Srinagar, August 2
Normal life in Srinagar and other parts of Kashmir was affected today by the separatists-sponsored shutdown call against the declaration of religious yatra to the Kousar Nag — a pristine glacial lake in South Kashmir, which has snowballed into a major controversy and threatens to shatter the calm in the region.

Even as the shops and other business establishments in the city and other parts of Kashmir remained closed today, the government responded to the situation by imposing restrictions in several parts of Srinagar falling under police stations of Nowhatta, Khanyar, Rainawari, MR Gunj and Safa Kadal.

The call for “peaceful” protests and “complete shutdown” was given by the hardline faction of the Hurriyat Conference, headed by Syed Ali Shah Geelani, and backed by the Kashmir Bar Association and other separatist and civil society groups, which argue that the declaration of a new Kousar Nag yatra through the Aharbal route — a famous tourist destination in south Kashmir’s Kulgam district — would “destroy” the fragile ecosystem and “contaminate” the waters of the glacial lake, which is a major source of fresh water in the area.

Since Friday morning, Geelani, along with other top separatist leaders, including moderate Hurriyat leader Mirwaiz Umar Farooq, has been placed under house arrest, while JKLF leader Yasin Malik has been taken under preventive custody.

Though the government had earlier issued an order to provide security and other logistical support for the conduct of the yatra from July 31 to August 3, it rescinded it later, with the BJP and the Kashmiri Pandit groups slamming it of “buckling under pressure from separatists”.

In response to the shutdown call, shops and other commercial establishments in Srinagar and other major towns, including Baramulla, Kupwara, Sopore, Budgam, Pulwama, Pampore, Bijbihara and Anantnag, remained closed for the day. The public transport also remained off the roads.

The government offices also witnessed thin attendance. There were also reports of stone-throwing from various parts of the Valley. Early in the day, some youths threw stones at the Narbal crossing on the Srinagar-Gulmarg highway. However, the situation was soon brought under control by the police.

Meanwhile, “curfew-like” situation prevailed in Kulgam district also.

(With inputs from Suhail A Shah in Anantnag)

Poonch, August 2
The first batch of the annual Buddha Amarnath pilgrimage, comprising over 2,500 pilgrims, paid obeisance at Buddha Amarnath, Rajpura Mandi, here today.

The first batch was welcomed by a reception committee last evening at the Degree College ground, Poonch, by religious organisations and district administration.

The Buddha Amaranth shrine of Lord Shiva is located in the picturesque mountain belt of the Mandi area near the Indo-Pak border in Poonch district.

“Though the yatra to Buddha Amarnath has already begun informally, the first batch of the yatra, which is being organised by VHP, commenced here today,” said Jagdish Singh, yatra officer, Buddha, Amarnath Mandi.

The first batch was welcomed by the district administration and the reception committee at Poonch last night.

The ‘Chhari Mubarak’ (holy mace) pilgrimage, which is also part of the yatra, will be organised on August 8 from Dashnami Akhara, Poonch.

The yatra would culminate on August 10.

The district administration, VHP, Dashnami Akhara, Shri Buddha Amarnath Committee and Santan Dharam Sabha have made arrangements for the pilgrims at Poonch and Mandi.

Buddha Amarnath is situated in the main belt of the Pir Panchal Range at Rajpura Mandi, which is 22 km on the north-east of Poonch city. It is said that Maharishi Pulastya, the grandfather of King Ravana, meditated here.

Every year, on the eve of Raksha Bandhan, thousands of devotees from across the country reach here to pay obeisance.

Srinagar, August 2
Pandit Bhajan Sopori called on Governor NN Vohra, who is also the chairman of the Shri Amarnathji Shrine Board, at the Raj Bhawan here yesterday.

The Governor discussed several issues relating to the ongoing Amarnath yatra with Sopori, a member of the Shri Amarnathji Shrine Board, an official statement said.

Pandit Bhajan SoporiSopori, during the meeting, put forth various suggestions for further improvement of the yatra for the next year, the statement added.

Srinagar, August 2
Legal advisor of the Shri Mata Vaishno Devi Shrine Board and the universities of Kashmir and Jammu, DC Raina, called on Governor NN Vohra at the Raj Bhawan here yesterday.

Raina apprised the Governor about the status of various legal issues and cases related to the Shrine Board and the two varsities, an official statement said.

Jammu/Udhampur, August 2
As the BJP and other minority groups are all out to rake up the Kousar Nag controversy, the Congress today cautioned that some forces were trying to polarise the state ahead of the Assembly elections.

“Some forces in the Kashmir Valley and some political groups in the Jammu region, including a national party, are trying to create a situation similar to 2008 ahead of the Assembly elections to reap political benefits,” former Union Minister and leader of the Opposition in Rajya Sabha Ghulam Nabi Azad said, indirectly referring to the BJP.

“It is high time to expose those groups which want to polarise the situation for petty political gains,” he said, while interacting with mediapersons in Udhampur today.

Meanwhile, condemning the NC-Congress coalition government for “jumping on to the separatists’ bandwagon” and banning the age-old Kousar Nag yatra for appeasing the fanatics and anti-India forces, BJP state general secretary Bali Bhagat today warned that the communal politics of the NC-Congress coalition and separatists could culminate into major political explosions across the country. He urged the pro-separatist state government to allow the yatra from the original route.

“Congress ministers have again failed the minorities and they have no moral and political right to continue in the office,” he said, and demanded that they put in their papers to assuage the hurt feelings of the Hindus.

“The Kousar Nag yatra is not a new phenomenon; it is an ancient yatra. The lake is being worshipped by the Hindus since time immemorial. Even Badshah Sultan Zain-ul-Abidin, in 1463, traversed a long distance from Bijbehara (Vijayeseswara) to Kousar Nag to express solidarity with the Kashmiri Hindus. Ban on the yatra is a deliberate attempt of the coalition government to outrage the sensitivities of the Hindus across the world in general and Kashmiri Pandits in particular. It is an attempt to polarise society for political gains,” Bhagat told reporters.

He said the BJP would not allow anyone in Kashmir to vitiate the atmosphere in the state. “Why should Kashmiri Pandits come to Reasi to undertake the yatra?” he asked. Bhagat also refuted Congress Minister GA Mir’s claim that the government had not granted permission for the yatra and said the fact was that the Kulgam administration did, in writing, grant permission for the four-day-long yatra from July 31 to August 3.

Jammu/Udhampur, August 2
The faction-ridden Congress today presented a united face during the much publicised “unity rally” at Udhampur in which former Union Minister and leader of Opposition in the Rajya Sabha Ghulam Nabi Azad and Jammu and Kashmir Pradesh Congress Committee (JKPCC) chief Saifuddin Soz shared the dais.

The party had already advertised today’s function as a first step to send a message of unity among workers down the line. Senior Congress leaders seized the opportunity to make the cadres believe that “all is well” in the party.

Azad and Soz lavished praise on each other and tried to preach the “mantra of unity” to save the party at this crucial juncture.

To send out a positive message, Azad even downplayed the question on party’s chief ministerial candidate. “The Chief Minister would be decided after the election,” Azad said.

He also hinted that neither he nor Soz would contest the forthcoming Assembly elections.

The former Union Minister, while addressing the function, made it clear that factionalism would not be tolerated in the party.

Azad even asked Soz to take action against those found involved in groupism. “Power is not an issue this time. We have to iron out our differences to unitedly face the challenge,” the senior leader said.

Srinagar, August 2
The PDP today suspended Abdul Rouf Bhat, vice-president of the district party committee, Srinagar, and issued a show cause notice to other.

“Bhat was suspended from basic membership for his anti-party activities by Abdul Rehman Veeri, chairman, Disciplinary Committee, PDP,” the party spokesman said.

The party issued notice to Fazal Mehmood Baig, a senior leader and brother of senior party leader and MP Muzaffar Hussain Baig, for deciding to contest against the party’s nominated candidate.

The party asked Fazal to clear his position within seven days. “Fazal has gone against the party decision to contest as an Independent against the nominated candidate from Sangrama,” said the spokesperson.

Fazal had recently declared he would contest as an Independent.

Meanwhile, PDP leader Haseeb Drabu today stressed the need for devising a holistic and futuristic plan of action for the overall development of Pulwama district to do away with the past injustices done to the district. He said this while interacting with a delegation of prominent citizens from the area here today.

Udhampur, August 2
The Panther Party suffered a major jolt as Faquir Nath, ex-MLA from the Chenani Ghordi Assembly segment and a close associate of Panthers Party founder Bhim Singh, today joined the Congress along with his supporters.

On the other hand, clashes between the Congress and Panther workers were witnessed in various parts of the Ramnagar Assembly segment after assault on Congress leader RS Pathania.

He joined the Congress in presence of Gulam Nabi Azad and Saif-ud-Din Soz at party workers’ convention in Udhampur today.

“I worked for Panthers party in the Chenani constituency for 30 years, but was denied mandate this time and an outsider was given preference. I had no option but to join the Congress,” said Faquir Nath.

After a major assault on senior Congress leader from the Ramnagar Constituency RS Pathania took place evening, clashes broke out between Congress and Panthers workers at various places, including Battal Morh, Manwal and Kishenpur. Two workers got critically injured in the clash.

Congress workers alleged that the supporters of the Panthers Party had attacked Pathania.

He is under treatment at Government Medical College, Jammu, where his condition is stated to be out of danger.

Srinagar, August 2
As the search and combing operation along the Line of Control (LoC) in the Keran sector of frontier Kupwara district continued for the third day today, the Army said it has recovered lot of food items from the slain militants that had the marking of Pakistan.

“The large quantity of food items recovered after the killing of four militants close to the LoC had the Pakistan marking and were manufactured in Karachi,” a Defence official said, adding the manufacturing date on the articles was as recent as April.

Four militants, whose identity and group affiliation has not been confirmed as yet, have been killed in the operation that began on Thursday afternoon. The Army has also recovered eight AK rifles from the encounter site.

“The militant group was heavily armed and well equipped and had the latest communication and navigation equipments, which were also recovered during searches,” the official said.

The Defence official, meanwhile, confirmed that it was an infiltration attempt. “There is enough evidence to establish that it was an infiltration attempt. Recovery of weapons and markings on food items, besides presence of warlike stores suggest that it was an infiltration attempt.” The Army’s Rashtriya Rifles and various other units continued combing the dense forest in Keran, 130 km north-west of Srinagar, to hunt down any more militants in the area.

The recovery of eight AK rifles indicates that more militants might be hiding in the forest area. “The first contact with the militants was established on Thursday evening in which two militants were killed. The other two were killed on Friday,” said an official.

The militant group was heavily armed and well- equipped and had the latest communication and navigation equipment, which were also recovered during search. Army official.

Jammu, August 2
Sharafat Ali, an MA student, who sustained injuries in a clash between two groups over the control and management of a mosque in Doda district on July 31, died here last night. The clash had left 24 persons injured.

A police official the groups had a dispute over the management of a mosque and a madrassa located in Sartangal. “Of the 24 who sustained injuries, five were critically wounded. They were shifted to the Sher-e-Kashmir Institute of Medical Sciences, Soura, Srinagar,” he said.

Sharafat Ali’s brother Rahat Ali and uncle Farooq Ahmed were among those critically injured.

Doda Deputy Commissioner Sham Vinod Meena told The Tribune that after the clash, requisite steps had been taken.

“The clash was between two groups of the same community. We have police deployed in the area and the situation is normal and peaceful,” said Meena.

Soon after the incident, the police and Army personnel rushed to the spot, following which the situation was brought under control. He said a case had been registered and some persons had been rounded up.

Mohammed Yakoob Mir, chief medical officer, Doda, said, “We conducted postmortem of the deceased in the Doda district hospital today and handed the body to the family.” The condition of a patient admitted to Government Medical College in Jammu was critical, he said.

Mohammed Sharif Chouhan, Doda SSP, said they had arrested the head of one of the two warring groups. “We have arrested Showkat Peer, head of one the groups. An SIT has been constituted to look into the case,” he said.

“Police and CRPF personnel have been deployed in Bhaderwah city to avert any untoward situation,” he added.