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11-kg IED defused near Srinagar
Spurious
Drugs Scam |
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Brazen violation of human rights in Pakistan jails, say ex-spies
At least 20 militant camps operating along LoC: Army
Muslim convention to debate Article 370
Geelani invited to conference in UK
In Kashmir, sectarian fault line breaks hearts
Haigam attack: Hizb militants laid lethal trap for policemen
Transgender
kids denied admission
NC-Cong govt lacks credibility: Mehbooba
Chinese incursion in Ladakh as deep as Pakistan’s in 1999
Absence of floodlights to restrict football festival to daytime
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11-kg IED defused near Srinagar
Srinagar, April 30 The Army, which detected and later defused the 11-kg bomb, said it was similar to the one used in Boston by two Chechen brothers recently. It was not immediately clear whether the IED, planted by militants at Shalteng on the busy Srinagar-Baramulla national highway, was to target the Chief Minister’s cavalcade or some other security forces vehicle. The Chief Minister’s cavalcade is fitted with signal jammers to prevent militants from triggering a bomb using remote mechanisms. The IED was detected by the road opening party (ROP) of the Army and the explosive device was kept in a pressure cooker, concealed under a culvert in a gunny bag. “The Chief Minister had taken the route twice in two hours. He had gone to Tangmarg in Baramulla district and crossed Shalteng at 9.30 am. He took the same route on his return and crossed the area at 11.30 am. The explosive was detected in a seven-litre pressure cooker around 12 noon,” said a senior Army officer. Sniffer dogs were deployed and they confirmed the presence of explosives in the pressure cooker. The traffic on the highway was immediately halted and a bomb disposal squad was rushed to the spot. “The IED was defused at 1.30 pm,” the Army officer said. General Officer Commanding (GOC) of the Army’s counter-insurgency force in north Kashmir (Kilo Force) Maj Gen Sarath Chand said the Army had an intelligence input about a possible IED blast in the area since yesterday. “After the input, security was beefed up. The ROP was able to detect the IED kept under a culvert,” said the GOC. The Srinagar-Baramulla highway is always secured by the ROP as Army convoys take the road daily to reach border districts of Baramulla and Kupwara. Army’s Northern Command spokesman said the pattern of the IED at the city outskirts was similar to the one used in the Boston marathon,
USA.
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Spurious
Drugs Scam
Srinagar, April 30 The court also directed the official respondents and the Crime Branch of the state police, which is investigating the matter, to file their status reports by May 1, when the matter has been listed again for consideration. These directions were issued today by a division bench of the High Court comprising Justice Mansoor Ahmad Mir and Justice Ali Mohammad Magrey in response to a PIL filed by Dr Nissar-ul-Hassan, president of the Doctors Association of Kashmir (DAK), and Shafat Rasool, a pharmacist, through their counsel Bhat Fayaz. Apart from the probe, the PIL has also prayed for “constitution of an expert committee” to look into the supply of spurious drugs to hospitals and “prosecution” of the officials responsible for the supply of these spurious drugs and those who were at the helm of affairs when the purchases were made. It has also called for an analysis of every drug which is supplied in the state. The issue of substandard drugs in the state came to the fore early this month in a report prepared by the Central Drugs Standard Control Organisation of the Ministry of Health and Family Welfare, Government of India. Spurious drugs, including substandard medicine, approved by one of the four Central Purchase Committees last year, were supplied to various government hospitals in Kashmir as well as in Jammu. “This is a PIL about the supply of spurious drugs to the government hospitals and is a matter of prime concern, which needs consideration of this court”, senior High Court lawyer GA Lone, who was assisted by Bhat Fayaz, submitted while pleading for admission of the PIL. On this, the bench observed that this (supply of spurious drugs) was a “very serious matter” and issued notices to all respondents, including the government through Chief Secretary, Commissioner Secretary (Health and Medical Education Department), Drug Controller, J&K, Chairman, Central Purchase Committee, Director, Health (Kashmir), former Health Minister and pharmaceutical company M/S Lifeline Pharmaco Surgicals, one of the main accused in the spurious drugs scam. Keeping the matter posted for further consideration on May 1, the High Court also directed the official respondents, excluding former health minister, to file their status reports into the matter by May 1. The bench also directed the Inspector General of Police (Crime Branch) to submit a status report on the investigation conducted into the supply of spurious drugs to government hospitals and also arrayed the Director, Sher-e-Kashmir Institute of Medical sciences (SKIMS), Soura, Srinagar, as the party respondent in the PIL. Calling for an independent probe, the PIL wants the state authorities to get the inquiry conducted into the scam by an “independent and impartial authority” within a stipulated time frame and assess the losses caused to the state exchequer by the supply of the spurious drugs. The petitioners have also prayed that the present system of “random sampling and analysis” of the drugs and medicines should be abolished and an analysis of all drugs and medicines should be done before they are supplied in the state. The PIL has also prayed that the infrastructure and manpower for analysis and testing of drugs in the state should be enhanced, as currently the state has only two drug-testing laboratories, one at Jammu and the other in
Srinagar.
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Brazen violation of human rights in Pakistan jails, say ex-spies
Jammu, April 30 In a string of startling revelations, they divulged that women from Bangladesh, who allegedly illegally immigrated to Pakistan in search of green pastures, were forced into physical relations by the jail staff and their “guests”, particularly in Multan Central Jail. They also revealed that whenever any Pakistani prison is in news for all the wrong reasons, like Kot Lakhpat prison these days, Indian prisoners, including PoWs (Prisoners of Wars), were the first to be shifted overnight to other clandestine places, including cellars in various Pakistan army formations, and in their (Indian prisoners) place Pakistani authorities put their own men to come clean before the human rights watchdogs. Though they call themselves lucky enough to survive third degree tortures and psychotropic drugs, they sought attention of Amnesty International - an international human rights watchdog - to put an end to violations of human rights in Pakistani jails. “During my jail sentence, I found that Bangladeshi women, who had illegally immigrated to Pakistan in search of green pastures, were raped by the jail staff and their ‘guests’ from outside the prison, especially in Multan Central Jail,” says Vinod Sawhney, a former spy and president of Jammu Ex-Sleuths’ Association. Sawhney still remembers the 11 years he spent in various prisons, like Gora Jail in Sialkot, Central Jail in Multan, Central Jail in Sahiwal and Kot
Lakhpat Jail in Lahore, from 1977 to 1988. Consequently, these young women, who appeared to be victims of a well-knit syndicate of human trafficking, were being forced into physical relations and in some cases they gave birth to children out of these illegitimate relations, he adds. “And, there is nobody to listen to these hapless women,” he says. Babu Ram, another ex-spy who spent 19 years in Kot Lakhpat Jail, explained how the jail staff used to force the Hindu and Sikh prisoners to clean up barracks and verandah littered with leftover of beef that was given to prisoners twice a week. “With scant regard to our sentiments, we were asked to clean up bones from
beef and those who objected to it had to face their ire,” he says.
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At least 20 militant camps operating along LoC: Army
Rajouri, April 30 “As many as 200 militants are waiting at the launching pads to infiltrate into India,” he said. He said militants were being given different kinds of training at these camps. He said 200 Pakistan-trained infiltrators were also waiting across the LoC to enter into India. The Army is maintaining high alert on the LoC and the international border and surveillance has also been enhanced to prevent any infiltration bid, Hooda said. “We are on a high alert and confident to handle any situation,” he said. “Fencing on the Line of Control in the Poonch sector has also been damaged and the restoration work is on,”
he said. He said it was early to ascertain whether or not Rajouri and Poonch had become militancy-free zones. He said, “The situation in Rajouri and Poonch is better than what it was in the 1990s. Militants are waiting across the fence and we need to remain cautious.” About Chinese intrusion in the PoK, he said “There are some reports of developmental works taking place in the PoK by the Chinese, but details are not known.” |
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Muslim convention to debate Article 370
Jammu, April 30 The first such convention of Muslims is going to be held in J&K in which all important issues pertaining to the community will be thoroughly discussed. Engineer Ghulam Ali, who is convener of the Rashtriya Muslim Manch looking after J&K, Punjab, Haryana and Himachal Pradesh, told The Tribune that the main aim of organising the convention at Jammu was to give a message to separatists and other fundamentalist forces which were exploiting the sentiments of innocent Muslims of Jammu and Kashmir. “Hum Hindustani… Jammu-Kashmir Hindustan Ka” is the main slogan of the convention in which retired Army officers, writers, politicians and intellectuals belonging to the Muslim community will participate. “We want to get our community liberated from the yoke of separatists like (Hurriyat leader) Sayeed Ali Shah Geelani”, he asserted. The Rastriya Muslim Manch has also decided to start a debate on Article 370 and constitutional relations of Jammu and Kashmir with the rest of the country. “In the name of Article 370, many Muslims leaders are exploiting the sentiments of the people,” Ghulam Ali said The Manch would discuss what the common Muslim has achieved due to Article 370 in J&K. “What we have achieved and what we have lost due to this Article” would be debated at the convention, he said. Former Union Minister Arif Beig, BJP leader Shah Nawaz Hussain, eminent writer Muzaffar Hussain, Col Abdul Rashid and Mohammad Afzal are the prominent Muslim leaders who have already given their consent to participate in the convention. The Manch has also decided to start a debate on “What Muslims of J&K have achieved due to militancy?” |
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Geelani invited to conference in UK
Srinagar, April 30 “Geelani has been invited to participate in a Kashmir-related international conference on May 27 to be held in Birmingham,” a spokesman of the hardline Hurriyat said. Geelani has accepted the invitation and will participate in the conference if the government provides him the required travel documents, he said. — PTI |
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In Kashmir, sectarian fault line breaks hearts
Srinagar, April 30 The two had been together for eight years. They dreamt, planned and vowed a life together. Finally, Alam sent a marriage proposal to Akhter’s family. The reply was terse and the proposal was rejected. “We will give our daughter’s hand to a mechanic from our community, than give it to an engineer from other community,” the girl’s mother told Alam’s family in early winter
this year. In Kashmir, sectarian fault line has never become evident but it has existed since decades and inter-sect marriages are as much a no-go zone as, in many cases, inter-caste marriages. The matchmaking in Kashmir is a lengthy and complicated affair. Background checks are done of the family, of the relatives and of the family’s caste - to verify whether the caste is authentic or has been adopted. For Alam, an engineer by profession, nothing fell on the expected lines. “I would have gone to any extent if she would have been ready, but she succumbed to her family’s pressure,” he said. Both the names have been changed to protect their privacy as pre-marital love and dating are considered a taboo in the region’s conservative and traditional society. Members of the Sunni and Shia communities, the two major sects in Islam, have mostly lived in separate neighbourhoods in Kashmir and maintained
an amicable relationship throughout. In the Kashmir valley, lifestyle has drastically changed with technological invasion. The past generation, which grew up with a limited exposure to outside influences, is finding it difficult to understand the new tech-savvy generation for whom life revolves around gadgets connecting them to global network of ideas and cultures. With technology and cable television, pre-marital relationships and
dating were introduced in Kashmir, leading the region towards collision of generations. Grand Mufti Bashiruddin says marriage can be commenced between a Muslim boy and a girl “if they follow the basic criteria of five fundamentals of Islam”. The Grand Mufti, however, remained unclear about the inter-sect marriage, saying if there is “moderation”, the marriage can go ahead. The cleric said he had administered several inter-sect marriages where the two parties did not hold any “animosity”. “If there is animosity (against Islam’s respected personalities), the marriage cannot go ahead,” he said. Fayaz Ahmad Zaroo, who runs Humsafar Marriage Counseling Cell, a popular initiative of the Islamic Dawah Centre to arrange and promote marriages in a simple way, says the procedure of the conduct of Sunni and Shia marriages is different. Zaroo said their centre usually avoided registering members of the Shia sect to avoid interference with their marriage rituals, which he said were “basically” different from the marriage rituals of the Sunnis. The caste, he said, is no longer a deciding factor for many. “There are some who are not concerned about it (caste), but there are also those who are very rigid about the caste issue and want their son or daughter to get married within their caste,” he said. |
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Haigam attack: Hizb militants laid lethal trap for policemen
Srinagar, April 30 Around 5 pm on Friday, Two militants entered Haigam village in Sopore in the guise of cattle thieves. They herded a cow through the lanes of the village to make people believe that they were escaping with the animal. “The village sarpanch was the first one to spot the duo. He found their movement suspicious and thought they were thieves. They (militants) had a plan. They wanted the villagers to believe they were thieves so that the police would be called,” a senior police officer said. After around 20 minutes of their entry into the village, policemen from a nearby police post responded to the sarpanch’s phone call. Four policemen from Putkha police post reached the village in their vehicle and soon spotted the “thieves”. The policemen did not realise they had walked into an ambush zone. “I saw the policemen arriving in their vehicle. Three of them disembarked while the driver remained inside,” an eyewitness said. “The policemen then asked the duo to produce their identity proof. While the policemen were checking the identity of the duo, gunfire started … and then we saw the policemen lying on the ground. The villagers who had gathered around the duo ran away from the spot,” the eyewitness said. The gunfire lasted “three to four minutes”. “One of the militants was wearing a pheran. Both were around 26-27 years old,” the eyewitness added. The police says it has identified the two militants who carried out the attack. “Both of them are local Hizbul Mujahideen militants,” a police officer said. |
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Transgender
kids denied admission
Jammu, April 30 The petitioner, Haji Miayan Saira, a gadi nashin of the J&K State Mangla Mukhi Khusra Biradri, and president of the North India Hijras Association, in her writ petition, submitted that the seat of power of transgenders in North India was situated in Jammu, where as many as 137 adults were living together in a house, besides two minor hijras, Shammi (9) and Komal (6). The transgenders wanted to provide best education to the minors but suffered a setback when they were denied admission by the management of private educational institutions because of their gender. They succeeded in securing admission in Tiny Tots Higher Secondary School, Residency Road, Jammu. However, the principal of the school refused promotion to both minor hijras for being the third gender. The transgenders had approached Heritage School, Delhi Public School, KC Public School, KC International School and RB Jodhamal Public School for admission of both minors and had also purchased the admission forms, but were denied admission on the basis of their gender. It was argued by the counsel for the petitioner that the act of the respondents of depriving the transgender community the fundamental right to education by not admitting them to the educational institutions for pursuing their academic career and treating them as aliens spoke volumes about the unjust, unfair or unreasonable bias, as such, there was violation of Articles 14 and 15 of the Constitution of India. “Therefore, the transgenders’ fundamental right to education assumes significance as they have been supported by the Constitutional provision of law. It is unfair and unwarranted on the part of the respondents to deprive the transgenders of the right to education on the basis of their gender,” stated the public interest litigation. |
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NC-Cong govt lacks credibility: Mehbooba
Srinagar, April 30 “The only achievement of the present coalition is its survival, merely on the strength of numbers in the Assembly and external lifelines, otherwise people are fed up with its non-performance, mis-governance and corruption,” Mehbooba said while addressing party workers in Beerwah constituency. The present government lacks credibility which is a pre-requisite for any efficient governance system, she said. “The credibility of a government comes through its leadership, vision, agenda and its execution and the present government lacks all these vital elements,” the PDP president said. — PTI |
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Chinese incursion in Ladakh as deep as Pakistan’s in 1999
Srinagar, April 30 For the past fortnight, Chinese troops have stationed themselves 19 km deep inside the Indian territory in the Daulat Beg Oldie sector of the Ladakh region. In 1999, the Pakistani troops and irregulars had intruded 16 to 20 km deep inside the Kargil area of the Ladakh region, triggering a limited war between the two countries. Pakistan’s 1999 incursion was, however, spread over nearly the entire length of the Line of Control (LoC) in the Kargil area where they (Pakistani troops) had stationed themselves on mountain peaks overlooking the strategic Srinagar-Leh national highway. In contrast, the Chinese have limited themselves to a specific spot. China’s incursion in the Daulat Beg Oldie sector, where 50 Chinese troops have pitched tents and are refusing to turn back, is one of the deepest in recent years. India’s boundary with China in the Ladakh region is not marked and Chinese troops have frequently been entering into the Indian Territory leading to standoffs between the two countries. A retired Army general dismissed any comparison between Pakistan’s Kargil incursion, where the LoC is properly notified, and the Chinese incursion in Ladakh, where the Line of Actual Control (LAC) is based on differing “perception” of India and China. “(Pakistan’s) incursion was a sudden attack, where the intention was not to go back but to capture some area. (China’s) transgression is to cross a line on account of perception,” said the retired Army officer who has extensive knowledge of the region. He said the transgressions in the Ladakh region were occurring because there were no properly demarcated borders. “Till boundary is decided, any military action is not justifiable. If they have come inside, it is just a transgression which will go away,” he said. |
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Absence of floodlights to restrict football festival to daytime
Srinagar, April 30 The budget issue which the state government faces has restricted the upcoming Kashmir Football Festival - 2013 to just day matches. Earlier, the matches were supposed to be played during the nights as well. The Kashmir Football Festival - 2013 will be held from May 10 to 17. Over 2,000 Kashmir-based footballers will participate in it. The largest football festival which is going to be held in the Valley is now looking for alternate funding from various private quarters so that football matches could be played at night as well. “The event is being organised by a Delhi-based organisation, Football Link, which promotes football activities throughout the country. The
Jammu and Kashmir Football Association (JKFA) will be providing the manpower required to organise the event. The Football Link had taken up the funds matter with the authorities concerned, but the state government has refused the same,” said Shiekh Abdul Hamid, JKFA member. “We have been able to manage funds from private sponsors from the health, IT, tourism, and hotels sectors for the event. Although, funding still remains an issue, the response we are getting from football enthusiasts is overwhelming. A similar event was last held in Delhi on a large scale.
In the tournament, 64 teams from various schools, colleges, universities and football clubs of the Valley will participate,” said Sameer Qayoom, a Noida-based computer engineer and a footballer who is the brain behind the initiative. The festival will create awareness about football among the people here, in terms of conferences, screenings and football workshops.
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Rajouri, April 30
Srinagar, April 30
