‘Laxity, corruption not to be tolerated’
Mufti for people's participation to change situation

Excelsior Correspondent

SRINAGAR, Nov 12: Chief Minister Mufti Mohammad Sayeed today called for people’s participation at grassroots to bring about a positive change in the development scenario of the State. He stressed on accountability at all levels in the administration saying performance will be monitored.

"Along with honesty and integrity, I would like my officers to perform and show results as honesty alone cannot bring efficiency and improvement in the system", he said while addressing the joint meetings of the State Cabinet with the District Development Boards of Baramulla and Budgam district held here today under his chairmanship.

Mr Sayeed said the Government is confronted with enormous challenge that could not be surmounted by any single party or individual. The ruling coalition, opposition and the people have to work together to steer the State out of the present situation, he added. He said the Government would meet the challenge with determination and commitment. He described bureaucracy as an important implement of change and said honesty, integrity and punctuality were the watchwords of the Government. He said unlike other Governments he did not believe in witch hunting and vindictiveness against any officer and said the performance of individual officers would be monitored. He said the new Government has reposed faith in the bureaucracy and it was for the officers to come up to this faith. Laxity, corruption and inefficiency, he said, would not be countenanced.

Emphasising the importance of institutions, the Chief Minister said these need to be strengthened. He said in the absence of institutions the implementations of the people’s programmes suffer. He cited instance of absence of community institutions like panchayats in the past resulting in the legislators being made responsible for identifying and distribution of rural works. He said the practice was faulty and consequently the results were not good either. He said elections to the local bodies were of utmost importance for development process adding that these would be soon held in respect of municipalities and left over panchayats to ensure people’s participation in the development of the State.

Responding to the general complaint of damaged power transformers in the Valley, Mr. Sayeed announced that all damaged transformers would be repaired and where the damage is beyond repair the localities would be provided with new transformers. He asked the concerned department to float tenders on national level for purchase of transformers from reputed companies only. He suggested an inbuilt mechanism of auto-cut in the transformers so that consumers did not over draw power and damage these.

The Chief Minister stressed on transparency in all the affairs of governance and asked the administration to ensure that norms were adhered at all levels. He impressed upon the engineering and rural development officials in particular to allot works in a transparent manner after properly inviting tenders. He said there were cases when individual contractors submitted lower tenders but ultimately did not do the job. He asked for blacklisting such people. He called upon the Deputy Commissioners to formulate plans in advance for the drought relief and food for work programmes and said the legislators would monitor implementation of these programmes. He said the Prime Minister’s Sadak Yojna would be implemented in the State through the Public Works Department.

According priority to education sector, Mr Sayeed said that the universalization of elementary education was the aim of the new Government. He said efforts would be made to achieve this goal. He asked Deputy Commissioners to evolve some procedure for simplifying the process of obtaining certificates of state subject, backward class etc.

All Cabinet ministers, Minister of State for Works, Chief Secretary, Principal Secretary, Planning and Development, Principal Secretary to Chief Minister and Divisional Commissioner, Kashmir were present in the twin meetings.

Beig urges Centre to view J&K problems
in national perspective

Excelsior Correspondent

SRINAGAR, Nov 12: Minister for Finance, Planning and Law and Parliamentary Affiars, Muzaffar Hussain Beig has urged the Centre to look at the problems of Jammu and Kashmir in the national perspective, not merely as affairs of a State.

Addressing the joint meeting of the State Cabinet and the Budgam District Development Board here today, the Minister said the State and its people were bleeding and the union Government must complement the State Government in its efforts to provide a healing touch to the situation. He said he wanted all political parties to work together towards this end and added he had conveyed this to the former Chief Minister, Dr Farooq Abdullah and the senior leader of the Congress, Dr Manmohan Singh. He said the Chief Minister, Mufti Mohammad Sayeed met with the Prime Minister and the union Home Minister in New Delhi and discussed this issue with them. The Prime Minister, he said, assured him of all support, he said and hoped the support would be forthcoming.

Mr Beig said the government proposes to pass a unanimous resolution in the assembly asking the Centre to give the State retrospectively the benefit of 90% grant and 10 % loan funding on the pattern of northeastern states and compensating the losses suffered by Jammu and Kashmir on account of the Indus Water Treaty. This would help in improving the economy of the State as the measure share of Central funding goes in meeting the interest on accumulated Central debt. He sought the co-operation of the opposition parties to have the resolution adopted and sent to the Centre.

The Minister said the Government was a continuous process and the new dispensation would not pass the buck. He said the vision of the Government envisages a greater participatory role for the opposition. He said while in democracy there was bound to be difference of opinion between the ruling and the opposition parties, the Government would take the opposition along in the development process. The suggestions of the opposition would be received with respect and the Government would draw on the experience of the former ministers.

Mr. Beig said the Government’s planning was based on immediate, short term and long-term measures. He said his vision of planning was three fold, one to meet the basic necessities of life like education, drinking water, electricity for which the State was bound to make necessary provisions. The second aspect was to mop up adequate fiscal resources and no soft-pedaling. The third aspect, he said, was to promote the productive sector to bring about improvement in the general financial health of the State.

Jethmalani charged with double standards
Malik dares Mufti to contest polls against him

Excelsior Special Correspondent

SRINAGAR, Nov 12: Released chairman of the separatist Jammu & Kashmir Liberation Front (JKLF), Mohammad Yasin Malik, today challenged Chief Minister Mufti Mohammad Sayeed to contest elections against him from any constituency in Kashmir valley. He said that he would seek votes in the name of Kashmir’s "freedom struggle" but clarified that he would not contest the elections under Indian constitution.

While addressing a crowded news conference at headquarters of the separatist amalgam Hurriyat Conference, Yasin Malik, claimed that Hurriyat was the real representative of the people of Jammu & Kashmir. He challenged that if Chief Minister Mufti Sayeed wanted to test his waters, he was ready to contest elections against him from any assembly segment in Kashmir valley. Detained under POTA for his alleged involvement in $ 1.00 Lakh Hawala transaction, Malik was released from jail on the instructions of the PDP-led coalition Government on Monday. He is among a number of separatist political leaders and militants released by Mufti Government over the last 12 days.

Asked in which capacity he would contest the elections, Malik sought to clarify that he would not jump into the fray under Indian Constitution nor would he accept any elections conducted by Election Commission of India. He said that Hurriyat had constituted its own "Election Commission" but the Government of India created hurdles and did not allow it to function. Malik proposed that journalist Ved Bhasin chairman, Kashmir Times be appointed as the Election Commissioner as both—Mufti as well as Malik—had faith in him.

Malik said that he would seek votes in the name of Kashmir’s "freedom struggle" and he would prove that none but the Hurriyat leaders were the real representatives of the people. He expressed surprise over the fact that on one side Mufti Sayeed was describing himself and other of his Ministers and MLAs as the representatives of militants but he had never dared to nullify the Indian Prime Minister’s claim that the recent Assembly elections were vote for India’s sovereignty. Malik asserted that in case Mufti accepted his challenge, he would request the militants not to cause any obstruction in the proposed election.

He said Sayeed can bring all star campaigners including recently foe-turned-friend Farooq Abdullah to campaign.

Asked why he had restricted Sayeed’s choice to the Valley, Malik said "I will talk of the constituency where I am strong. Do not talk in air ... Though other parts of the State are also my constituencies".

About the Chief Minister’s recent statement that he would facilitate talks between Hurriyat and the Centre, Malik said "how will Sayeed facilitate talks when the Government of India is not ready to accept Kashmir as a dispute. He should have raised his voice at that time".

He said Sayeed was not in a position to take any decision as was the case with former Chief Minister Farooq Abdullah and any move in this regard will come from the Centre.

Malik accused Ram Jethmalani, who heads the Kashmir Committee, of adopting double standards.

"First, Jethmalani told me that he had an instant solution...Under which Pakistan-occupied Kashmir (PoK) should be handed over to Pakistan, India should retain Jammu and Ladakh while Kashmir valley be given complete independence and he was even willing to go public about it," he said.

"It was a consensus decision but I don’t know what transpired in the meetings between Hurriyat and Kashmir Committee," he said, adding "I think Jethmalani has to answer a few questions if and when the Kashmir Committee comes for talks again".

Malik, facing charges of funding terrorism, said he was framed up in the case as Assembly elections in Jammu and Kashmir were then round the corner.

Malik said the State Government took this step after the prosecution failed to prove any charges against him.

Malik claimed that during detention a many separatist leaders were approached by Government of India and persuaded to contest the elections. He alleged that all those who refused to contest were detained under Public Safety Act (PSA).

Malik described his detention as unjustified and said that the Government had failed to prove the charges levelled against him. He said that Police, at the behest of the Director General of Police A K Suri, had implicated him in a baseless charge. He said that in the initial chargesheet it had been mentioned that Altaf Qadiri passed over the Hawala money to him in Nepal personally. The supplementary chargesheet, however, claimed that Qadiri had sent the money to Nepal through a conduit.

Terming the charges against him as baseless, he said his arrest 8 months ago was "purely framed up" as elections were round the corner.

"It is nothing new. The arrests and releases have taken place before and after every elections in the past eight years. Over 40 Hurriyat leaders were arrested in the run-up to the elections.

"All these leaders — whether from Hurriyat or outside it- whom I met in jail said they were offered a choice between a two-year detention under the Public Safety Act and contesting the elections."

Malik said "the prosecution is delaying the case as much as possible against me. Sometimes, the Additional Director General of Police is in Nepal to investigate the case and sometimes it is the Intelligence Bureau Director."

"The case dragged on. Finally, I told the judge that I will bring Altaf Qadri here (to India) and if the prosecution can establish that he had even once visited Nepal in the last 8 years, I will plead guilty to all charges," Malik said.

According to the case, Qadri, a Pakistani national, had allegedly delivered money to a couple in Nepal which was meant to be delivered to Malik for passing on to Hizbul Mujahideen and Lashkar-e-Toiba.

These charges were baseless and the prosecution then modified its case alleging it was based on the witness of two JKLF activists (Pervez Ahmad and Abdul Ahad Sheikh) who were also present at the press conference on March 25 when "I was arrested", Malik said.

"A one-sided story is doing the rounds everywhere. Mention the name of Mohammad Yaseen Malik and it will be followed by 100,000 US dollars," he said.

"I had announced it on the day of my arrest and I repeat it again that if the Government can prove that the money is meant for me, I will give up the cause of freedom struggle," Malik said.

Malik accused a police officer of inflicting injuries during detention in Channi interrogation centre in Jammu rendering his one ear dysfunctional which had been operated upon in the US prior to his arrest from Hurriyat headquarters.

Despite assurances the accused police official was not punished, he said.

Malik also claimed that he developed kidney problems while in detention at Kot Balwal jail, from where he was released yesterday on a month-long parole after 8 months.

"I have developed bilateral stones in both kidneys as a result of my detention and lack of medical facilities," he added.

Badal faction retains hold on SGPC
*Wins all important posts with impressive margin

AMRITSAR, Nov 12: Akali Dal faction led by former Chief Minister Parkash Singh Badal today retained its hold over the powerful Shirmomani Gurdwara Prabandhak Committee with the re-election of Kirpal Singh Badungar as president and unopposed victory of its men to other key posts in the executive committee.

In keenly contested elections held amidst tight security in the Golden Temple complex here, Badungar defeated arch rival G S Tohra’s nominee Sant Veer Singh by a margin of 23 votes in a straight fight.

Badungar polled 91 votes against Veer Singh’s 68.

On seeing the numbers not in its favour, the Tohra group, which put up Harbant Singh against Alwinder Pal Singh for the post of senior vice president, did not press for a contest.

Kewal Singh Badal and Hardalbir Singh Shah were elected unopposed junior vice president and secretary respectively. All the eleven executive committee members, including Sukhdev Singh Bhaur, were elected unopposed.

Immediately after the polling ended, Badungar demanded the resignation of Chief Minister Amarinder Singh for his inteference in the religious affairs of the Sikhs while Tohra blamed Haryana, Himachal Pradesh and Central Governments for directly supporting Parkash Singh Badal.

The election process ended peacefully even as the city resembled a virtual police line with barricades at important intersections and police maintaining strict vigil to avoid any breach of peace.

In an unprecedented action for the SGPC executive poll, prohibitory orders were clamped in the entire State and about 1,200 preventive arrests made in apprehension of violence in the wake of bitter rivalry marking the run up to elections.

Out of the 176 voters in the 190 member general house of SGPC, one was absent while four belonging to the Akali Dal (Mann) did not vote.

Twelve votes were put in a sealed envelop as per the directions of Punjab and Haryana High Court. These sealed votes are of members, who were debarred by the Sikh Gurdwara Judicial Commission (SGJC) from voting for having allegedly violated the Sikh Gurdwara Act, 1925. They would be sent to the High Court. Since the margin of victory is 23, the 12 votes would not make any difference to the result.

A jubilant Badal told reporters after the election that Amarinder Singh should resign as he directly participated in the elections, interfered in religious affairs of the Sikhs and sent police to the SGPC complex.

Claiming that the Akali Dal had got a "clear mandate" which was big blow to Congress, he said "Captain should learn a lesson and resign immediately".

He accused Amarinder Singh of having let "loose repression" in the wake of which even senior SGPC members had to leave their homes in Punjab and even as their family members faced harassment at the hands of Government machinery. Badal described Tohra as a "so-called Akali" and said that he (Tohra) should suffix "Congress" to the name of his party as his links with Congress had been exposed.

"BJP remained silent while Amarinder Singh put the entire State machinery against us to help Tohra", the SAD chief said.

Badungar said the SGPC had not been politicised and continues to be a religious body.

Commenting on the decrease in votes secured by him to 91 compared to 112 in last year’s election, Badungar claimed that all the 12 votes sealed were also of Badal loyalists.

He said all the SGPC members would participate in the SAD Morcha on November 27 against the "repressive rule" of the Amarinder Singh led Congress Government.

Tohra too described as "wrong" the entry of police on the road dividing the Golden Temple and SGPC in the complex. "The road is very much a part of the SGPC complex," he said referring to statement of Chief Minister that it was not part of the shrine complex.

Shortly after the members dispersed, all the barricades were removed, shops reopened and normal traffic restored on roads around the complex. (PTI)

Heavy shelling in Nowshera
One Indian, 3 Pak army jawans killed; 6 hurt

Excelsior Correspondent

RAJOURI, Nov 12: One Indian army jawan and three Pakistani soldiers were killed and six others were injured as the troops of both sides traded heavy shelling in Nowshera sector during the day today.

According to official sources, Pakistan troops started shelling in forward villages on the Line of Control (LoC) in Bhawani, Gadyal, Sher, Makri and Janghar in Nowshera sector at 12 noon today. Over 20 mortar shells were fired by the enemy troops during about one hour of shelling, they said.

Pak troops targeted forward Defence locations and civilian installations in the shelling in Nowshera, which came after a lull of more than 10 days, the sources said and added that the shelling was effectively retaliated by the Indian side.

Again at 1830 hours, Pakistan side resorted to shelling in the same villages. During about one and a half hour long shelling, 40 more mortar shells were fired by the enemy troops. Shelling, however, stopped late tonight.

Till the reports last came in, one army jawan had been killed while three others were injured on the Indian side. Pakistan, however, suffered three fatal casualties of its soldiers while their three other soldiers were injured, the sources said.

Some houses in the forward areas also suffered damage after being hit by the mortar shells but there was no report of any loss of human life. Majority population in the villages, targeted by Pakistan army in the shelling, had already deserted their houses and were putting up in the safer areas.

Sources said no reasons could be ascertained behind the fresh round of shelling resorted to by Pakistan army. They added that three bunkers and one post of the enemy were either destroyed or extensively damaged in retaliatory shelling by the Indian troops.

Identity of the dead and injured jawans of the Indian army couldn’t be gathered immediately.

Very minor reduction in infiltration: Fernandes

BANGALORE, Nov 12: Defence Minister George Fernandes said today there has been "a very minor reduction" in the level of infiltration from Pakistan and terrorism in Jammu and Kashmir after the Assembly elections in the border State.

He, however, maintained that tension was not easing between India and Pakistan, saying Islamabad "is continuing its negative and hostile attitude" towards India.

"There has been a very minor reduction in the level of infiltration and in the level of internal terrorism," Fernandes told reporters after attending a function here.

Asked if that meant that tension between Islamabad and New Delhi was easing, Fernandes said he would not say that.

"It’s a question of attitude. Pakistan’s attitude towards India is one of hostility. Essentially, that attitude has always been a negative one," he said.

On the release of some Hurriyat Conference and JKLF leaders by Jammu and Kashmir Government, Fernandes said there was nothing wrong with it, saying "what’s in state Government’s power to do, they will continue to do. There is nothing wrong in that."

He noted that the current J & K Government had during election campaign made certain commitments that they would ask Army and other security forces to leave and so on.

"It’s up to the state Government. Army gets into any State when the State Government seeks its help," Fernandes said, noting that the J & K Government was disbanding some of the outfits belonging to the State. "It can’t disband any Central force," he pointed out.

Asked whether the Centre would initiate a dialogue with the new Government, Fernandes said the states and Union Government interact on various issues and it’s a routine matter. "In Jammu and Kashmir, there is room for continued interaction between the State Government and Union Government," he added.(PTI)

Peoples League leader released

SRINAGAR, Nov 12: Continuing the process of releasing political activists set in motion by the new state Government, Peoples league leader was today released on one-month parole from the Central Jail here.

Waza, who represented People’s League at the Hurriyat Conference executive meetings, was arrested on January 12 this year and was lodged in different jails outside the Valley.

He was shifted to the Central Jail here twenty days ago from Kot Balwal jail in Jammu and released on parole today.

Waza was received by several dozen party workers outside the jail around 5 PM and taken to party headquarters at Rajbagh.

Waza’s release comes barely 24 hours after chairman of Jammu and Kashmir Liberation Front, Mohammad Yaseen Malik was released by a special court on parole from the Kot Balwal Jail yesterday.

Earlier, two top commanders of JKLF - Shaukat Bakshi and Nazir Ahmad Shah - and Hizbul Mujahideen leader Ayub Dar were released on bail last week after spending more than 12 years in jail. (PTI)

Four militants killed in Valley

Excelsior Correspondent

SRINAGAR, Nov 12: In two different operations, security forces have eliminated four militants in Kashmir valley since last evening.

Official sources said that on a specific information security forces launched a cordon-and-search operation in Selkhan, Damhal Hanjipora in Kulgam area of south Kashmir. During the operations, fierce exchange of gunfire took place between holed up militants and security forces. Two unidentified persons, officially described as militants, got killed.

Security forces conducted yet another cordon-and-search operation at Maidan-e-Chogal in Handwara area of Kupwara district. Two militants are claimed to have been eliminated in the gunfire. Both of them were unidentified till late this evening.

Militants lobbed a hand grenade towards the main entrance of the headquarters of Shabir Shah’s Democratic Freedom Party at Rajbagh late last evening. It exploded close to the entrance but failed to cause any damage. Earlier too, militants have conducted grenade attacks on Shah’s office three times in the last two years.

Bawan quits NC

SRINAGAR, Nov 12: The National Conference (NC) in the Jammu and Kashmir suffered a major jolt when former party MLA G M Bawan resigned from the primary membership of the party.

Mr Bawan, who had won from Sonawar constituency in 1996, but was denied ticket this time, said he was resigning from the party.

"I have not decided to join any party yet," he told UNI.

He said "I joined the National Conference with a purpose to provide a healing touch to the people of the Jammu and Kashmir."

"But I found honesty, integrity and dedication has no value in the NC. They just needed persons who always says yes sir," he said, adding that the people of Jammu and Kashmir proved the NC leadership wrong who had the impression that people would not go against them.

He said the people of Jammu and Kashmir were mature enough to take their decisions. "Gone are the days when people had blind faith in the NC," he said.(UNI)

BJP flays release of detenues

NEW DELHI, Nov 12: BJP today expressed serious concern over the decision of the Jammu and Kashmir Government to release several persons who had been arrested or detained earlier by the State Government.

"The decision to release people in such large numbers appears to be an act of reciprocity. Has any agency examined the evidence against these people before they were released. It also sends a negative signal and undermines the entire effort to fight insurgency and terror," party spokesman Arun Jaitley told reporters here.

Attacking the Congress, he said "Congress is either a mute spectator or an active participant and it is regrettable that the party which had won majority of the seats on a strong anti-terrorism plank is choosing to be a participant in this terror friendly exercise."

He said it was understandable for any Government to State that there is no misuse of police power against innocents. For this purpose, the least that is expected from it was the setting up of an objective screening committee to review any case which is considered doubtful or vindictive.

"However, what the PDP-Congress Government has chosen to do was start releasing persons without undertaking any legalistic or detailed screening exercise. These releases being undertaken are not based on a detailed assessment of each case but appear to be the act of political reciprocity by the PDP-Congress Government. This is legally impermissible and would undermine the entire effort to fight insurgency and terrorism," Jaitley. (PTI)

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