Jammu, April 28
Prime Minister Dr Manmohan Singh, has left hardly any option for the APHC leadership for boycotting the second roundtable conference by conceding its demand that the separatist amalgam would consider attending the conference provided its leaders were invited to a separate meeting.And the Prime Minister has invited the APHC leaders to another round of parleys on May 3.

Hardly three days ago a senior APHC leader, Prof Abdul Gani Bhat stated that the Hurriyat might consider joining the roundtable conference provided the Hurriyat-Delhi talks were resumed prior to the second conference scheduled to be held in Srinagar on May 25. He had also stated that if the Prime Minister had some busy schedule a separate invitation could be sent ‘to us’ after the roundtable meet.

By agreeing to have a separate session with APHC leaders the Prime Minister has demonstrated his eagerness to encourage participation of separatists in the roundtable conference. Except for a couple of separatists, who hardly matter, all other separatist leaders had boycotted the first roundtable conference held in Delhi on February 25.

Informed sources said Chief Minister, Ghulam Nabi Azad, during his recent meeting with Dr Manmohan Singh, favoured the resumption of the dialogue with the APHC which could motivate them for joining the second roundtable conference. Mr Azad had stated that in the second roundtable conference no attempt would be made to outnumber the separatists. He said “every political party would be represented in the round-table conference by one from smaller parties and maximum of two from bigger political organisations.”

According to Prof Abdul Gani Bhat, “We welcome the Prime Minister’s initiative and the executive committee will meet shortly to decide our acceptance of the invitation.” He said after “our meeting with the Prime Minister ended the APHC executive committee will meet again to decide whether the conglomerate leaders were morally bound to attend the second roundtable conference or not.” However, the APHC chairman, Maulvi Umar Farooq, announced in Srinagar “We will accept the Prime Minister’s offer for talks with him in Delhi.”

Srinagar, April 28
The police has started investigations into the incident of firing that led to the death of a police Constable besides causing injuries to his colleague at Aragam, Bandipore, in Baramula district on Wednesday night.

The incident had led to demonstrations in the area yesterday with the locals blaming the Army for the firing. However, Army authorities claimed that militants had opened fire. Constable Nazir Ahmad was killed and Constable Mehrajuddin was injured as a result of the firing on Wednesday evening.

Police sources told The Tribune that some unidentified militants knocked at the window of the house of Ghulam Mohammad Bhat soon after dusk. Sensing trouble, the inmates did not open the window, but the gunmen threatened the inmates and broke open the window. In their attempt to resist the militants’ attempt, the inmates of the house along with their neighbours raised a hue and cry and reported the matter to the local police. Troops from the nearby camp also reached the spot to look into the matter. While the police and security forces were returning from the spot some shots were fired from the “opposite direction”, which led to the death of the Constable and injured another one, sources added. The residents, however, alleged that the troops went berserk and opened fire, and added that the houses were also ransacked by the angry troops. 

Srinagar, April 28
Militants killed a CPM activist and injured three others, including a sarpanch, while the security forces arrested a Jaish ultra along with 40 kg of explosives in Jammu and Kashmir overnight, official sources said.

They said militants shot at and critically wounded CPM activist Mohammad Afzal Bhat at Sandoor, Kulgam, in Anantnag district late last night. He was admitted to a hospital where he died this morning.

An official spokesman said militants shot at and critically wounded a sarpanch, Maha Wali Chouhan, at Bandipora bus stand this afternoon. Two more civilians were injured in the militant firing, he said, adding the injured were admitted to hospital.

The security forces arrested a Jaish-e-Mohammad militant along with arms and ammunition at Mahore in Udhampur district of the Jammu region last night.

People, mostly women, took to the street at Dalgate in protest against the arrest of a youth, Ajaz Ahmad, by the Special Operation Group (SOG) of the Jammu and Kashmir police last night.

The demonstrators, who also blocked traffic on the busy main road, were demanding immediate release of the youth.

Normalcy returned in the area after a senior police officer assured them that the youth would be released after proper verification. — UNI

Jammu, April 28
Chief minister Ghulam Nabi Azad today laid the foundation stone of a concrete bridge over the Chenab at Akhnoor.

The 280-metre cantilever bridge would be the first of its kind in the country. It will be constructed by 
the Border Roads 
Organisation.

This would provide a better communication with Akhnoor town and the border districts of Rajouri and Poonch. The existing Bailey bridge was narrow and had developed cracks during the recent earthquake.