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Shopian remains shut
Politics over village defence committees intensifies
Former spies join hands to seek release of PoWs
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on the frontline
Omar defends rape victim compensation scheme
JSM slams Omar for ‘taking on national leaders’
Punish culprits of Kishtwar violence, ministers urged
PRM flays Congress over Kishtwar
Expedite Kishtwar incident probe: Bar
Amarnath yatra
People to have access to revenue records
Slain LeT operative a native of Kupwara district: Police source
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Shopian remains shut
Srinagar, August 18 The south Kashmir district of Shopian remained shut in protest against the alleged use of “indiscriminate” force by the police in the area, following the demonstrations triggered by the rumours of desecration of the holy book. Residents alleged that the police went berserk,
broke window panes of houses and beat the inmates yesterday after youth staged a protest against the alleged desecration. Police, however, last evening said its inquiry had found the rumour as “totally baseless” and it has registered a case against those who spread the rumour. “Some anti-social elements had tried to spread rumours that disrespect has been shown to the holy book. The police enquiry, though, found these claims as totally baseless,” a police spokesman said. Meanwhile, the police said it has identified the culprits who spread the rumour and added that they would be arrested soon. A police official in Shopian informed that the shutdown has so far passed off peacefully and there were no reports of any clashes. Earlier, the district had remained closed on Saturday in response to an appeal by the hardline Hurriyat Conference in support of its demand for the disarmament and disbanding of the government-sponsored village defence committees (VDCs). |
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Politics over village defence committees intensifies
Jammu, August 18 People here have cautioned the government against disarming of the VDCs, which they believe has played a vital role in defending the citizens of the state against cross-border terrorism. Some of the Valley-based groups have been demanding disarming of the VDCs and they have upped the ante against the force following the recent Kishtwar riots. The campaign against VDCs in Kashmir has, however, evoked strong reaction from the Jammu region, as civil society and political and social groups have urged the government not to succumb to the demands of Valley-centric “fundamentalist” groups. “Some anti-national elements have launched a vicious campaign against the VDCs and it is high time for all peace-loving people to counter such a campaign,” Choudhary Lal Singh, the Congress Lok Sabha member from Udhampur-Doda constituency, said here today. He also ridiculed the allegation of some of the groups that communal elements were dominating VDCs. “This is total nonsense. They (members of VDCs) are fighting for the nation and protecting people, irrespective of their caste and religion from Pakistan-sponsored terrorism,” Singh said. He added that any move to weaken the VDCs would prove disastrous for the state. Kuldeep Kumar Rao of the All J&K Movement for Peace and Justice said the demand for disbanding VDCs was totally “anti-national” and insisted that the nationalist forces of the state should reject it in one voice. “It is not possible to protect the lives and properties of the minority community living in hilly areas of Jammu province without the help of the VDCs,” he said. Rao argued that the migration of the minority community from the hilly areas of the region was stopped only after the formation of VDCs in 1995. While the BJP has already made its stand clear on the issue by saying that it would launch an agitation if any attempt to disband the VDCs was made, the Bahujan Samaj Party (BSP) has also come out in support of the volunteer force. The state unit of the party said the demand for disbanding the volunteer force was a part of the evil design of the anti-national forces, who want to enforce migration of the minority community from the region. “We will oppose the demand for disbanding of the VDCs tooth and nail,” said BSP state president Tulsi Dass Langeh. The Jammu and Kashmir High Court Bar Association (JKHCBA) has already asked both the state and the Central government to outrightly reject the demand for disbanding the VDCs, as it was fraught with danger. The Jammu Province People’s Forum (JPPF) — a conglomerate of various social, business and religious organisation — has strongly opposed the voice of separatist forces demanding winding up of VDCs. “Secessionist forces should apply some restrain. They should not add fuel to the fire at a time when the Jammu province is already bearing the brunt of communal riots in Kishtwar, where shops, business establishments and hotels belonging to the minority community have been razed to the ground,” JPPF chairman, Pavittar Singh Bhardwaj, warned. He cautioned that any attempt to weaken VDCs would lead to “mass exodus of the minority community” from Kishtwar and Doda districts. “It is due to the strength of VDCs in the villages and small hamlets of the region that the minority has managed to stay at their homes,” Bhardwaj said while addressing a press conference here today. Anti-terror measure
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Former spies join hands to seek release of PoWs
Jammu, August 18 They have decided to intensify their struggle for a common cause, putting pressure on New Delhi to make sure that it takes up the human issue with Islamabad in earnest and ensures release of their dear ones. “My father Surjeet Singh, a 1971 PoW caught in the Chamb sector, was kept in Attock
Qila. Another Indian prisoner, Lekhu Ram of Ganganagar in Rajasthan, freed from Pakistan, had told us that he had met my father in Kot Lakhpat Jail in 2010,” said 42-year old Amrik Singh of
Faridkot. Maha Singh of Barnala said his father Lal Singh, a 1965 POW caught from
Kalidhar, was also kept in Attock Qila in Pakistan. “Thereafter, we never heard of him, not even through any letter. But the letter written by 11 Indian prisoners to Vinod Sawhney has made us recollect and regroup,” Amrik added. Similarly, Bishan Sharma of
Udhampur, Jugal Kishore of Chann Arorian in district Kathua, Ram Prakash of
Bishnah, a former spy who claimed that he worked for RAW only to get a raw deal, ex-spy Swarn Lal Khadotra of
Kunjwani, Bishno Devi of Budhi Nagrota in Kathua (wife of ex-spy Om
Prakash), Ram Raj of Budhi Nagrota (ex-spy), Babu Ram of Nalla Thanger in Hiranagar (ex-spy) and Urmila Devi of Makwal in Billawar (wife of ex-spy Kuldeep Singh) shared their tales. “It is for the first time that families of PoWs and spies from Punjab and Jammu and Kashmir have met here. They now want to move ahead cohesively,” said
Sawhney, president of Jammu Ex-sleuths’ Association. He informed that they would explore all possible options to seek release of PoWs and spies from various Pakistani jails. “They (Indian prisoners) are rotting in various jails and interrogation centres in Pakistan and it is believed that Pakistan has deported 54 PoWs to Oman. Whatever is the truth, we would explore all legal options to bring an end to pain and agony. It’s a human issue,” he
added. Sawhney suggested that in a bid to resolve the issue of prisoners of both the countries, New Delhi and Islamabad along with Amnesty International — a human rights watchdog — and United Nations Commission for Human Rights should organise independent visits to look for prisoners. “There are all sorts of prisoners, some who have completed their sentences long back but still rotting, some facing trials for years now, some without being booked under any law but made to suffer in dungeons. But all of them are human beings irrespective of their nationalities,” Sawnhey said while insisting that enough was enough. |
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on the frontline The Kashmir valley has been kept in the dark about the village defence committees (VDCs), the panels that were constituted in the 1990s to fight terrorists. At that time, terrorists were on a killing spree. They were killing members of a minority community in one village after another with frightening frequency in the hilly areas of the Jammu region, especially in the erstwhile Doda district and the twin border districts of Rajouri and Poonch. The security forces could not secure the areas because of the terrain, and it was impossible for the Army or any other wing of the forces to guard each and every individual and house in the sparsely populated hamlets high in the mountains. Now, similar fear has come to haunt the majority community because of the misinformation about the whole thing, and wherever the VDCs still operate, the fear is deep. Jammu and Kashmir is the only Muslim majority state in the country. The basis of setting up VDCs was to involve able-bodied civilians for their self-protection. To translate it into the counter-insurgency lexicon, the VDCs were to fight the militants till the time forces could reach and neutralise the attackers. When the VDCs were constituted, members of the majority community didn’t come forward to join the same, though later they joined these counter-insurgency panels. Their initial hesitation was because of two reasons: first, they knew the result of siding with the anti-militancy forces; second, they were safer as compared to the minority community, they were not pulled out of buses and shot dead. Their weddings and funeral processions were not targeted by militants. This gave birth to a perception that members of the minority community were assisting security forces and members of the majority community were not. The natural consequence was that there was a communal divide on the issue. Now, again the same game is being played out by extremist elements. The fact that the number of VDCs has been reduced is hidden from public view. The process of reducing the number of VDCs began in 2010 and it is continuing. Not only that, the number of VDC members within the counter-insurgency panel has also been reduced by 25 to 50 per cent. To date, at least 1,000 VDCs have been disbanded. This course of action started as it was felt that the situation was fast improving and there was no need to keep the 6,000 VDCs in the same format as in the 1990s when they were raised. When VDCs fought terrorists, they were not only saving members of their community but also members of the majority community, their fellow villagers. The need for VDCs arose when remote villages in the hilly areas of Jammu were becoming targets of terrorists, who were slaughtering villagers — men, women and children. The victims were mostly members of the minority community. The gory memories of Prankote Dhakki in Reasi, and Chapnari, Barshalla, Prem Nagar and Dessa in Doda are still etched in the minds of the people. Now, the disbanding of VDCs is being made a minority community versus majority community issue. Separatist leader Syed Ali Shah Geelani and others of his ilk and some of the mainstream parties are misrepresenting facts. Like they did in the case of July 18, when the Jammu and Kashmir Police and BSF fired on the crowd of protesters that had laid siege to a BSF camp. In all these cases, half-truths have been sold to the people of the Valley. The communal feelings have deepened because while some of the officers of one community have been shifted, those belonging to the other community have been retained. The minorities have genuine fears, minority leaders have told the group of ministers that visited Kishtwar to defuse the situation arising out of communal clashes there on the day of Eid. It is a known fact that there always is a possibility of misuse of the guns in the hands of civilians, and it has happened in the case of VDCs. They are not angels. But it would have been better had Geelani and leaders of the mainstream parties, who are asking for the disbanding of the VDCs, had also asked militants to stop the reckless violence. On July 18, renowned cardiologist Dr Jalal-ud-Din, and his two guards came under militant attack in Pampore. While the two guards died on the spot, the cardiologist succumbed to his injuries yesterday. There were condolences but no condemnation. There is a tendency among many not to condemn such brutal acts but whenever the security forces go wrong, strong words don’t take even a minute to get circulated. The leaders are shy of calling militants as militants. What was the fault of the cardiologist and his two security guards?
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Omar defends rape victim compensation scheme
Srinagar, August 18 On April 20, the state Cabinet had approved the implementation of the victim compensation scheme under which a victim compensation fund was created. The scheme drew flak from the mainstream
and separatist political parties across the state, terming it further victimisation of women. The Cabinet, which met in Srinagar on Friday, decided to review the Jammu and Kashmir Victim Compensation Scheme-2013 and allocated the budget to the victims. It sanctioned the orders for the reviewed compensation to the victims of rape, accidents, acid attack, torture and injuries caused to a person in police custody. As per the Cabinet decision, Rs 2 lakh would be given to a rape victim, Rs 3 lakh to a minor girl or a victim raped in police custody, Rs 3 lakh to the acid attack victim suffering from total damage, Rs 2 lakh to acid attack victim suffering from partial damage and Rs 1 lakh to the victim of women and child trafficking. The political parties, however, raised a hue and cry over the decision, calling it a tag over woman’s chastity and justification of crimes against women in the state. Responding to the criticism from various political parties, Omar tweeted, “Anyone who believes that violence doesn’t exist is living in a fool’s paradise so what’s wrong with ensuring compensation to the victims? And it’s no ones case that this is a substitute for the culprit being punished. The law will follow its own course as was the case earlier.” Meanwhile, an official spokesperson of the state Home Department said the state government had only followed the Supreme Court directions in the case, Laxmi (minor) Vs Union of India and others, inter
alia, directed the Union Government/state governments to formulate victim compensation schemes as per the provisions of Section 357-A of the Code of Criminal Procedure, 1973 Act (Amendment Act, 2008). “Pursuant to the orders of the Supreme court, the preparation of the scheme was mandatory for each state/Union Territory. Each state/Union Territory was required to file a compliance report before the apex court. Almost all states/union territories have notified their victim compensation schemes. Since the Central Code of Criminal Procedure
(CrPC), 1973, is not applicable to Jammu and Kashmir, therefore, an analogous provision was inserted in the J&K
CrPC, mandating the state government to formulate a scheme for providing compensation to the victims of crimes as per the orders of the Supreme Court,” the official spokesperson said. “Accordingly, the Victim Compensation Scheme was notified vide SRO 229 dated April 23, 2013. Subsequently, pursuant to the directions of the state Cabinet, the rates of compensation have been revised,” the spokesperson said. |
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JSM slams Omar for ‘taking on national leaders’
Jammu, August 18 “The Chief Minister is trying to hide his own failure in controlling the situation
(Kishtwar violence). He did not involve the Army in controlling the miscreants and anti-national forces at the appropriate time and thus gave them a free hand to go on the rampage, burning and looting shops and houses, buses, vehicles and assaulting residents. Whether or not it was deliberate on his part, requires a probe,” JSM president Virender Gupta said here. Omar had charged the BJP leaders with “showing duplicity” in their approach towards the Kishtwar violence and had accused them of being hypocrites. Gupta, while condemning the “vehement criticism” by the Chief Minister of the national leaders, alleged that what Omar was saying was quite contrary to the facts and his statement had come out of frustration. The JSM leader alleged that the Kashmiri leadership was itself responsible for the “isolation of
Kashmiris” from the national mainstream for their own vested interests. “They (Kashmiri leadership) are in the habit of provoking the people of the Valley against the Centre and blaming the Centre for their own failures and omissions,” Gupta said. Stepping up attack against Kashmiri leaders, the JSM state chief alleged that they had always pursued communal and regional politics. He alleged that they discriminated against the Jammu and Ladakh regions and treated the people of these regions as “second class citizens”. “The JSM holds a firm view that in the present political scenario the trifurcation of the state is the only way out to tackle the conflict and provide justice and equal development opportunities to people of all regions,” he said.
All-party team to visit Kishtwar
Jammu:
After the visit of the Group of Ministers
(GoM) to the trouble torn Kishtwar on Saturday, an all-party delegation is visiting the affected area tomorrow.
Official sources said the Divisional Commissioner, Jammu,
Shantamanu, has invited all political parties to depute their representatives to the all-party delegation. The delegation is scheduled hold discussions with both the communities to help restore peace and communal harmony in the area. |
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Punish culprits of Kishtwar violence, ministers urged
Jammu, August 18 Hindu leaders of Kishtwar town held a meeting with the GoM in Kishtwar yesterday evening which lasted till midnight. Muslim leaders met the GoM today and apprised it about their version. Both communities made a similar demand of punishing the culprits after holding an impartial probe before bringing permanent peace to the region. Muslim leaders, who met the
GoM, presented their view as how the clashes broke out when Muslims had gathered at Eidgah in
Chowgan, Kishtwar, to offer Eid prayers on August 9. The GoM was headed by Deputy Chief Minister Tara
Chand. Public Health Engineering Minister Sham Lal Sharma, Rural Development Minister Ali Mohammad Sagar and Consumer Affairs and Public Distribution Minister Choudhary Mohammad Ramzan were part of the group. “The GoM was apprised about all events leading to clashes during the Eid prayers. Our view was somehow similar to what Union Minister P Chidambaram presented in the Rajya
Sabha, which is a fact,” said Farooq Ahmad Kichloo, Imam of Jamia
Masjid, Kishtwar. “We asked ministers to register a case against those who killed two persons in Kishtwar and one at
Paddar,” the Imam said, adding that the Muslim community has assured the ministers that there will be no aggression from their side and they will provide all possible help to the administration in bringing back normalcy to the
region. Inderwal MLA Ghulam Mohammad Saroori, who also met the GoM, said after meeting the ministers, they were hopeful that an impartial inquiry would be held and facts would come to the fore. “We are hopeful that peace will prevail in the town and things will return to normal,” Saroori said. The meeting between the Muslim community leaders and the GoM started around 10 am and lasted till 2 pm today. After the meeting, three ministers left for Srinagar in a copter. The Deputy Chief Minister stayed back. Another local Muslim leader, Shakir
Siddiqui, who is also the president of the Kishtwar Awareness Forum, said, “Normalcy has to return to town today or tomorrow, but if the culprits are not punished, there will always be a threat of
clashes.” Siddiqui said they had apprised the GoM that villages defence committees should either be disbanded or ammunition be provided to people from the other community as well. All the leaders asked the GoM to provide compensation to those whose shops were looted, houses set on fire and stoned and also give compensation to families which lost their loved ones in the clashes. |
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PRM flays Congress over Kishtwar
Jammu, August 18 “Their (Congress’) role can not absolve them from the responsibility and accountability mandated to them by the people of the state to protect their lives and property,” Jamwal told reporters here today. Alleging that Chief Minister Omar Abdullah was trying to divide the state on the communal lines, Jamwal said, “The incident at Kishtwar was a game-plan of Kashmir-centric politicians to divide the Jammu region on communal lines.” “Venomous utterances in the aftermath of Kishtwar incident, by all ranks of Kashmiri leaders, including both the main stream parties and secessionists, is a reflection of their vicious game-plan with serious consequences,” he said. He added that “meek response” of the Union Government to the nationwide condemnation and protests against the Kishtwar violence, has further emboldened Omar Abdullah to exceed his constitutional limits and launch an attack against Village Defence Committees
(VDCs).
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Expedite Kishtwar incident probe: Bar
Jammu, August 18 A committee of senior advocates of Kishtwar has been constituted to get the feedback of aggrieved persons in the area. — OC
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Amarnath yatra
“Subject to the fair weather conditions, the last batch of yatris from the Pahalgam route shall be allowed to cross the Chandanwari access control gate up to 11 am on August 19,” said PP Singh, Additional Chief Executive Officer (CEO) of the Shri Amarnath Shrine Board. The Additional CEO said the last batch of yatris from the Baltal route would be allowed to cross the access control gate at Domel up to 9 am on August 21. “If weather conditions permit, the helicopter services for pilgrims to Panjtarni shall be allowed to operate up to 9 am on August 21 from the Baltal and Pahalgam heli bases,” he said. The steeper Baltal route is preferred by those who wish to return to the base camp in a day while the Chandanwari route, which is longer, is preferred by the elderly and hardcore devotees, who believe that Lord Shiva took the same route to the cave shrine. Chhari Mubarak (holy mace of Lord Shiva) had left Dashnami Akhara in Srinagar on August 16 for the cave shrine. The holy mace is scheduled to leave for the cave shrine from Sheshnag on Tuesday. The Amarnath yatra concludes with the performing of pooja once the holy mace reaches the cave shrine. Over 3.5 lakh pilgrims have so far offered prayers at the cave shrine since the yatra started on June 28. Over 6.20 lakh pilgrims had performed the yatra last year. |
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People to have access to revenue records
Leh, August 18 The copies of jambandies of 1958 are required to get the permanent resident certificate of the state, category certificate and other revenue records. To get a copy of jamabandi, which is available only at the District Archives, Leh, the people of the Nubra, Changthang and Sham areas have to travel at least 100 to 200 km to reach Leh. Chief Executive Councillor of the Ladakh Autonomous Hill Development Council, Leh, Rigzin Spalbar said, “Making copies of jamabandi of 1958 available is to facilitate the people in getting important revenue records on their doorsteps.” Spalbar said the copies of jamanbandi of the Nubra sub-division had recently been handed over to the office of the Sub-Divisional Magistrate (SDM) and now the people of Nubra would not have to come to Leh for their related work. An official of the District Archive, Leh, said, “Handing over of the jamabandis to other sub-divisional offices or tehsil offices of the district will be completed by August-end.”
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Slain LeT operative a native of Kupwara district: Police source
Srinagar, August 18 “In early 1990’s many families who were living near the LoC in Kashmir migrated to PoK and Shah’s family was one among them,” said a police officer in Srinagar. On August 14, the Army had claimed that it has foiled an infiltration attempt in the Keran sector and killed four militants of the Lashker-e-Toiba (LeT). One of the slain militants was identified as Syed Qasim Shah and the Army had claimed that he was an important member of the LeT. “The identity card recovered on one of the terrorists killed in the Keran sector on August 14, revealed that he was Syed Qasim. The terrorist leader was tall, healthy and imposing, which indicate his level of experience,” General Officer Commanding (GOC) of Srinagar-based 15 Corps, Lt Gen Gurmit Singh, had said on August 16. “It was an attempt of LeT tanzeem (outfit) to induct a senior leader into Kashmir, as we have eliminated the top leadership of the outfit in various operations,” he had said. The Army had recovered bodies of two militants, including that of Shah, in the Keran sector. They had, however, said that the other two militants reportedly died on the PoK side of the fence. “The two slain militants were carrying an AK 47 rifle and a pistol, which indicated that they were important terrorist leaders,” Lt Gen Singh had said. |
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Shopian district observed a complete shutdown for the second consecutive day on Sunday, even as the rest of the Kashmir region resumed business.
The Kashmir valley has been kept in the dark about the village defence committees (VDCs), the panels that were constituted in the 1990s to fight terrorists. At that time, terrorists were on a killing spree. They were killing members of a minority community in one village after another with frightening frequency in the hilly areas of the Jammu region, especially in the erstwhile Doda district and the twin border districts of Rajouri and Poonch.
The 55-year-old Syed Qasim Shah, who was recently killed by the Army in the Keran sector of Kashmir, had migrated to Pakistan-occupied Kashmir
(PoK) from Kupwara district during 1990s. Shah hailed from Kentawali Trehgam village near the Line of Control
(LoC) in the frontier district of Kupwara and had migrated along with his family to PoK in 1990, police sources said.
Srinagar, August 18