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NC likely to sweep Kargil council poll
PDP accuses CM of dividing state on communal lines
Miscreants throw stones at houses in Gool at night
Congress tells ministers to take
up issue with Omar
Searches on in Kupwara forests
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on the
frontline
Yasin Malik’s wife, child denied visa
Spurious drugs scam: Licences of 5 firms withdrawn or suspended
State yet to train finance & accounts staff
NC leader for CBI probe into bank functioning
Vested interests creating sectarian divisions: CM
Govt faces flak for panches’ honorarium delay
A meeting with Modi after enrolling 500 into BJYM
Army men save driver
PDP youth wing activists join Cong
Endless wait for two Kathua women for their husbands
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NC likely to sweep Kargil council poll
Jammu, August 4 Today was the last day for filing of nomination papers. The last day for withdrawal of papers is August 6. The Ladakh region was given hill development council status in 1995 People of both districts elect their representatives to run the council and decide about the development issues of the area. Kargil is dominated by the Shia population with some Sunni and Buddhist population in the Zanskar area. The National Conference has been dominating almost every election in the Kargil district. This time, the NC is contesting elections in alliance with the Islamia School Kargil. “We are contesting 18 seats and are supporting the Islamia school on eight seats. We are ahead of other parties here. We expect to do better and form the new council,” said Qamar Ali Akhoon, National Conference legislator from Kargil. The National Conference is in a straight contest with the Congress in the elections, with the People's Democratic Party and the Bharatiya Janata Party not having a base in the region. The National Conference and the Congress are coalition partners in the state, but are contesting against each other in Ladakh. “The National Conference and the Congress are in coalition in state. We are contesting the elections against each other in Kargil, but in a friendly atmosphere,” Akhoon said. The Kargil district comprises two Assembly seats and both have National Conference legislators. Going by statistics and the ground reality, the National Conference is way ahead. The Kargil elections are considered important in view of the Lok Sabha and Assembly elections due next year. “Elections will give a boost to National Conference workers all over the state. The party is doing well in Kargil and the momentum is shifting to the National Conference in Jammu as well as the Valley,” said a senior National Conference leader on the condition of anonymity. |
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PDP accuses CM of dividing state on communal lines
Rajouri, August 4 “We condemned Omar’s tweet on the Telengana issue, as no party in Jammu, not even the BJP and the Jammu State Morcha demanded a separate state. But Omar himself tweeted on the issue of a separate state, which only added fuel to the fire,” Baig said. “Ensuring its vote bank in the Valley, the National Conference has been responsible for creating differences among people of all three regions of the state on communal and regional lines,” Baig said. Addressing a gathering at Dak Bungalow,
Rajouri, Baig said people living along the borders in Rajouri and Poonch were the worst victims of the Indo-Pak wars from decades due to the Kashmir issue. Except suffering, India and Pakistan has achieved nothing from years of wars. Peace and a meaningful dialogue are the only solutions to the problem between the two countries and both nations need to develop their relation for the brighter future, he said. “If the People’s Democratic Party comes to power, it will bring communal harmony and integrity to all three regions of the state by equitable development and participation,” the PDP leader
said. Sangrama MLA Basharat Bukhari, Dharal MLA Choudhary Zulfiqar, Rajouri district president Abdul Qayoom Dar, Surinder Choudhary and Tazim Dar spoke on the occasion. |
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Miscreants throw stones at houses in Gool at night
Jammu, August 4 People suspect the hand of some agencies as the BSF camp in the village was removed after protests were held against the civilian killings. “For the past four to five days, some unknown people are throwing stones at houses in the village. We fear it may be the handiwork of some intelligence agencies as the people of the village were instrumental in forcing the government to remove the BSF camp after the Gool killings,” said a village head. The police said it was a rumour and claimed it had increased patrolling in the area. “When we received information that some miscreants were throwing stones during the night, we increased the patrolling. No one has seen the miscreants and these are all rumours, which are spreading not only in Ramban, but also in Doda and Kishtwar districts,” said Javed Ahmad Mattoo, Superintendent of Police (SP) Ramban. The Ramban SP said after the police increased patrolling, there was no stone-throwing on Saturday night. Meanwhile, the stone-throwing incidents during nights have increased in Doda and Kishtwar districts as well and has created panic among residents. No one has been arrested so far and people are scared. |
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Kamal’s attack on Soz
Jammu, August 4 Congress leaders are also mulling a boycott of all official functions as a mark of protest. Sources said a three-hour-long meeting of party leaders was held on Saturday night, in which a strategy was devised to counter the NC leader for his “verbal assault” on the party leadership. Leaders of both warring factions of the Congress in the state were present at the meeting to devise a joint strategy. Sources said it was decided that the party leadership would be told to direct the Congress ministers in the government to take up the matter with the Chief Minister, as, according to them, Kamal, had crossed all limits and had been using every platform to publicly assail the Congress leadership. Kamal, on Thursday, had dubbed Soz as a “political turncoat”, who from time to time had stabbed the NC in the back. He had earlier also passed some remarks against Union Health Minister Ghulam Nabi Azad. Meanwhile, according to a handout issued by the Congress, senior functionaries of the party have lashed out at the NC leader for his utterances against the Congress and its senior leaders. They have described him as a major irritant in the functioning of the present coalition. Senior leaders, who were present at the meeting, termed it “opportunistic politics”, as Kamal’s party was leading the coalition government for six years on the Congress support. Launching a direct attack on the NC leadership for “pampering” Kamal for launching a vicious campaign against the coalition partner, Congress leaders expressed surprise that Kamal had been rehabilitated and rewarded as the general secretary of the NC for assailing the Congress and its leaders by distorting facts to mislead the people. Senior vice president and ex-MP Dharam Pal Sharma, Hari Singh, Gurmukh Singh, Prem Sagar Aziz (all vice presidents), Mula Ram, ex-minister; Janak Raj Gupta, ex-MP; Ravinder Sharma, Vinod Sharma, Hans Raj Bhagat and Kanta Bhan (all general secretaries) were present. |
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Searches on in Kupwara forests
Srinagar, August 4 The search operations are underway in the Lolab and Hafruda forests of north Kashmir’s Kupwara district, 120 km from Srinagar, a senior security officer said. Soldiers are searching the forests in Lolab and Hafruda after a sudden increase in the infiltration attempts over the past few days. In the Lolab forests, troops are searching for Qari Osama, Jaish-e-Mohammad commander, believed to have succeeded Qari Yasir as the chief operational commander. Qari Yasir was killed last month. No contact has been established so far with militants in Lolab, the officer said. In the dense Hafruda forests, where six militants were killed in a major operation which began on Monday, searches are going on for any remnants of the group which was believed to have infiltrated recently, the officer said. The Army has killed 14 militants in four separate encounters since Monday near the Line of Control (LoC) in Kupwara. Three of the four operations took place near the LoC while one took place in Lolab. The first of a series of gunfights broke out near the LoC in the Keran sector when a group of three militants was spotted on Monday morning. The Army says it killed one militant in the ensuing firefight and two others were seriously injured, out of whom, it said one had reportedly died. The second encounter took place in Machil on Tuesday morning. Four militants were killed in it. Another gunfight broke out in Tangdhar on Thursday night and continued till Saturday morning. Two militants were killed in it. |
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on the
frontline
As the facts stand today, after India won the series 5-0, it was almost certain that had Parvez Rasool played, the result would not have been different. An opportunity would have been grabbed which would have made a huge psychological difference for the youth in Kashmir, who were waiting to see Parvez Rasool play against Zimbabwe till the start of the fifth one-day international on Saturday. The anatomy of such events in Jammu and Kashmir, particularly the Valley, is read differently. The choice of Parvez Rasool on the merit of his skills with the bat and ball was seen as an acknowledgement of his talent. The latent message was that Kashmiris were equal partners in the game loved and worshipped as a religion in the subcontinent. When Chief Minister Omar Abdullah lashed out at the Indian establishment for hanging Parliament attack convict Afzal Guru in February this year and said he would be an icon for the youth in Kashmir, he was countered by his opponents, who said the youth would identify with Shah Faesal, the Indian Administrative Service topper in 2010, and Parvez Rasool and not Afzal Guru. They were right. Someone down the line, especially traditional conspiracy weavers, will now say different things. They will not see the logic offered by Indian captain Virat Kohli and others. They will lean on the discrimination factor. They will do so because they are not sportspersons. There was merit in the argument of the Chief Minister's opponents. The Chief Minister agreed that hype should not be created that Parvez Rasool had made it to the team because of his Kashmiri origin, but because he had the talent to do so. But then, he defeated his own argument when he virtually lost his cool on the exclusion of Parvez Rasool from the playing 11 against Zimbabwe. He wrote on Twitter: “Did you really have to take him all the way to Zimbabwe to demoralise him? Would it not have been cheaper to just do it at home?” Strong words, indeed, but he justified that he had the right to express his own opinion on cricket. The larger question is why politics is being played over cricketer Parvez Rasool, who can make it big tomorrow against any formidable team in the world, including England and Australia. By the way, he is heading to South Africa next. He has plenty of talent and has a long innings ahead to play. Parvez Rasool understands this better than his fans who are disappointed, the most prominent among them being 43-year-old Omar Abdullah, a cricket buff, who follows cricket matches like many others in the subcontinent. On the psychological plane, Virat Kohli will not understand the damage that has been done by excluding a talented Kashmiri cricketer and how he would have been seen back home playing for India. There would have been cheer all around. Like a true sportsman, Parvez Rasool was smiling and cheering when India lifted the trophy on Saturday. Others need to show that kind of sportsmanship. It is certain that Parvez Rasool will have his day, but an opportunity has been missed for the time being. It is more hurting that he was the only one in the 15-member squad who was not picked for the playing 11. |
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Yasin Malik’s wife, child denied visa
Srinagar, August 4 Malik (44), who is the chairman of the Jammu and Kashmir Liberation Front, had married Mushaal, a 30-year-old painter, in early 2009. Mushaal last visited Kashmir in 2011. After returning to Pakistan, she gave birth to Razia, who had not been allowed to meet her father since her birth in 2012, a JKLF spokesman said here. For a long time now, India has been prevaricating on the issue of granting visa to Malik's wife Mushaal and 18-month-old daughter Razia. The Indian authorities had been denying them their basic human right to visit and join their
family in Kashmir, the spokesman said. He said Mushaal last visited Kashmir in February 2011 and the couple was blessed with a girl in early 2012 when Mushaal was in Islamabad. He said Razia was still awaiting a visa from the Indian authorities to see her father, family and home
in Kashmir. He said Mushaal and Razia were not allowed to visit Kashmir when Malik-s father died on May 14 last year. In a statement issued here, the JKLF condemned the denial of visa to Malik's family and termed the move as undemocratic, inhuman and uncivilised. |
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Spurious drugs scam: Licences of 5 firms withdrawn or suspended
Srinagar, August 4 It said out of the 147 drug samples tested so far, a total of 27 had been declared not of standard quality. The CDSCO, which had recently taken 156 drug samples from the state for testing, had identified 24 drugs as spurious and substandard after receiving analysis reports of 50 drugs from Central Drugs Laboratory, Kolkata, and Regional Drug Testing Laboratory, Chandigarh. The reports of 147 samples had been received till date, of which 27 had been declared not of standard quality, the state government said here, adding that of the 156 statutory drug samples, 97 were taken by the CDSCO from government institutions and 59 from the open market. It further added that of the 27 drug samples declared not of standard quality, six were from the market and 21 from government institutions, including hospitals. The State Licensing Authority issued necessary orders for indefinite suspension of licences of M/s Ethicare Laboratories, M/s Vivek Pharmachem (India) Limited and M/s Biosearch Organics, the government said. The licences of M/s AK Biotech and M/s Minil Laboratories had been withdrawn, it said, adding that action against manufacturers of other drugs declared as not of standard quality was being taken strictly in accordance with directions of the Centre issued earlier. The government added that the inspectorate staff of the Drugs and Food Control Organisation had so far seized substandard drugs worth Rs 6 lakh. In July, the CDSCO, in its status report to the High Court, disclosed that analysis reports of 25 samples had been received, of which two were declared substandard. |
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State yet to train finance & accounts staff
Jammu, August 4 The other states and union territories which have been included in this category are Chandigarh, Dadra and Nagar Haveli, Delhi, Kerala, Maharashtra, Mizoram, Nagaland, Uttar Pradesh and Uttarakhand. This was revealed in the recently concluded 37th quarterly review meeting of the Finance Controllers of state implementation societies of the SSA held in New Delhi. The meeting was chaired by Virender Singh, Deputy Secretary, Ministry of Human Resource Development (MHRD). It was attended by Finance Controllers of all state implementation societies except Andaman and Nicobar Islands, Daman and Diu, Dadra and Nagar Haveli, Jammu and Kashmir, Lakshadweep, Puducherry and Sikkim. Jammu and Kashmir has the only state implementation society which has not started the registration of SSA implementing agencies under the CPSMS. During the crucial meeting, Finance Controllers had stressed on the need
to ensure that the finance and accounts staff were trained adequately. They directed that information regarding the preparation of bank reconciliation statement should immediately be provided by the states of Jammu and Kashmir, Jharkhand, Lakshadweep and Sikkim. The Deputy Secretary, MHRD, advised experts from the office of the Controller General of Accounts to be more responsive to the problems being faced by the states and union territories which had not been able to make much headway in completing the registration of SSA implementing agencies under
the CPSMS. He said the states and union territories could organise workshops, if needed, where experts from the office of the Controller General of Accounts could be invited to sort out the problems being faced by them in registration under the CPSMS. The Deputy Secretary said states were required to prioritise SSA implementation, interventions and important civil works in such a way that committed liabilities were not affected for want of funds. He added that the issue of outstanding advance needed to be taken seriously by
the state and outstanding advances should be adjusted within the time-frame
provided in the Manual on Financial Management and Procurement. Andaman and Nicobar Islands, Chandigarh, Chhattisgarh, Dadra and Nagar Haveli, Daman and Diu, Delhi, Jammu and Kashmir, Maharashtra, Mizoram, Rajasthan, Sikkim and Tamil Nadu had submitted the audit report for 2011-12 before the prescribed date of November 2012. |
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NC leader for CBI probe into bank functioning
Jammu, August 4 Chuni said the current CCB board owed its existence to massive rigging unleashed by the People’s Democratic Party (PDP) and as a consequence the management was in the hands of those not remotely connected with the cooperative movement. He alleged that CCB Chairman Dinesh Gupta had been furthering the interests of the PDP.
Chunni said the bank with 11 branches in the city and its periphery has been overburdened by superfluous staff in the management cadre. The NC leader urged the Reserve Bank of India to order a special audit of all branches of the CCB, alleging that the money recorded on bank cash books was not available in chests. He said the money had been diverted for other purposes. “The 300-odd staff are on permanent notice to participate in rallies of the PDP whenever any of its leaders makes a public appearance,” Chuni said. He said blue-eyed boys were being given undue promotions at the cost of those who worked with a sense of devotion and dedication. “This has sagged the morale of hardworking employees of the bank,” he added. “The PDP recommendation is the last word for sanctioning loans,” he alleged. Saying a departmental probe would not be enough to unearth wasteful expenditure and irregularities, he sought an immediate CBI probe. |
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Vested interests creating sectarian divisions: CM
Srinagar, August 4 Without naming anybody, he alleged that these elements wanted to polarise society and create conflicts between various sections, sects, faiths, regions and castes while keeping an eye on votes. The Chief Minister said this while talking to a delegation of the Majlis-e-Tahfuz-e-Itihaad (MTI), set up by civil society recently to defuse the tension at a few villages in Budgam district, which was in the news due to sectarian violence. Cautioning against the nefarious designs of the elements behind sectarian clashes, Omar announced one-month free rations for the families affected by the recent sectarian violence in Budgam. He told the delegation led by MTI chief coordinator Agha Syed Mujtaba that the Kashmir Divisional Commissioner would be the nodal officer for assessing damages so that a comprehensive rehabilitation programme could be launched. He said the Divisional Commissioner would be given directions to complete the damage assessment report in the shortest possible time so that the rehabilitation of affected families could be started as soon as possible. Assuring all possible government help for the rehabilitation, the Chief Minister said timber and other construction material for the families affected would be made available to rebuild damaged houses. He said the revenue, rural development, horticulture and agriculture departments would be directed to dovetail schemes to help in the rehabilitation of families affected and restoration of agriculture and horticulture activities. He underscored the need to remain vigilant against the elements which propagated for personal benefits trifles as conflicts between two groups. The Chief Minister told the delegation that he would direct the police department to review the cases of persons arrested during the clashes. He said he would tell the police department to release those not involved in serious crimes after obtaining assurances from their families that they would not repeat their actions. |
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Govt faces flak for panches’ honorarium delay
Jammu, August 4 He pointed out that the Minister for Rural Development, in a written reply, had stated that the proposal of giving honorarium to elected members of panchayats had been moved to the Finance Department and certain emoluments had been recommended for sarpanches, naib sarpanches and panches. He said a categorical statement in this regard had been made by the Finance Minister during his Budget speech, but regretted that the government had failed to take any action thereafter despite the fact that panchayats had completed more than two-and-a-half years. Harsh Dev Singh pointed out that elected members of panchayats were entitled to remuneration and emoluments under various provisions of the Panchayat Raj Act. He said Section 10 of the Act categorically provided for payment of monthly honorarium to elected sarpanches along with adequate fee for panches. Urging an early release of honorarium in favour of sarpanches, panches and panchayat adalats, he said the government should consider the release of arrears of remuneration at Rs 2,000 per month for sarpanches and Rs 1,000 per month for panches from the date of constitution of panchayats. He demanded the release of Rs 10 lakh to each panchayat for undertaking development activities. |
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A meeting with Modi after enrolling 500 into BJYM
Jammu, August 4 The youth will get a chance to meet BJP national campaign committee chief and Gujarat Chief Minister Narendra Modi. In other parts of the country, one has to enrol 1,000 or more members in the BJYM to get a chance to meet Narendra Modi. Similarly, the party has announced that any BJYM member, who enrols 250 members in the Kashmir and Ladakh regions, respectively, would be given a chance to meet Modi. The BJYM has launched a campaign all over the country to enrol as many youth in the organisation and the “political incentive” is on offer for those adding a good number of members to the party. Those BJYM members who make 1,000 or more new members will be honoured by the Gujarat Chief Minister. But in J&K, this number has come down to 500. “In the rest of the country, one has to enrol 1,000 youth to meet Modi but for Jammu and Kashmir, the youth who enrols 500 members in the party will be given a chance to meet and interact with Modi,” said Ravinder Raina, state BJYM president, while launching the drive at Bishnah. “A token amount of Rs 5 each will be charged from the new members after they officially become a part of the party,” the said state BJYM president.
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Army men save driver
Batote, August 4 |
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PDP youth wing activists join Cong
Jammu, August 4 The youths were welcomed by Gharu Ram after garlanding them in the presence of Rawail Singh, block president of the Congress, Suchetgarh, and Youth Congress leaders Vinod choudhary and Chetan. Gharu Ram, while welcoming them, advised them to strenghten the organisation which was the only national party with secular credentials. Those who spoke on the occasion included Rawail Singh, Manga Ram, Parvinder Singh, Devinder Kumar, Darvinder Kumar, Sukhdev Singh, Manjit Singh, Suresh Kumar, Mahesh Kumar, Mahinder Kumar and Somnath.
— TNS |
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Endless wait for two Kathua women for their husbands
Jammu, August 4 “My husband Om Prakash went missing on June 4, 1998. Four years later, in 2002, I cameto know about his arrest in Pakistan. Till 2006, he had been kept in Adiala Jail in Rawalpindi and then shifted to a Mohajir camp in Muzaffarabad in PoK,” said Bishno Devi (45) of Budhi Nagrota in Kathua. Bishno would get letters from her husband till last year. She produced one of the letters sent by her husband on July 14, 2012. It was written in Urdu and was posted from a Mohajir camp in Muzaffarabad. “Given these particulars, it would not be a big deal to trace my husband. But being poor, no one has come forward to help me, not even human rights activists,” rued Bishno. She said, “My husband was convicted for a spying charge that was never established by Pakistan. I also wonder who decides the duration of the sentence. He is there in Pakistan for the last 15 years and our lives have been ruined here.” Urmila Devi, wife of Kuldeep Singh, a resident of Makwal in Billawar, also gets letters from her husband from Kot Lakhpat Jail. Her husband would call her sometimes. She said she could not understand the criminal silence on the part of the Centre. “He was arrested in Pakistan on December 16, 1992, for spying. He has been there in the jail for 21 years now. By now even the cruelest of the cruel would have shown mercy,” she said. The Centre and human rights activists should do something for the living dead like us, she said.
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Preparations for elections to the Ladakh Autonomous Hill Development Council, Kargil, are in full swing and the ruling National Conference is likely to sweep the elections.
At the end of the day, the story is that all-rounder Parvez Rasool from Jammu and Kashmir did not play against Zimbabwe. The selectors who picked the Kashmiri cricketer for the five one-day international series against Zimbabwe must have had their reasons to put him in the 15 and for not taking him in the playing 11.
