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Tuesday,
December 4, 2001,
Chandigarh, India  
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Transit camp attacked Geelani not singing Hurriyat tune
Adhere to POTO safeguards: Farooq |
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| Sikhs decry move to demolish ‘samadh’ Jammu, December 3 Various Sikh organisations have berated the District Gurdwara Parbandhak Committee for its decision to demolish the ‘samadh’ of Maharani Chand Kaur and that too at a time when the country was celebrating the 200th year of Maharaja Ranjit Singh's coronation. 
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Transit camp attacked Srinagar, December 3 In other militancy-related incidents across Jammu and Kashmir, eight militants, including a self-styled district commander, were among 10 persons killed while the security forces raided some hideouts during the past 24 hours. Official sources said the militants fired three rifle grenades towards the transit camp near the general bus stand in Batmaloo at 3.30 p.m. today. However, the grenade missed the intended target and exploded in the nearby nullah without causing any damage. A spokesman for the Tehreek-ul-Mujahideen, claiming responsibility for the attack, said they fired six grenades which exploded inside the camp, causing injuries to several security personnel. An official spokesman said during the intervening night, two gunmen entered the house of Hasmatullah Khan at Walatengo Kund Qazigund. However, the inmates resisted and killed one of them while another managed to escape. The house owner also received bullet injuries, he added. Later the security forces who rushed to the area recovered an AK rifle, two grenades and a wireless set from the house. The militants attacked the house of the ruling National Conference MLC Khawaja Abdul Aziz at Gardu in Doda district. However, the guards posted there returned the fire. The militants escaped. No one was wounded. The sources said gunmen shot Shabir Ahmad Pir at Zoonimar in the downtown city this afternoon. Troops killed a Hizb-ul Mujahideen militant Manzoor Ahmad Bangi at Wahibugh in the central Kashmir district of Badgam last evening. A Defence Ministry spokesman said the troops guarding the northern sector noticed a group of heavily-armed militants infiltrating into the Indian side at Gugaldor last evening under cover of darkness. Later, the body of a militant, five rockets and two grenades were recovered near the site of the encounter. The troops gunned down a militant during a search operation at Wahibugh last evening. An AK rifle, a pistol and three magazines were recovered from the slain militant. The troops unearthed a hideout and recovered two AK rifles, two magazines, a universal machine gun and an UBGL at Pharkian Gali in the Machil sector. The security forces averted a major tragedy when they defused a powerful improvised explosive device on the Wadwan-Badgam road. The security forces killed two militants, including a self-styled district commander Abu Mavia, in an encounter at Debshelhar in Ganderbal during a search operation last night. The security forces gunned down two militants each at Hari Safeda and Bani during overnight operations. Some arms and ammunition were also recovered from them. Troops unearthed two hideouts and recovered a large cache of arms and ammunition. JAMMU: A BSF jawan was injured in firing from across the international border in the Akhnoor area of Jammu district, according to official sources here on Monday. They said Pakistan Rangers resorted to firing on various border outposts in the R.S. Pura, Akhnoor and Samba areas of the district last night. The injured jawan, Ajeet Singh, has been hospitalised.
UNI, PTI |
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Geelani not singing Hurriyat tune Jammu, December 3 On many occasions in the recent weeks, Mr Geelani has taken a stand which is not in tune with the policy of the Hurriyat Conference. Some of the Hurriyat leaders have blamed him for voicing views which are in contrast with the stand of the Hurriyat. When Pakistan President Pervez Musharraf supported the US plan to strike Afghanistan, Mr Geelani opposed it while the executive committee of the Hurriyat Conference, of which Mr Geelani is also a member, supported it. The committee supported General Musharraf on the plea that his policy was in the interest of Pakistan and its people. However, Mr Geelani amended his statement, saying that he too endorsed General Musharraf’s stand. In the recent days he has been heard showering praises on the fighting skills of the Taliban and has berated the US action in Afghanistan as a form of terrorism. When the state government decided to implement POTO the Hurriyat Conference did not react. It was the Kashmir Bar Association that gave a call for Kashmir bandh and the call was supported by Mr Geelani. A senior Hurriyat leader said: “There are no serious differences among the leaders in the 23-party conglomerate. Mr Geelani has his own views and we do not raise any objections. He usually fails to maintain restrain when he addresses a large group of people.” Another leader admitted that Mr Geelani was trying to emerge as a frontline leader of the separatists. He said it was because of the consistent efforts of the party chairman, Prof Abdul Gani Bhat, that Mr Geelani had not been thrown out of the Hurriyat Conference. He said: “Prof Bhat is trying to keep the flock together.” Mr Geelani, is seems, has fallen out with the moderates in the Jamait-e-Islami. The Jamait chief, Mr G.M. Bhat, is regarded as a moderate and recently refuted the government claim that the Hizbul Mujahideen was the military wing of the Jamait-e-Islami. He said: “We are not a political wing of any militant outfit.” Mr Geelani is close to the top leadership of the Hizbul Mujahideen. Reports said as a result of cordial relations with several top militants, Mr Geelani had been drawing bigger crowds to his rallies than other Hurriyat leaders, with the exception of Molvi Umar Farooq who has pockets of influence in Srinagar. If left to Mr Abdul Gani Lone and Mohammad Yasin Malik, JKLF chief, Mr Geelani would have been replaced by some other Jamait leader. Another Hurriyat leader said Mr Geelani remained conspicuous by his absence at executive committee meetings. However, Prof Bhat evaded a direct reply when asked to comment on Mr Geelani’s absence from the meetings. “Since Mr Geelani has been unwell, the Jamait deputes another leader to represent it at the meeting,” Prof Bhat said. A couple of Hurriyat leaders, who were peeved at a statement of Mr Geelani in which he had criticised some leaders for paying frequent visits to Delhi, said: “Syed Ali Shah wants to emerge as the sole voice of Kashmiris, whether it be in Islamabad or in Delhi.” The APHC needs Mr Geelani and Geelani cannot survive for long out of the Hurriyat Conference and hence it is a union of convenience instead of conviction. |
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Adhere to POTO safeguards: Farooq Jammu, December 3 Speaking at the District Development Board meeting here today, the Chief Minister said terrorism needed to be curbed and crushed with the iron hand but any violation of the human rights could prove counter-productive. He said the security forces should adhere to the safeguards in POTO. Dr Abdullah allayed apprehensions about POTO and said that it was required to provide a legal arm to the security personnel as the terrorism had assumed new dimensions in the wake of changing scenario in Afghanistan, Nepal and Bangladesh. He said the security forces should ensure that during anti-militancy operations innocent civilians were not harassed. He assured the board members that the security forces had been directed to exercise restraint while fighting against militancy. Dr Abdullah also called upon the government agencies to execute various development projects for the benefit of the people. He announced the opening of three degree colleges in Akhnoor, Samba and R.S. Pora. He accepted the members’ suggestion for the upgradation of various schools and renovation of several educational institutions under which the government had earmarked Rs 2.18 crore for Jammu district. He also announced the opening of a 500-bed women and children hospital here. |
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Sikhs decry move to demolish ‘samadh’ Jammu, December 3 The latest to join the anti-demolition campaign is the Sikh Naujawan Sabha, which had urged the Prime Minister, Atal Behari Vajpayee, and the Chief Minister, Dr Farooq Abdhullah, to intervene and stop the DGPC from committing what it called a “sacrilege”. In a statement issued here today, the general secretary of the sabha Mr Manjeet Singh blamed the Sport Minister, Mr Harbans Singh, for having played with the sentiments of the Sikhs by favouring the demolition of the ‘samadh’. He also criticised Jathedar Kewal Singh of Dambama Sahib for having supported the demolition plan. Mr Manjeet Singh said the sabha would take up the matter with the acting chief of the Akal Takht so that corrective measures were initiated and the community was not forced to embark on agitation. The general secretary also questioned the religious authorities of Giani Kewal Singh in announcing his support for the demolition of the ‘samadh’. |
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