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Omar breaks down in Assembly over protester’s killing in Baramulla
NC, PDP trade charges over remarks against Omar
Afzal’s case: High on rhetoric
Oppn stages walkout over dismal power scenario
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Pathribal ‘fake’ encounter
Woman panch alleges abduction by gunmen
BSF reclaims 230 acres near Indo-Pak border in RS Pura
Accused SSP denied bail in Amandeep murder case
Cross-LoC trade via Chakan da Bagh remains suspended
4 Drass residents to take part in horse polo cup in Imphal
Militants hurl grenade at businessmen’s house in Srinagar
Grenade blast
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Omar breaks down in Assembly over protester’s killing in Baramulla
Jammu, March 5 As soon as Law and Parliamentary Affairs Minister Saifullah Mir gave a statement on the killing, PDP members resorted to sloganeering. Independent MLA Engineer Rashid also joined the agitating members, creating a din in the House. The agitating members slammed the Chief Minister for the youth’s killing. Omar was present in the House to speak on the Governor’s address. After creating pandemonium, the PDP members staged a walkout but the Independent MLA was marshalled out. Upset over the killing and criticism of the opposition, Omar said every time there was news of death in the state, the PDP always blamed him, when it was hardly his fault. “I, too, have emotions but my chair does not allow me to behave like PDP members,” he said, while referring towards the empty benches of the opposition. “They (opposition) can show their emotion, throw stones and run away. I have the same emotions, maybe more, how do I show them?” he asked. “They
(PDP members) created uproar and later walked out of the House without hearing me,” he said and informed the House that a probe would be held into the killing of the youth and strict punishment would be given to those found guilty. “Firing on the mob of unarmed people was unjustified,” Omar said in a choked voice and asked, “Do people in a procession throwing stones deserve to be shot at? Is this the first time people have thrown stones at the forces? Why did they fire?” The Chief Minister, who finished his speech on the Governor’s address in 16 minutes, said he was shocked by the killing and was not in a position to speak more. Earlier, while winding up a debate on the Governor’s address in the Legislative Council, the Chief Minister said he would continue to advocate for the gradual revocation of the Armed Forces Special Powers Act
(AFSPA) from areas where it was not needed. “I have not put the issue on a back burner. It is alive and we are continuously engaged with the Central government on the issue,” he said, adding that a woman
(Irom Sharmila) from North-East was on a hunger strike for the last 12 years, demanding revocation of
AFSPA. The Chief Minister referred to the recent attack by Naxalites on an Indian Air force helicopter in Dantewada,
Chattisgarh, in this regard, and said when you don't need AFSPA there, why do you need the Act in the J-K. On the Model Police Act, Omar said the Supreme Court had directed the states to implement the Model Police Act to make the existing Acts more people-friendly and transparent. He said there was a need to have a reformed Police Act in the state and, as such, a draft Act was formulated. “The government is not tabling the Act in the Legislative Houses at present. It has been put on the Home Department’s website for public comments. When these comments come in, these would be reviewed and reflected in the Act. The Act will then be reviewed by the Police and Law Departments. It will be placed before the Cabinet and then a Bill will be drafted which will be placed before the Legislative Houses. After getting clearance from both Houses, it will go to the Governor for his assent,” he said, adding that creating false propaganda and rumours about the Act holds no ground. CM dispels rumours of quitting Jammu: The Chief Minister on Tuesday dispelled rumours of his “impending resignation” following the killing of a youth allegedly in firing by security forces in
Baramulla. “Note to others spreading rumours about my impending resignation — I haven't resigned,” Omar wrote on
micro-blogging site Twitter. “If my resignation could bring a person back to life, I'd resign in a flash. My responsibility to the state and people is to ensure incidents like today’s see justice done,” he tweeted. |
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NC, PDP trade charges over remarks against Omar
Jammu, March 5 The NC members, who vociferously raised the issue and protested near the well of the House, demanded an apology from the PDP leader. Baig, however, refused to tender an apology saying that he would withdraw his comments if the Chief Minister was also ready to take back his words. Amid the uproar, except one question no business was transacted during Question Hour and Speaker Mubarak Gul had to adjourn the House for 15 minutes. The Chief Minister, while replying to a debate on the demand for the return of Parliament attack convict Afzal Guru’s body to his family in the Assembly yesterday, had accused the PDP of “playing politics over the blood of Kashmir people”. In a counter attack,
Baig, who was not allowed to speak during the debate, had described Omar as a “third-rate daily wager” in a press conference. When the House assembled this morning, Speaker Mubarak Gul told the members to allow the proceedings and Question Hour, which had been disrupted for the past two days, to function smoothly. The NC members, however, were soon on their feet, resorting to sloganeering and demanding an apology from
Baig, who was present in the House. Minister for Law and Parliamentary Affairs Mir Saifullah said all should maintain the decorum of the House and show respect to the post of Chief Minister and refrain from speaking “unparliamentary language”. “He
(Baig) should apologise as he had no right to use such demeaning language against the Chief Minister,” Saifullah said. Senior NC legislator said it was against constitutional decorum for a member to use foul language against the Chief Minister. Saifullah was supported by Minister for Rural Development Ali Mohammad Sagar, who demanded an apology from the leader of the opposition over the issue and warned that the insult to the CM would not be tolerated. The PDP countered the NC members and created uproar, blaming the Chief Minister for using “unwarranted words” against it
(PDP). “The Chief Minister had himself admitted that there was nothing in his hands (in an obvious reference to the hanging of Afzal Guru). You hang but do not return the body for last rites,” shouted Mehbooba Mufti, Leader of the Opposition. A virtual war of words broke out between the two sides leading to pandemonium in the House with the Speaker repeatedly asking the members to allow the House to run. Lashing out at the NC and the PDP members for resorting to “petting politicking”, Jammu-based opposition members rushed to the front row in protest. They lambasted the two parties for turning the House into a “political battlefield” to get brownie points in the Kashmir valley. “It is unfortunate that both parties (NC and
PDP) have turned the House into a political battlefield. We are here to represent the people and not for petting politicking,” shouted Panthers Party MLA Balwant Singh
Mankotia. As pandemonium continued in the House, the Speaker adjourned the House for 10 minutes. After the session was resumed, the NC members again insisted that Baig should tender an apology for his “objectionable remarks”. Baig, however, said, “The Chief Minister had termed the PDP as ‘maut ke saudhagar’ (merchants of death) which was completely
unparliamentary. I will withdraw my words if he (Omar) takes back his statement.” Standing by his statement, the PDP member remarked, “You all are daily wagers starting from me -- all members sitting here in the House are daily wagers for six years -- what is wrong about this. If people don’t vote for you, you will be nowhere. If the Central government doesn’t listen to the Chief Minister then he is a daily wager. No shame about this,” Baig said. However, Saifullah countered the charges. He said Baig has himself accepted that he had used unparliamentary language against the Chief Minister and the issue was now resolved. |
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Afzal’s case: High on rhetoric
Jammu, March 5 Since the House could not pass any resolution or make a firm demand for the return of the mortal remains of the Parliament attack convict, what was obvious is the fact that the resting place of Afzal Guru would not change ever, as it had happened in the case of the founder of Jammu Kashmir Liberation Front (JKLF) founder Mohammad Maqbool Bhat. Bhat was hanged on February 11, 1984. Even Afzal’s family had no hopes from the government, which was keen to have a debate on the issue at the risk of annoying its ruling alliance partner Congress. “A couple of years ago my brother
(Afzal) had written to the Centre that he may be transferred to a jail in Kashmir and the request was turned down by the state government. Do you think we could have expected anything from this government with such a background,” Yasin Guru, cousin of the Parliament attack convict who was hanged on February 9, told The Tribune today. A common belief is that both the National Conference and the People’s Democratic Party
(PDP) are playing politics. “Both parties were shedding crocodile tears in a bid to unleash an emotional reservoir in Kashmir,” said
Yasin, underlining the theme that the common Kashmiri seems to have grasped after the debate. The family believes that the whole debate was an ego-satisfying trip for Chief Minister Omar Abdullah and the PDP. Politically, it was a zero sum game that the two main parties were playing against each other. Caught between their political compulsions vis-a- vis Delhi and the Kashmir valley, the Chief Minister tried his best to do a balancing act. But his clear attack was on the opposition rather than on the issue. Assembly speaker Mubarak Gul had allowed discussion on Afzal Guru in the House, saying that it was an issue of public importance. But at the end of the day, what came to the fore was that neither the ruling National Conference, which was one of the movers of the adjournment motion, nor the opposition PDP, were clear about what to say and what to do on the issue. “It was all politics, both were shedding crocodile tears. They were not serious about the issue (return of the body to the family,” said Yasin Guru. “Had they been serious, they would have passed a resolution on the pattern of the Punjab and Tamil Nadu Assemblies, but that they didn’t do,” he said, expressing the common sentiment of the people close to
Afzal. “We are nowhere closer to getting his body,” Yasin said. From the very beginning of the debate it was clear that the National Conference and the PDP were trying to score points over each other. None of the participants in the debate seemed to be focusing on the issue. The Chief Minister carried a bunch of papers in his hand to substantiate the point that he was serious about his effort, but the point that he repeatedly made was that he had pleaded with Centre that “Afzal Guru should not be hanged because it has serious ramifications for situation in the Valley.” History says that when Maqbool Bhat was hanged in 1984, it led to only four days of strike and that too on the call of the late Abdul Gani Lone, founder of the Peoples Conference. And not even a single procession was taken out and not even a single stone was thrown, leave aside firing of bullets. |
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Oppn stages walkout over dismal power scenario
Jammu, March 5 Two BJP rebel MLAs, namely Lal Chand They alleged that power supply was snapped in Bani and Basohli for the past one to two months but the department had failed to take corrective measures to restore the same. Though the Speaker, Mubarak Gul, tried to pacify them to return to their seats, the JKNPP members led by Leader of Panthers Legislature Party Harshdev Singh, members of the BJP and CPM member MY Tarigami joined them and protested in the House. They alleged that the state government had done nothing to improve the power supply in their constituencies despite several complaints. The Congress and the National Conference members, including Poonch district MLA Aijaz Jaan, also raised the issue of power problems. Reacting to the concern of the legislators, Minister of State for Power Vikar Rasool said the government would look into the issue and ensure restoration of power supply to the affected areas. “The government will take necessary steps to repair the damaged transformers on priority,” he said adding that an inquiry would be initiated to probe any laxity on the part of the PDD officers and officials. He said the power supply and transmission distribution system was affected and damaged at several places due to snowfall and efforts were being made to repair the systems and streamline the electricity supply to the affected areas. Rasool said nearly 60 per cent of the power supply had been restored
in Poonch where distribution system was disrupted by bad weather conditions while the Kashmir valley had been supplied 10 per cent electricity in the
current financial year to date. Dissatisfied by the reply, members of the JKNPP, BJP and the CPM staged a walkout from the House. |
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Pathribal ‘fake’ encounter
Srinagar, March 5 “We are ready to record our statements at Awantipora, but so far we have not received the summons in this regard,” said Shakoor Khan, whose father Jumma Khan was among the five civilian victims of the Pathribal encounter. “As and when we receive the summons, we will go and record our statements because we also want that truth should come out,” he said. Rasheed Khan, whose father was also killed in the 2000 “fake” encounter, says he too has not received the summons yet. “How can I or for that matter my aging mother record the statements without receiving the summons first?” Rasheed said, adding that so far he had not been contacted from any quarter in this regard. After the family members of five victims of the Pathribal “fake” encounter had earlier declined to visit Nagrota in Jammu to record their statements, the Army had on March 2 said that it had decided to record their statements at the Awnatipora Army camp in South Kashmir. A defence spokesman had said the officer recording the summary of evidence in the case had been directed to move to Awantipora in Kashmir to record the statements of the witnesses from March 5. “As per the available information, the summons to the civilian witnesses to record their statements were dispatched at least 15 days earlier. May be due to the prevailing situation in Kashmir, the summons might have got delayed,” said an Army official. “Steps are being taken to inform the people concerned about the start of the proceedings at the designated place. Hopefully, the recording of statements will begin in a day or two,” he said. After hearing the charges preferred by the CBI last year, the General Officer Commanding, 16 Corps, who is based at Nagrota, had directed recording of the summary of evidence against the accused Army personnel. Subsequently in September last year, the Army began the court martial proceedings and summoned the families of five civilians killed in the encounter to 16 Corps Headquarters, Nagrota, for attending the proceedings as witnesses. However, the family members had refused to travel to Jammu citing various reasons and demanded that the proceedings be shifted to Kashmir, somewhere nearer to their homes. So far, the Army says, statements of 26 witnesses, including all Army witnesses and some police as well as government officials, have been recorded. Case recall Five civilians were abducted in May 2000 from their houses, days after 36 Sikhs were killed by unknown gunmen dressed in Army fatigues in Chattisinghpora Following the killings, the Army had claimed to have gunned down five Lashkar-e-Toiba militants in an encounter at Pathribal in south Kashmir. The Army had said the slain militants were responsible for the killing of Sikhs at Chattisinghpora A case was registered in February 2003. The CBI had filed a charge sheet in 2006 against five Army men of the 7 RR for abduction, murder and criminal conspiracy The SC had given the Army the option to either opt for a civil trial of the accused or court martial proceedings |
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Woman panch alleges abduction by gunmen
Srinagar, March 5 Rafeeqa Begum (45), a resident of Tikkipora
in Kupwara, said she was kidnapped by two gunmen in the wee hours today when she had gone out of her house. “Two gunmen kidnapped me and threatened me of dire consequences, if I did not resign as the panchayat member. They thrashed me and allowed me to go home after three hours,” Rafeeqa told the police. She was later taken to a hospital for medical examination. A police officer in Kupwara said they were ascertaining whether the woman panch was “actually kidnapped”. “She told us that she was abducted for a few hours by gunmen. We are ascertaining the facts,” said the police officer. — TNS
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BSF reclaims 230 acres near Indo-Pak border in RS Pura
Jammu, March 5 The BSF made the land cultivable by pressing its men and machinery into service. “If farmers in Pakistan can cultivate their land up to the Zero Line, why can’t our farmers?” asked a BSF officer. “Three months ago, we embarked upon an exercise to convert nearly 230 acres of barren land into cultivable land and we achieved our goal,” he said. BSF’s 94 Battalion, which was recently deployed along the border, did all the work. The BSF’s endeavour has won it accolades from villagers of
Nawapind, Karotona Khurd and Abdulian in RS Pura. Earlier, these areas were full of “sarkandas”, and being between the border fence and the Zero Line, villagers were apprehensive of cultivating crops in these areas but the BSF motivated them and instilled confidence and a sense of security in them. Consequently, the villagers have started cultivation in these barren patches. Sarpanch of Abdulian panchayat Bachan Singh expressed happiness and praised the BSF for its endeavour. He said villagers of his area would be benefited economically and the endeavour would bring prosperity in his area. Thoru Ram, a land owner in Abdulian village, said he was cultivating his land near the Zero Line for the first time as it was lying barren for many years. “Besides achieving the mandate of the
BSF, that is, promoting a sense of security among the border population, it will bring prosperity in the border belt and address the security concerns,” said a BSF officer. Large wild growths and undulating grounds could have been exploited by anti-national elements and enemy for anti-India and anti-national activities, he said, adding that now with the effort of the BSF the possibility has been reduced. Now, the scope of any misadventure by Pakistan in the form of pushing ultras or sniping border guards in the border area has also been reduced, he said. On August 17, 2012, Pakistan had opened heavy fire on Indian posts in Abdulian and Korotona border outposts in which a border guard, Chandan
Rai, of 135 Battalion was killed. Villagers get their land back 230 acres of barren land has been reclaimed by the BSF near the Zero Line along the 192-km-long international border in the RS Pura sector of Jammu district Three months ago, the BSF embarked upon the exercise to make the land cultivable Earlier, villagers were apprehensive of cultivating crops in these areas, but the BSF motivated them and instilled confidence and a sense of security in them The
BSF, in 2011, had reclaimed over 4,650 acres along the 192-km-long international border from
Kathua, bordering Punjab to Akhnoor, north of Jammu |
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Accused SSP denied bail in Amandeep murder case
Jammu, March 5 The Second Additional Sessions Judge, Jammu, while rejecting the bail pleas of the accused, observed that, “The court is of the opinion that offences committed by the accused petitioner, Manohar Singh, as the then district police chief of Jammu and the supervisory head of the investigation team in the murder case, has certainly and badly shaken the faith of the public in the functioning of the police.” “Releasing the accused-petitioner on bail would certainly shake the faith of the law-abiding citizens. On the other hand, peace-loving citizens would feel
demoralised. The manner in which the offence has been committed by the then
SSP, in connivance with other accused, reveals their degree of heinousness and graveness. On adopting analogy, as held in the citation, the court is unhesitant to hold here that the offences as committed by the then SSP are heinous, gruesome and serious in nature,” stated the Judge. |
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Cross-LoC trade via Chakan da Bagh remains suspended
Jammu, March 5 Traders stayed away in protest against the recent move of the Indian authorities of blacklisting Dewan Traders and for not implementing the standard operating procedure. Poonch-based Abdul Gani Dewan, proprietor of Dewan Traders, was blacklisted last month after three empty AK cartridges were found in his merchandise sent to him by a PoK trader. While the trade via Chakan da Bagh remains a casualty due to the ongoing stalemate, Kashmir-based traders have also threatened to suspend the trade via Salamabad, if the authorities failed to reinstate Dewan Traders. “If the authorities didn’t reinstate Dewan Traders immediately, we would also boycott the trade via the Salamabad Trade
Centre,” general secretary of the Joint Chamber of Cross-LoC Trade, J&K, Hilal Turki told The Tribune. He expressed regrets on what he called the “amateurish” approach of the Indian trade authorities. “The contraband (three empty cartridges) found in the consignment of Dewan Traders had been sent from
PoK. If any action had to be initiated, it should have been against the PoK trader by their authorities and not against Abdul Gani
Dewan, who had been doing trade since 2009,” said Turki. The trans-LoC trade between the two divided Kashmirs takes place via Salamabad on the Uri-Muzaffarabad route and via Chakan da Bagh on the Poonch-Rawalakote route. “To ensure a hassle-free trade and no wrong-doings, we have been demanding full-body truck scanners at the Chakan da Bagh and Salamabad trade
centres. The demand had been repeatedly projected before the state government and even before Union Home Minister Sushilkumar Shinde and Home Secretary RK Singh,” said
Turki. If the government doesn’t act in time, the biggest confidence-building measure between India and Pakistan may get ruined completely, he added. President of the Chakan da Bagh
Cross-LoC Traders’ Association Pawan Anand told The Tribune that trade did not resume via Chakan da Bagh today. He said despite several representations to the authorities concerned, full-body truck scanners had not been provided at the trade centres. “It is the responsibility of the trade authorities. It is they who have to release the merchandise to the Indian trader after receiving it at the trade centre and if there is contraband in the consignment, it has to be pushed back to
PoK,” he said. “It is unfortunate that there is no serious effort by the administration to resolve the issue,” said a trader, who declined to be named. At least 600 Indian traders are registered with the Salamabad Trade Centre in Kashmir and 165 Indian traders are registered with the Chakan da Bagh Trade Centre in Poonch district. Repeated attempts to contact the Poonch deputy commissioner AK Sahu, who is also the nodal officer of the trans-LoC trade, and custodian of the Chakan da Bagh Trade Centre Krishan Lal proved futile. |
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4 Drass residents to take part in horse polo cup in Imphal
Srinagar, March 5 The team is being sponsored by a non-profit organisation, Drass Polo Promotion. The team comprises Ahmadaullah, captain, Ghulam Mustafa, Mohammad Younis, Murtaza Ali, players, and Muhammad Amin, the coach and team manager. “All the matches in the tournament will be on the 4-A side format, which means each team will field only four players in a match,” said the coach, Muhammad
Amin. Horse polo is considered one of the ancient sports which is played in Drass. Each locality of the Drass region has its own polo club. “Currently, there are 24 horse polo clubs in the Drass region. We hope that more youngsters take up the sport which has a heritage value attached to it. Our team has done well at national-level competitions and we hope the same this time around,” said
Amin. The Drass Polo Promotion had organised the Lali Suri Memorial Polo Cup, Vijay Diwas Cup and Chief Minister’s Cup in June, July and September, 2012, which attracted horse polo teams from various states of the country. “Srinagar also hosted two polo matches in 2010 and 2011 at Sri Pratap College,
Srinagar, and Polo Ground, Srinagar, respectively, which was organised by the Drass Polo Promotion in association with the state Tourism Department,” said Muhammad
Yousuf, University of Kashmir’s ex-adventure coach. He said the Army was also playing a supportive role in the promotion of horse polo in the state. “In 2012, the Army organised two national-level horse polo championships, Steeple Chase and Polo Competition, at
Sonamarg, where large grass fields are perfect locales for playing the sport. The Army had also trained a team of students from the University of Kashmir in September, 2010, who played polo matches in
Drass,” Yousuf said. |
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Militants hurl grenade at businessmen’s house in Srinagar
Srinagar, March 5 In the grenade blast, the windowpanes of the house belonging to two brothers, Kaisar Jamshed Wani and Gulshan Javid Wani, were damaged. No one was injured in the incident, the police said. In the second incident, the injured young boy was admitted to a hospital, where his condition is reported to be out of danger. |
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Srinagar, March 5 In the grenade blast, the windowpanes of the house belonging to two brothers, Kaisar Jamshed Wani and Gulshan Javid Wani, were damaged. No one was injured in the incident, the police said. In the second incident, the injured young boy was admitted to a hospital, where his condition is reported to be out of danger. — TNS
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Chief Minister Omar Abdullah today broke down in the Legislative Assembly when he
spoke about a youth’s alleged killing in Army firing in Baramulla district.
During the second sitting of the Assembly today, PDP member Rafi Ahmed Mir raised the issue of the killing of a youth in Baramulla today.
With a dual purpose of addressing the security concerns and enabling farmers to cultivate their abandoned fields, the Border Security Force
(BSF) has reclaimed nearly 230 acres of barren land near the Zero Line along the 192-km-long international border in the RS Pura sector of Jammu district.
A four-member polo team from the Drass region of Kargil district has left to participate in the XXIII Governor’s Horse Polo Cup which will be held in
Imphal, Manipur, from March 7.
