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After Omar, Mufti, lawyers join chorus for
return of Afzal’s body
Rail Budget dashes hopes of Valley’s |
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Police reforms: State may have to wait for another year
Budget session of Assembly begins from today
Bill sparks debate in Kashmir
Guv, minister discuss implementation of flagship agricultural schemes
Governor NN Vohra with Agriculture Minister Ghulam Hassan Mir at Raj Bhawan
in Jammu on Wednesday. A Tribune photograph
Even after 65 years of Independence, J-K yet to become ‘secular’
Rana criticises BJP for playing divisive politics in state
No cross-LoC trade for 2nd consecutive day
Avalanche warning issued in Valley, NH partially closed
Police draft Bill draconian: CPM
Sarpanches protest killing of panchayat members
Members of the All Jammu and Kashmir Panchayat Conference confront with policemen in Jammu
on Wednesday. Tribune photo: Anand Sharma
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After Omar, Mufti, lawyers join chorus for
return of Afzal’s body
Srinagar, February 27 Afzal Guru, convicted for his role in 2001
Parliament attack case, was hanged and buried in Delhi’s Tihar Jail on
February 9. The lawyers’ demonstrations are part of the week-long
protest programme announced by the Joint Consultative Committee of
Separatists groups, including both factions of Hurriyat Conference,
which was formed in the wake of Guru's hanging. As per the programme,
members of the Kashmir High Court Bar Association led by president
Zaffar Qureshi today assembled in the High Court premises at Srinagar
and took out a demonstration raising “pro-freedom” slogans and
demanding the return of Afzal’s remains. However, the protesting
lawyers were stopped by the police at the outer gates of the High Court
and prevented from moving further towards the Lal Chowk area in the
city. The lawyers, however, continued to raise slogans and staged a
peaceful protest outside the court, during which many senior lawyers and
members of the Bar addressed the gathering. They demanded that the
government should return Afzal’s body to his family for burial in
Kashmir. The lawyers also held protests in Anantnag in south Kashmir
and Baramulla in north Kashmir. In Anantnag, lawyers from the District
Bar Association, Anantnag, and other lawyers from sub-courts like
Bijbihara and Pahalgam took out a protest from district court premises
and walked up to the Lal Chowk, the main square in Anantnag town. They
were stopped by the police from moving further from the chowk. In
Baramulla too, the lawyers held protest demonstration in the premises of
District Court complex to press for the return of Afzal’s body.
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Rail Budget dashes hopes of Valley’s tourism sector
Srinagar, February 27 Shah said they had also suggested that bookings should be opened six months in advance so that tourists would book tour packages in a smooth manner. Kashmir Hotels and Restaurant Association (KHARA) president Showkat Chowdhary also regretted that the Rail Budget had not offered any special holiday packages for tourists wishing to travel to the Valley. “The Centre has not taken into consideration the importance of the Railways for the promotion of the tourism sector in Kashmir. We had proposed many suggestions for the promotion of the tourism sector but all were ignored. Every visitor can’t afford to travel by air. We wanted that there should be special holiday packages for visitors travelling by train. It would have encouraged many people to visit our state,” said Chowdhary. Stating that KHARA had also demanded an increase in the frequency of trains to Jammu from April to September, he said: “We have a good rush of tourists during the peak summer season. Many tourists want to travel via train but they are forced to cancel their programmes due to increased train bookings during the peak season. Frequent trains to Jammu, offering special concession, would have encouraged more tourists to visit our state.” KHARA also expressed dismay at the Centre’s rejection of a rail coach factory in the state, which according to Chowdhary, had been proposed earlier by Chief Minister Omar Abdullah. “The Chief Minister’s demand for setting up a rail coach factory to overcome industrial backwardness and economic shortcomings in the state has not been met in Tuesday’s Railway Budget. The Centre has rejected the demand. The budget has disappointed the tourism fraternity,” Chowdhary said.
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Police reforms: State may have to wait for another year
Jammu, February 27 The draft Bill, which was put on the J&K Home Department’s website on February 15, has created a major controversy in the state with some political parties, separatist groups and members of the civil society terming it an attempt to “convert Jammu and Kashmir into a police state”. Reacting to the controversy over the draft police Bill, a senior police officer, who wished not to be named, suggested the government should constitute a committee of 5-6 persons from various fields comprising legal experts, retired or serving police officers after the expiry of the date fixed for seeking public opinion to study the draft Bill as well as the proposals to be made by the public so that all “genuine” recommendations are incorporated in the final Bill. Yesterday, Chief Minister Omar Abdullah had questioned the “manufactured outrage” regarding the draft police Bill and had said the Bill hasn’t passed public scrutiny let alone been seen by him and the Cabinet. PDP president Mehbooba Mufti had alleged that the proposed Police Bill was an attempt to institutionalise the “dreaded Ikhwan culture” in the state and they would oppose passage of the Bill in its present form. Former Director General of Police Ashok Bhan said the state government has taken the first step by putting the Draft Bill in public domain. “Let the people from various shades come forward and express their views. After seeking public response, the government should go through all the suggestions and incorporate all the genuine proposals into the final draft,” he said. MK Bhardwaj, president, J&K High Court Bar Association, Jammu, said they had circulated the copies of the draft Bill among all members of the association to seek their objections. “We are examining and deliberating the draft Bill and will propose our suggestions shortly. All these suggestions would be made keeping in view the national interest and rights of citizens,” he said. Home Secretary Suresh Kumar said the Draft Bill was at its initial stage and public opinion would be incorporated before finalising the Bill. “The draft Bill is based on the Model Act circulated by the Government of India. A committee of experts headed by former Solicitor-General Soli Sorabjee prepared a Draft Bill (Model) on the basis of which we have prepared the Police Bill”, he said. Controversial provisions
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Budget session of Assembly begins from today
Jammu, February 27 The budget would begin with the Governor’s address at the joint session of the Legislative Assembly and the Legislative Council. The BJP and the Panthers Party have announced to grill the
government on the issue of “mis-governance, corruption and mal-administration” Instead of holding a joint meeting of legislators of the National Conference, Congress and some Independent MLAs today on the eve of the beginning of the budget session, the
coalition has decided to convene a meeting on Thursday evening followed by a dinner to devise a strategy after watching the “behaviour” of the
Opposition during the Governor’s address. Earlier, all parties used to convene a meeting of their parties on the eve of the beginning of the session, but this time the coalition has decided to convene a meeting after the Governor’s address. “It was a unanimous decision of the leadership of both the Congress and the National Conference to convene a meeting on Thursday evening instead of Wednesday evening,” a senior Congress leader said on the condition of anonymity. All senior leaders of both parties would attend the meeting to give directions to the party legislators to counter the Opposition’s attack in the House. Meanwhile, 939 questions have been listed for discussion during the budget session. As per the calendar issued by the authorities, the 34-day budget session would have 26 sittings. The session would conclude on April 2. Out of the 26 working days, 11 days would have double sittings. Secretary of the Legislative Assembly Mohammad Ramzan said the members had listed 1,009 questions, out of which 70 were
disallowed by the Assembly secretariat. “A total of 939 questions have been listed for discussion in the Assembly, out of which 531 are starred questions,” he said. Furthermore, 65 private member Bills are also listed for discussion. The Assembly secretariat has sent the questions approved by the Speaker to the departments concerned for replies. While starred questions are debated during the Question Hour of the Assembly, MLAs get only written replies to un-starred questions. The coming session would be the second last budget session of the National Conference-Congress coalition government as the state is scheduled to go for the Assembly elections by the end of 2014. Speaker to be elected today Senior National Conference leader Mubarak Gul is likely to be elected as the new Speaker of the Legislative Assembly. The election of the Speaker would be held on February 28. This election necessitates as former Speaker Mohammad Akbar Lone has been inducted into the Council of Ministers. Deputy Speaker Sartaj Madni is presently officiating as the Speaker of the Assembly. |
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Bill sparks debate in Kashmir
Srinagar, February 27 Omar had yesterday said there was “no chance” that a bad legislation would pass through a series of scrutiny. “The purpose behind this Bill is to subjugate the people further whose civil liberties have already been curbed under various acts”, said senior high court lawyer and former Bar association president Mian Qayoom. The draft of the Bill was made public on February 15 and suggestions were sought within two weeks. The Jammu and Kashmir Police, he said, is already enjoying “unbridled” powers in terms of the Public Safety Act (PSA), the Disturbed Areas Act (DAA), the Unlawful Activities Act (ULA), the Enemies Agents Act and the Ranbir Penal Code. “Despite this, the proposed Bill aims to further empower the police, which is not possible in any society”, Qayoom said, adding the Kashmir Bar had already obtained a copy of the Draft Bill and will come out with a formal and comprehensive response on the Bill after its analysis. Another senior lawyer Nazir A Ronga said before commenting, the people need to understand the “pith and purpose” of the proposed Police Bill. “Preliminary analysis reveals that the Bill is just another attempt to further empower the police, which is already enjoying many powers”, he said adding in a “libertarian society” there should be no need to go for such an Act. Terming the Draft Police Bill an “abhorrent piece of law”, Kashmir-based human rights lawyer Parvez Imroz said if the Bill was passed, the people would be deprived of their right to privacy and assembly. “As per the proposed draft, in the name of maintaining law and order, there would be a complete bar on the discussions and debates. In a way, this bill envisages exercising police control on every aspect of life”, he said. Parvez added the Draft Bill, if enacted into a law, would be “completely in violation” of the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights and Universal Declaration of Human Rights, to which India is a signatory. Senior academician and commentator, Dr Sheikh Showkat Hussain, who teaches law at Central University of Kashmir, is of the view that there are certain aspects in the Bill “which tend to exclude” the police from the “administrative control” of the “civilian” authorities. “It seems the Bill, if passed into an Act, will perpetuate certain harsh aspects of the Disturbed Areas Act and Armed Forces Special Powers Act”, he said adding the police reforms were going on every where to “dilute the vigour” of police power. “Instead of diluting that vigour, the proposed Bill aims at further enhancing the powers of the police in the state, which is unfortunate”, Dr Showkat said. |
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Guv, minister discuss implementation of flagship agricultural schemes
Jammu, February 27 They also discussed issues relating to the speedy socio-economic development of the state. The MLCs, Sheikh Ghulam Rasool and Jehangir Mir, also met the Governor in two separate meetings. Vohra and Ghulam Rasool discussed matters relating to the welfare of the people and the development of the state. Issues relating to the effective decentralisation of the democratic framework in both the rural and urban sectors were also discussed. Mir discussed with the Governor demands relating to the development of Poonch district. He referred to the importance of power supply to Poonch district being improved on a time-bound basis, measures being taken for compensating orchadists for the huge losses suffered by them due to the recent snowfall in the area, facilitating ready availability of bank loans to unemployed youth for setting up their businesses and the early resolution of problems relating to the cross-LoC trade. The Governor assured Mir that all these issues would be taken up with the authorities concerned. In a meeting with Chief Vigilance Commissioner (CVC) Kuldeep Khoda, the Governor urged him to take well-considered steps to place the State Vigilance Commission on a sound footing and ensure its proper functioning as soon as possible. He stressed that the effective functioning of statutory and constitutional institutions had a vital bearing on the enhancement of accountability and good governance. This was Khoda’s first meeting with the Governor after taking over as the CVC recently. A deputation of the Management Committee of Swami Vivekananda Medical Mission Charitable Hospital, Ambphalla, also called on the Governor. The six-member deputation, led by MLA Chaman Lal Gupta, briefed the Governor about the functioning of the hospital, diagnostic and treatment facilities available and those in the pipeline. Gupta also briefed the Governor about the expansion plans of the hospital complex and presented a memento to him. Vohra assured all possible support to the organisation.
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Even after 65 years of Independence, J-K yet to become ‘secular’
Jammu, February 27 Harsh Dev Singh had moved a resolution in the last budget session of the Assembly to include these two words in the preamble of the Constitution of the state to make Jammu and Kashmir a “secular and socialist” state in the real sense. Singh’s much-publicised resolution, during the last budget session, was not listed for discussion in the House. So, he has decided to press for discussion on the issue during the ensuing session. “I want a discussion on this resolution so as to include the words “secular and socialist” in the preamble of the Constitution of the state,” Singh said. He said since the resolution had been pending in the business of the House, there was no need to move a fresh one. For the past four consecutive years, Singh has been continuously moving this resolution but to date these words have not been incorporated in the Constitution. The Panthers Party MLA had moved the same resolution in the Assembly on March 29, 2006. After a discussion, the resolution was referred to the Select Committee on February 9, 2007. The Committee held five sittings on March 5, March 23, April 5, April 19 and May 17 in 2007. The Committee in its report on May 25, 2007, had recommended that the resolution be passed in its original form to amend the Constitution to incorporate the words “socialist” and “secular” in the Constitution. Former Minister of State for Law and Parliamentary Affairs Prem Sagar Aziz, who had headed the Select Committee comprising legislators of all political parties, said only one meeting during his tenure was held but no further action was taken. “After the formation of the new government in 2009, the issue was further transferred to another committee and now I am not aware what action the government has taken so far.” Unlike other parts of the country, the state of Jammu and Kashmir has its own Constitution due to the special status granted to it. The preamble of Jammu and Kashmir Constitution, 1957, is an adaptation of the Preamble of the Constitution of India. Through the 42nd Amendment of the Indian Constitution in 1976, the words “socialist” and “secular” were added to the preamble of the Constitution. Through this amendment, the words “socialist” and “secular” were added between the words “sovereign” and “democratic” and the phrase “unity of the Nation” was changed to “unity and integrity of the Nation”.
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Rana criticises BJP for playing divisive politics in state
Jammu, February 27 Welcoming prominent businessmen from Jammu and BJP workers in the party fold at a
specially-organised function here this afternoon, Rana eulogised the political understanding of people, saying they can differentiate between right and wrong. President of the Kanak Mandi Traders Association Vijay Gupta, ex-general secretary of the Gangyal Industries Association Abhinandan
Sachdeva, Sanjay Sareen, Munish Arora, Raman Gupta, Anil Gupta, Sahil
Malhotra, Naresh Sadhotra, Amit Goel, Arvind Sethi, Rajan Gupta, Banka
Mirhsa, Gurdeep Singh, Vivek Sareen, Rajit Singh Tara, Raman Gupta, Mohinder Singh and Harbajan Singh joined the National Conference (NC) at the function. Minister for Forests Mian Altaf Ahmad, who was present on the occasion, welcomed the traders and BJP workers into the party
fold. Rana said parties such as the BJP could not mislead people by carving out imaginary apprehensions, adding that emotive slogans in all their manifestations have caused immense damage to the social fabric of the state like Jammu and Kashmir in the past. Referring to problems faced by the business community and people of Jammu city, Rana reiterated his party’s commitment to restore the pristine glory of historic Jammu city and make it a business hub of north India, given its geographical importance as the gateway to Kashmir. He exuded confidence that their joining the NC would further reinvigorate the party, making it an effective instrument for assuaging the urges and aspirations of all segments of
society. Rana talked about the crucial role of the trade and industry in shaping the destiny of the Jammu region and said, “Together we can lay a strong edifice for infrastructural development of the city and its peripheries as per the needs of the time.” He said while the city had expanded manifold, its planned and faster development had assumed added importance. He referred to various initiatives such as the upgrade of the sewage disposal system on the modern lines, taken in the recent years, and said some key areas require immediate and focused attention.
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No cross-LoC trade for 2nd consecutive day
Jammu, February 27 The trade takes place every week from Tuesday to Friday. “No trade was done on the second consecutive day today as traders protested against the blacklisting of Dewan Traders and continued harassment to them by the trade authorities at the Chakan da Bagh Trade Centre,” said president of the Chakan da Bagh Cross-LoC Traders’ Association Pawan Anand. Anand said no truck from Pakistan-occupied Kashmir turned up at the LoC. “Even the gates were not opened today at the LoC,” he said. The Poonch district administration is likely to hold a meeting with the Indian traders tomorrow to end the deadlock. Repeated attempts to contact custodian of the Chakan da Bagh Trade Centre, Krishan Lal, and the Poonch deputy commissioner, AK Sahu, who is also the nodal officer of the trans-LoC trade, proved futile. The authorities recently blacklisted Poonch-based trader Abdul Gani Dewan after finding some empty AK-47 cartridges in a consignment of almonds sent to him from Rawalakote in PoK. The Indian traders have been accusing the authorities at the Chakan da Bagh Trade Centre of not implementing the standard operating procedure, resulting in unnecessary and unwarranted harassment to them.
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Avalanche warning issued in Valley, NH partially closed
Srinagar, February 27 The avalanche warning, which has been issued by the office of the Kashmir Divisional Commissioner, is effective for two days beginning today, an official spokesman said. The warning has been issued in the wake of expected moderate to heavy snowfall in several snowbound areas of the Valley. The avalanche advisory is effective for the north Kashmir’s Nowgam, Chowkibal, Budnambal, Karnah, Keran, Jumagand, Kenthawali, Machil and Lashdat areas. Residents of these areas have been advised not to venture close to steep avalanche-prone slopes during the warning period and keep removing snow from the roofs of their houses to avoid casualties due to structure collapse, the spokesman said. The snowfall last night led to the partial closure of the Jammu-Srinagar national highway. The highway was opened in the afternoon for traffic from Srinagar to Jammu after it was cleared of the snow, an official at the Traffic Control Room said. The Kupwara district administration said no vehicular traffic was being allowed from Karnah, Keran and Machil to Kupwara till weather improved and roads were cleared. Snowfall was received in all parts of the Kashmir valley, including Srinagar city, where residents woke up to find the city covered in a snow blanket. An official of the state Meteorological Department said 2 cm of snow was recorded in Srinagar city while 25 cm of snow was received in south Kashmir’s Pahalgam resort. The weather department said light to moderate rain and snow would occur at many places over the
state in the next 24 hours. “Gusty winds will occur at some places of Jammu, Kashmir and the Ladakh region,” the department said.
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Police draft Bill draconian: CPM
Srinagar, February 27 Tarigami, who is a legislator from south Kashmir’s Kulgam district, said he would oppose the Bill and its presentation in its present form if it was brought to vote. “Chief Minister (Omar Abdullah) is surprised as to why there is so much anger over this Bill. The anger is because we were expecting some cure, but this prescription is actually worse than the disease,” the CPM leader said. He said all the “safeguards of independence and accountability, explicitly” drawn up by the Supreme Court on how to draft a police Bill had been “removed or ignored”. Tarigami said the “mindset of authorities” had not changed despite decreased violence and diminishing insurgency. “If the state needs anything, it is democratisation. But because of uncertain circumstances of the past 22 years, authoritarian tendencies have developed in the authorities and those in authority want to give a legal protection to this authoritarian frame of mind,” he said. The draft Bill has created a stir among all sections of society including mainstream and separatist politicians. — TNS
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Sarpanches protest killing of panchayat members
Jammu, February 27 The protesting panchayat members, including women, under the banner of the All Jammu and Kashmir Panchayat Conference (AJKPC) assembled outside the Exhibition Ground and raised slogans against the ruling dispensation. They also tried to take out a protest march towards the Civil Secretariat but the police foiled their attempt to do so. Shafiq Mir, chairman, AJKPC, alleged the state government and its political leaders were “deliberately” not taking the issue of security of panchayat members seriously because they didn’t want to share power with grass-roots level village heads. “They want us to remain fearful and under pressure so that the panchayat members don’t raise the issue of empowerment of the Panchayti Raj Institutions in the state,” Shafiq alleged. Anil Sharma, general secretary, AJKPC, also blamed the state government for its failure to ensure security of elected pachayat members. |
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Jammu, February 27
Jammu, February 27
