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Kashmir : Storm in PDP over founder member’s expulsion

	March 17, 2008

There is a bit of turmoil in the People’s Democratic Party (PDP), a partner in the ruling coalition in Jammu and Kashmir over the expulsion of one of its founder leaders and sitting MLA, Ghulam Hassan Mir from the basic membership of the party.



Though the step has been taken after Mir’s open rebellion against the party top brass, the former Minister refused to accept the decision and questioned the authority of the PDP’s disciplinary committee.



“We have expelled him from the party,” PDP general secretary Nizamuddin Bhat said. “He has been expelled for his anti-party activities.”



Mir’s expulsion is significant as Assembly elections in the state are expected any time now. He has the ability to take along several other senior party members affecting PDP’s poll prospects.



Meanwhile, Mir has started work on a third front. He claims several Ministers of the ruling coalition are with him. “The Third Front will be a reality soon. But it is premature to say who will be in it and how it will come up,” said Mir.



On his expulsion, Mir said, “I have been saying all along that the PDP has become a party of a particular family. It is a dictatorship. And that has been proven again.”





Congress for continuing dialogue with separatists



Newly appointed state Congress president Saifuddin Soz has said that his party is for continuation of the dialogue with separatists. Speaking at his first public rally in Srinagar after assuming the charge of the party in the state, he referred to the talks between the Centre and the moderate faction of the Hurriyat in this context. He said the State has seen unprece¬dented development in the past few years.



Significantly Soz refrained from making any attack on the principal opposition party in the state, the National Conference, in the course of his speech at the rally.





Involve people in the dialogue process : Farooq Abdullah



National Conference patron and former Chief Minister Farooq Abdullah has emphasised the need for involving the people of the state in the dialogue to settle the Kashmir issue. Speaking to mediapersons in Jammu on March 10, he accused the Centre of not being serious about resolving the Kashmir issue. In this con¬text, he referred to the delay in the implementation of the recommendations of the working groups on Kashmir constituted by Prime Minister Manmohan Singh.





Troops relocated



More than three months after the Army shifted Nariyan-based 27 Infantry Division to the North East, it has filled the gap by shifting two units to the area for guarding the Line of Control (LoC).



It is also shifting two units one each from frontier dis¬tricts of Poonch and Rajouri to the valley.



Army sources said after shifting the 27 Infantry division to the North East in view of the alleged threat from China, the authorities are filling the gap by attaching two units, 27 RR posted in Kalai area and 40 RR in Mandi area, in the Poonch to the Ace of Spade infantry division for manning the LoC and also to provide security to the people.



In view of the coming Assembly elections, the authorities are also moving 20 RR posted in Argi Daleri and 45 RR from Potha area in Poonch district to the Srinagar-based 15 corps for pro¬viding security during the elections.



The sources said all these units, which are being relocated, are part of the Romeo Force, which is looking after the counter insurgency operations in these two border districts.





Zardari changes tune on Kashmir



Following criticism in Pakistan of his remarks on Kashmir, Pakistan People’s Party co-chairman Asif Ali Zardari has changed his tune and now says that Kashmir is an “integral part of Pakis¬tan” and he will not “betray the sacrifices” of those who had given their lives for Kashmir. In an interview published in Urdu daily, Jang, and its sister publication, The News, Zardari said

India and Pakistan had “admitted positions” on Kashmir. “Just as India says Kashmir is its atoot ang (inseparable part of body), let me borrow the phrase, it is an atoot ang for us too.”



He clarified that “all that I said” in the interview on Indian television was that “let us bring this back door diplomacy that’s been going on for the last five years to the front door, let us play the ball on the pitch.”



Zardari had said in an interview to CNN-IBN that India and Pakistan should “agree to disagree” on their stated positions on Kashmir and focus on building economic interdependence through trade. He also said the normalisation of relations between the two countries should not become hostage to the Kashmir issue.



In a “clarification” of his remarks on Indian television, the PPP said it stood for “resolution of the Kashmir dispute and normalisation of relations on the basis of respect and honour.”





Pakistan Army committed to Kashmir cause



In a related development, the Pakistan Army Chief, Gen. Ashfaq Parvez Kayani, emphasising what he called the national consensus on the Kashmir issue, has reaffirmed the commitment of his force to the Kashmir cause.



A military statement in Islamabad said, Gen Kayani “high¬lighted” the national consensus that exists on the Kashmir issue” and “reaffirmed the commitment of Pakistan Army to the Kashmir cause in line with the aspirations of Pakistani nation.”



He made these remarks during a visit to forward locations near the Line of Control.







Ban on lifetime pre-paid cards for J & K, North East



The Department of Telecommunications (DoT) has asked telecom operators in Jammu and Kashmir and the North East not to issue pre-paid SIM cards, which have a lifetime validity, in view of the alleged misuse by militants. The operators have also been told not to issue recharge coupons with over three months’ valid¬ity. The DoT order has been implemented so as to “minimise the misuse of cell phones” by militants.





Kashmir sapphires auctioned



Jammu and Kashmir auctioned nearly 17 kg of its precious crude sapphires last week, the first time in 20 years. Kashmir sapphires are much sought after around the world for their quali¬ty. The state’s peacock-blue sapphire, an extremely rare variety, is the finest of its kind found anywhere in the world.



More than 70 experts and buyers from all over the world reached Jammu for the rare auction. “I heard for a long time that Kashmiri sapphire is the best in the world, so I just wanted to come to see,” said Thanain, a buyer from Bangkok, Thailand. The blue sapphire is much sought after. And if it’s from Paddar mines in Kishtwar, it fetches four times the price of a similar gemstone from Sri Lanka. When militancy erupted in J&K, the extraction was stopped. Lack of expertise is also said to have played a role in the stoppage of work. Now, the government wants do a thorough assessment of the sapphire mines to exploit the reserve. Nawang Rigzin Jora, Minister for Industries and Com¬merce, who inaugurated the auction, said it was the need of the hour to augment the value of the stones by mining it on modern scientific lines.