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After weeklong curfew, Hurriyat strike disturbs life in Kashmir
Respect my end, says Afzal in last letter to family
Afzal’s execution |
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BJP leader snubs party workers for raising pro-Modi slogans
Govt pulls up PHE engineers
Moderate quake jolts Valley
Deputy Commissioner booked in land case
Govt criticised for not bringing ex-spy’s body from Pak
Intel sources suspect infiltration along LoC
Army convoys alter timings to avoid conflict with protesters
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After weeklong curfew, Hurriyat strike disturbs life in Kashmir
Srinagar, February 17 The shutdown, which affected the transport services across the region, was widespread in its impact as major markets in Srinagar, region’s main city, remained closed. Hardline separatist group Hurriyat Conference-led by Syed Ali Geelani had earlier this week called for a two-day shutdown till Sunday to protest the Guru’s hanging and demand the return of his body, which is buried in New Delhi’s Tihar Jail where he was hanged earlier this month. The shutdown also affected businesses and transport services in all north and south Kashmir districts. A police spokesman said the situation at all places was under control and there were no major protests anywhere. The spokesman also refuted the “reports” which had blamed the death of a 62-year-old man in the old city on Saturday on the police shelling of pepper gas in the area. “Abdul Rashid Sheikh, a retired employee of Srinagar Municipal Corporation, was a chronic asthma patient. He died of his ailment yesterday morning. There was no law and order problem in the area yesterday. Some law and order problem were reported after 12 noon,” the police spokesman said. However, a family friend of Sheikh’s said his health had deteriorated on Thursday evening when the entire area was covered with pepper gas. “Some people have started to bleed while coughing because of the gas,” he said. The pepper gas shells, which were introduced in Kashmir after the 2010 summer unrest, have a nauseating effect and can cause intense coughing. A resident of Downtown Srinagar said protesters were clashing with the police and paramilitary forces today at several parts of the old city. “The clashes broke out in the afternoon and are continuing. A large number of police personnel are present on the road outside. The intensity of the clash is average and the police has burst a few tear smoke shells so far,” the resident said. Parts of the Kashmir valley, including Srinagar, on Saturday witnessed stone-throwing protests after a week-long curfew was lifted from across the region. A stringent curfew which was imposed on Saturday last week was lifted after seven days. The curfew was a preemptive measure to tackle any situation that may have arisen in the aftermath of Guru’s hanging. Internet services, which had remained suspended on all private networks for the last one week, were restored on Friday evening. At least 53 protesters have been arrested in the last eight days of unrest which followed the hanging. Kashmir is scheduled to return to a semblance of normalcy on Monday when the hardline separatist group has said there will be no shutdown. The group has said it will chart out a future course of protests on Monday which will be decided by Geelani. |
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Respect my end, says Afzal in last letter to family
Srinagar, February 17 “I thank Almighty Allah that he chose me for this . Rest, I congratulate all the brethren in faith that we all stood for the truth and righteousness. Let our end be for truth and righteousness,” Afzal wrote in the letter. He asked his family and other people to respect his death. The letter sent through speed post, which was posted by the Tihar Jail Superintendent, was delivered to Afzal’s wife Tabassum by the J&K postal department on February 12 morning, within 36 hours after it was mailed from Delhi. The family had been initially reluctant to share the contents of the letter publicly. “The whole family was under shock and it was not possible for us to open the letter immediately. That is why we needed time to open it and today we are making it public,” said Yaseen Guru, a cousin of
Afzal. The six-line letter has been written by Afzal at 6.25 am on February 9, just one and a half hours before his execution in Tihar Jail. Afzal was hanged at 8 am and later buried inside Tihar Jail. The letter was released by the family to journalists via electronic mail and shared with the public on the Internet through various social networking forums this evening. What the letter says (translated from Urdu) Dated : 9.02.2013 Time: 6.25 am In the name of Allah, Respected family members and brethren in faith, peace of Allah be upon you all. I thank Almighty Allah that he chose me for this (hanging). Rest, I congratulate all the brethren in faith that we all stood for the truth and righteousness. Let our end be for truth and righteousness. I request all my family that instead of regretting my ending, they should respect it. May the Almighty Allah protect and help all of us. Allah Hafiz |
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Afzal’s execution
Jammu, February 17 Addressing one-day convention of the workers of the BJP here this afternoon, Nadda took strong exception to the recent statement of Omar in which he had registered his protest over the way Afzal Guru was hanged. Nadda alleged that for his lust for power, Omar was ready to compromise with national security. He said Omar had crossed all limits to appease the anti-national forces active in the state in general and Kashmir in particular. “Omar Abdullah is not behaving like a Chief Minister but his actions are like that of a separatist,” he alleged. He expressed regret that being the head of the state Omar Abdullah had failed to discharge his constitutional duty. “Instead of trying to score political points over the issue of the hanging of Afzal Guru, Omar Abdullah should rather support nationalist forces to deal with anti-India forces,” he said. The BJP leader also availed this opportunity to corner the Congress of keeping mum over the utterances of Omar Abdullah. “Omar Abdullah is out to instigate people against India but the Congress, which is supporting his government, has maintained a silence on the issue,” he said. “It is a very serious issue and the Congress must make its stand clear on Omar’s statement.” Taking a dig at Omar Abdullah for demanding revocation of the Armed Forces Special Powers Act (AFSPA), Nadda said the Chief Minister was not aware of the legal aspects. “Omar Abdullah has been raising this demand only to befool the people,” he alleged. Terming Omar’s government synonymous with mis-governance and corruption, he said the Congress-National Conference government in the state had crossed all limits of corruption. He also alleged that corruption was rampant in the state because this regime lacked transparency and accountability. He said huge funds allotted by the Union Government, from time to time, had been pocketed by those at the helm of affairs. BJP state president Jugal Kishore Sharma, Nirmal Singh, Ashok Khajuria, Kavinder Gupta, Shamsher Singh Manhas and others also spoke on the occasion. |
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BJP leader snubs party workers for raising pro-Modi slogans
Jammu, February 17 Enraged by the attitude of the senior party leader, a number of workers left the meeting hall in a huff and did not even listen to other speakers, including national general secretary JP Nadda and state president Jugal Kishore Sharma. Although the meeting was called in connection with the preparations of the 2014 Lok Sabha elections, speakers were “deliberately” avoiding mentioning Narendra Modi’s name. This deliberate attempt by the speakers to avoid Modi’s name created discomfort among the cadre who had gathered there in large numbers. Workers were expecting that Lal, who along with Nadda had especially come to attend the meeting, would disclose about Modi’s role in accomplishing “Mission 2014”. However, Lal did not mention Modi’s name while delivering his speech on the preparedness for the 2014 Lok Sabha elections. He highlighted the excellent agricultural growth in Gujarat but said Madhya Pradesh was also in the list of fast-growing BJP-ruled states to undermine Modi’s importance. As soon as Lal completed his speech, a group of young party workers from Rajouri district raised slogans in favour of Modi. They were joined by workers from other areas. “Desh Ka Neta Kaisha Ho, Narendra Modi Jaisa Ho”, repeatedly rented in the air. Upset over the way the party workers were raising the slogans, Lal, who had just taken his seat, again rushed towards the dais and snubbed those who were raising slogans in Modi’s favour. “It is not your job to decide who will be the leader of the party or who will be the Prime Ministerial candidate of the party. Your job is to strengthen the organisation of the party up to the polling booth-level to face the next Lok Sabha elections,” he said, adding, “It is the party leadership which will decide about the leader of the BJP in the Lok Sabha elections.” Lal said, “The national president of the party has already directed the party workers and leaders not to raise this issue in public.” |
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Locals feel the pinch as prices of food, LPG soar
Srinagar, February 17 “Although we have stocked up essential commodities, the problems of shortage of essential commodities and increase in prices occur due to the shutdown which is beyond anybody’s control,” said a CAPD official who works in the market division. The old city areas of Srinagar were given no relaxation in curfew which was in place for a week. The people of downtown Srinagar could not come out to buy essential supplies. Due to the shortage of essential commodities, people in the Valley are being forced to buy essential supplies at higher rates. “It was frustrating when we couldn’t get milk for three days. There were rumours in the neighbourhood that milk was being sold at Rs 30 per
litre, which is almost double the normal rate. One has no other option but to buy food and cooking fuels at exorbitant rates under such situations,” said Abdul
Rehman, a resident of Ali Kadal in Srinagar. Since the CAPD ration depots are available at only some places in the Valley, people are forced to buy food, LPG and kerosene from black-marketers. At many places in
Srinagar, including Peer Bagh, Hyderpora, Sanat Nagar, Rambagh, Chanapora and
Natipora, the CAPD ration depots were thrown open during curfew relaxation so that people could buy rice, maize, pulses and kerosene. Owners of the CAPD depots in downtown areas of Srinagar alleged that due to incidents of stone-throwing and tear gas shelling during the relaxation, they had preferred to keep the depots closed. “One of our dealers opened his depot at Maharaj Gunj in Zaina Kadal yesterday but he had to meet with resistance of youths who asked him to close down his shop. We know people are facing inconvenience, but there is a threat to our lives too,” said a CAPD depot owner based in Lal
Chowk, Srinagar, who wished not be named. |
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LC poll likely to be held uncontested
Jammu, February 17 By finalising the names of only six candidates, the coalition has virtually left two seats for the opposition Peoples Democratic Party
(PDP) which has already announced the two candidates, Yashpal Sharma and Naeem
Akthar, for the Jammu and Kashmir seats, respectively. As per the strength of the NC, Congress and the PDP in the Assembly, all candidates announced by these parties are likely to emerge victorious uncontested. A clear picture would, however, emerge after Monday as February 18 is the last date for filing of the nomination papers. The NC today finalised the candidates for the three seats of the Legislative Council. While as the party has decided to repeat sitting MLC Devender Singh
Rana, two new faces have been announced for the two seats from the quota of the Kashmir valley. The party has announced Shoukat Ganai and Abdul Majid Bhat as the two candidates for the Kashmir valley and Devender Singh Rana for the Jammu region. The National Conference has repeated Rana for one seat of Jammu province. Sources said it was due Rana’s excellent performance as the member of the Upper House that the party had decided to repeat him.
Rana, who was recently made the provincial president of the NC for Jammu province, is a close aide of the Chief Minister. The sources said the Congress had finalised the names of three candidates, Rani Gargi Billowaria for the Jammu seat, Muzaffar Parry for the Kashmir seat and MLC Naresh Gupta for the Doda seat. |
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Govt pulls up PHE engineers
Jammu, February 17 They have been asked to submit tour diaries to Chief Engineers in Jammu and Kashmir provinces and the administrative department. The step has been taken after inspections of various water distribution facilities revealed poor maintenance of infrastructure. Sources said the department had been directed on February 11 to submit a detailed report on the mechanism adopted for utilisation of funds and maintenance of infrastructure by engineers so that reasons of failure to achieve targets could be ascertained. “Keeping in view the poor performance, the social audit on the analogy of the Health Department will be introduced to take action against the deadwood. There will be administrative action for poor performers,” said Minister for PHE Sham Lal Sharma. A vital flagship scheme of the Government of India, which aimed at providing safe drinking water to the rural population, has been poorly implemented in the state. PHE Chief Engineer Ashwani Sharma said the department had taken several measures against poor performers. “A report is being prepared and action will be taken against poor performers.” The audit report by the Ministry of Drinking Water and Sanitation has revealed that the state has reported low (less than 50%) achievement of targets under the National Rural Drinking Water Programme (NRDWP) among states including Sikkim, Punjab, Assam and Arunachal Pradesh. The government has failed to spend the Central funds. Over Rs 15 crore of the previous fiscal is yet to be utilised on the scheme. The approved Central share for the state was Rs 283 crore. Against the first installment of the released amount of Rs 82 crore, the state government has spent Rs 77 crore, the audit reveals. |
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Moderate quake jolts Valley
Srinagar, February 17 He said the earthquake measuring 5.2 on the Richter scale hit the Valley at 7.05 am. The MeT official said the epicentre of the earthquake was in the Hindukush region of Afghanistan with a
latitude of 36.5 degrees north and longitude of 71.7 degrees east. While officials said no damages to life or property had been reported so far, several locals felt the impact of the earthquake. Locals were also seen rushing out of their houses at many places after the earthquake shook the Valley. Kashmir is an earthquake-prone area and it experiences frequent jolts. An earthquake measuring 7.9 on the Richter scale had caused massive damage to life and property across the Line of Control (LoC) in October 2005.
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Deputy Commissioner booked in land case
Katra, February 17 Police officers said an FIR had been registered in the Reasi police station against the former Reasi Deputy Commissioner and now Udhampur Deputy Commissioner Pandu Rang K Pole on the complaint of Anudhan Singh, a resident of Barnai in Jammu. The FIR was lodged on the direction of the Special Anti-corruption District and Sessions Judge, Jammu. The complainant alleged that Pole had transferred 206 kanal and 13 marlas, owned by his relatives Gian Singh, Shiv Raj and Baldev Singh to Sanjeev Khajuria, a resident of Udhampur and presently putting up at Delhi. Khajuria, in connivance with some businessmen of Delhi, got the land transferred on their name in the back date for construction of Navshrivan Hotel and Resort at the said piece of land. In his complaint, Singh alleged that the said Deputy Commissioner by misusing his official position and for monetary benefits had transferred the piece of land in back date. The FIR No. 13 of 2013 under Section 5(2) of the Prevention of Corruption Act and 120-B of the RPC has been registered at the Reasi police station. Some revenue officers, including Sher Singh, a Naib Tehsildar of Katra, are under the scanner for their alleged dubious role in the illegal transfer of land. Reasi SSP Raghveer Singh said the FIR has been lodged by the Vigilance Organisation and the investigations are on. |
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Govt criticised for not bringing ex-spy’s body from Pak
Jammu, February 17 While the Pakistan government had contacted the Indian Embassy in Islamabad to return Singh’s body, New Delhi has not shown any serious concern to bring it back, said president of the association Vinod Sawhney. Sawhney is a former Indian spy, who had to fight a protracted battle with the state government for his dignified rehabilitation after his return from Pakistan. “Yesterday, I got a phone call from Kuldip Kumar Yadav from Ahmedabad, whose brother is also languishing in the same prison. He informed me that sometime back the Pakistan government had conveyed to the Indian Embassy that it would return Chamel Singh’s body but the Union Government has not shown any concern,” said Sawhney. “I have been given to understand that if the family of the deceased can bear the expenditure, his body can be brought to his native place. How a penury-ridden family afford the expenditure of bringing back Singh’s body?” he asked. Sawhney condemned the state and Central governments for their indifferent attitude. “Last month the family of the deceased had met the Jammu Divisional Commissioner with a request to use his good offices for bringing back Singh’s body but no one seems to be bothered about people who live and die for the country,” he said. Singh’s family, which desperately wants his mortal remains to conduct his last rites, has requested the authorities to hand over his body at the Octroi post in the Suchetgarh sector instead of requisitioning them to Wagah in Punjab. |
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Intel sources suspect infiltration along LoC
Jammu/Rajouri, February 17 The Army launched the search operation, particularly in the Hamirpur area of the Balakote sector, which is being manned by the Bhimber Gali Brigade. Late in the evening, the officiating Defence PRO, SN Acharya, said the search operation was called off around 5 pm and nothing was found. The intruders might have retreated taking advantage of the darkness, thick vegetation and ground topography, he added. “Around 2.30 am today, a group of heavily armed ultras opened fire on Balakote and Dabi forward posts inviting retaliatory fire from Indian troops,” said a source. While this group engaged our troops in fire, another splinter group comprising four to five ultras managed to sneak inside the Indian territory from a nullah (rivulet) close to these two posts, the source added. Intelligence sources said the gun battle between the troops and the militants lasted till 6 am today. “Following fresh misadventure, obviously with the backing of the Pakistan army, senior Army officers of 22 Rajputana Rifles under 120 Bhimber Gali Brigade and 49 Rashtriya Rifles were camping in Balakote supervising the search operations,” they added. The sources said the Army scanned the entire forward belt in Balakote and also focused on the Sangiot area that lies between Rajouri and Poonch districts to be on the lookout for their (ultras) “guides”, who might help them. Despite heavy snowfall, bad weather conditions and poor visibility, the search operation went on till evening. |
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Army convoys alter timings to avoid conflict with protesters
Srinagar, February 17 Since February 9, the day when Parliament attack convict Afzal Guru was hanged, the Army convoys have been mostly moving from one place to another during the night hours or in the wee hours. The convoys are allowed to move only after getting proper security clearance. At least 10 Army convoys, which usually comprise hundreds of vehicles with different kinds of supplies, ply on various routes of the Valley daily and troops make elaborate security arrangements on all the designated routes, an Army official said. “Since the past nine days, the convoys are moving during the night hours or in the wee hours and all this is aimed to avoid any confrontation or contact with the protesters,” said a senior Army official. This is not the first time when the Army changed timings of its convoys. In 2008, 2009 and 2010 during the Valley agitations, the Army had also changed timings of its convoys. Sources said the Army has also “restricted” its movements while moving through the troubled areas in different parts of the Valley. The Valley was put under curfew on February 9 and the restrictions were lifted across the Valley on Saturday. Though the curfew has been lifted from all the 10 districts of Kashmir, situation continues to remain tense as the protesters have attacked private vehicles on various spots along the National Highway in the past two days. |
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The Kashmir valley remained closed for the ninth consecutive day on Sunday in the aftermath of the February 9 hanging of 2001 Parliament attack convict
Afzal Guru.
Dubbing Chief Minister Omar Abdullah as a security threat, national general secretary of the BJP JP Nadda today lambasted the Congress.
BJP national organising secretary Ram Lal snubbed party workers who were raising slogans in favour of Gujarat Chief Minister Narendra Modi during a “Karyakarta Samellan” (workers meeting)here today.
Officials of the State Consumers and Affairs Public distribution
(CAPD) said the department had stocked up 21,000 metric tonnes of rice, 10,000 metric tonnes of wheat, 1,835 metric tonnes of sugar, besides 3 lakh LPG cylinders were available in the Valley, in the wake of apprehensions of protests and shutdowns in the coming days.