Eight killed in valley

SRINAGAR, May 4 (UNI) — Four militants and an equal number of civilians were killed while the security forces captured four militants in the Kashmir valley during the past 24 hours.

An official spokesman said with the death of one more Pakistani infiltrator in the Nowgam sector, the toll in yesterday’s encounter had risen to nine, including two Army men.

He said troops recovered one AK rifle, two magazines, 30 cartridges one grenade, Rs 11,337 in Pakistani and Afghan currency and Rs 5,000 in Indian currency from the slain militant.

He said the body of Haji Sayee Badana, who was kidnapped by militants, was recovered from Chitragul on the outskirts of Srinagar city last evening.

He said Mohammad Hafiz and a minor, Raunaq Hussain, were killed when they were fired upon by a militant in their Konthal house last evening.

The spokesman said the security forces killed three militants at Digan Top during an encounter last evening. Some arms and ammunition were also recovered from the site of the encounter.

He said a body was also recovered from Vassu village in Anantnag last evening while the police recovered 3 kg of charas from a car at Sangam on the Srinagar-Jammu highway.

He said militants kidnapped Mohammad Akbar Wani from his Lolab house while the security forces captured four militants in Srinagar last evening.

Jammu (PTI): A militant involved in the killing of members of a minority community and policemen was killed in militancy-related incidents in the Jammu region since Monday evening, official sources said here.

The sources said the area commander of the Lashker-e-Toiba outfit for the Gool area of Udhampur district, Mohammad Saleem Bhat, along with two accomplices, was shot dead by the security forces in the Gool area on Sunday last.

Bhat was involved in a series of killings, including those of three Kashmiri Pandit lecturers and two policemen, in the Gool and Sangaldan areas of the district over the past two years.

The militant also used to send threatening letters to politicians and officials in the district.

In another incident, militants swooped on Telana village of Rajouri district Monday and beat up men and molested women. After that, they torched six houses, burning alive three persons, including a father and his son.

Will Omar be baptised in state politics?
From M.L. Kak
Tribune News Service

JAMMU, May 4 — Will Mr Omar Farooq, son of Chief Minister Farooq Abdullah, be baptised in state politics after he completed one year in the Lok Sabha as a member from the Srinagar constituency?

This question has assumed significance following reports that supporters of Dr Abdullah favour that Mr Omar Farooq be given a berth in the Council of Ministers headed by his father and Mr Mohd Shafi Bhat be fielded as the party candidate from the Srinagar Lok Sabha constituency. Mr Bhat had won the 1989 Lok Sabha poll from Srinagar without a contest after separatists had given a call for a boycott of the elections.

By fielding Mr Bhat the National Conference leadership wants to kill two birds with one stone. It wants to ease out Mr Bhat from state politics since he is one of the most known dissidents in the ruling party. He lost interest in the state legislature after he failed to be inducted into the Council of Ministers. In fact, in 1998 he had mounted pressure on the party leadership to field him as the party candidate from the Srinagar constituency. His request was turned down because the Chief Minister wanted his son to join politics by entering the Lok Sabha as an elected member from Srinagar.

Second, the ensuing Lok Sabha elections may not be an easy affair for the National Conference because of the marked erosion the organisation has suffered during the past two years. As such, it does not want to risk the future of Mr Omar Farooq, when more than four MLAs in the Srinagar-Budgam belt of the Lok Sabha constituency are categorised as dissidents. Hence, the National Conference leadership wants to play safe because the defeat of Mr Omar Farooq could be construed as the defeat of Dr Farooq Abdullah. And by launching Mr Omar Farooq in state politics the National Conference would be able to resolve the succession issue because the Chief Minister has, on several occasions, hinted that he would retire from politics and settle. In London where his wife and daughters are residing.

Although the National Conference plans to contest from all six Lok Sabha constituencies in the state, it has started facing the problem of finding suitable candidates. After Prof Saifuddin Soz was expelled from the party, the National Conference is planning to field either a Cabinet Minister or the Rajya Sabha member, Mr Sharifuddin Shariq. Initially, it had in mind Ch Mohd Ramzan, Forest Minister, but reports said that Mr Ramzan had pleaded with the party general secretary, Sheikh Nazir Ahmed, that the party should field someone else. Party leaders are of the opinion that Mr Ramzan could be a winning horse as he had been instrumental in the victory of Professor Soz in the 1998 poll.

Reports said that Mr Muzaffar Hussain Beg, who has contested the Lok Sabha poll unsuccessfully from Baramulla thrice, has sent feelers to the National Conference that he would contest the poll if he was fielded as a party candidate.

Reports said that the National Conference leadership is not as much keen to win all six seats as it is in seeing Professor Soz, who is likely to contest as an Independent from Baramulla, and Mufti Mohd Sayeed, who is likely to be the Congress candidate from the Anantnag constituency, get defeated in the poll.

From the Congress side, a former PCC chief, Mr Ghulam Rasool Kar, who had won the Baramulla Lok Sabha seat in the 1996 elections owing to the boycott of the poll by the National Conference, is keen to get the party ticket from Baramulla. Party sources said Mufti Sayeed has conveyed to AICC leaders that Congress support to Professor Soz could be in the interest of the party than in fielding a candidate who had no chance of victory from Baramulla. It is in this context that the Mufti advised Professor Soz on the phone to meet Mrs Sonia Gandhi and seek her support.

Professor Soz is reaching Srinagar next week to revive his links with the electorate in Baramulla after he had sought some assurances from Mrs Sonia Gandhi. With the support of the Congress and secret help from several political groups, including the All-Party Hurriyat Conference, Professor Soz could be a formidable candidate.

As far as the Congress in the Jammu region is concerned, several youth leaders have already conveyed to the AICC leadership that it should not field the "old horses" who had not been able to win in the 1998 poll.

One thing peculiar in Jammu and Kashmir is that except for Mufti Sayeed no prospective candidate has started what may be called a "pre-election campaign".

Judge discharged from hospital

JAMMU, May 4 (PTI) — Sessions Judge S.L. Pandita, who was stabbed while strolling near his house in Anand Nagar here, was discharged from hospital today.

One of the accused, ,Sonu Kumar of Bari Brahmna area, was apprehended soon after the incident while search was on to nab his two accomplices.

The Jammu Bar Association has condemned the incident. Work in several courts in Jammu city and other parts of the region was affected yesterday due to a strike by lawyers and employees of the courts in protest against the assault.