NDA lost Lok Sabha polls in confusion: Vajpayee

NEW DELHI, Oct 27: Observing that NDA had lost the last Lok Sabha elections in "confusion", former Prime Minister Atal Bihari Vajpayee today sought to pump renewed hope in the BJP cadres by telling them "darkness won’t last long" because of "instability" created by the "differences-ridden" UPA Government.

Addressing the BJP’s national council meeting here, he questioned the UPA Government’s decisions on security issues and said the nation was going through "difficult and testing times".

In about 30-minute speech after L K Advani was formally elected as new BJP president, Vajpayee showered praise on the former Deputy Prime Minister’s leadership qualities and equated him to Sangh ideologues Deen Dayal Upadhyay and Dattopant Thengadi in terms of "Marg Darshan" (showing the path). He also appreciated the contribution of outgoing party president M Venkaiah Naidu.

The senior BJP leader said the party was beginning a "new chaptar" under Advani who has taken the charge for the fifth time and emphasised that there was a need for the cadres to have "faith in the organisation and trust in each other."

"An atmosphere of instability has been created in the country. There is instability in the Central Government," Vajpayee said, adding his party was "seriously studying" the situation that has emerged after the Congress-led coalition assumed power.

Pointing out that he had headed a 24-party Government, the former Prime Minister said "but it was stable and there was trust in it."

"That stability is now gone. Everyday report appear about differences," he said.

Noting that BJP did not get the "expected success" in the Lok Sabha elections, Vajpayee said it lost power in "confusion" as "overpowering over confidence" ensured that the cadres did not work to the extent desired.

"But there is no need to worry. The (period of) darkness won’t last long. This defeat will not make us inactive for long," the former Prime Minister asserted.

He told the cadres that the party should "move ahead" after assessing the reasons for defeat.

"We should not lose hope. There will again be an opportunity," Vajpayee said adding the party had to "be successful in the test."

Insisting that his Government had performed very well which even the rivals had appreciated, he said the NDA rule had brought about stability and strengthened the country’s economic health. "The world has started counting India among prominent countries," he said.

Questioning the UPA Government’s policies and programmes, the NDA Chairman said in view of these the internal security was facing problems and in the world, "same old voices" were being heard which used to be aired when his Government took over six years ago. He did not elaborate.

Hailing the discipline in the saffron party, Vajpayee asserted there was "no power struggle" in BJP, dismissing recent reports in this regard. "If there is any competition in our party, it is in terms of who does better work," he said, adding it was unlike other parties which witness "lobbying" and "groupism".

Taking a swipe at the Congress-led ruling coalition, the former Prime Minister quipped "those who won don’t know why they won and those who lost don’t know why they lost.

Maintaining that people would judge BJP through the working of its Governments in states as the party was not in power at the Centre, Vajpayee said its Chief Ministers had a big responsibility ahead.

Describing Advani as a "tested leader", he said the former Deputy Prime Minister represented a mix of intellect and dedication and his taking charge of the party marked a "historic" day for the party.

Earlier, whenever the partymen used to be in some difficulty, they would approach Deen Dayal Upadhyay for consultations, he said, adding after him, Dattopant Thengadi took his place.

"Now with Thengadiji not being anymore with us, partymen are of the view that Advaniji would fill in the vacuum," the senior BJP leader said.

He said although Advani had earlier also been "president-like" figure in the party, his taking of reins of BJP had ensured that a "big burden has been removed. So we are tension-free now."

The former Prime Minister, however, cautioned the cadres that Advani would not allow them to be "tension-free" as he will goad and persuade them to work more for the better future of the party.

He also heaped appreciation for outgoing president Venkaiah Naidu and said the party would not have let him go if he did not have pressing family compulsions. (PTI)

Dream visit for Pakistani pilgrims at Charar-e-Sharif

SRINAGAR, Oct 27: It was a dream come true for the visiting Pakistani pilgrims who believe that the 57-year-old Kashmir issue could be resolved through peaceful means with the involvement of the people of both sides of Jammu and Kashmir.

The 12-member delegation led by Sardar Alam Khan with nine members of Kashmiri origin, were received by local residents on their arrival at Charar-e-Sharief in the central Kashmir district of Badgam last evening.

After offering prayers inside the shrine of Hazrat Sheikh Noor-ud-din-Wali, Mr Khan said they are in the Valley with a peace mission from Pakistan.

He said, "the delegation comprising intellectuals, artists and journalists could not visit Jammu and Kashmir before for the reasons best known to everybody."

Mr Khan said the visit has no political motives. "But we believe that war is not a solution for the problems between India and Pakistan."

He was then joined by others, including locals in the prayer for a lasting peace, friendship and brotherhood between India and Pakistan, lasting peace in Kashmir and an end to problems in the sub-continent.

Mr Khan said it was because of the efforts by people like Nirmala Deshpande that the visit was possible. "These people are working for peace between the two nations who have fought three wars in the past though they jointly fought for freedom struggle against the British rule, " he added.

Another member of the delegation, Bashir Ahmad Andrabi, did not see any difference and said,’’ we are among our own brothers and sisters.’’

Also advocating a peaceful resolution to the Kashmir, he however, demanded inclusion of Kashmiris in any dialogue between India and Pakistan. The issue should be resolved as per wishes and aspirations of the people living on both sides of the border, he added.

Refusing to get involved in any controversy about the 15 year turmoil in the State, Mr Andrabi said,’’ we are on a goodwill mission and this visit has become possible after a great effort. We do not want to say anything which will put our hosts to backfoot.’’

It was home coming for Malik Mukhtar Ahmad who had left the Valley when he was just 12 years of age.

It took him 55 long years to step again in the Valley and pray at the shrine. Still remembering the childhood days, he said, "I think I was reborn today though we do not believe in rebirth."

He said except for promoting peace and friendship between India and Pakistan, there is no political subtext behind their visit.

However, he could not hide his feelings and said, "we Kashmiris have a thousand-year-old history that is unique. We do not want violence but at the same time we are not property of either India or Pakistan."

"Please leave us to decide our future," he said, adding the people who suffered the most must have a say in the final solution of the Kashmir issue.

The youngest member of the delegation Athar Masood Wani, the editor of a weekly newspaper " Kashur weekly" in Pakistan occupied Kashmir (PoK), recounted how the visit became a reality.

"I had much to share with people in Kashmir where I saw troops everywhere, but for the compulsions of my hosts I cannot say anything," he said.

Mir Bashir Ahmad Sultan, senior news editor of Nawai-Waqt, who left Kashmir six years after partition commenting on the statement made by Pakistan President Pervez Musharraf said, "we don t want division of the State but if some way is found that resolves the issue what is wrong in that."

"Lachak (flexibility) in the attitude was welcome if it helps to makes things better in the sub-continent," he said. (UNI)

Arms, identity card, documents recovered
Top Pak ultra among 3 held in Doda

Excelsior Special Correspondent

JAMMU, Oct 27: Doda police and security forces late last night arrested a hardcore Pakistan militant, who was operating as ‘district commander’ of Hizbul Mujahideen outfit from Pranu on Doda-Bhaderwah road.

In addition to a Chinese pistol and ammunition, police and security personnel recovered an identity card, a motor-cycle and some other important documents from the possession of Pakistani militant, who was involved in a series of subversive activities across the district during last four years, official sources said.

They identified the arrested militant as Noor Ahmed Baluch alias Rashid son of Haji Noor Hussain, a resident of Chak Zairapur Khanpur, district Rahim Yaar Khan, Pakistan.

Presently, he was designated as ‘district commander’ of Hizbul Mujahideen outfit.

Sources said troops of 4 Rashtriya Rifles, a Bhaderwah police party led by Sub Divisional Police Officer (SDPO) Irshad Chowdhary and Operations Group of Bhaderwah police, laid several nakas on Doda-Bhaderwah last night after obtaining a specific information that a dreaded Hizbul Mujahideen militant Noor Ahmed Baluch was scheduled to pass on the route on his way to meet some over ground workers of the militants.

At about 10.30 pm last night, police and security personnel spotted the militant riding on a motor-cycle No. 3593 JK02G at Pranu and signalled him to stop. However, the militant ignored the signal, brought out his Chinese pistol, fired some shots and tried to escape, the sources said, adding the security personnel immediately overpowered him.

From his possession, security forces recovered one Chinese made pistol, one magazine and six rounds. A motor-cycle, on which he was riding, was also seized by the police.

Besides, police recovered one identity card and some important documents from his possession.

The identity card had been issued by Tehsildar Doda on February 13, 2004 on the name of Mohd Farooq Wani S/o Talib Hussain Wani R/o Shiva. The card, however, carried photograph of the Pakistani militant.

A fake University degree was also found in his possession.

Sources said police was trying to ascertain whether the identity card was fake or genuine. It has been sent to experts for verification. Other documents recovered from him are also being verified, the sources said.

Preliminary investigations revealed that the Pakistani militant was operating in Doda for the last four years. After his infiltration from Pakistan to Jammu and Kashmir, he settled in Doda and was initially assigned the task of shifting arms and explosives consignments to militant hideouts.

The militant, using Hizbul Mujahideen’s local connections, mixed up with the people in far off areas and posed himself as a local till he went underground and started carrying out subversive activities.

Sources said he was involved in a number of blasts, grenade attacks and other incidents. For sometime, he had also worked as HM’s "recruitment commander" in Bhaderwah’s upper reaches, they added.

Describing arrest of Noor Ahmed Baluch as a major success, the sources said arrests of some other militants and their important contacts are on the cards on the basis of disclosures being made by the arrested militant.

Meanwhile, two local militants were arrested today by security forces from Udianpur, Doda. They have been identified as Manzoor Ahmed, 25, S/o Abdul Rashid Gani R/o Gudder, Anantnag and Ghulam Rasool, 30, S/o Ghulam Hassan R/o Chham Gund, Anantnag. Two fake identity cards were recovered from them.

51 Inspectors transferred

Excelsior Special Correspondent

JAMMU, Oct 27: Director General of Police (DGP) Gopal Sharma today ordered change of wings of 51 Inspectors of police.

Inspectors Jagdev Singh, Mohd Qayoom, Ram Pal, Showkat Ali and Ravinder Singh have been transferred from Jammu zone to Crime and Railways Police.

Inspectors Pawan Kumar, Lal Chand and Subash Gupta have been shifted from Jammu zone to Sher-i-Kashmir Police Academy, Udhampur while Inspector Suraj Singh has been transferred from Traffic Police to the Police Academy.

Inspectors Feroz Ahmed, Bashir Ahmed, Feroz Qadri, Mehraj Rajan, Mushtaq Ahmed and Hafizullah have been transferred from Kashmir zone to CID while Inspectors Abdul Rashid and Abdul Majid have been transferred from Traffic Police to CID.

Inspector Javaid Ahmed has been shifted from Crime and Railways Police to Police Headquarters (PHQ). Inspector Fayaz Ahmed has been shifted from Traffic Police to PHQ while Inspectors Harbans Lal and Zamrood Singh have been transferred from Traffic Police to Jammu zone.

Inspector Sagara Singh has been transferred from Police Academy, Udhampur to Jammu zone. Inspectors Daleep Singh, Mohd Tufail, Bharat Bushan, Mushtaq Ahmed and Pawan Kumar have been transferred from CID to Jammu zone.

Inspectors Mohd Asgar and Ravinderpal Singh have been shifted from Crime and Railways Police to Kashmir zone while Inspector Nazir Ahmed has been shifted from CID to Kashmir zone and Inspector Gul Mohd Mir from Crime and Railways to Kashmir zone.

Inspectors Mushtaq Ahmed and Naseema Akhter have been shifted from Kashmir zone to Security while Inspectors A A Khan and Yashvir Singh have been shifted from Armed zone to Security.

Inspectors Surinder Kumar and Bikram Singh have been transferred from Jammu zone to SSG while Inspectors Abdul Rahim and Vijay Kumar have been shifted from Armed zone to SSG.

Inspectors Mohd Maqbool and Manzoor Ahmed have been shifted from Crime and Railways to Traffic Police while Inspector K S Bali has been shifted from Security to Traffic Police. Inspector Mohd Shafi has been shifted from Kashmir zone to Traffic Police while Inspector Farooq Ahmed was transferred from PHQ to Traffic Police.

Inspector B K Ganjoo has been transferred from PHQ to Vigilance Organisation. Inspectors Tariq Khursheed, Kartar C Kotwal and Mohd Sadeeq have been shifted from SSG to Armed zone.

Three Inspectors of Executive police—Rakesh Akram, Adil Qazmi and Thakur Dass have been adjusted in Jammu zone, Crime and Railways and Security wing respectively on their promotion. Inspector Akram will, however, continue in Kashmir zone till further orders.

Blame on men, not SSG's high-tech jammers
Burning mid-day oil could have prevented blast

From Ahmed Ali Fayyaz

SRINAGAR, Oct 27: If Chief Minister Mufti Sayeed, former Chief Minister Farooq Abdullah and other high-profile politicians protected by the elite Special Services Group (SSG), have return safely from Government functions and public meetings in the last few years, credit must partly go to militants. Within days of the Anantnag blast, in which Omar Abdullah and his senior party colleagues had a narrow escape on Sunday last, a number of security loopholes have begun to surface.

Additional Director General of Police CID Dr Ashok Bhan’s investigation may reveal the ultimate truth in a month’s time but EXCELSIOR has learned from responsible official sources that SSG’s radio frequency jammers have often remained switched off on crucial occasions. Interestingly, the one-odd purpose has been to save a few litres of diesel! Most of the eyewitnesses quizzed about the Anantnag explosion insist that Omar Abdullah’s jammer was switched off as soon as it screeched to a halt and the VIP stepped out of his car.

None of the Police or mediapersons, who were present at the spot before and after the blast, has suggested sight of a wire that could have been used to detonate the IED, planted under a heap of sand. The anti-sabotage unit of District Police, which claims to have sanitised the area, had also not spotted any conductor laid around the road or the graveyard.

Forensic experts, unwilling to identify themselves, claim that a time device was not used either. "None on earth could have calculated a day or several hours before that Omar Abdullah or his father would arrive in Sarnal at exactly 1140 hours. Chances of such a coincidence are very very remote", said an official.

The third and the last possibility is that a radio frequency was used to cause the blast exactly at the VIP’s arrival. Uptil now, there is almost consensus among the experts that the blast was triggered off with the help of a remote control device. But what baffles them all is the fact the State-of-the-art Rs 1.40 cr jammer could have frozen all possible frequencies usually used by militants in Jammu and Kashmir. These experts insist that in the case of all remote controlled bombs, militants have used frequencies between 136 MHZ and 174 MHZ, known as the Citizens’ Band. It all falls in Very High Frequency (VHF), which covers a medium range from 30 MHZ to 300 MHZ.

SSG’s jammers, escorting the Chief Minister, former Chief Minister, NC’s president Omar Abdullah and other high-profile protectees, have the capacity of easily jamming all radio frequencies in a particular circle from 30 MHZ to 450 MHZ. Sources claim that the militants operating in Jammu and Kashmir are not capable of using Ultra High Frequency (UHF) ranging between 300 MHZ and 3000 MHZ. Again, not a single incident has occurred in the last 15 years where the militants have detonated bombs in High Frequency (HF) i.e. 0 to 30 MHZ.

Now the moot question is: How could the militants have operated in their Citizen’ Band to cause the blast? Telecommunication experts believe that dozens of hardware snags like breakdown of power supply system and power amplifiers, besides voltage fluctuations, could also render the jammer ineffective. But again the chances of such a coincidence are counted to be "extremely low".

Officials dealing with the jamming paraphernalia are certain that the four SSG jammers, each fitted with additional accessories worth Rs 40 Lakh, are highly reliable machines. These have frequently been checked and found perfect for operation.

Officials touring with the SSG protectees corroborated the civilian eyewitness accounts. Many of them said that the SSG jammers were often switched off at the arrival of a VIP at Government functions and public meetings. One of such officials revealed that the Law and Finance Minister Muzaffar Hussain Baig escaped in last year’s IED blast in Baramulla only because of the fact that his driver had not switched off the jammer. Baig, on that occasion, had gone on an inspection of the site of a proposed stadium. The blast occurred seconds after Baig and his jammer emerged out of the stadium site.

Nevertheless, it has been observed that on a number of occasions, the drivers have kept the jammers switched off only to save a few litres of diesel. That is what exactly is believed to have happened in Anantnag on Sunday last. Dr Bhan’s inquiry is likely to identify the officials, who are believed to have compromised the mandatory anti-sabotage drill and who had not taken due care to ensure that the jammer remained operational all through the VIP’s presence. The inquiry may also find why the Security Wing and the SSG had failed to conduct their separate anti-sabotage drills independent of the half-hearted one purportedly done by District Police. Why the sniffer dogs were not used in the drill by the three Police agencies is also being investigated.

Saving and selling fuel in black market has become the practice of Government drivers in Srinagar as well as in Jammu in the last few years. Senior functionaries of the State governments have often witnessed drivers of the official vehicles filling up their tanks and siphoning off half of the quantities at three major recycling points in Srinagar city. These include the vehicles of over a dozen Ministers, over 40 senior Government officers, Chief Minister’s pilot wagons and hundreds of medium rung officials and politicians. No agency of the Government has bothered to take action as the defaulters have been working with senior officers and Ministers.

The biggest beeline of such vehicles can be easily spotted every day from 0730 hours to 0930 hours near Dr Sajjad’s Ultrasonography Clinic, close to the entrance of Lal Ded Hospital, during the six months of summer. When the EXCELSIOR brought it to the notice of DIG Vigilance, R R Swain, followed by Minister of Finance, Muzaffar Hussain Baig, last year, both said: "We will see". As they have refused to "see", in the last 13 months, the State exchequer has been losing Rs 50 Lakh every day at the hands of its unscrupulous drivers.

It has been observed that these drivers sell government’s petrol to the unauthorised dealers at the rate of Rs 18 to Rs 20 per litre who, in turn, dispose it off at Rs 25 to Rs 28. Rates of diesel are also fixed. In addition to Lal Ded, such depots have come up outside the Police Control Room and Divisional Commissioner’s office in Srinagar. Consequences of the government’s slumber are bound to be disastrous. Let Omar Abdullah, whose father was equally blind to this blotting paper, thank his stars.

Central team probing Anantnag blast

Excelsior Special Correspondent

SRINAGAR, Oct 27: A high level team of the Government of India, headed by Special Secretary incharge Jammu and Kashmir, concluded its secret visit to Kashmir valley and returned to the Union capital this afternoon.

Knowledgeable sources told the EXCELSIOR that the Central team, which included senior officers of the intelligence agencies and officials of the Union Home Ministry, reached here on Tuesday hours before the former Chief Minister Dr Farooq Abdullah and the National Conference (NC) president, Omar Abdullah, met the Union Home Minister Shivraj Patil and the Prime Minister, Dr Manmohan Singh in New Delhi.

Sources said that Government of India had taken a serious note of the Abdullahs’ allegations that Chief Minister Mufti Mohammad Sayeed wanted to physically eliminate the NC top brass. Mufti has already denied the allegation and pointed out that such attacks had earlier been conducted by militants on the number of the PDP and Congress leaders, including himself on several occasions. While meeting senior Government functionaries in New Delhi, Farooq and Omar have been complaining that the IED blast, that occurred at Sarnal in Anantnag on Sunday last, was the State Government’s plot to eliminate the NC leaders.

While as no militant organisation has claimed responsibility of the blast, for the first time in the 16-year-long history of the Kashmir insurgency, a spokesman of the Government of Pakistan condemned the attack on Omar Abdullah. The Foreign Office spokesman, Masood Khan, condemned the blast on Monday while asserting that such type of terrorist acts should not be tolerated.

Sources said that immediately after the Abdullahs’ serious allegations, the Prime Minister’s Office as well as the Union Home Ministry deployed a high level team to find if there was really substance in the allegations. The Central team, headed by the Special Secretary Home, visited the site of the explosion at Sarnal and met a number of senior Government officials on Tuesday and Wednesday. It had a detailed interaction with the Director General of J&K Police, Gopal Sharma, besides IGPs of the Central paramilitary organisations, senior officials of Army and intelligence agencies.

Sources said that the team was also looking into Dr Abdullah’s complaint that some Ministers and MLAs of the coalition Government were "hand-in-glove" with militants and because of that nexus, militancy had reached a new high in south Kashmir where the ruling parties had 14 MLAs against NC’s two. Dr Abdullah has been comparing south Kashmir with the Central and north Kashmir where NC has its strongholds and PDP has little ground. He has been making the point that because of the NC’s strong base in the two regions, militants have failed to establish a permanent base.

Sources said that the Central team, which reached back to the Union Capital this evening, would submit a report on the Abdullahs’ allegations—particularly the Anantnag blast—to the Union Home Minister and the PM on Thursday.

Farooq and Omar, who were scheduled to reached back this afternoon, extended their stay in New Delhi for one more night. They are now expected to reach here on Thursday to address a meeting of the NC workers at Nawai Subah. The major Opposition party is likely to call an important meeting of its Working Committee in Srinagar on Friday.

Lassa Vakil again arrested

Excelsior Special Correspondent

JAMMU, Oct 27: After getting bail in jute matting purchase scam, Ghulam Rasool Vakil alias Lassa Vakil was today again arrested by Vigilance Organisation for his alleged involvement in forest scandal, in which over Rs 65 lakh have been misappropriated

Vakil was arrested around 1.15 pm from Jammu airport when he was about to fly to Srinagar.

Immediately after Vakil’s arrest, a fresh bail application was filed through Advocate Irfan Noor for the release of the petitioner.

In the bail application, it was stated that the recent FIR registered by Vigilance Organisation in "forest scam" was totally false.

It was mentioned that the cheques which Vigilance was referring to, were issued on June 2, 2004 and on July 9, 2004 and by that time Ajit Kumar stood transferred.

The petitioner stated that a deep rooted conspiracy was intended to upset his otherwise lawful business, as the petitioner is falsely shown to be in conspiracy with Ajit Kumar, object whereof is to destroy the career of this senior IAS Officer.

In the bail application, it was denied that the petitioner Lassa Vakil was the agent of Ajit Kumar, as was being projected.

During the course of arguments, Senior Advocate ZA Shah prayed before the court to allow the wife and son-in-law of Lassa vakil to meet him in Police custody. Upon this, Special Judge Anti-Corruption Jammu, Mr BL Bhat allowed the prayer and directed Vigilance Organisation to allow both wife and son-in-law to meet Vakil for one hour in a day.

Lassa Vakil was released on bail on October 25 after spending 50 days in judicial and Police lock-up. Justice VK Jhanji had granted him bail just two days ago, but Lassa Vakil was again arrested by Vigilance in another case of forest scam registered against him. In this case, Ajit Kumar has also been booked.

Strike call evokes partial response

Excelsior Special Correspondent

SRINAGAR, Oct 27: Kashmir valley today observed partial bandh in response to a strike call given by various separatist groups. Activists of Syed Ali Shah Geelani’s Hurriyat Conference and Javaid Mir’s Jammu Kashmir Liberation Forum took out protest demonstrations against what they called "Indian occupation".

In response to a strike call by different separatist groups, there was a partial response to it as by and large vehicular traffic, mostly light vehicles, continued to run on roads. In several localities of Srinagar city, shops were open and in Lalchowk area, some were "half-closed". However, most of the schools and Government offices remained closed due to the strike.

The strike call was given by various separatist organisations to protest 57 years of arrival of Indian Army to Kashmir. Separatist groups since last 15 years have been observing October 27 as "anti-occupation day".

Meanwhile, a statement of Geelani’s Hurriyat Conference claimed that it organised several protest demonstrations against "Indian occupation" today. The protest demonstrations were headed by the Hurriyat general secretary, Ghulam Nabi Sumji.

The statement said that police used force to disperse the peaceful protestors and also resorted to cane charge. It said that five Hurriyat activists were wounded in the lathicharge while about 36 activists were detained by the police.

The statement claimed that about a dozen Hurriyat activists managed to reach the UNO Office at Sonwar and handed over a memorandum to the officials there. The memorandum, addressed to the UN General Secretary, Kofi Anan, said that the pending of Kashmir issue on one hand results in State oppression and political suppression in Jammu and Kashmir, on the other hand endangers peace, security and stability in South Asia.

Javaid Mir’s Jammu Kashmir Liberation Forum also took out a protest demonstration and engaged in a scuffle with police on MA Road here this morning. At least one dozen people were detained by police who were later released.

Two HM militants surrender

Excelsior Special Correspondent

JAMMU, Oct 27: Two militants of Hizbul Mujahideen outfit today surrendered before Army and police in Bhaderwah.

They have been identified as Sajjad Ahmed son of Ghulam Hassan R/o Amir Nagar, Bhaderwah, a ‘deputy commander’ of Hizbul Mujahideen outfit and Manoj Kumar alias Rezwan son of Yudhvir Manhas R/o Basti, Bhaderwah.

Sajjad handed over one AK rifle, three magazines and 90 rounds while Manoj Kumar surrendered with one pistol, one magazine, one round and one wireless set.

They surrendered before Army officers of 4 Rashtriya Rifles and Bhaderwah police.

Official sources said Sajjad was an active Hizbul Mujahideen militant for last seven years while Manoj Kumar was active in militancy for last two years.

Prithvi-III test fired successfully

BALASORE, Oct 27: India today test-fired a modified Naval version of the surface-to-surface Prithvi Missile with defence scientists claiming that the launch had achieved all operational parameters to perfection.

The indigenously developed medium range missile, launched from the Integrated Test Range (ITR) at Chandipur-on-Sea, about 15 km from here had a range of 300 kms.

With the launching of the Naval version of the Prithvi III Missile, India, it appears, wants to induct both the Indo-Russian supersonic cruise missile Brahmos as well as the sub-sonic Prithvi for its new range of indigenous warships.

The launch was tracked by several ground stations, including down range stations.

DRDO chief M Natarajan and scientists who designed the missile, witnessed the test launch.

The missile and its sub-system, being developed under the project name K-15, had to undergo a rigorous check up before the actual trial took place, DRDO sources said.

This is for the first time that the missile, which has capability to be launched underwater, was put to trial from an artificially made water base with the help of a specially designed canister, they said.

The single stage ballistic missile could be launched from either a ship or submarine and way capable of destroying land targets.

The missile, about 8.5 metres high and one metre in diameter with latest on-board computer and internal navigation system, could use both solid as well as liquid propellant.(PTI)

Congress to head Maharashtra Govt

NEW DELHI, Oct 27: With NCP blinking in the 11-day battle of nerves, Congress tonight walked away with the post of Chief Minister in Maharashtra with Sharad Pawar-led party remaining content with two additional Cabinet berths and as many portfolios.

The breakthrough in the tough bargaining, that began soon after Assembly polls were announced on October 16, came after NCP’s chief negotiator Praful Patel had a meeting with Congress president Sonia Gandhi here this evening following which Alva and Ahmed Patel called on NCP chief Sharad Pawar.

Later, Pawar spoke to Gandhi over phone and the two party chiefs gave their seal of approval to the power-sharing deal.

"We have agreed to continue the 1999 formula except that NCP will have two more ministers of Cabinet rank and one Minister of State with two portfolios transferred to NCP from Congress," Margaret Alva, AICC general secretary in charge of party affairs in Maharashtra told reporters in the presence of Praful Patel and senior Congress leader Ahmed Patel.

"We have resolved the issue to the satisfaction of both sides," she said.

The end to the stalemate and the clinching of the deal followed a flurry of meetings between the two allies during which Gandhi and Prime Minister Manmohan Singh spoke to Pawar.

The legislature parties of Congress and NCP will meet in Mumbai on Friday to elect their leaders.

Asked whether incumbent Sushilkumar Shinde would be the new Chief Minister, Alva and Ahmed Patel replied "Sonia Gandhi had led Congress to victory in Maharashtra polls."

The day began with NCP leaders from Maharashtra having a meeting with Pawar discussing the Congress’ proposal for three additional ministerial berths and two more portfolios in return for the top post.

After the first round of meeting between Pawar and his party colleagues, the NCP chief called on Prime Minister Manmohan Singh to discuss the Maharashtra Government formation. They were later joined by Defence Minister Pranab Mukherjee who was Congress’ chief negotiator.

Senior leaders of NCP, including Patel, Deputy Chief Minister Vijaysinh Mohite Patil, former Deputy Chief Minister Chhagan Bhujbal, general secretary D P Tripathi, Home Minister R R Patil, Ajit Pawar, Jayant Patil and Padamsinh Patil had another round of talks with Pawar. As the suspense mounted and the series of meetings continued, Praful Patel drove to 10 Janpath and had a meeting with Sonia Gandhi in the evening following which she despatched Alva and Ahmed Patel to Pawar who resides in nearby 6 Janpath. Gandhi as also the Prime Minister spoke to Pawar on phone.

After Alva and Ahmed Patel met Pawar and talked to other NCP leaders, they, along with Praful Patel, came out and announced the deal before waiting mediapersons. While NCP has so far been insisting on two posts of Deputy Chief Ministers, the party started singing a different tune today with a senior leader remarking that his party was not interested in creating two power centres, an indirect admission that Congress was not willing to play ball.

Mufti hosts Pak pilgrims’ Iftaar

Excelsior Special Correspondent

SRINAGAR, Oct 28: Chief Minister Mufti Mohammad Sayeed hosted an Iftaar in honour the 12-member delegation of Pakistani pilgrims at his official residence here this evening.

Minister of Agriculture Abdul Aziz Zargar, Minister of Irrigation & PHE Qazi Mohammad Afzal and Minister of Tourism Ghulam Hassan Mir also joined the CM’s at home and had an interaction with the Pakistani pilgrims.

Members of the delegation expressed satisfaction with the arrangements made for their visit. They expressed their happiness over the way devout pilgrims, from different communities and religions, were thronging the reverred shrines of saints to seek spiritual solace.

After paying obeisance at Chrar-e-Sharif, Hazratbal and Gurudwara Chhati Padshahi, the Pakistani pilgrims are scheduled to visit some other shrines in Kashmir valley in the next few days.
 
 
 
 
 

 

 

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