Fidayeens attack IRP, ITBP barracks in Banihal
3 cops, civilian killed; SI, ASI among 5 injured
*All 3 ultras escape without any resistance

Excelsior Correspondent

UDHAMPUR, Nov 25: Three security personnel and a civilian were killed and five others including a Sub Inspector and an ASI were seriously injured in a fidayeen (suicide squad) attack on two barracks of IRP and ITBP near Jawahar tunnel under Banihal police station jurisdiction early today.

Three fidayeens, who carried out the attack at 0530 hours today, escaped without facing any resistance. Not even a single retaliatory shot was fired by security personnel as all those sleeping in the barrack were taken aback by the surprise attack and were either killed or injured, official sources said.

The sources, quoting one of the injured constable, said the fidayeens, wearing combat dresses, appeared outside a barrack of third battalion of Indian Reserve Police (IRP), located about 70 meters (right side) from the entrance of Jawahar tunnel on Jammu-Srinagar national highway at 0530 hours and lobbed a grenade. Simultaneously, the terrorists opened firing with an assault rifle killing two IRP constables and critically wounding another.

Immediately thereafter, the fidayeen turned towards a surrounding barrack of seventh battalion of Indo Tibet Border Police (ITBP). They knocked door of the barrack. As one of the jawans opened the door, the ultras barged inside and fired indiscriminately killing a constable-driver and one of his relatives and injuring four others including one Sub Inspector.

Neither IRP nor ITBP personnel got a chance to return the firing as all of them were sleeping when the fidayeens struck. The ultras straightway attacked the barracks of IRP and ITBP indicating that they had already conducted a recee of the area. Of three fidayeens, atleast one could be a local, the sources said.

All three fidayeens easily escaped from the spot and disappeared along a nullah. A patrol party of security forces rushed to the scene after hearing sound of gun shots and started shifting the victims to sub district hospital of Banihal, where four of them were declared ‘brought dead’ and five others were shifted to different hospitals for specialised treatment in view of their serious condition.

SP Ramban Karnail Singh, SDPO Banihal Rupinder Chalotra and DySP (Operations) Pritam Singh also reached the spot alongwith operational teams and launched a hunt for the fidayeens. However, no arrest had been made so far.

Deceased persons have been identified as Mohd Yusuf, a head constable and Mohd Iqbal, a Selection Grade Constable (SGC), both belonging to IRP’s third battalion, constable-driver Surjeet Singh of ITBP 7th battalion and his relative Ram Singh, a resident of New Delhi. Ram Singh was a driver and had taken shelter from his relative Surjeet Singh in the barrack of ITBP.

Injured included ASI Mohd Ramzan of IRP and Sub Inspector Arum Samal, Tejveer Singh, Narinder Singh and Surinder Singh, all constables in ITBP 7th battalion. Condition of the injured was also stated to be serious.

Meanwhile, a massive operation has been launched by security forces and police to track down the fidayeens, involved in the attack. Searches were being carried out by security personnel in all adjoining villages along Jawahar tunnel but a breakthrough remained elusive.

The fidayeen attack at Banihal came within a week after the terrorists killed 10 army soldiers and four civilians at Maitra bridge in Ramban on Jammu-Srinagar highway. In this attack also, three fidayeens of Lashkar-e-Toiba (LeT) outfit were involved and all of them had managed to escape.

Prior to Ramban incident, five suicide attacks had taken place on security forces in Banihal area in the past few months.

Fencing work on, apprehension of Taliban infiltration: Jagat

NEW DELHI, Nov 25: BSF Director General Gurbachan Jagat today said fencing of Indo-Pak border in Jammu was on despite attempts from across the frontier to disrupt it and admitted there were apprehensions that Taliban militia could be diverted to Jammu and Kashmir.

The fencing of the border had met with problems and BSF had to take over the work from the Central Public Works Department (CPWD), Jagat told reporters here today.

There was temporary suspension in the fencing work and fencing equipment was blown up twice, he said, adding however, that despite all odds, 15 kms of the border had been fenced.

"We hope to complete another 35 kms in the next financial year and by 2003, 190 kms of the border is expected to be fenced," he said.

To a question, Jagat admitted that there was "an apprehension that attempt could be made to divert these men (Taliban militia) to Jammu and Kashmir" following their ouster from Afghanistan.

"We are taking all preventive steps," he said, adding so far "no dramatic increase" in the number of foreigners coming in had been witnessed.

He said infiltration usually comes down during the winter months and exfiltration of foreign "contract" terrorists increases before mountain passes are covered with snow.

"This year, however, the outflow has not been much," Jagat added.

He said interest of Kashmiris in militancy was "dying down" and only foreigners, particularly Pakistanis and Afghans, were sustaining terrorism in Jammu and Kashmir.

Jagat said BSF had made significant achievements during this year, killing 85 terrorists on border and 210 in counter insurgency operations till November 15, while losing 97 of its personnel and another 276 being injured.

At least 242 terrorists were also apprehended in counter insurgency operations and two on the border, he said.

The BSF also effected seizure of about 32,600 kgs of explosives on western border, 435 arms and 52,066 ammunition till November 15 this year.

The force also apprehended 8978 trans-border criminals, smugglers and infiltrators on the eastern border with Bangladesh during the same period.

To a question on the situation on the Indo-Bangla border where clashes took place between BSF and Bangladesh Rifles (BDR) earlier this year, Jagat said there was no problem except for that solitary incident.

He, however, said the problem of ‘adverse positions’ persisted and the Governments of the two countries had formed two working groups to sort this out.

"The problem is expected to be sorted out by February next year," he said.

If there is any other problem, it is sorted out at the local level by the sector commanders of the two border guards, he said.

On reports of Hindus fleeing to India from Bangladesh after the new Government took office early last month, the BSF chief admitted there were attempts initially and things had settled down now. (PTI)

Hurriyat chief triggers controversy
Centre rules out talks with secessionists

From B L Kak

NEW DELHI, Nov 25: The Centre has no plans for immediate talks with Kashmiri militant leaders. In view of confusing and contradictory signals from Srinagar, the Government appears to have adopted a wait-and-watch policy.

A senior Ministerial source told EXCELSIOR that if one leader of Kashmir’s All Party Hurriyat Conference (APHC) wanted talks with the Centre, another leader of the conglomerate advocated a boycott of the Assembly elections in Kashmir. "And when one Hurriyat leader opposed militancy and terrorist violence, another chap from the conglomerate supported the continuance of the anti-India stir", he said.

"This kind of phenomenon", the Ministerial source regretted, "does not augur well for the talk of talks with various militant groups in J&K". He said that any encouraging development cannot be expected amid confusing and contradictory signals from Srinagar.

The Prime Minister, Mr Atal Behari Vajpayee, though anxious for an end to the stalemate on Kashmir, is said to have endorsed the Jammu and Kashmir Chief Minister, Dr Farooq Abdullah’s stand against immediate talks with Kashmiri militant leaders in general and secessionists in particular.

The Centre, though in touch with a few of the moderate leaders of the Hurriyat Conference through independent interlocutors, does not expect positive results in view of the ‘rigid’ posture adopted by the pro-Pakistan hard-liners.

Although reports about differences within the Hurriyat Conference are doing the rounds in Srinagar and New Delhi, the task of isolating the hard-liners has not become easier. The separatist leaders continued to question Kashmir’s accession to India and the representative character of the Farooq Abdullah Government.

The anti-secessionist lobby spearheaded by Dr Farooq Abdullah has, in fact, sent a message to Mr Vajpayee and the Minister for Home Affairs, Mr LK Advani, cautioning them against "blackmail tactics" of the Hurriyat leaders. The message has made a pointed reference to the Hurriyat hard-liners’ move to disrupt the poll process in Kashmir during 2002.

The term of the existing Legislative Assembly in J&K comes to an end by October 2002. And chances of elections being pre-poned by a few months appear bright. In fact, Dr Farooq has not ruled out the possibility of the Assembly polls being held ahead of the October 2002 deadline.

Meanwhile, the APHC chairman, Prof. Abdul Ghani Bhat, has antagonised the Government by his statement strongly justifying what he termed as the "freedom struggle" in Kashmir. "The people of Kashmir", Prof. Bhat reiterated in a media interview, "are engaged in a legitimate struggle for freedom". He insisted: "It is a people’s movement-not for the pleasure of Pakistan and not for the annoyance of India".

That the Hurriyat chairman continues to entertain pro-Pakistan sentiment has become evident with his observation: "Pakistan has pledged that the people of Jammu and Kashmir are the final arbiters of their fate. There is, therefore, no difference of opinion between the Pakistani approach and ours…..".

Prof. Abdul Ghani Bhat, while disagreeing with New Delhi’s description of the UN resolutions on Kashmir as irrelevant and redundant, has also reiterated: "We are pained that the Government of India has not honoured its promises and commitment. It reneged. Hence, the problem".

The Government of India has turned down the Hurriyat chairman’s demand for holding elections under UN auspices. The Ministerial source made it clear that in view of the "fact that Jammu and Kashmir State has already become part of the Union of India, elections, parliamentary as well as Assembly, have to be conducted by the Election Commission of India".

Benazir hails Indo-Pak talks, questions Gen's credentials

NEW DELHI, Nov 25: Former Pakistani Premier Benazir Bhutto, who is on a private visit here, today welcomed the proposed talks between Pakistan President Gen Pervez Musharraf and Prime Minister Atal Behari Vajpayee during the SAARC summit in January next year but said agreements reached with democratic leaders carried more credibility.

"It is always good when people meet. I am a firm believer in communication. My only concern is that Gen Musharraf is an unelected leader in Islamabad and it is important for the relationship between India and Pakistan that they be conducted at a level where people of Pakistan are carried along," Bhutto told reporters ahead of meetings with Vajpayee and other senior Indian leaders.

"My concern is about the people of Pakistan. I think that agreements reached with democratic leaders have far more credibility but I am glad they are meeting," she said.

Bhutto, who is here at the invitation of the Confederation of Indian Industry (CII), said she may discuss ways and means to resolve the Kashmir issue in her meeting with Indian leaders.

By visiting India, Bhutto said she wanted to set new precedents on maintaining people to people relations even when official ties between the two countries were at a low ebb. Former Pakistani Premier urged Islamabad to "respond in a substantive way" to the strong initiatives taken by India in Jammu and Kashmir, and suggested a broad-based relationship and creation of "safe and open borders" between the two countries.

Lauding New Delhi’s initiatives including the unilateral ceasefire, release of some Kashmiri leaders and Home Minister L K Advani’s invitation to the All Party Hurriyat Conference (APHC) for talks, she said "these are initiatives that give the people of India and Pakistan an opportunity to work towards substantive peace and I hope that the opportunity will be fully utilised by us."

Specifically referring to Prime Minister Atal Behari Vajpayee’s Kumarakom new year musings where he talked about "not treading the beaten path", Bhutto said in an interview to 'Line of Fire’ programme on Sab TV to be telecast tomorrow, "these are positive developments we in Islamabad ought to be responding in a substantive way. This is a remarkable opportunity for us to try and move in a different direction."

While maintaining that Kashmir issue is a major dispute between the two countries, Bhutto, who is on a three-day private visit to the country, said, "we are living in a totally new world. It is a new century, a new millennium. The world is moving in one direction and if India and Pakistan continue to squabble with each other, we can end up being marginalised. We owe too much to the people of South Asia to allow that to happen."

"Irrespective of our differing views on Jammu and Kashmir, let us build safe and open borders. Let India and Pakistan sit down and see how they can replicate to some extent what happened in Middle-East between Jordan and Israel, where they have safe and open borders despite the fact that there are militants who want to take advantage," Bhutto said.

She said it was a "do-able mission" depending on the will of the Governments in India and Pakistan. Strongly favouring a broad-based relationship between the two countries, the leader of the Pakistan People’s Party said, "if we can somehow have negotiations without prejudice to our views on Jammu and Kashmir, may be when we work together, the wounds (would) heel." Asserting that her party had opposed the participation of Lashkar-e-Tayyeba and other such groups in the "Kashmir uprising", Bhutto said "we strongly felt this was an element to hijack the Kashmiri movement from the Kashmiris and that we are doing a great disservice to the struggle of the Kashmiri people. We consider the APHC as the genuine representatives of the Kashmiri people."

Appreciating Vajpayee and Advani’s decision to meet her during her current visit, Bhutto said "in meeting with me, they made a gesture to the people of Pakistan. It shows they are reaching out to the people of Pakistan. They want their vision to be accepted, shared and debated with the people of Pakistan rather than just foist them." "The pursuit of strategic depth has brought civil war to Afghanistan. It also brought foreign troops to our soil. It brought the whole spectre of terrorism and different elements brought destability to this region. It is far more important to have a stable Afghanistan than an unstable Afghanistan pursued in the theory of strategic depth," Bhutto said.

"We need to learn lessons from history and ensure we avoid them in future," she said.

Asked about her support to the Taliban while in power, she said "we were talking about a different set of people. People who reached out to the Northern Alliance, who did not harbour terrorists and did not allow their soil to be used against third parties. After my ouster, Taliban was hijacked by Pan-Islamic theocratic order."

Bhutto said had she been the Prime Minister, she would have dealt with the current situation in Afghanistan differently, utilised it as an engine of change and brought political and economic dividends to the people of Pakistan. (PTI)

Bhutto meets PM, HM, Sonia

NEW DELHI, Nov 25: Deeply appreciative of India’s peace initiatives with Pakistan, former Prime Minister Benazir Bhutto today urged New Delhi to use its good offices with the United States and the world community to restore democracy in Pakistan.

She blamed Pakistan President Pervez Musharraf for not making the most of the intitiatives taken by Mr Vajpayee on securing peace between the two neighbours.

The Pakistan People’s Party chairperson, who lives in exile in London, had a full day, holding meetings with Prime Minister Atal Bihari Vajpayee, Home Minister L K Advani, leader of the opposition Sonia Gandhi and National Security Adviser Brajesh Mishra.

The former Pakistan Prime Minister, who is here at the invitation of the Confederation of Indian Industries (CII), discussed the current Indo-Pak ties, Kashmir, the situation in Afghanistan and developments in the South Asian region with the Indian leadership.

Ms Bhutto was received by senior protocol officers and CII officials on her arrival from Dubai. After meetings with Mr Mishra and Mr Advani, she met Mrs Gandhi at tea and then paid a courtesy call on the Prime Minister.

During her hour and a half meeting with Mr Advani, Ms Bhutto is understood to have conveyed the view that chances of improved relations between New Delhi and Islamabad had brightened with Mr Vajpayee as Prime Minister but Gen Musharraf had not used the opportunities offered by India.

It is learnt that Ms Bhutto was of the opinion that the Kashmir problem could be settled only through dialogue and there was no place for cross-border terrorism.

Mr Advani, during the meeting, said Gen Musharraf made it amply clear at the Agra summit that he was not keen on peace with India. By playing the Kashmir card, Gen Musharraf seemed only interested in protecting his domestic interests, Mr Advani said.

At her meeting with Ms Sonia Gandhi, Ms Bhutto agreed with her host that the Simla Agreement was the bedrock of Indo-Pak relations.

Ms Bhutto last came to 10, Janpath, Mrs Gandhi’s residence in May, 1991. Since the two families are well known to each other, this evening’s meeting began on a personal note, Congress sources said.

Later, Ms Bhutto and the Congress president discussed the situation in Afghanistan and Indo-Pak relations with special reference to the Simla Agreement.

Ms Bhutto inquired about the political situation in India and particularly the role of the Congress. Mrs Gandhi gave her a brief analysis on this score. (UNI)

Last Taliban citadel falls
Alliance troops enter Kunduz City amid mass surender

BANGI (AFGHANISTAN), Nov 25: Northern Alliance troops entered Kunduz today and the city’s Taliban and foreign defenders were surrendering - so far peacefully - by the thousands, alliance commanders said.

The alliance said it hoped the takeover of the city, which was under siege for 12 days, would be complete by nightfall. A surrender accord had taken days to hammer out.

The fall of Kunduz would mark the loss of the last Taliban citadel in the north of Afghanistan, leaving the Islamic militia with a stronghold only in the southern city of Kandahar. Over the past three weeks, the Taliban have lost three-quarters of their territory and the capital, Kabul.

The first thrust into the city was from the western front. To its east, wind whipped up huge billows of dust as a long column of troops and tanks waited to move in - first allowing a long column of surrendering Taliban to pass by.

"I feel very happy," said an excited 16-year-old Northern Alliance fighter, Maraj Adin, as the column prepared to depart. He was from Kunduz and hadn’t been home in four years.

First word of the alliance presence in Kunduz came from alliance spokesman Ashraf Nadeem, interviewed by satellite telephone from the northern city of Mazar-e-Sharif. He identified the commander who entered the city at midday from the west as Mir Alam, a top lieutenant of Gen Atta Mohammed. Mohammed, reached later by satellite telephone some 30 km northeast of Kunduz at Arganak, confirmed that Alam’s troops had moved into the city from its western edge when they met no resistance.

"Some of our brothers have moved in, but slowly, slowly. We want to do these things peacefully," he said. "Let them surrender, hand over their arms. We don’t want fighting."

He said troops surrendering had mounted into the thousands by mid-afternoon.

Another top commander, Rashid Dostum, was also at Arganak, the staging point for the surrender and the site where the surrender accord was sealed, Mohammed said, and the former Taliban Defence Minister, Mullah Faizil, was overseeing surrender operations inside the city.

Kunduz was defended by Taliban and foreign fighters, some loyal to Osama bin Laden, and it had been feared that the bin Laden loyalists might prefer death to surrender. Refugees and witnesses said earlier in the siege that the foreigners killed Taliban troops who tried to give up.

The defenders were turning themselves in without a fight, alliance spokesman Zaher Wasik said. The top Taliban commander, Noorallah Noori, was in Northern Alliance hands, he said.

"A lot of Taliban are surrendering. Continuously they are coming to us. There is no fighting," he said, adding alliance soldiers were converging on Kunduz from all directions.

The Northern Alliance press office in Tajikistan said about 900 defenders had surrendered overnight. "God willining," it said in a statement.

A short time before alliance troops entered the city, alliance commander Gen Daoud Khan had told reporters that if the defenders didn’t surrender today, Kunduz would be taken by force.

Asked what would happen if the defenders didn’t capitulate, he replied: "fighting."

Nadeem said from Mazar-e-Sharif that foreigners were among those who fled the city overnight, some of them accompanied by Taliban troops.

The head of the Northern Alliance, former president Burhanuddin Rabbani, said there would be no slaughter of surrendering Taliban or foreign troops.

Afghan fighters for the Taliban who surrendered would be set free after "initial investigation," he said, and foreign fighters would not be punished.

"We will discuss their fate as far as international law is concerned... They should have no concern for their safety," he said.

A day earlier, more than 1,100 fighters from the Taliban side had turned themselves in by nightfall. The Afghans among them were welcomed like brothers by Northern Alliance troops, with kisses and embraces; the foreigners were taken off to a detention center.

When the siege of Kunduz began on November 12, alliance commanders estimated about 10,000 Taliban troops and 3,000 foreigners were defending the city.

Despite the mass surrenders, it was unclear whether the hardcore of foreign fighters loyal to bin Laden - most of them Arabs, Chechens or Pakistanis - would opt to fight to the finish. (AP)

Pak seals Taliban office in Karachi

KARACHI, Nov 25: Police sealed an office of the Afghan Taliban in the port city of Karachi in an overnight raid and arrested 15 Afghans, police said today.

There were no details about the charges, but a police official said Pakistan’s intelligence service ordered the arrests.

During the recent series of anti-Government rallies, the Taliban office in the Soldier Bazar served as a main center for mobilising protests.

The office was frequently visited by hardline Pakistani Islamic clerics and their supporters who are opposed to President Gen. Pervez Musharraf’s support of the United States in its war against terrorism.

"We have sealed the office and deployed guards," said Police Inspector Hasan Haider. "All their documents and literature have also been seized."

The detainees were blindfolded and shoved into vehicles, witnesses said. Many of them, including a seven-year-old child, were barefoot, they said.

Earlier this month, Pakistan closed the Taliban Embassy and three consulates, including the one in Karachi, saying that after the collapse of the Taliban regime they were unnecessary.

The Taliban consulate in Karachi, which was the first one to be closed and Pakistani officials said it was used for instigating anti-Government activities. (AP)

Ban jehadi groups: Qayyum

NEW DELHI, Nov 25: Former Prime Minister of Pakistan occupied Kashmir Sardar Abdul Qayyum has said criminals in the guise of ‘Jehadis’ were committing acts of terrorism in Kashmir, and the Pakistan Government should ban these groups.

Speaking to lawyers in Lahore yesterday, he said the Pakistan Government must ban all Jehadi groups because they always "harmed the cause of Kashmir." These organisations were only interested in collecting funds, he said adding, "they have nothing to do with the freedom of Kashmir."

He revealed that after the departure of Soviets from Afghanistan, Afghan commanders came to him offering to fight in Kashmir. "But I told them to keep off Kashmir."

He justified the United States’ action against the Taliban. (UNI)

Code of conduct for MPs to ensure smooth proceedings

NEW DELHI, Nov 25: Alarmed by growing disruption of proceedings in Parliament and Legislative Assemblies by unruly behaviour of members, an all-India conference of top political leaders today unanimously adopted an unprecendented code of conduct breach of which would be punishable with censure and automatic supension of legislators for grave misconduct.

A resolution incorporating the 60-point code listing the "dos and donts" for MPs and legislators asked the members to refrain from storming the well of the House and barred them from raising slogans.

Concerned over shortening of sittings of Parliament and legislatures, the conference of presiding officers, Chiefs Ministers, leaders and whips of parties on ‘Discipline and Decorum’ sought immediate steps to ensure a minimum of 110 days of sittings of Parliament and 90 and 50 days sittings for big and small States through a Constitution amendment.

The day-long meeting convened by Lok Sabha Speaker G M C Balayogi at the Central Hall of Parliament decided that the prestige of Parliament and legislatures be preserved and enhanced by enforcing the code.

Necessary changes should be made in the rules of procedure to facilitate implementation of the code, the conference said.

Rajya Sabha Chairman Krishan Kant, Prime Minister Atal Bihari Vajpayee, leader of the opposition in the Lok Sabha Sonia Gandhi, several Chief Ministers and leaders of various political parties were party to the resolution and the code. "All violations or breaches of the code of conduct be duly punished by measures like admonition, reprimand, censure or withdrawal from the House for offences of a less serious nature and by automatic suspension from the service of the House for a specific period for grave misconduct as may be specified," said the resolution read out by Lok Sabya Deputy Speaker P M Sayeed.

It also resolved to make necessary changes in the rules to strengthen the committee system to provide increased participation of legislators in parliamentary process.

It wanted constitution of ethics committees in all legislatures to enforce the code.

The resolution called for urgent steps to make legislators file a statement regarding income, assets and liabilities immediately after their election and notify changes within a specified period.

The meeting stressed the need for maintenance of a register of members’ interests by all legislatures and laying down of parameters by all political parties with emphasis on proven standards in public life and for selection of candidates.

The resolution sought a more responsible and effective role by leader of the House, opposition and political groups in maintaining decorum by ensuring disciplined behaviour on the part of members.

The conference called for a more positive and a responsive attitude on the part of Government and treasury benches towards the opposition by being more accommodative and responding promptly to the matters raised by them.

It also counselled treasury and opposition benches to be more tolerant, accommodative and understanding towards each other.

The presiding officers and political leadership were told to ensure that new members were given proper training and orientation in Parliament procedure, dignity and decorum.

The resolution took serious note of the growing tendency to disturb the proceedings through disorderly conduct which, it felt, eroded the credibility of representative institution and led to public disillusionment with the very system of parliamentary democracy.

In drafting the resolution, the conference took note of the steps taken by a similar conference in 1992 and the unanimous resolution of Parliament adopted to mark the golden jubilee of Indian independence in 1997 when members committed themselves to maintain the inviolability of the question hour, refrain from rushing to the well of the House and shouting slogans.

It also commended the endeavours of the Rajya Sabha, the Lok Sabha and Andhra Pradesh and Orissa Assemblies to evolve a code of conduct and ethical norms for members inside and outside the House.

The conference voiced concern that all the concerted efforts had proved to be inadequate in curbing this increasingly disturbing trend and asked leaders to play a pro-active role in maintaining decorum.

It said time has come to seriously introspect and analyse the root causes of this malady and take effetive measures to stamp it out from the body politic. (PTI)

Throw out indisciplinedmembers: Farooq

NEW DELHI, Nov 25: Jammu and Kashmir Chief Minister Farooq Abdullah today asked political parties to "throw out" members who were indisciplined if Parliament and legislatures were to function smoothly.

Speaking at the All India Conference on "discipline and decorum in Parliament and legislatures of States and Union Territories", he said "any member of the party in Parliament or legislature who is indisciplined should be thrown out of the party".

"Have leaders taken action against members who have broken rules", he asked adding if decorum and discipline are to be maintained, this was very necessary.

Abdullah said if members understood their responsibilities and worked keeping in mind national interest, "there would be no need to evolve norms" for the smooth functioning of Parliament and legislatures.

Recalling the unruly scenes witnessed in the Uttar Pradesh Assembly when members came to blows within the precincts of the House, he said "it was a shocking incident and I wondered whether this is free India". (PTI)

Arun Jaitley defends POTO

NEW DELHI, Nov 25: Union Law Minister Arun Jaitley today defended the Prevention of Terrorist Ordinance (POTO) saying a stringent law is needed to enable the country to give a "chilling" message to those trying to "fiddle" with its integrity.

"The September 11 incident has awaken the world and to fight terrorism we need apparatus, global alliance and legal framework to isolate those country which is epicentre of terrorism," he said at a valedictory session of a national seminar on `Global terrorism’ on the eve of Law Day.

Jaitley said in a country where the security expenditure has gone up by 26 times, "will it be appropriate to reconcile by calling our democracy a soft state or for a thriving democracy we have to strengthen our edifice".

He said "to strengthen democratic edifice of the country we have to give chilling message to those who will fiddle with the nation".

Defending POTO, the minister said the country needed stringent law to handle terrorist activities as ordinary laws did not have enough provision to tackle the menace of insurgency especially when Indo-Nepal border has become porus with Maoist activities and Northeast States already witnessing disturbances and southern India is under the threat of LTTE.

Jaitley criticised a section of media for calling POTO a draconian legilation saying "they are not thinking about those security personnel who are fighting terrorism".

He said since the past 10 years we are fighting the low intensity war in the name of curbing terrorism which has cost us more than a high intensity war.

On human rights, he said we have to give legitimate power to the police to minimise the human rights violation. (PTI)

JKCHR blames Pakfor making Kashmirissue dreadful

NEW DELHI, Nov 25: A human rights group having special consultative status with UN’s economic and social council, has accused Islamabad of "hypocrisy" over the Kashmir issue and said it has carried the case "far away from a solvable position to a dreadful fate of unending misery".

The Jammu and Kashmir Council for Human Rights (JKCHR) has termed as "legitimate", questions raised by Prime Minister Atal Behari Vajpayee on the `condition’, `democracy’, `rights of the people’, `elections’ and transfer of `power’ in the areas occupied by Pakistan.

"...Indian concern in Azad Kashmir (Pakistan-occupied Kashmir) is more direct and immediate than the general concern under (UN) charter obligations," JKCHR secretary general Nazir Geelani said in a report.

Quoting the UN resolutions on Kashmir, often cited by Pakistan when referring to the issue, it said Islamabad’s "poise in relation to the resolutions raises many questions."

"(As per the resolution) Government of Pakistan has agreed to withdraw its troops from the State... Why is it that Pakistan decided not to allow the UN to take its course in the territory called Azad Kashmir (Pakistan-occupied Kashmir)," Geelani said in the report on 'the condition of the area occupied by Pakistan’.

"It (Pakistan) has carried the Kashmir case far away from a solvable position to a dreadful fate of unending misery," Geelani said.

He said Pakistan has to take "full blame in failing to secure a UN supervision in Azad Kashmir and in securing a representative neutral Government in Srinagar."

Talking about "double standards" of Pakistan, JKCHR said Islamabad had "lost moral, legal and common sense moorings" when it refers to rights, particularly the freedom of expression.

"A striking double standard is its support to Hurriyat Conference in Srinagar and its shadow representation in Pakistan," Geelani said.

"The hypocrisy on Kashmir policy travels up to northern areas (in Pakistan)," he said, adding Pakistan had shown "utter disregard of UN edict on these areas" through an agreement of 1949 with President of Azad Kashmir Mohammad Ibrahim and Jammu and Kashmir Muslim Conference president Ghulam Abbas. (PTI)

US singer dies in Swiss crash

ZURICH, Nov 25: US pop singer Melanie Thornton, on tour to publicise her solo album "Ready to Fly", died night in a Swiss plane crash near Zurich, police said today.

"It is true that Miss Thornton was on the passenger list. She is not among the survivors," Zurich police spokesman Karl Steiner told Reuters.

Nine people survived out of the 33 aboard the Crossair jet and police said 24 were presumed dead.

Melanie’s latest single "New Holiday Single Wonderful Dream" is the song of a new Coca-Cola commercial and was due to be in stores from Monday, November 26.

Thornton, born in May 1967 in South Carolina, was for many years the voice of La Bouche with whom she had world-wide sales successes with songs such as "Sweet Dreams", "Falling in Love" or "Be My Lover". But their second album flopped and Thornton left the group in February 2000 for an independent career.

Although born in the United States, her singing career started in Germany under the auspices of Franc Farian, who has launched many pop bands. She had arrived with just 15 in her pockets to join her sister in Germany in 1992.

With her singing partner Lane Mccray, she celebrated world-wide successes with La Bouche and they sold more than 10 million units and obtained gold and platinum awards in over 15 countries. (REUTERS)

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