Srinagar, November 3
Chief of Army Staff General J.J. Singh presented President’s Colours to 17th Battalion of Jammu and Kashmir Light Infantry regiment at a ceremonial parade at JAK LI Regimental Centre, Rangreth here today. The Army chief handed over the Colours (Nishaan) on behalf of the President of India to 17 JAK LI. The presenting of Colours to the battalion is in recognition of distinguished service and sacrifices made by gallant soldiers of the battalion since its raising on 01 Mar 2003.

The day began with the laying of wreath at the regimental war memorial by the Army chief, GOC-in-C Northern Command, Lieut Gen Kapoor, Lieut Gen A.S. Sekhon, GOC 15 Corps and others. At the sound of the Last Post a tribute was paid by observing two-minute silence.

Gracefully decorated Bana Singh Parade ground was the cynosure of the day where the parade in the regimental regalia was lined up to honour the Army chief. Brigadier Shakti Prashad, Commandant welcomed guests and spectators. Amidst thousands of spectators, Padma Bhushan Lieut Gen (retd) Dr M.L. Chibber, Lieut Gen (retd) R.K. Anand, Lieut Gen Deepak Kapoor, GOC-in-C Northern Command, Lieut Gen A.S. Sekhon, GOC 15 Corps and Sub Maj & Hony Capt (retd) Bana Singh, Paramvir Chakra winner were present. The Army chief along with Colonel of the Regiment, Colonel Dinesh Srivastava, parade commander inspected the parade in a bedecked jeep. After inspection, the parade was formed into a hollow square. Drummers of the band, piled up their drums in the middle of the ground upon which the President’s ‘Colours’ was placed. As per the age-old tradition, religious teachers of Hindus, Muslims, Sikhs, Christians and Buddhists worshiped the ‘Nishaan’ and invoked blessings of the Almighty.

The Army chief handed over the new ‘Colours’ to Major Vineet Tomar who received it on behalf of all ranks of 17th battalion J&K Light Infantry Regiment. The ‘Nishaan’ then was taken by the ‘Nishaan Toli’ and joined the parade led by the parade commander. The entire parade along with new ‘Colours’ held a marchpast which was lauded by spectators. After the parade the Army chief addressed the parade and lauded their drill, coordination and smart uniforms.

The Army chief also released the first Day Cover amidst claps. After the dispersal of the parade, the Army chief interacted with brave soldiers and families of troops.

Jammu, November 3
The executive committee of the All-Party Hurriyat Conference (APHC) will meet discuss in Srinagar next week to discuss proposed visit of party leaders to Pakistan.

The matter is to be discussed at the meeting of the general council of the conglomerate also. Members of the two bodies will be briefed by the chairman, Maulvi Umar Farooq, about his proposed visit to Egypt where he has been invited to attend the Pugwash conference.

Senior APHC leader, Maulvi Abbas Ansari, said “we intend to visit Pakistan on the invitation of President, Gen. Pervez Musharraf.” He said Gen Musharraf had invited the APHC leaders when Maulvi Umar was in Islamabad a few months ago.

Maulvi Ansari said that “we have already conveyed to Delhi that we wished to discuss the Kashmir issue and allied matters with the Government of India before to leaving for Islamabad.” He said “if our meeting with Prime Minister, Manmohan Singh, preceded the meeting with Gen. Musharraf it could prove helpful for us during our talks with the establishment in Pakistan.”

He said the meeting of the executive committee and general council had been convened to seek the opinion of the members regarding the proposed visit to Pakistan. He made it clear it was upto the members of the executive committee and the general council to decide whether “we should visit Pakistan or not.”

Mr Ansari, expressed anguish over the way the authorities concerned continued to delay renewal of his passport. He said besides visiting Pakistan for meeting Gen. Musharraf he was keen on meeting his ailing relations in occupied Kashmir. He and Prof. Abdul Gani Bhat had applied for the renewal of their passports but so far Prof. Bhat has been issued the passport.

Confirming it Prof. Bhat said possibly “I had applied for the renewal of my passport earlier than Maulvi Ansari.” To a question he said among seven members of the executive committee three members, Maulvi Ansari, Aga Hassan Budgami and Mr Javed Ahmed Mir, are yet to receive passports. Against Maulvi Umar Farooq, Prof Abdul Gani Bhat, Fazl Haq Qureshi and Bilal Gani Lone are passport holders.

Jammu, November 3
The BJP and the Refugees United Front have given a call for Jammu bandh on November 6 when the Secretariat reopens in this winter capital of Jammu and Kashmir after its closure in Srinagar.

The vice-president of the BJP, Prof Hari Om, said the bandh call was to protest against discrimination of the non-Muslim minorities by the state government and politics of separatism being played by the Congress and certain other regional parties here.

He said the people of Jammu were in favour of complete integration of J&K with rest of the country. The Congress, the PDP, the Panthers Party and the National Conference were hand in glove with separatists, he alleged.

The BJP leader said the Jammu region was discriminated against not only in development but also in the allocation of funds and due representation in the Assembly.

On the other hand, the Refugees United Front leader, Mr Rajiv Chunni, organised a procession here today to mobilise public opinion in support of the bandh for immediate settlement of the grievances of the refugees.