Excelsior Correspondent
SRINAGAR, May 10: A woman of the Magam area in Central Kashmir’s Budgam district gave birth to five children at Lalded hospital here today. The mother along with her children is doing well and all of them are in fine health.
Afroza, resident of Magam gave birth to the children at the Lalded hospital after a caesarian. Children including two girls are in good health and they weighed above two kilograms each. She has already a son while as twice she suffered miscarriage. The surgery was carried out by Dr. Rizwana.
Both Afroza and her husband were elated after the birth of the five children while as happiness could also be seen brimming on the faces of their relatives. Attendants of the expectant mothers made a bee-line to the ward where Afroza is admitted and had a glimpse of the children.
Some of them clicked the photos of the children with the cameras of their mobile phones and the occasion turned festive.

Excelsior Correspondent
JAMMU, May 10: The State Government today ordered transfer and postings of seven Private Secretaries.
Sat Paul-II, Private Secretary with Financial Commissioner (Revenue) has been transferred and posted as Private Secretary with Commissioner/Secretary, ARI and Trainings.
Irshad Ahmad, Private Secretary with Commissioner/Secretary, Higher Education Department was transferred and posted as Private Secretary with Commissioner/Secretary, Public Works (R&B) Department.
Archana Raina, Private Secretary with Commissioner of Enquiries has been transferred and posted as Private Secretary with Chairman, Appellate Authority, Pollution Control Board vice Shakeel Ahmad.
Gagan Singh, Private Secretary with Commissioner/Secretary, Agriculture Production Department has been transferred and posted as Private Secretary with Commissioner/Secretary, Cooperative Department vice Farooq Ahmad.
Farooq Ahmad was transferred and posted as Private Secretary with Commissioner/Secretary, Animal and Sheep Husbandry Department vice Mrs Vijay Laxmi.
Mrs Vijay Laxmi has been posted as Private Secretary with Commissioner/ Secretary, Agriculture Production Department replacing Gagan Singh.
Shakeel Ahmad, Private Secretary with Chairman, Appellate Authority, Pollution Control Board, has been transferred and posted as Private Secretary with Financial Commissioner, Revenue vice Sat Paul-II.
Meanwhile, Mohammad Akram Malik after his repatriation in Animal and Sheep Husbandry Department, has been posted as Managing Director, J&K Agro Industries Development Corporation on deputation basis relieving Farooq Ahmad Lone, Director Agriculture, Kashmir of the additional charge of the post.

Excelsior Correspondent
JAMMU, May 10: A police constable posted as Personal Security Officer (PSO) with Deepender Kour, mother of Amandeep Singh, was found dead under mysterious circumstances at Rajinder Park along Canal Road early this morning.
Amandeep Singh was murdered in August 2009 by Choudhary Nagar Singh alias Nago’s son, Jatinder Singh alias Raja and his associate, Royal Singh, all of whom were in jail.
Police said Rakesh Kumar, 29, son of Darshan Lal R/o Gurha, Bakshi Nagar, has been posted as PSO with Depender Kour for past about 10 days after her permanent PSO had gone on leave.
Rakesh last spoke to his sister at 10 pm. At about 5 am today, the morning walkers saw blood riddled body of Rakesh lying in Rajinder Park. His AK-47 rifle was also lying near his body.
Police said two bullets had pierced through the body of Rakesh Kumar leading to his instant death. Though Nowabad police have registered a case under Section 174 RPC, police said it appeared to be a case of suicide and had nothing to do with the murder of Amandeep Singh as Rakesh had been posted as PSO only 10 days ago from the District Police Lines (DPL).
After post-mortem, body of Rakesh Kumar was handed over to his family and cremated this afternoon.
Weapon and bike of Rakesh Kumar have been recovered from the spot and sent for forensic examination.
Police parties headed by SSP Jammu Prabhat Singh, SP City (North) Jatinder Singh Johar, SDPO Abdul Rouf Lone and SHO Nowabad Inspector Sagar Singh visited the site of death for on spot investigations.
The matter was being probed.

ISLAMABAD, May 10:
India and Pakistan will hold their next round of talks on the military standoff on Siachen glacier in Islamabad during June 11-12 against the backdrop of renewed calls from the Pakistani civil and military leadership for the demilitarisation of the world’s highest battlefield.
“Pakistan and India will hold talks on the Siachen issue on June 11-12 at Islamabad,” Foreign Office spokesman Moazzam Khan said in a brief statement this evening.
He did not give details.
The last round of talks on Siachen was held in Delhi by the Defence Secretaries of the two countries almost a year ago.
The announcement by Khan came shortly after diplomatic sources told reporters that Pakistan had asked India to reschedule talks on the Sir Creek border dispute which were to be held in New Delhi next week.
The Pakistani side has sought fresh dates later this month or in June for talks on the Sir Creek issue, the sources said.
They said fresh dates would be decided through diplomatic consultations.
The reasons for Pakistan’s decision could not immediately be ascertained.
Foreign Office spokesman Moazzam Khan had recently announced that officials of the two countries would meet in New Delhi during May 14-16 to discuss the Sir Creek issue.
Some reports have suggested that Islamabad wants to assess progress on the Siachen issue before holding talks on Sir Creek.
Representatives from Pakistan’s powerful military play a key role in talks on both Sir Creek and Siachen.
There have been calls from Pakistani politicians, including main opposition PML-N chief Nawaz Sharif, for the demilitarisation of Siachen after 139 people were buried under dozens of feet of snow when an avalanche hit a high-altitude Pakistan Army camp at Gyari on April 7.
Pakistani commentators and security analysts have questioned the strategic value of deploying of troops at Siachen and also highlighted the environmental costs of the standoff on the glacier.
Search teams are yet to find any trace of the buried men, including over 120 soldiers.
During recent visits to the site of the avalanche, Pakistan Army chief Gen Ashfaq Parvez Kayani called for the demilitarisation of the glacier and said the India and Pakistan should resolve all outstanding issues to ensure “peaceful co-existence” which would allow the two sides to focus on development and welfare of the people.
Kayani said Pakistan hopes the Siachen issue is “resolved so that both the countries don’t have to pay the cost”.
However, he also contended that India had hardened its position by seeking the demarcation of the Line of Control instead of the authentication of troop positions on the ground.
“There is nothing like a peaceful resolution. The best thing is a peaceful resolution but short of that, we will do what we are supposed to do,” Kayani said during a visit to Gyari on May 3.
Defence Minister A K Antony has made it clear that there is no change in India’s stand on Siachen.
Pakistan has also considerably hardened its stand on the Sir Creek issue in recent months though the two countries had said they had made progress after a joint survey of the marshlands. (PTI)

Cabinet brings end to adhocism

Excelsior Correspondent
SRINAGAR, May 10: Bringing an end to the adhocism and stop-gap arrangement at the level of Commissioner Secretaries and Secretaries, State Cabinet, which met under the chairmanship of Chief Minister, Omar Abdullah, here this morning, ordered transfers and postings of 10 senior IAS officers with immediate effect.
K B Agarwal, Principal Secretary to Government, Public Works (R&B) Department has been transferred and posted as Financial Commissioner (Revenue) relieving B A Runiyal, Commissioner Secretary, Revenue Department of the additional charge of the post.
Mr Agarwal will also hold the charge of the post of Chairman, J&K Special Tribunal in addition to his own duties.
Umang Narulla, Commissioner Secretary, Industries and Commerce department has been transferred and posted as Commissioner Secretary to Government, Forest Department vice Shant Manu.
Mr Shant Manu has been posted as Commissioner Secretary, Industries and Commerce Department.
Bipul Pathak, who was awaiting orders of posting in the General Administration Department, has been posted as Commissioner Secretary, Animal/ Sheep Husbandry Department relieving Shaleen Kabra of the additional charge of the post.
Tanveer Jehan, Commissioner Secretary to Government, Higher Education Department has been transferred and posted as Commissioner Secretary, Public Works Department vice K B Agarwal.
Dr Syed Mohammad Fazalullah, Registrar Cooperative Societies, J&K has been transferred and posted as Commissioner Secretary to Government, Cooperative Department relieving Shaleen Kabra of the additional charge of the post.
Manoj Kumar Dwivedi, Secretary to Government, Information Technology and Science and Technology Departments has been transferred and posted as Secretary  Health and Medical Education Department relieving Tanveer Jehan of the additional charge of the post.
Gazzanfer Hussain, Commissioner Commercial Taxes has been transferred and posted as Secretary to Government, Higher Education Department vice Tanveer Jehan.
Mohammad Ashraf Bukhari, Secretary J&K Public Service Commission has been transferred and posted as Secretary to Government, Information Technology and Science and Technology Department vice M K Dwivedi.
Zaffar Ahmad, Special Secretary, Chief Minister’s Secretariat has been transferred and posted as Director Information vice Farooq Ahmad Renzu, who will report to the General Administration Department.
The Cabinet also approved regularization of adhoc, contractual and consolidated employees working in Health and Medical Education Department. It also gave its nod for transfer of State land measuring 202 kanals and 12 marlas in favour of Industries and Commerce Department for setting up of industrial estate at Trajoor in Majalta tehsil of Udhampur district.
It further approved transfer of State land measuring 123 kanals and 13 marlas in favour of Industries and Commerce Department for setting up of silk cluster at Thanda Pani in Sunderbani tehsil and use of 0.50 hectare of strip plantation area at Awantipora and Galander Pampore units of Social Forestry Department coming in the 4 laning of NH1A by National Highway Authority of India.
The use of 0.90 hectare of forest land for construction of Mini-Secretariat at Mendhar, 1.51 hectare of forest land coming in 4 laning of Jammu-Udhampur section and change of nomenclature of Allopathic Dispensaries into New Type Primary Health Centres and Medical Aid Centres into Sub-Centres also received the approval of the Cabinet.

4 bodies recovered, 5th untraced

Fayaz Bukhari
Srinagar, May 10: Army today foiled a major infiltration bid in North Kashmir’s Uri sector by eliminating 5 militants near the Line of Control (LoC) in district Baramulla.
Srinagar based Defence spokesperson, Lt Col JS Brar, said today that army along the LoC in Maidan Nala area of Uri sector observed movement of five to six militants trying to infiltrate into Uri last night.
The Defence spokesman said that the troops of 34 Rashtriya Rifles laid an ambush around them and they were asked to surrender. “On being asked to surrender, the infiltrators opened heavy fire on our troops and the troops retaliated resulting in the killing of five militants”, the spokesman added.
He said that bodies of four militants’ along with four AK rifles besides other ammunition have been recovered by the army during the search operations. The body of the fifth militant is yet to be recovered as the area of operation is in very close proximity to the LoC, he added.
The Defence spokesman said that identity of the infiltrators was yet to be established. He said that troops were vigilant to thwart all such attempts aimed at disturbing peace in Kashmir. The Army sources said that the search operations in the area are going on.
This is after two years, the infiltrators have used Uri sector for infiltrating into Kashmir. Last time six infiltrators were killed in August 2010 in Uri sector of Kashmir. The infiltrators were avoiding the Uri sector as they suffered huge losses in this sector.
Army tightened its security gird along the LoC following reports that large number of militants are desperate to infiltrate. After recent successful operations in North Kashmir, Army maintained that militants are desperate to infiltrate to fill the void created in their ranks in Kashmir valley.
Army killed 10 militants of Laskhar-e-Toiba in Handwara forests in two operations in March and April this year. At that time General Officer Commanding (GOC) 15 Corps Lt General S A Hasnain had apprehended that militants from across will make attempts to infiltrate.
Last time 5 infiltrators were killed near the LoC in Keran sector of the frontier district of Kupwara in October last year. Last year militants were despite to infiltrate but during the winter there were no reports on any infiltration bids due to heavy snowfall.