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Kashmir : Judicial probe ordered into Handwara killings |
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In the face of public outrage over the killing of four boys in a shootout at Handwara during the Army’s reported manhunt for militants, Chief Minister Ghulam Nabi Azad has ordered a judicial probe into the incident. The February 22 killings had sparked off widespread protests in the Kashmir Valley. The Opposition National Conference boycotted the Governor’s address to the joint sitting of both Houses of the state legislature on Monday, February 27.
The State Government had earlier announced a magisterial probe into the incident, but the opposition termed the response as inadequate and insisted on a judicial probe to fix responsibility for the killing of four innocent youth. The Army said the victims were caught in the cross-fire between troops and militants. It has sanctioned ex-gratia of Rs. 2,00,000 for the next of kin of each of the killed boys and a job for a member of the bereaved families. The State Government has announced an ex-gratia payment of Rs. 1,00,000 each.
Meanwhile, in New Delhi, the Lok Sabha was adjourned during Zero hour on Feb. 27 after a heated exchange over talk of self-rule for Jammu and Kashmir at the round-table conference chaired by Prime Minister Manmohan Singh last month. BJP deputy leader V.K. Malhotra said that talking of self-rule in Jammu and Kashmir just because it was a Muslim majority state amounted to endorsing the two-nation theory. A Jammu and Kashmir People’s Democratic Party leader said the BJP had not understood what was meant by self-rule.
In the round-table on Jammu and Kashmir, the Prime Minister had said while summing up the proceedings that there were different perceptions of autonomy and self-rule, and there was need for a common understanding of autonomy and self-rule. CPI(M) leader Nilotpal Basu said that his party welcomed the Government’s move to hold a round-table meeting with Kashmiri leaders.
In the Rajya Sabha, Home Minister Shivraj Patil said that autonomy and self-rule were not the only issues discussed at the round-table meeting. He said the Opposition should not create any misunderstanding on the matter.
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More funds in the Union Budget
Jammu and Kashmir will continue to get special assistance during the next financial year. Presenting the Union Budget on Tuesday, Feb. 28, Finance Minister P. Chidambaram said, “The Centre will continue to provide special assistance to Jammu and Kashmir . The state plan for 2006-07, has been fixed at Rs.2,300 crore., In addition, I propose to provide a sum of Rs. 848 crore for the J & K Reconstruction Plan, including Rs. 230 crore for the Baglihar project. I also propose to provide special central plan assistance of Rs. 1,300 crore to enable the state to undertake reforms in the power sector.”
However, the Government decided to reduce allocation for the relief and rehabilitation of Jammu and Kashmir migrants. The Centre has decided to allocate only Rs. 120 crore in the year 2006-07 against the earlier allocation of Rs. 129.80 crores in the year 2005-06. The funds under the scheme are meant for grant of relief to Kashmir migrants and border migrants in J & K, reimbursement to Government of J & K for ex gratia relief to next of kin, village defence committee members, civilians and central paramilitary personnel killed in terrorist attacks and cross-border firing incidents.
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Mufti calls for regional federalism
In a counter to the autonomy demand of the National Conference, former Chief Minister and PDP leader Mufti Mohd. Sayeed has called for introducing the concept of regional federalism. Talking to media persons in Jammu on March 1, he said this will solve not only the Kashmir problem, but also meet the aspirations of two other regions. The Mufti unfolded the “regional federalism” proposal within the self-rule agenda that the PDP had presented in the round table conference. He said the PDP believed in the full empowerment of the people under the model of self-rule that responded to the aspirations of the people living in all three regions of the state. He said the free and fair Assembly elections of 2002 were not sufficient to remove apprehensions among the people of various regions and some bold steps were required to be taken by the Centre.
While there were protests elsewhere in the country against President Bush’s visit to India, people in the Kashmir Valley, observers say, generally considered the United States as a benign super power concerned about peace in the state. This was evident from the lack of protests against Washington.
Giving another angle to the Valley’s soft-corner for the US, the chairman of the moderate Hurriyat faction, Mirwaiz Umar Farooq said : “Kashmiris are shy of joining any protest against the superpower. There is a hope that only the US has the clout to persuade the two countries to resolve the dispute.”
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