Jammu, August 9
Nearly three months after the worst-ever defeat of the party in the Parliamentary elections, the Congress today publicly admitted that misgovernance and misdeeds of the National Conference were responsible for the debacle of the party in the recently held Lok Sabha polls.

The Congress had lost all the three seats which the party had contested in the state as per the seat-sharing agreement with the National Conference. Even the party’s stalwart and former Union minister Ghulam Nabi Azad had lost from the Udhampur-Doda seat.

Although All India Congress Committee (AICC) general secretary and in charge J&K Congress Ambika Soni avoided putting direct blame on the National Conference (NC), Jammu and Kashmir Pradesh Congress Committee (JKPCC) chief Saifuddin Soz bluntly admitted that the Congress suffered due to people’s anger against the NC. “I realised that there was strong anger against the NC in the whole state, in general, and the Kashmir valley, in particular. This anger was responsible for the debacle of the party,” Soz candidly admitted.

He especially mentioned that in the Kashmir valley the Congress failed to transfer its votes to the coalition partner because people were enraged with the NC and misgovernance was one of the elements in it.

Ambika Soni, on other hand, indirectly admitted that the failure of the coalition partner to implement programmes and policies of the Congress was the main reason for the worst-ever debacle of the party in Parliamentary elections.

“For nearly five and half years we have been running a coalition government with the National Conference”, she said and admitted that after monitoring functioning of this government they realised that the regime had failed to fulfil its promises.

In an obvious reference towards the NC for not giving importance to the agenda of the Congress, Soni said, “We have joined the coalition government on the basis of certain programmes and our manifesto, but ultimately after monitoring some of these programmes we realised that we failed to fulfil promises to a larger extent.”

“It was on the basis of this monitoring that I had announced some days back not to form an alliance with the National Conference in the coming Assembly elections”, she said.

When her attention was drawn towards allegation of corruption on Congress ministers, the AICC general secretary made it clear that the party would take serious a note of such allegations. “Any persons found involved in corruption would not be given ticket in the coming Assembly elections,” she said.

Udhampur, August 9
Chief Minister Omar Abdullah today lauded All India Congress Committee vice-president Rahul Gandhi for his aggressive posture in Parliament and described the “political transformation” of the leader as a good sign for the Congress.

“Rahul has always been keen to speak. The problem in the last 10 years has been that it was his government at the Centre and whenever he spoke his mind, more often than not, he ran the risk of being misunderstood. And, therefore, rightly so he kept his counsel to himself,” Omar told reporters on the sidelines of the attestation-cum passing out parade at the Sher-i-Kashmir Police Academy here today.

On Wednesday, Rahul along with other opposition MPs had stormed the Lok Sabha well demanding a discussion on “rising incidents of communal violence in the country”. Speaker Sumitra Mahajan, however, did not comply following which the Congress vice-president reportedly questioned her impartiality.

Omar expressed hope that Rahul would be more expressive in future. “Today he is in the opposition and surely Rahul is the force that has to bind the Congress in these difficult times. I am glad that he has spoken out in Parliament and he will continue to do so in the days to come,” he said. The Chief Minister, however, avoided questions on the role of Priyanka Gandhi in the days to come.

Meanwhile, reacting to the controversy surrounding the Minister for Consumer Affairs and Public Distribution (CA&PD) and PHE chief engineer, Omar said media was giving “unnecessary attention” to the incident.

“The media looks at things from one side. You highlighted that the engineer submitted his resignation, but another fact is that the issue was resolved within 24 hours and the engineer resumed his duty. But this positive aspect is no news for you.

“When things go right, they deserve to be highlighted also. Unlike you guys I don’t believe in making noise. You would have been happier if this controversy continued, but unfortunately it is not my job to make news for you. My job is to run the administration smoothly. It is a close chapter,” the Chief Minister said.

Earlier, Omar appreciated the role of the Jammu Kashmir Police in combating militancy and cross-border terrorism in the last 25 years and said he had no words to describe the sacrifices made by policemen.

Speaking on the occasion, Director General of Police (DGP) K Rajendra sought enhancement of ration money for the policemen and removing of pay anomaly between the post of head constable and an assistant sub inspector.

Replying to the demands made by the DGP, Omar announced that the police ration money would be increased July onwards, while the pay anomalies would be addressed at the earliest.

Srinagar, August 9
Hardline Hurriyat chief Syed Ali Shah Geelani today disapproved the Islamic State of Iraq and Syria (ISIS) ideology and condemned its actions in Iraq, particularly the killing of Shia Muslims and forceful conversion of country’s minority Christians.

Geelani termed their actions “un-Islamic” and said the extremist outfit had no right to call themselves Muslims if they did not protect the interests of minorities.

The octogenarian was responding to the questions on appearance of the ISIS flags in the Valley and reports of some Kashmiri youth having joined the Islamist group in Syria at his Hyderpora residence here.

“We have to be very careful about this. I urge that we should adopt a wait and watch method,” Geelani said.

“I was about to send a message to the ISIS that unless and until you don’t protect minorities under your influence, you don’t have any right to call yourself as Muslims and claim to run an Islamic state,” Geelani said while advocating the protection of lives and properties of minorities in every Muslim nation, including Pakistan.

“Every Muslim nation should protect minorities. Even, Pakistan, which is our neighbour and benefactor, should protect its minority Hindus, Christians, Sikhs and even Ahamdiya sect people, who have been declared as non-Muslims. Every minority (group) has a right to live,” Geelani said while disapproving of the actions and the extreme ideology adopted by the ISIS, which claims to carve out an Islamic Caliphate out of Syria and Iraq. “A nation which does not protect its minorities has no right to call itself a Muslim republic,” he said and condemned the persecution of religious minorities in Iraq by the ISIS extremists.

He was, however, critical of the US air strikes against ISIS targets in Iraq.

Geelani, meanwhile, said for the creation of an Islamic state, the first and foremost duty of the state was to protect the minorities under its influence, whether they are Christians or even Jews, which are “committing atrocities on Palestinian Muslims”.

Jammu, August 9
Chief Minister Omar Abdullah reviewed the pace of progress in mega projects under execution in Jammu at a high-level meeting he chaired here today.

The Chief Minister received brief on the progress of upgrading of the Jammu airport, development of artificial lake, cable car project, development of the Sidhra Golf Course, Mubarak Mandi heritage complex, Suchetgarh border tourism project, 200-bedded maternity hospital, four-laning of the Satwari-Kunjwani highway, legislative complex, sewerage project, multi-level parking at the bus stand, Industrial Estate at Ghati Kathua, Vikram Chowk flyover, mega water supply project for greater Jammu, Raghunath Bazaar beautification project, comprehensive sewerage project and other schemes under implementation at present.

Various ministers, administrative secretaries, heads of the departments and other senior officials were present in the meeting.

The meeting was informed that mega water supply project in Jammu is being posed to the Japan Bank of International Commerce for funding. The Chief Minister directed officials for speeding up the work in this regard. He also directed officials for early completion of the Rugnath Bazaar beautification project.

It was stated that Rs 24-crore Convention Centre in Jammu is likely to be completed by September-October this year. The 13 holes of the Sidhra Golf Course have already been completed while the work is going on the Rs 95.90-crore Vikram Chowk flyover.

Jammu, August 9
The BSF and the Pakistan Rangers have agreed to uphold peace and tranquility along the international border and cooperate with each other in dealing with emergent incidents in a “proactive” and “positive” manner.

Following the repatriation of BSF constable Satyasheel Yadav at the octroi post in the Suchetgarh area, the BSF and the Rangers reiterated their commitment to “uphold peace and tranquility on the border” during a flag meeting on the other side of the fence yesterday, said DIG, BSF Jammu Frontier, Dharmendra Pareek.

“Both the sides agreed upon extending all cooperation to each other in dealing with emergent incidents like this (repatriation of constable Yadav) in a proactive and positive manner,” the officer said.

Yadav was, on August 6, swept away by the Chenab river to Pakistani territory.

Of later there has been a flare up on the border with the Pakistani troops firing at the Indian posts in the Arnia area of the RS Pura sector on July 16 leaving constable Sanjay Dhar dead and seven other BSF personnel injured.

The incident escalated the tension and both sides resorted mortars and automatics weapons fire.

Jammu, August 9
Barely six hours after handing over of a captured BSF jawan at the Octroi post at 4.20 pm yesterday, Pakistani troops targeted Indian forward posts with small arms and automatic weapons in the Balakote sector along the Line of Control (LoC) in Poonch district last night.

“Around 9.10 pm last night Indian troops of 15 Bihar Regiment observed some suspicious movement of half a dozen armed terrorists in Panjini Nullah. They immediately challenged them and a gunfight ensued,” said an Intelligence source.

While the gunfight was on between the troops and the ultras, Pakistani troops of 651 Mujahid Regiment opened small and automatic weapons’ fire from their Topa Gagrian post on the MST post, he added.

Jammu-based Defence spokesperson, Lt Col Manish Mehta said, “Pakistani troops opened unprovoked firing using small arms and automatic weapons at our forward posts last night.”

“The Army responded with equal calibre weapons to Pakistan’s firing.”

“There was no loss of life or damage to the property in the firing on the Indian side,” he said.

Srinagar, August 9
Lt Gen Subrata Saha, GOC of the Srinagar-based 15 Corps, called on Governor NN Vohra at the Raj Bhawan here today.

Lt General Saha briefed the Governor about the recent attempts of infiltration from across the Line of Control and the overall security situation.

He also gave the Governor, who is also the chairman of the Shri Amarnthji Shrine Board, inputs about certain aspects of the ongoing Amarnath yatra.

Jammu, August 9
Even as the national council of the ruling BJP today ratified Amit Shah as president of the party, former Union minister and Leader of the Opposition in the Rajya Sabha Ghulam Nabi Azad is of the opinion that Shah has no right to ask the question about rampant corruption in the sensitive border state of Jammu and Kashmir.

“This man, who is himself on bail in his own state on serious charges like murder, has no right to ask such things,” Azad reacted when his attention was drawn towards today’s maiden address of Amit Shah as the BJP’s national president in which he (Shah) has stated that corruption has crossed all limits in J&K.

Although Azad later sought to clarify his statement by saying that “Amit Shah is not still on bail, but he was on the bail,” he minced no words in attacking the BJP president for raking up corruption issue in J&K.

Referring to Shah, who was earlier directed by a court not to enter his own state, Azad said, “Corruption is a big issue, but it is not as big as the charge of murder for which a person has to run away from one place to another.”

The National Conference, meanwhile, described the BJP national president’s remarks about Jammu and Kashmir as “distortion of history for political convenience” and said it was “an attempt to boost the sagging morale of the BJP’s state cadre realising that they are on a weak wicket in the state”.

“The NC is a movement and an embodiment of sacrifices for upholding the unity, integrity and the pluralistic culture of the state,” Devender Singh Rana, provincial president of the NC, Jammu, said in a statement while reacting to the remarks of the BJP chief.

Amit Shah, while talking about Jammu and Kashmir in New Delhi said the government in the “very sensitive state” had crossed “all limits of corruption” and people want a change. In an apparent reference to the Nehru-Gandhi family and Abdullah family, Shah also said, “The two families have ensured that money does not reach the poor. We have to highlight this.”

Rana said, “Sher-e-Kashmir Sheikh Mohammad Abdullah was father of democracy in J&K, who struggled to empower the people of the state and strived to uphold their honour and dignity while maintaining rich tradition of secularism and co-existence.”

As and when the state went through turmoil, it was the NC and its cadre which took upon themselves the onerous task of putting it on smooth sails, the NC provincial president said.

Srinagar, August 9
A Sessions Court in Kupwara has dismissed a revision petition by the Army in the 1991 Kunan Poshpora “mass rape and torture” case. The Army in its criminal revision petition filed against the June 2013 orders of a Kupwara magisterial court has challenged the reopening of the case and identification parade of the alleged perpetrators as directed by the court.

Over 30 women were allegedly raped by Armymen in the remote Kunan Poshpora village of Kupwara on February 23, 1991. The charges have not been proved as no trial has been held.

Acting on a protest petition by the victims and survivors of the incident, a magisterial court in north Kashmir’s Kupwara district had on June 18, 2013 reopened the Kunan Poshpora “mass rape” case after 22 years. While sending the case “back” to the police for “further” investigation, the court had directed that the probe be completed in three months.

“The Sessions Court today dismissed the revision petition of the Army in our favour,” said Khurram Parvez, human rights activist and coordinator of the Jammu and Kashmir Coalition of Civil Societies, which supports the survivors and victims of the 1991 incident.

In its revision petition, the Army had challenged the identification parade of its personnel accused in the 1991 Kunan Poshpora “mass rape” case, as was directed by the judicial magistrate, Kupwara, in his decision announced on June 18, 2013.

Srinagar, August 9
Governor NN Vohra and Chief Minister Omar Abdullah have extended greetings to people on Raksha Bandhan.

In his message, Vohra said he hoped that this occasion would usher in a new era of peace, amity, harmony, progress and prosperity in the state.

He said Raksha Bandhan was a unique feature of India’s cultural ethos. He said the festival had special significance for Jammu and Kashmir as the annual Amarnath yatra concluded on this day and devotees paid obeisance at the cave shrine on Shravan Purnima.

The Chief Minister, in his message, wished people happiness and well-being and prayed for peace and development in the state.