The Tribune, Chandigarh, India

	Soldier killed, 3 hurt in IED blast Ravi Krishnan Khajuria Tribune News Service Jammu, May 25 An Indian soldier was killed and two jawans were injured in an improvised explosive device (IED) blast along the border near a forward post in Jhallas area of Mendhar tehsil of Poonch today. The soldiers belonged to the 3 Grenadiers Regiment that mans some portion of the 776-km long LoC in the state. The Army has yet again come out with its tailor-made response and described it as an “accidental” mine blast. “It was a mine blast that occurred in Jhallas area at around 8 pm last night in which Lance Naik Naresh Kumar Sharma was killed while another soldier sustained injuries,” said Jammu-based Defence PRO, SN Acharya. The soldier, a part of the patrol party, had stepped over the mine triggering the blast, he added. The slain trooper belonged to Pataudi village near Gurgaon in Uttar Pradesh. Intelligence sources say it was an IED believed to have been planted by terrorists with the backing of Pakistani Army inside the Indian territory to kill Indian soldiers. “The soldiers of the 3 Grenadiers were on a routine patrol last night when the IED went off near Seri post in Jhallas area at around 8 pm killing a trooper instantly and wounding three others,” sources said. Soon after the blast, additional reinforcements were rushed to the area that retrieved dead and injured troopers and shifted them to a hospital where the doctors pronounced Naresh Kumar as brought dead, they said. A top Army source said it was and IED blast that killed one trooper and injured three others. “Now, who planted it and when is being probed but it seems to be a job of non-state actors,” he said. It may be recalled that GOC-in-C, Northern Command, Lt Gen KT Parnaik, on January 15 this year, had admitted that Pakistan had been planting IEDs in the Indian territory to eliminate soldiers. Gen Parnaik had admitted that “accidental blasts” in Krishna Ghati sector of Poonch last year were actually mines planted by Pakistan.
	Army hunts for militants in Kamala forests Suhail A Shah Anantnag, May 25 Security forces today continued combing operation in the Kamala forests in South Kashmir’s Tral area, to track down militants, believed to be three to four in number. The militants had fled after they ambushed an Army search party Friday, killing four soldiers. One of the militants, identified as Saifullah Ahanger, a local member of the Hizb-ul-Mujahideen outfit, was also killed in the ensuing gun-fight. While reports put the number of militants, who ambushed the Army, between 4 and 5, the exact number is not known. All the militants are believed to be local residents. According to reports, the Army, the police and the CRPF have cordoned off nearly 8 km of the forest area adjoining the Buchoo village in Tral tehsil of Pulwama district. “We are trying to track down the militants and the search operations will go on until we do not sanitise the area completely,” said Lieutenant Colonel, Ankur Vasisht, spokesperson at the Srinagar based 15 Corps. The security forces had also used Army helicopter on Friday evening, after the sunset to locate the militants but without any success. “The helicopter hovered over the Kamala forests thrice but we were unable to locate the militants,” a police official had said. “The search operations will continue tomorrow,” he said. A search party from the 3 Rashtriya Rifles, 42 Rashtriya Rifles and the Special Operations Group of the police had cordoned off Buchoo village in Tral, on a tip off about the presence of militants in the area. “While the security forces were carrying out the search operations, militants, in Army fatigues, appeared from the adjoining Kamala forests and started firing indiscriminately,” an Army officer said on Friday evening. Two Army personnel were killed on the spot while two others lost their lives while they were being taken for treatment. After the ambush, the militants fled the spot. They decamped with two rifles belonging to the slain Army personnel, sources said. Search operation A search party from the 3 Rashtriya Rifles (RR), 42 Rashtriya Rifles and the Special Operations Group (SOG) of the police had cordoned off Buchoo village in Tral, on a tip-off about the presence of militants in the area
	Silence on K-issue during Pak polls a good sign: Omar Dinesh Manhotra Tribune News Service RS Pura, May 25 Observing that absence of Kashmir rhetoric in Pak elections was a positive sign, Chief Minister Omar Abdullah today said unlike previous elections, this time Pakistani politicians have put Kashmir on the backburner during electioneering and promised to pursue the agenda of peace and friendship with India. As the Chief Minister was addressing a religious function at Chak Mohammad Yar village, situated on the Indo-Pak border, he informed the border residents about the positive developments in the neighbouring country. “During every election, politicians of Pakistan used to vociferously rake up the Kashmir to exploit sentiments of the people there but this time they (politicians) avoided raising this issue during electioneering,” he said. “Instead of giving threats to wage a war against India, this time Pakistani politicians talked about cementing relations with the neighbouring country.” Omar said he had keenly watched the election campaign in Pakistan and observed a positive change in the approach of the politicians there. “Pakistani politicians might have changed their mindset due to some compulsion but we have to seize this opportunity to normalise relations,” he said. He urged Prime Minister Manmohan Singh to take some fresh initiatives to normalise relations with Pakistan. “Our Prime Minister has already initiated various confidence-building initiatives between the two countries,” he said. He also hoped that the new government in Pakistan would exhibit similar friendly spirit towards confidence building and resolving issues peacefully. Pointing out that Indo-Pak relations have a direct bearing on the peace and stability in the state, Omar said when borders were peaceful and calm, people carry on their life activities smoothly and without tension. “Any tension on the borders has a direct impact on the economic activities and development process in the state,” he said.
	IPL controversy: Omar makes veiled attack on BJP for maintaining silence Opposes proposal to make Farooq Abdullah BCCI president Dinesh Manhotra Tribune News Service RS Pura, May 25 Chief Minister Omar Abdullah today made a veiled attack on the BJP for maintaining a “criminal silence” on IPL spot-fixing controversy and alleged that the opposition party had adopted double-standards on corruption in politics and cricket. While admitting that the IPL spot fixing controversy had badly dented the enthusiasm of cricket fans, Omar expressed regret that politicians were maintaining silence on the controversy. “I believe that same politicians cannot have double-standards when it comes to cricket and politics. These politicians had demanded ministers’ resignations on the basis of allegations. Nothing was proven against (former) Law Minister Ashwani Kumar and Railway Minister Pawan Kumar Bansal. They were asked to resign only on the basis of suspicion,” Omar said while making a veiled attack on the BJP. “Why are these politicians, who are in the Opposition and are sort of ‘protectors of morality’, quiet when it comes to the cricket body. I believe that the same standards should be applied by them to an institution like the BCCI,” he said during a conversation with mediapersons. “If there is some suspicion, then till it is cleared, whoever is there (at the helm of affairs) should step down and there should be an independent inquiry,” he said. When the chief minister’s reaction was sought on the proposal of former IPL chairman Lalit Modi to make Union minister Dr Farooq Abdullah the president of the BCCI, he said he strongly opposed it. “I am not in the favour of it. I have, anyway, been counselling my father that he already has enough responsibilities,” he said. Omar said that the sports body should be administered by sportspersons only.
	State’s major recruiting agency faces staff crunch Bismah Malik Tribune News Service Srinagar, May 25 The J&K Public Service Commission (PSC), the state’s major recruiting agency for gazetted cadre government jobs, is facing staff crunch with only three members, apart from the chairman, in the commission as against the allotted seven members. Ironically, the J&K PSC issued a fresh notification on May 23 regarding the recruitment for 1,289 posts of Assistant Professor in various government degree colleges of the state when the recruiting agency will be headless itself by next month. While the state PSC chairman, SL Bhat, is due to retire in June, the other three members will retire next year. The last date of the receipt of applications for the posts is June 24. The PSC is now banking on the recommendations of the Coalition Coordination Committee (CCC) to the state cabinet for appointment of new members. However, CCC chairman and Pradesh Congress president Saifuddin Soz told The Tribune that he had suggested the names of two candidates for the PSC to the state government a year ago. “I don’t know why the state government is delaying the recruitment of PSC members when the committee had recommended names for recruitment in the PSC a year back. We had suggested two candidates from the Jammu region to the state government for the PSC membership but nothing has happened,” Soz said. The state Health department, Education Department and major hospitals in the state are facing shortage of staff and the filling of vacancies here has been referred to the PSC. The PSC also conducts examinations for state-level competitive services, government departments and job promotions. The staff crunch in the PSC has jeopardised the recruitment processes and subsequently affected work at various departments in the state.
	Schools and ETT institutes seek CM’s help to streamline education sector Vikas Sharma Tribune News Service Jammu, May 25 The Jammu Private Schools and ETT Institutes Association has sought Chief Minister Omar Abdullah’s intervention for initiating concrete measures both at the political and administrative level to take steps to improve the education sector. Members of the association have claimed that vital issues related to school education such as corruption in the J&K Board of School Education (JKBOSE) besides sub-standard monitoring of school education by the state agencies at the rural level is responsible for the prevailing chaos in this priority sector. The association president, Deep Singh, said the statement of Chief Minister Omar Abdullah, wherein he stressed on imparting quality education, was an eyewash. “There is absolutely no scope of improvement without basic reforms in the so-called priority sector of education,” he said while questioning the way the sector is being managed by those at the helm of affairs. The association members said for achieving the mark of quality education in the state, there was an immediate need to bring basic reforms. “The allocation of priority sector-related portfolios to non-concerned political faces of the government is mainly responsible for the prevailing drawbacks. Further, the bad condition of the school education board is being treated in a casual way,” he alleged. “The prevailing political arrangement of the state government to deal with this priority field is to divide it in two parts --- school education and higher education. One portfolio is with one coalition partner and other is with the other coalition partner having no academic background on both sides. Unfortunately, there is no coordination between the two,” Deep Singh said. The association members have also expressed concern over the alleged opening of degree colleges by the government without having adequate academic and other necessary infrastructure. The association stated that it cannot be taken as a mark of progress in any way. On the filing of review petition by the school education board, Singh said, “This is not the first time that BOSE has filed a petition. They have filed it many times but get nothing goes in their favour. I am hopeful that this time too, they (BOSE) do not get any success,” he said. “When it comes to dealing with matters pertaining to the ETT course, the school education board remained a mute spectator in the past six years,” he said.
	Governor for maintaining hygiene during Amarnath yatra Tribune News Service Srinagar, May 25 A four-member delegation of the Shri Amarnath Barfani Langar Organisation (SABLO) called on Governor NN Vohra here today. Interacting with the delegation, the Governor, who is also the chairman of the Shri Amarnathji Shrine Board (SASB), said it should be ensured that the ‘langar’ service at all the identified places should remain operational till the conclusion of the pilgrimage to avoid any inconvenience to pilgrims. He asked the langar organisation to ensure that the food provided to pilgrims was as per the menu made by the expert committee, which takes into account nutritional requirements of pilgrims considering high altitude and difficult climatic conditions in the yatra area. He reiterated the need for maintaining hygeine in the yatra area. He said all the stakeholders should work together to ensure that pilgrims take back only happy memories related to the yatra. The delegation was led by SABLO general secretary Rajan Gupta. Other members were Rajan Kapoor, Pankaj Soni and Harsh Rishi. The Governor appreciated SABLO for contributing Rs 2.01 lakh to the SASB for its initiatives to protect the environment in the pilgrimage area. The Governor launched SABLO’s website on the occasion and asked Rajan Gupta to link it with the website of the Shri Amarnathji Shrine Board. The information regarding SABLO can be accessed at www.amarnathyatrasablo.com and www.sablo.org. The SABLO delegation put forward several suggestions for improving the yatra facilities. Navin K Choudhary, Principal Secretary to the Governor and Chief Executive Officer of the Shri Amarnathji Shrine Board, briefed the Governor about the status of registrations for the ensuing yatra, bookings of helicopters and other arrangements.
	‘Devil dervish used ‘madams’ to trap us’ Azhar Qadri Tribune News Service Srinagar, May 25 A shocking statement of sexual abuse suffered by one of the four victims at the hands of the ‘devil dervish’ recorded by the police was leaked on a social networking site. The 16-year-old victim told the police that the accused Gulzar Ahmad Bhat had a few women accomplices she referred to as “madams”. The accused used these “madams” to lure the victims into his room they called ‘Hujra-e-Pak’ or the sacred chamber, where he committed the crime. She identified the two “madams” as Shakeela of Lolpora and Sumi of Hanjivera. She said Shakeela had told her to go inside the room. “He told me that your body is fire and my body is light, once your body merges with mine, your body will also become light.” “My senses were numbed when he did so, I could not do anything,” the victim said. “I had gone there to do a course. The course is for two months and around 25 days after the course ended this happened to me,” the minor girl says in the statement. In the audio clip leaked on social networking websites, the sixteen-year-old girl from a south Kashmir town is being interviewed by a police officer, who has confirmed the contents of the audio clip.
	BSF sends Pak woman home Tribune News Service Jammu, May 25 The BSF repatriated a Pakistani woman last evening. The woman had entered into the India territory in Samba district. The woman identified herself as Irshad Begum of Gujranwala in Pakistan. “After a flag meeting at a forward post in Ramgarh area of Samba sector last evening, on humanitarian grounds and as a goodwill gesture, repatriated the woman to Pak Rangers,” said BSF Jammu Frontier DIG, NS Jamwal. The pregnant woman had inadvertently strayed into the Indian territory and had been spotted by the border guards near the Camore forward post. “After questioning her we handed her over to the Pak Rangers at the flag meeting in the samearea,” he said.
	spurious drugs scam 6 purchase panel members summoned by police Ishfaq Tantry Tribune News Service Srinagar, May 25 The Crime Branch of the police investigating the spurious drugs scam has summoned and served questionnaires to six members of the purchase committee-II, which had approved the rate contract and the supply of spurious antibiotic drug Maximixin-625. So for, five members have submitted written replies, the Crime Branch has revealed in its preliminary report. The report adds that “documents reveal” purchase committee members had “overlooked” many aspects during the tendering process. The investigation is focused on whether the purchase committee had “omitted intentionally” to scrutinise the documents thoroughly or some particular member(s) of the committee had “facilitated” the commission of crime. Members of the purchase committee-II were summoned to Crime Branch Jammu and served a detailed questionnaire individually, between May 10 and 14, and served detailed questionnaire, the report reveals. Those summoned include Madhu Khullar, former-Director Health, Jammu, who was designated as chairperson of the said committee, Dr Anees Choudhary, Vice- Chairman of the committee, Reeva Gupta, administrator Associated Hospitals Jammu, Dr AK Sharma and SC Khajuria, both members of the purchase committee-II and accounts officer, Yogesh Sharma, the report reveals.
	Budh Purnima celebrated with fervour across Ladakh Yangchan Dolma Leh, May 25 Budh Purnima was celebrated across Ladakh with traditional fervour. With the hoisting of Buddhist prayer flags in five colours at every monastery, Buddhist monuments, residential areas and commercial complexes of Leh town, many areas of the Ladakh region wore a vibrant. The Buddhist prayer flags are hoisted for world peace and prosperity and luck. A procession was taken out at Leh to mark the occasion. During the procession, monks played instruments while devotees carryied Kan-gur and Tan-gur, translations of teachings of Lord Buddha from Sanskrit to Bhoti. A blood donation camp was organised by members of the Ladakh Buddhist Association to mark the birth anniversary of Lord Buddha. A cultural function was also organised at Leh Polo Ground by the association. The director of the Jeon in Education Foundation, South Korea, Venerable Park Chung Soo was the chief guest and education minister, Kyong-gi, South Korea, Kim Sang Gon was the guest of honour at the function. Buddhists monks of Matho Gonpa presented a mask dance on the occasion.
	Soz’ tour to Udhampur, Ramnagar starts on a sour note Dinesh Manhotra Tribune News Service Jammu, May 25 Efforts of Pradesh Congress Committee (PCC) chief Saifuddin Soz to make inroads in the citadels of the Panthers Party have received a severe setback with factionalism in the party coming to the fore in a meeting held today in Udhampur. The meeting was held to mark the beginning of Soz’ much publicised whirlwind tour to the Udhampur and Ramnagar Assembly segments, which have been projected as invincible fiefdoms of Panthers Party MLAs Balwant Singh Mankotia and Harsh Dev Singh, respectively. While Lok Sabha member Choudhary Lal Singh and local Congress leader Brij Mohan Sharma, who owe their allegiance to Union Health Minister Ghulam Nabi Azad, were conspicuous by their absence, another leader Ashwani Khajuria created an uproar in the meeting after he was not invited to address the gathering. Lal Singh is Lok Sabha member from Udhampur-Doda segment and Brij Mohan Sharma had contested the last Assembly election from Udhampur segment. Khajuria is a prominent leader of the Congress in Udhampur. During the meeting, more than 60 leaders were asked to speak but Khajuria was not invited on the stage. As soon as the stage secretary invited Minister for State for Revenue Aijaz Ahmed Khan to speak, Khajuria stood up from his seat and expressed his anger. “You have invited me in the function to humiliate me,” he shouted and alleged that organisers of the programme had deliberately ignored him. Before the situation took an ugly turn, Soz pacified Khajuria and asked him to speak.
	Road shows held in Saudi Arabia to boost tourism in Kashmir M Aamir Khan Tribune News Service Srinagar, May 25 Days after inking a pact with the United Arab Emirate’s (UAE) largest travel management company, the government held a series of road shows across Saudi Arabia as part of its efforts to entice high-end tourists from the Middle East. A Tourism Department official said several road shows were held at Jeddah, Riyadh and Damaam from May 19 to 22 by a delegation led by Tourism Minister GA Mir. Talking to the Tribune, Joint Director, Tourism Department, Mohammad Hussain Mir said the shows were held as part of the department’s efforts to woo tourists from untapped regions with high spending power. Mir said not many tourists visited Kashmir from rich nations like the UAE and Saudi Arabia, which was why they were creating awareness among their citizens over the tourism potential, especially adventure sports, of the Valley. Earlier this month, the government held similar events across the UAE and the J&K Tourism Development Corporation (JKTDC) inked a pact with Sharjah National Travel and Tourist Agency (SNTTA) - UAE’s largest travel and tourist management company. The agreement was done as the government intends to promote Kashmir as a golfing and pilgrim tourist destination in the Gulf. The Tourism Minister had also addressed a conference in Dubai earlier this month in this regard. Meanwhile, as per the Tourism Department official here, the Tourism Minister also delivered speeches during the road shows in Saudi Arabia, where he said: “Kashmir has been often described as the ‘Switzerland’ of Asia. However, in actual terms the main valleys of Switzerland are like the sideways of Kashmir. We are keen to invite Saudis to come to Kashmir and experience its culture, heritage, history, people, delectable cuisine, intricate handicrafts and dry fruits.” While around 26,000 tourists from Saudi Arabia visited India last year as per Mir, the Tourism Department official said not all of them had toured Kashmir. He said the aim of holding road shows was to encourage Saudi tourists to visit the Valley during their tour to India. Over 12 lakh tourists had visited the Valley last year. This year, though tourism had been hit due to the execution of Parliament attack convict Afzal Guru in February, it is looking up again now. Showcasing Valley Several road shows were held at Jeddah, Riyadh and Damaam from May 19 to 22 by a delegation led by Tourism Minister GA Mir Around 26,000 tourists from Saudi Arabia visited India last year, but not all of them had toured Kashmir. J&K’s aim of holding road shows in Saudi Arabia was to encourage Saudi tourists to visit the Valley during their tour to India