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Kashmir : Join dialogue process, Azad tells militants

	August 21, 2006

Jammu and Kashmir Chief Minister Ghulam Nabi Azad has again called upon separatist leaders and militants to shun violence and join the mainstream. Speaking for the first time at the Independence Day parade after taking over as Chief Minister, Azad asked the separatists to be part of the dialogue process aimed at finding a peaceful solution to the Kashmir issue. He said, “We hope that the Hurriyat leaders would not skip the third Jammu and Kashmir round-table.” He said the working groups constituted at the end of the second round-table would complete their assignments by early next month.



Azad said peace was essential for progress and that is impossible till terrorism is finished, a goal that can be achieved only with the people’s cooperation. He again spoke of his determination to bring down violations of human rights.



Amidst tight security, a sizable number of people turned up for the Independence Day function at Bakhshi Stadium in Srinagar.



The Chief Minister’s appeal, however, did not find any takers in the Hurriyat Conference as both factions of the organization, one headed by Maulvi Umar Farooq and the other by Syed Ali Shah Gilani turned down the offer.



Meanwhile, differences have come into the open on self-rule formula between the two main coalition partners in the state, the Congress and the People’s Democratic Party. PDP president Mahbooba Mufti while welcoming the Prime Minister’s call on Independence Day for building a peaceful future for the state described self-rule as the ideal formula for resolving the Kashmir issue.



Congress leaders of the state, however, said that self-rule already existed in the present democratic set up. A senior Congress leader said, “Democracy grants everyone an opportunity to choose the representatives of their liking, either on the basis of conviction or ideology. As such, nothing could be best exemplified as self-rule, but democratic decentralisation.”



Chairman of the working group on strengthening relations across the line of control, M.K. Rasgotra, has called for steps for easier travel across the LoC. Speaking in Srinagar on Friday, August 18, he said the existing travel procedures were complicated. He said the decks are being cleared for initiating trade across the line of control. He said the delay in the process has been on the part of Pakistan. India had sent a list of 70 businessmen to Pakistan about six months back. Pakistan has now sent a list of 40 businessmen for approval.







Peaceful Independence Day in J & K



Barring stray incidents of violence, the Independence Day celebrations in Jammu and Kashmir were peaceful last week to the relief of law enforcing agencies. State Director General of Police Gopal Sharma said that it was heartening to see that the militants and their supporting terror groups failed to create trouble to show their presence. Equally striking, he said was the fact that a large number of people participated in the Independence Day celebrations in and around Srinagar.



In his message for Independence Day, the State Governor, Lt. General S.K. Sinha, called upon the people to organise themselves for giving a united fight to the cancer of terrorism which had been eating into the vitals of the state. He said the security of the people remained a major concern in the wake of atrocities by militants like throwing grenades and massacre of soft targets.



Infiltration going on : Pranab Mukherjee



Defence Minister Pranab Mukherjee has said that infiltration of terrorists from across the line of control in Kashmir is going on non-stop. In his broadcast to the armed forces on the eve of Independence Day, on August 14, he accused Pakistan of supporting terrorists. He said, “I have to say with regret that our neighbour has not understood our sentiments. Infiltration of terrorists form across the border is going on non-stop. We have information about the involvement of Pakistan-supported terrorists in the Mumbai bomb blasts.”



Meanwhile, interrogation of two Lashkar-e-Taiba terrorists by the Delhi police has confirmed once again that Pakistani intelligence agency ISI has direct links with the terrorist organisation. One of the arrested militants has given detailed description of the functioning of the monthly meetings that take place between Pakistan army officials and Lashkar-e-Taiba leaders.





Supreme Court stays High Court order in sex scandal case



VVIPs involved in the infamous J&K sex scandal got a temporary reprieve when the Supreme Court last week stayed the High Court order directing the CBI to take the word of the victims in the sex scandal as gospel truth and arrest the persons named by them. A bench of the apex court headed by Chief Justice Y.K. Sabharwal on August 18 stayed the High Court directive by which the Investigating Officer was at liberty to arrest persons without the instruction of his superiors. The Bench said that till the next date of hearing, the IO will conduct custodial interrogation of people he may think fit on consultation with Director CBI.



Eighteen persons including two MLAs, a DIG of the Border Security Force, a senior IAS officer and a former Additional Advocate General have been arrested so far because of alleged involvement in the sex scandal. The High Court on August 11 had directed the CBI to arrest all those involved in terms of material on record and concretise the action including custodial interrogation regardless of their positions.



In the meantime as part of the drive against corruption, the state government has prematurely retired ten officers against whom serious charges of corruption had been proved in a drive launched by Chief Minister Ghulam Nabi Azad.