committee (JKPCC) chief Saifuddin Soz, over the distribution of mandate to their loyalists after the Election Commission issued a notification for the biennial elections to the eight Legislative Council seats. Although the two coalition partners, the National Conference and the Congress, are yet to announce the seat sharing formula, a number of Congress leaders have rushed to New Delhi to use the good offices of their political mentors to get the party mandates. Sources in the Congress said Azad wanted the lion’s share for his loyalists from the Congress quota because out of the total four retiring MLCs, three were his staunch supporters. The JKPCC chief, on the other hand, is also trying to show his “power” this time. Soz has been “utilizing” all his power to get mandate for his loyalists. For the two seats of the Kashmir valley, Soz has been trying to get mandate for his loyalists, Muzaffar Parray, Majid Paddar and Mahila Congress leader Shamima Raina. He is also trying to get mandate for his loyalist for at least one seat from the Jammu region. “Instead of directly lobbying for his supporters, Soz has deputed some of his loyalists to exert pressure on the high command to accept only his choices,” a source said. As reported earlier, a number of Soz loyalists were annoyed with him after the Cabinet expansion on January 15 in which the JKPCC chief had failed to take into consideration the interests of his supporters. A close aide of the Union Health Minister disclosed that Azad had forwarded the names of his potential candidates to counter the choices of Soz. “Azad not only wants that his loyalist should be accommodated on one seat reserved for Doda district, he is also trying to get mandate for his staunch supporters for the remaining three seats from the Congress quota,” said a senior leader of the Azad faction on the condition of anonymity. Meanwhile, retiring Congress MLC Mohammad Amin Bhat along with his supporters has been camping at New Delhi to urge the high command to repeat him for the Upper House. Adbul Gani Vakil, Azad’s staunch supporter, is also camping at Delhi.