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Dangerous to form states on basis of agitation: CM
Telangana gives voice to statehood for Jammu
SGPC-like body sought for Hindu shrines in Valley
Six militants killed in 2 gunfights in north Kashmir
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Police arrests 4 Hizb men
Mufti gives credit of peace on borders to Vajpayee
Govt to rope in panches to curb female foeticide
High Court tells govt to reconsider food, bedding rates in jails
Governor hosts Iftar
Protest at Sunderbani, highway blocked
Man hit during post-Ramban protest dies
Police probing attacks on
panches: Minister
Bar report claims firing on protesters was ‘unprovoked’
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Dangerous to form states on basis of agitation: CM
Srinagar, July 30 The Chief Minister said the message being sent to the people was that their demand for statehood would be accepted if they “agitate enough and agitate long enough”. Omar hinted that the “sort of precedent” being set of creating new states on the basis of an agitation could have an impact in other parts of the country, including Jammu and Kashmir, where several groups had been demanding statehood for the Jammu region and union territory status for the Ladakh region. “An impression is being created that an agitation can lead to the creation of a new state, be it Bundelkhand, Gorkhaland or our state. Will you tell the people of Jammu that you agitate for eight or 10 years and you will get a separate state?” he asked. The Chief Minister said he was not in favour of bifurcation of states. "I believe that remaining as one is very important for states like Jammu and Kashmir, even with their diversity." Omar said it was alright to form a new state, but warned that it should not be piecemeal. “What is happening is that you are giving incentives to agitations,” the Chief Minister said. The Chief Minister said the task of creating new states should be given to a reorganisation commission. "If there is a need to create new states, a states reorganisation commission should be set up and it should be given this task,” he said. |
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Telangana gives voice to statehood for Jammu
Jammu, July 30 As developments on Telangana are taking place fast, protagonists of a separate Jammu have intensified their activities to devise the strategy to revive their movement. "The formation of separate Telangana state will revitalise our cadre to take their struggle to its logical conclusion," said Prof Varinder Gupta, a leader of the Jammu State Morcha, who had been spearheading the movement for a separate Jammu state for the last three decades. Professor Gupta appreciated Chief Minister Omar Abdullah for officially admitting that there was the demand for a separate state for the Jammu region. He supported Omar Abdullah's proposal to entrust the job of creating a separate state to a states reorganisation commission. Encouraged at the development over Telangana, Panthers Party chairman Bhim Singh said Jammu's was a fit case for statehood. "The Panthers Party has been demanding the reorganisation of the state because Jammu, Kashmir and Ladakh are separate identities," he said. He added that the formation of Telangana would boost the morale and spirit of those demanding the reorganisation of Jamm and Kashmir. Although the state unit of BJP had been shying away from openly supporting statehood for Jammu, the party observed that the people of Jammu would soon raise the demand for a separate state due to unabated discrimination against this region. "The people of the Jammu region are running out of patience. They have no option but to raise the demand for a separate state," said Jugal Kishore Sharma, state BJP president. |
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SGPC-like body sought for Hindu shrines in Valley
New Delhi, July 30 The All-India Kashmiri Samaj, the Panun Kashmir and the Kashmiri Samiti, among other Kashmiri Pandit outfits, sought the parliamentary panel’s immediate intervention for early passage of the Temple and Shrines Bill, which had been pending for close to four years now in the J&K legislature. The legislature recently referred the Bill to its select committee. At the committee meeting chaired by BJP leader Venkaiah Naidu and attended, among others, by BJP veteran LK Advani, Kashmiri Pandit representatives cited recent instances of certain iconic Hindu places of worship in the Kashmir valley being given Muslim names. “While the Shankaracharya Temple is now being called Suleiman Taap, the legendary Hari Parbat shrine is being called Kohe Maraan. A silent cultural invasion is happening and we are worried. We want the Temple and Shrines Bill to be passed so we can preserve our cultural identity. We are afraid political expediency might delay the law. We want the committee’s and the Centre’s help in the matter,” Moti Kaul, president of the All-India Kashmiri Samaj, said after the meeting today. The occasion was deposition of Kashmiri Pandit organisations before the parliamentary standing committee on Home regarding action taken by the government on the 137th report of the committee, which recommended several measures for the rehabilitation of Kashmiri Pandits who migrated from the Valley in 1991. All organisations told the committee that despite 6000 jobs being promised to the Kashmiri Pandit youth in the PM’s package announced earlier, only around 1,400 had been given. “The offer sets an upper age limit of 37 years, which we want relaxed. We demanded a substantial rise in the paltry monthly allowance of Rs 1,600 being given to Kashmiri Hindu migrants by the Centre,” said Rakesh Kaul, president of the Kashmiri Samiti. The unanimous concern of all Kashmiri Pandit organisations today was rampant encroachment and alleged desecration of Hindu temples and shrines in the Valley. It is estimated that there are around 700 such shrines. “While 40 per cent of our shrines were destroyed during militancy, others face the risk of encroachment by temple mafia active in the Valley. Thousands of kanals of Hindu temple land is being occupied illegally. The Bill addresses these issues,” said Dr Tej K Tikoo, another Kashmiri Pandit who deposed before the panel. The Temple and Shrines Bill conceives a body on the lines of the Shiromani Gurdwara Parbandhak Committee, which manages Sikh places of worship. Kashmiri Pandits are seeking control over management of their places of worship and say the issue is directly linked to their return to the Valley. “How can we return to Kashmir when centres of our faith are not being protected?” asked Dr Ramesh Raina, another representative. He said that the Devi Aangan compound in front of Hari Parbat had been occupied. The organisations told the committee that they wanted a blueprint from the Jammu and Kashmir Government on the issue of their return to the Valley. “We will return on our conditions. Let us not forget that we have been displaced often, first from Kashmir and then from Jammu migrant camps to Jagti, a new resettlement colony, which has an 18-hour power cut. This is the kind of attention being paid to us,” said VK Raina, national spokesperson of the Panun Kashmir. |
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Six militants killed in 2 gunfights in north Kashmir
Srinagar, July 30 The militants were killed in two foiled infiltration attempts in the Keran and Machil sectors of Kupwara district in the last 24 hours, Army officers said. The two gunfights, in which the militants were killed, took place on Monday and Tuesday morning. In the Keran sector, the officials said the body of one militant, who was part of the group which infiltrated and was intercepted on Monday morning, was recovered while another militant was reported to have died after being injured in the initial gunfight. “I have a report that another (second) militant has also been killed inside the LoC (in Keran sector) and a third militant has been seriously injured,” General Officer Commanding (GOC) of Srinagar-based 15 Corps Lt Gen Gurmeet Singh told reporters here today. The GOC of 15 Corps said the second gunfight broke out in the Machil sector today morning, where two infiltrating militants, who were part of a group of five to six militants which had crossed the LoC, had been killed while the operation was going on. Another Army officer said the number of militants killed in Machil had increased to four. The GOC said a third operation was launched in the dense Hafruda forests near Handwara town where three militants were believed to have been holed up. “The operation is in progress. It was an operation launched on specific intelligence,” he said. He said militants were continuing to infiltrate into the Kashmir region from across the LoC. “I think it should suffice to say that the infiltration attempts are continuing,” the Army Commander said. He said the intention, planning and methodology of militants was more important than the number of militants who may have infiltrated. Lt Gen Gurmeet Singh said the counter-infiltration grid was in place throughout the year and would not be affected by weather conditions. He said the Army had modified its standard operating procedure after the Hyderpora ambush, in which eight soldiers were killed and 16 injured on the city outskirts in June. “We have learnt our lessons well out of it. We have modified our standard operating procedure and we are ready for any challenge of that nature,” he said. Three militants, including two Kashmiris and one Pakistani, are believed to have ambushed the Army convoy on the eve of the visit of Prime Minister Manmohan Singh and UPA chairperson Sonia Gandhi. “It is our target to locate them and neutralise them. The police, Army and other security agencies are focused on the issue. It is a matter of time,” he said.
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Police arrests 4 Hizb men
Srinagar, July 30 The police said four persons belonging to the Hizbul Mujahideen had been arrested. The police said the Hizbul Mujahideen had recruited a new module in the volatile apple town to carry out the attacks. The persons arrested were identified as Asif Dar of Batpora, Aquib Ramzan of Sangrampur and Fayaz Lone and Mehraj Rather of Krankshivan village. “Rather is a former militant and had been associated with the Tehreekul Mujahideen (TuM). He was arrested in 2003 and later released. We have recovered weapons used for the crimes,” said a senior police officer. The police officer said Asif and Aquib had been involved in stone-throwing incidents in the town. The police said a local militant commander had told the module to carry out the attacks on the SPO and the sarpanch. SPO Mudasir Ahmad Dar (20) was shot dead by pistol-borne militants at his residence in the Ontoo-Hamam locality near Chanakan on the morning July 28. Three days before the incident, sarpanch Khazir Mohammad Parray (45) was shot at by suspected militants at a village in Sopore. He was undergoing treatment at a hospital in Srinagar. Police sources said they had got a major lead about the module when the militants shot dead the SPO. “After the attack on Mudassir, we got a tip off and got some idea about those who were involved in the attack on SPO. We succeeded in identifying them and during night of July 28 all the four who were involved in the two incidents were apprehended,” he said. Top police officials are tightlipped about these arrests. While the police is trying to zero in on the top commanders of the outfit in Sopore who have been involved in various attacks on security forces, the police said the busting of the module was a first major breakthrough against Hizb in the town. |
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Mufti gives credit of peace on borders to Vajpayee
Jammu, July 30 He gave all the credit to Vajpayee for the prevailing peace on borders, as according to him, the ceasefire announced by the former Prime Minister was one of biggest confidence-building measures between two countries. As Mufti was addressing a function organised by his party in connection with the foundation day of the PDP at Jammu, he availed of the opportunity to use the “Vajpayee card” to seek peoples’ mandate for his pro-peace agenda. By hailing Vajpayee as a “crusader of peace and statesman”, Mufti tried to target both the Congress and BJP in Jammu. “Only a leader of the stature of Vajpayee can take such a historic initiative,” Mufti said while recalling the former Prime Minister’s speech at Srinagar on April 18, 2003, wherein he had extended hands of friendship towards Pakistan, at a time when there was an eyeball to eyeball situation on the borders. “Had Vajpayee not taken that historic step, there would have been no peace on the borders,” he observed. Mufti given a veiled warning to the Congress by praising Vajpayee for showing statesmanship. “The NDA was ruling the country when the PDP-Congress government was formed, but the then Central government had endorsed our agenda of peace and reconciliation,” he said and reminded the local BJP leaders that the then NDA government, headed by Vajpayee, had supported the PDP’s healing touch policy. Mufti asserted to carry forward the agenda of peace and said, “The PDP has shown in the past that it can facilitate the resolution process with prudence. It is ready to shoulder the responsibility of taking the process to its logical conclusion.” “In 2002, we had only 16 members, but still we pursued the peace process with determination and commitment and established peace in the region.” “It was all due to the credibility of the PDP that the previous NDA regime, headed by Atal Bihari Vajpayee, and the present UPA government, led by Manmohan Singh, had wholeheartedly supported whatever initiatives were taken by us for restoring peace in the region,” he said. |
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Govt to rope in panches to curb female foeticide
Jammu, July 30 The Health Department has been organising conventions at the block and panchayat halqa levels to sensitise and educate people of rural areas on the impact of the declining sex ratio in society. According to the Census 2001, the number of girls per 1,000 boys (aged between 0 and 6) was 941 while the latest Census 2011 found that it had plummeted to 859. “We have adopted a pro-active approach after 2011. We have been working on a multi-pronged strategy since 2011. So far, we have organised more than 300 sammelans at the block and panchayat halqa levels where panchayat members and other stakeholders have been involved to check female foeticide,” said Yashpal Sharma, Mission Director, National Rural Health Mission (NRHM), J&K. Sharma claimed the strategy had paid dividends as the “sex ratio at birth” had recorded a significant improvement in the last three quarters. “Going by the report of the last three quarters which had been submitted to the Central government, the sex ratio at birth stood at 912. Though not a single case of infanticide was reported in the state, there is a need to make the system more effective vis-à-vis check on female foeticide,” Sharma said. He said the department was seriously implementing the Pre-conception and Pre-natal Diagnostics Techniques Act and it had intensified the inspections of nursing homes and clinics. “We have announced that informers (who provide information regarding female foeticide) will be given cash rewards. Chief Minister Omar Abdullah has even written to heads of all religions for their support,” the NRHM director said. Anil Sharma, general secretary of the All Jammu and Kashmir Panchayat Conference (AJKPC), said the sex ratio in the state was “alarming” and it was high time for the government to take measures to deal with the situation. “The present sex ratio is quite dangerous for the future. The girl child is not safe in Jammu and Kashmir. It is the responsibility of the government to take all possible measures to improve the situation. And, if the government really wants to get the desired results, it will have to involve the Panchayati Raj Institutions to create awareness among the people at the grass-roots level,” the AJKPC leader said. Extending full support to the government’s initiative, Sharma also appealed to all sarpanches and panches to play their role in curbing female
foeticide. |
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High Court tells govt to reconsider food, bedding rates in jails
Srinagar, July 30 It has told Superintendents of Police of respective districts to make arrangements for transporation of undertrials to trial courts. These orders were issued by a division Bench of the High Court comprising Chief Justice MM Kumar and Justice Dhiraj Singh Thakur on a public interest litigation (PIL) by the Kashmir Bar Association. In the PIL filed by the Bar in 2011, it had been prayed that High Court direct the authorities concerned to provide better facilities and conditions for inmates in jails of the state and sought lodging of detenues in jails nearer to their residences. On July 9, the court directed the Commissioner Secretary Home to file a compliance report with regard to earlier directions issued by the court for improving the conditions of jails in the state. "A supplementary affidavit has been filed in pursuance of the directions issued on July 9. The affidavit, filed by Mohammad Yaqoob Malik, Under Secretary, Home Department, highlights arrangements for medical facilities and ambulances for taking critically ill jail inmates to hospitals, the Bench observed in its orders passed today. The Bench observed that the interim arrangement would continue till the time the Home Department took up the matter for purchase of seven ambulances with the Finance Department. "It has been highlighted that Chief Medical Officers concerned will deploy medical officers and doctors twice a week to respective jails for routine medical check-up of inmates and deploy doctors immediately in case of an emergency. Senior Superintendents of Police concerned will continue to provide adequate transport facility for transportation of inmates for their presence at trial courts," it said in the order. Earlier in his submission, petitioner-counsel's advocate Mian Qayoom stated that the Detenue General Order of 1968 had not been implemented in letter and spirit and the rates for food, toiletries, clothing and bedding continued to be static. The affidavit highlighted that the Director-General of Prisons had been directed to assess the requirements of all jails of the state with regard to medical facilities and submit a proposal to the government for further action. |
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Governor hosts Iftar
Srinagar, July 30 The participants offered prayers after breaking their fast by taking sweetened milk and dates.
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Protest at Sunderbani, highway blocked
Rajouri, July 30 The deceased was identified as Ravi Kant Sharma, a resident of ward number one in Sunderbani. As the news of his death reached Sunderbani, residents along with Sharma's relatives blocked the Jammu-Rajouri-Poonch highway at Sunderbani Chowk. They also burnt the effigy of the state government, raised slogans and demanded adequate compensation to the victim’s family, besides government jobs to his two sons. Senior officers of the administration and the police, including Nowshera Sub-District Magistrate, Rajouri-Poonch Range DIG Danish Rana and Additional Superintendent of Police (ASP) Parshotam Sharma rushed to the spot and tried to pacify the protesters who continued their protest till late evening. Rinku Kumar, Sharma’s neighbour, told The Tribune over the phone that he (Sharma) had gone to Kashmir for the Amarnath yatra. He was returning home in a Tempo Traveler when he was allegedly hit by a stone on the head during a protest against the killing of four persons allegedly in BSF firing in the Gool area. “He was the sole breadwinner of the family and is survived by his wife and two sons and a daughter. The government should announce a suitable compensation to the family, besides strict action should be taken against the culprits,” a protester said. Rajouri Deputy Commissioner Faqir Chand Bhagat said he had visited SKIMS some days ago to enquire about Sharma’s well-being and had given him Rs 15,000 from the Red Cross Society. “He had gone to undertake the Amarnath yatra and was returning home when he received injuries during a protest at Qazigund.” The Rajouri Deputy Commissioner said the protesters were demanding a government job for the next of the kin of the deceased and compensation from the state government and the Shri Amarnath Shrine Board. Nowshera ASP Parshotam Sharma said the situation was under control, but the protest was on at Sundarbani Chowk. Traffic was disrupted on the Jammu-Rajouri-Poonch highway and
hundreds of vehicles were stuck in a jam, causing inconvenience to commuters. |
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Man hit during post-Ramban protest dies
Srinagar, July 30 The police said Ravi Kant Sharma was returning home on July 21 in a Tempo Traveler from Srinagar when he was hit by a stone at Barsoo village in Awantipora on the Jammu-Srinagar national highway. The police said Sharma was injured when protests were being held against the killing of four persons in alleged BSF firing in Ramban district on July 18. Sharma was shifted to SKIMS soon after he was injured. “He had suffered brain injury and he breathed his last this morning,” said SKIMS medical superintendent Farooq Jan. A case has been registered and the investigations are on. Chief Minister Omar Abdullah has expressed sorrow over Sharma’s death. The Chief Minister, while expressing his condolences to the bereaved family, released an ex gratia of Rs 2 lakh for the next of kin of the deceased. |
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Police probing attacks on panches: Minister
Poonch, July 30 The minister, who was on a visit to the border township of Poonch, said the police was investigating the attacks on panches and sarpanches and a detailed report had been sought from it. Kichloo claimed that the situation in Kashmir had improved and militancy was restricted to some pockets of the Valley. He said people in Jammu and Kashmir wanted peace and efforts were being made by the government to ensure the atmosphere was not vitiated by elements, who were bent upon creating division among people. — TNS |
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Bar report claims firing on protesters was ‘unprovoked’
Srinagar, July 30 This was stated by the Bar in its seven-page report after the visit of its six-member team to the Ramban area on July 28. The report was released today. “After visiting the area, it was found that the BSF battalion had been shifted from the Dharam camp to Ramban. However, a sense of pain and horror is still visible on the faces of residents,” the Bar has said in its report. Relying on eyewitness accounts, the reports says that on July 17 evening some BSF personnel from a local camp entered a religious seminary and started inquiring about the presence of militants. In the process, the report claims, the BSF men beat up some inmates of the seminary and also “desecrated” a holy book. “People from the locality gathered at the seminary and were shocked to see the scene. By then, the BSF men had left but returned after some time. This time they were headed by an officer. They tried to hush up the matter and apologised for the incident. The word had spread in the area and people felt hurt,” the report says. The report further claims that on the next morning, people from adjoining areas reached the spot and started raising slogans against the incident. “When they (protesters) were 50 m from the BSF camp, all of a sudden a volley of bullets started being fired from inside the camp. Six people received bullet injuries,” the report says. The Bar report further says the “unresponsive” attitude of the district administration at this stage infuriated the mob. “The attitude of the Deputy Commissioner was not responsive and he avoided taking any action,” the report claims, adding that the second round of firing on protesters was also “unprovoked”, in which police personnel also fired on the protesters. The Bar, in its report, on the Ramban killings has further claimed that the “locals are apprehensive” about the “cover-up” in the incident by the authorities concerned. |
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Srinagar, July 30
The death of an Amarnath pilgrim at the Sher-i-Kashmir Institute of Medical Sciences (SKIMS) in Srinagar today triggered protests at Sunderbani town of Rajouri district. The pilgrim had received serious injuries after being allegedly hit by a stone during a protest at Qazigund on July 19, a day
after the killing of four persons in the Gool area of Ramban district.
“Telangana is being created on the basis of an agitation. It is not being created on the basis of any recommendation of a state reorganisation commission or something like that. I believe that this is a dangerous trend,” the Chief Minister told mediapersons on the sidelines of a function here.