Excelsior Correspondent
JAMMU, May 31: Chief Minister Omar Abdullah today appointed Bashir Ahmad Bhat, who had recently retired as Director Libraries, as Secretary, J&K Academy of Art, Culture and Languages for a period of two years.
Mr Abdullah made the appointment in his capacity as president of the Academy.
Mr Bhat, who had also served as Director Information Department, was Special Scale KAS officer.

NEW DELHI, May 31:
Seeking an informed debate on the Jammu and Kashmir Interlocutors report, Home Minister P Chidambaram today said the Government will take a view on it including the recommendation on setting up of a Constitutional Committee at a later stage.
“The Government has not taken a view,” he told his monthly press conference to a question whether the Government will accept the Interlocutors recommendations for setting up a Constitutional Committee to review all the Central Acts and Articles of the Constitution extended to the state.
He said it was not appropriate for him to express his personal views on the issue when the Government was yet to consider it.
Chidambaram expressed the hope that an informed debate will take place on the report which should include the political parties.
“Each one of us is a prisoner of the past. We should release ourselves from the past and genuinely participate in the debate. When the debate takes place, I am sure, different view be expressed on the proposal to constitute a Constitutional Committee and let us look at the pros and cons of the report,” he said.
Asked whether it would be a structured debate, the Home Minister said the Interlocutors have offered to act as resource persons to facilitate the debate.
“So I think over the next couple of months there will be a few workshops around the country where the Interlocutors will be available as resource persons,” he said.
Chidambaram also said at a later stage an all party meeting may be called to discuss the report.
“It is also my view that at some point of time we should call the all party meeting which gave rise to the appointment of the Interlocutors… Meanwhile, I think the political parties will also discuss the report and come up with their views,” he said.
“This is an important matter and I think we should approach it with a great degree of seriousness so that there is a genuine and informed debate on the subject,” the Home Minister added.
The report by the interlocutors—Dileep Padgaonkar, Radha Kumar and M M Ansari—which was made public on May 24, has favoured setting up a Constitutional Committee to review all Central Acts and Articles of the Constitution of India to the state extended after 1952. (PTI)

Jehangir Rashid

SRINAGAR, May 31: Mohammad Shahnawaz Chaudhary was today elected as Jammu and Kashmir Pradesh Youth Congress Committee (JKPYCC) president.
Haling from Poonch in Jammu region, Chaudhray bagged 1555 votes out of 4904 in elections that were held across the State. His nearest rival Pranab Shargotra who bagged 1458 votes was elected as Vice president of the JKPYCC. Abid Kashmiri, Sikander Jan, Manjeet Singh and Varinder Singh Chib were elected as State general secretaries.
While addressing a press conference in the evening soon after his election as president, Chaudhary said that his efforts will be to reach out to the youth of the State for a better strategy for the 2014 Assembly elections. He said that Youth Congress would be revitalized across the State.
Chaudhary said that the JKPYCC elections were historic as it was for the first time that PYCC President has been elected through the democratic process. He said the nomination process has been disbanded this time around adding that the elected representatives would work for the betterment of the people in the State.
“It has been observed that central schemes such as National Rural Employment Guarantee Scheme (NREGS), Indira Awas Yojana (IAY) and Rajiv Gandhi Grameen Vidyutikaran Yojana (RGGVY) have not reached the people of the State. The newly elected office bearers of PYCC would move from door to door and make the people aware about these schemes and their utility,” said Chaudhary.
He said that fate of Congress party in the 2014 assembly elections depends upon the success of the Centrally Sponsored Schemes. He said the PYCC office bearers would use their good offices and impress upon the State Government for effective and better implementation of the Centrally Sponsored Schemes.
“Youth Congress President and All India Congress Committee (AICC) general secretary, Rahul Gandhi who is our mentor was very keen to hold the youth elections in the State. It is all due to his interest and perseverance that we were able to hold the elections for youth Congress in the State. There was tremendous response to the election process and I am glad to be elected as JKPYCC president,” said Choudhary.
He accepted that youth in the state more so of Kashmir valley have lost interest in politics due to the political uncertainty over the past two decades. He said PYCC would work and strive hard so that more and more youth join the party more so since the 2014 Assembly elections are not that far off.
Choudhary said that the nomination system never gave a chance to the talented youth to come up and serve for the Congress party. He said only the children of Congress leaders moved ahead with the nomination system adding that time has come when talented youth should join the party ranks.
“Congress is the only party that has solution to the problems confronted by the masses and we would be guided by the party principles all along. We would carry forward the ideology of the party to the people living in the different regions of the State. Training would be provided to the youth at different levels and it would be ensured that Youth Congress comes up as strong youth political party of the State,” said Choudhary.
He said that the newly elected team would work according to an action plan and membership drive would be launched across the State so that more youth join in. He asked the youth to come out of the mindset that Government jobs would be given to them. He said proper counseling would be given to the youth so that they start their own ventures or work in the private sector both within the State and outside the State.

Excelsior Correspondent
NEW DELHI, May 31: Special Assistant to Prime Minister of Pakistan and Focal Person on Polio Eradication, Ms. Shahnaz Wazir Ali today called on Union Minister for Health & Family Welfare, Ghulam Nabi Azad here along with a high-level delegation of Pakistan Government’s Health officials to primarily discuss the key initiatives that helped India stop poliovirus transmission.
Addressing the delegation, Mr Azad noted that India and Pakistan shared numerous similarities and were concerned about basic health indicators on maternal and child health, challenges of health services in Government sector, shortage of doctors and other health professionals.
He said that recent success of containing polio has been a morale booster and gives hope that even the coverage under routine immunization programme can be widened to reach out to each and every child ensuring better health prospects.
“Polio success can be largely attributed to the unwavering commitment shown for the cause at the highest echelons. The Central Government has ensured that adequate domestic funding to the tune of more than Rs 12000 crore and other logistic arrangements are readily made available to the States notwithstanding the fact that health is a State subject’’, Mr Azad said.
Apprising the delegation of the magnitude of the task, he informed that every National Immunization Day in India dealt with more than 17 crore children. The pulse polio campaigns have involved nearly 24 lakh volunteers, 1.5 lakh supervisors apart from efficient surveillance mechanisms, innovative communication strategies to overcome resistance and now Rapid Response Teams for continued preparedness and swift response.
The Union Health Minister invited the Pakistani delegation to find time to look at other national programmes being conducted by the Ministry.
The nine-member delegation led by Ms Wazir Ali expressed appreciation for the progress made by India in fighting polio over the last two years despite challenges.
Recognizing the similarities in issues faced by both the nations in reaching the high-risk groups including migrant population, she said the strategies adopted by the Indian health authorities and partners in India can serve as guidelines for health interventions in any polio endemic country.
“Over 75 per cent of the polio cases in Pakistan are among the migrant Pashtun community. We are keen to learn from India’s experience of tracking, mobilizing and immunizing the migrant population,” Ms Ali said.
The delegation also had detailed discussion with senior Health Ministry officials led by Ms Anuradha Gupta, Additional Secretary and Mission Director National Rural Health Mission and representatives of partner organizations.
Prominent among others in the Pakistan delegation were Dr Azra Fazal Pechuho, Member National Task Force for Polio, Babar Muhammad and Dr Altaf Bosan, National Coordinator, Prime Minister’s Polio Monitoring Cell.
Worthwhile to mention here that Pakistan was among the three remaining polio endemic countries in the world along with Afghanistan and Nigeria. In 2012 so far, Pakistan has reported 15 cases of polio, a sharp decline from 198 cases in 2011. With its intense emergency eradication programme, Pakistan has reduced cases by more than half this year compared to the same time last year.
India was struck off the list of polio endemic countries in February 2012 after completing over a year without any fresh case of polio. The unprecedented progress in India, considered the most difficult place globally to stop polio, is being cited by the global experts as an example that the present strategies work if implemented with full zest and earnest.