Wazeer-e-Azam Omar wants a Wazeeristaan in Kashmir

3 new universities: NC’s sinister plan to divide Kashmiri Muslims on sectarian lines

Early Times Report

JAMMU, Oct 17: In a bizarre antithesis to grandfather Sheikh Abdullah’s concept of Kashmiriyat---a plural society clean of all communal and sectarian conflicts---Chief Minister Omar Abdullah has floated a sinister plan of dividing the Kashmiri Muslims on sectarian lines even before winning greater autonomy for the Valley. The would-be Wazeer-e-Azam (Prime Minister) has sown the seeds of an extremely dangerous ideological conflict by way of pushing passage of three private members’ Bills in the state legislature last fortnight. One of the Bills seeks to establish a university to promote the Valley’s secular ethos, pluralism and non-violence but another Bill is aimed at creating a university for promotion of the Wahabi ideology that would straightaway lead to creation of a Wazeeristaan in Jammu & Kashmir.

Most of the legislators in National Conference (NC) insist that the state’s religious sensibilities are Greek to the greenhorn politician but quite a few of them believe that there was more than meets the eye in passing the three particular Bills in Legislative Assembly in a hush-hush manner in the concluding moments of the autumn session on October 9^th. Some of the seniormost leaders in Sheikh Abdullah’s party have been taken aback on the way Chief Minister clandestinely instructed his MLAs to particularly support a private member’s Bill with the purpose of establishing a religious university whose funds would flow in from the self-righteous, puritanical Wahabi school of thought in Saudi Arabia.

This school of thought completely negates the form of tolerant Islam that has been in practice in Kashmir valley since 14^th century when Rishi saint Sheikh-ul-Alam Sheikh Noor-ud-din Noorani and his mystic commune laid the foundation of Reshiwari. Wahabi school of thought does not tolerate spiritualism and faith in saints or shrines that have been the bedrock of Kashmir’s secular ethos, pluralism and religious tolerance for the last over 600 years now.

This is for the first time that someone in J&K Legislature has attempted to uproot the basis of Kashmiriyat by way of floating a Bill that has every potential of dividing the Kashmiri Muslims on sectarian lines and thus pave the wave for creation of a Wazeeristaan in the Valley in the next few years.

Interestingly, the Wahabi university Bill has not been piloted by any Syed Ali Shah Geelani but NC’s own Mir Saifullah and pushed forward by Minister incharge Law and Parliamentary Affairs, Ali Mohammad Sagar, who is known for his unflinching faith in the Valley’s Sufi saints and shrines. If the highly placed bureaucratic sources are to be believed, Chief Minister’s Political Advisor, Devender Singh Rana, played a key role in arranging meetings of the behind-the-scene promoters of the Wahabi university with his boss, particularly in the last two months.

“Some Central agencies have had the agenda of dividing the Kashmiri Muslims on sectarian lines. They seem to be keen to undercut Syed Ali Shah Geelani, Jamaat-e-Islami and Hizbul Mujahideen by promoting an ultra-extremist ideology. Why should National Conference (NC) be taken for this ride?”asked one of NC’s Members of Parliament. He observed that Sher-e-Kashmir’s Generation-3 successor had been ‘blindly’ dismantling his own party’s foundation from his day one in the hot seat. “J&K has already nine universities---three of them (Mata Veshnu Devi, Islamic University of Science & Technology and Baba Ghulam Shah Baadshah) with religious orientation. Even in the country, we have Banaras Hindu University, Aligarh Muslim University and Guru Nanak Dev University. We have a system for that. But creating universities on sectarian basis is not acceptable”, he asserted.

More interestingly, land for J&K’s first university to be created with sectarian orientation had been allotted by none other than Congress party’s senior leader and then Chief Minister Ghulam Nabi Azad in Srinagar outskirts in 2007. Omar Abdullah has pushed the process farther by getting the legislation in Assembly through a private member’s Bill.

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Mushtaq taking over as Chairman J&K Bank today

Ahmed Ali Fayyaz

SRINAGAR, Oct 5: Over a month after Haseeb Drabu’s dismissal by Omar Abdullah’s coalition government, nominee of the Board of Directors (BOD), Mushtaq Ahmed, is taking over as Chairman and Chief Executive Officer of Jammu & Kashmir Bank Ltd on Wednesday. Reserve Bank of India (RBI) today communicated its approval to the appointment of Mushtaq Ahmed as Chairman of the J&K Bank following which Government of Jammu & Kashmir appointed him as a Director on Board, clearing decks for his appointment on the topmost position in the bank.

RBI sources revealed to Early Times that a number of “anonymous caveats” were overruled and nomination of Mushtaq Ahmed, as proposed and recommended by BOD of J&K Bank, was approved and finally communicated to J&K Bank today. According to these sources, “certain disgruntled elements” were at work to stall Mushatq’s appointment “for personal and political reasons”.

Sources in J&K Bank confirmed that RBI today granted approval to Mushatq’s appointment as Chairman and CEO of the bank. They said that the principal stake holder, Government of Jammu & Kashmir, nominated Mushtaq as a Director on Board, in terms of article of association. They disclosed that an extraordinary meeting of BOD would take place at Corporate Headquarters tomorrow at 1600 hours in which the government’s nominee director, Mushtaq Ahmed, would formally take over as Chairman and CEO. He would be taking over from Commissioner-Secretary Finance, Sudhanshu Pandey, who has been functioning as a government director in BOD for the last over one year and also as incharge Chairman and CEO of J&K Bank since the day Drabu was removed on August 27^th.

In a significant development, Government of Jammu & Kashmir had directed Drabu to tender his resignation as Chairman and CEO of J&K Bank on August 26^th. After Drabu’s resignation on August 27^th, BOD had submitted a list of three nominees, with necessary approval of J&K Government, to RBI for appointment of the new Chairman. While the former Executive Director, Mushtaq Ahmed, figured at the top, two senior KAS officers, Tanvir Jehan and G A Pir, were recommended as runners up. Pandey was asked to function as incharge Chairman, with constitution of two top level committees, until a full-fledged Chairman was appointed after necessary approval from RBI.

Drabu’s dismissal came as a surprise to many political and bureaucratic circles as they had been extolling him as the “Prime Minister’s nominee” on account of his proximity to one-time influential union Minister Jairam Ramesh. He had been appointed as Chairman of J&K Bank by PDP’s founder-president and former Chief Minister Mufti Mohammad Sayeed with the replacement of Mohammad Yousuf Khan. According to informed sources, Drabu is now attempting to get a job with a media organization, though he has not publicly surfaced anywhere in the state or the country in the last over one month.

Drabu’s would-be successor, Mushaq Ahmed had reached superannuation in February 2008 after serving J&K Bank in different capacities for about 35 years. Hailing from the border area of Uri, Mushtaq had joined J&K Bank as a Probationary Officer in December 1972. After functioning as head of a number of branches as Chief Manager and Deputy General Manager, he headed the bank’s Investment and Treasury Operations as General Manager and continued to be its head even after he was elevated to the senior position of Executive Director. He earned considerable appreciation as an expert in loan and credit portfolio as also head of the Foreign Exchange department of which he was a founder.

He remained in oblivion after his retirement as Executive Director in February 2008.

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‘

No political killing
in one month
’
Is it a thaw or lull before the storm next?

Ahmed Ali Fayyaz

SRINAGAR, Oct 3: Remember when the last politics-related killing took place in Kashmir? Nearly a month ago, when four civilians died in a shootout at Palhalan, on Srinagar-Muzaffarabad Highway, and one more later succumbed to injuries at a hospital. Seventeen civilians died in Police and paramilitary firing on September 13th and later one more succumbed to injuries but the street violence on that eventful day is primarily attributed to a religious outrage in a distant foreign country. Alleged desecration of holy Quran by a couple of zealots in United States of America evoked a violent reaction in Muslim-dominated Kashmir. On no other single day in the last over seven years had 17 civilians died in incidents of firing or street violence in Jammu & Kashmir.

On March 23rd, 2003, unidentified gunmen, widely believed to be militants of Lashkar-e-Toiba, had massacred as many as 24 members of the resident Kashmiri Pandits at Nadimarg in Kulgam area of south Kashmir. It came exactly three years after 36 members of the minority Sikh community had been gunned down in carnage at Chittisinghpura, in south Kashmir, on March 20, 2000.

Chittisinghpura bloodbath on the eve of then US President Bill Clinton’s visit to India happened amid the militants and the government of India trading charges and holding each other responsible for the late night massacre. Over 10 years later, Kashmir continues to be in the news on arrival of President Barrack Obama---this time for 110 civilian killings spread over the last four months. Stimulus of the highest number of deaths on one particular day---September 13th---is yet again an American.

Post 9/11, India perhaps does not need any diplomacy on Kashmir. Analysts seem to be unanimous that anything from the Iranian intervention over the September 13th ‘killings’ in the Valley to the World Bank treating J&K as a “disputed territory” ---Rs 1000 Cr IWDP has been almost rejected in absence of clearance from Islamabad---would have stirred a hornets’ nest in the South Block a decade ago. Being politically conscious more than people in any other state in this country, Kashmiri Muslims have been viewing Washington D.C. and New Delhi as “natural allies” in so-called war against the terror. That is why local news agencies have failed to build any expectations with regard to Obama’s maiden visit to India notwithstanding their desk editor’s belief that Uncle Sam was coming only to liberate Kashmir from India.

Chief Minister Omar Abdullah continues to be beleaguered as he used to be in July this year but men of consequence in his government sound to be relieved over the fact that no politics-related killing has happened in the Valley since the day five persons died in a shootout at Palhalan, Pattan, on September 6th.

Politicians like PDP’s Nizam-ud-din Bhat insist that current uneasy calm was deceptive as the separatists, according to them, had been consolidating their “gains” and preparing for a deadlier offensive. National Conference’s politicians, as well as Chief Minister’s incompetent brand of thintanks, are relieved over the statistics. “Curfew for days and weeks does not matter. It is good that nobody has died for political reasons in the last one month”, said one of them---completely ignoring the Kashmiris’ preoccupation with harvesting, massive pressure on Geelani not to spoil an academic year and shifting of entire media attention to Ayodhya judgment and Commonwealth Games.

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PDP seeks action against ‘killers’, decides to boycott rest of session


*Ramzan blasts Hurriyat over shutdown calendar

*Er Rasheed calls J&K as ‘disputed’, dismisses pro-India politicians as ‘Delhi’s agents’

Ahmed Ali Fayyaz

SRINAGAR, Sep 30: Principal opposition party, PDP, today participated in the obituary references on day one of the special session of the Legislature but decided to boycott rest of the proceedings until “killers of 109 Kashmiri youths martyred in the last four months” were identified and punished by Omar Abdullah’s National Conference-led coalition government. Grappling with members of a number of mainstream parties, particularly BJP and Panthers Party, independent MLA, Engineer Sheikh Abdul Rasheed, questioned finality of the state’s accession to India on the floor of the House even as his NC neighbour, Chowdhary Mohammad Ramzan, blasted the separatist Hurriyat Conference over its unending shutdown calendars and the mainstream PDP over its soft corner for “real criminals of Kashmir’s bloodshed”.

Breaking the tradition of paying tributes only to sitting or former members of the Legislature, whose death occurred in the last few months, Assembly Secretariat had also enlisted in the Obituary References all those killed in the last four months of turbulence in the state. It was widely perceived to be the government’s move to neutralize what could have been potentially the PDP’s exclusive initiative of empathizing with the families of the Kashmiris killed in current turmoil.

Initiating nearly three-hour-long homage paying ritual in the state Legislative Assembly, PDP President Mehbooba Mufti alleged that Omar Abdullah government had crossed all limits in silencing the Valley’s angry youth with bullets and detentions. She said that 45 of the total of 109 civilians killed by Police and other armed forces in the last four months were teenagers and students. She asserted that most of these civilians were innocent who had been done to death mercilessly by Police and security forces with a highly questionable level of support from the state government.

Mehbooba referred to Chief Minister’s assurance to a multitude of people at Anantnag in June and pointed out that no action had been taken till date against the killers of three youths allegedly gunned down by Police at the south Kashmir district headquarters during the course of a street demonstration. She said it was “extremely surprising” that nobody from the government had visited the families of the civilians killed by Police and security forces. She claimed credit for her father Mufti Mohammad Sayeed’s healing touch policy and asserted that the PDP top brass had called on everybody killed in the political violence from 2002 to 2008.

Leader of the opposition party, Mehbooba pointed out that Omar Abdullah had assumed office of the Chief Minister at a time when hundreds of thousands of the electors had participated in the Assembly elections and there was no disturbance. She asserted that inapt handling of the situation by incompetent rulers had snowballed into a major crisis as the delivery systems of the coalition government had failed completely and the Chief Minister had ‘outsourced governance’ to his ‘masters in New Delhi’.

Mehbooba pointed out that announcements with regard to policy formation and implementation had been pouring in from the union capital in the matters not included in the central or concurrent list. “Be it relocating a sandbag bunker or opening of primary schools, the decisions are now taken directly in New Delhi and communicated to the state government and population through media. According to her, lately released 8-point charter, issued by Government of India, was a sad commentary on functioning and performance of Omar Abdullah’s government.

Winding up her speech, Mehbooba sought identification, arrest and prosecution of the Police and paramilitary personnel who, according to her, were involved in killing over a hundred civilians in the Valley in last four months. “All of us (mainstream politicians) have lost relevance and credibility as we have failed to protect our subjects from the guns of state’s security forces. Nothing short of substantive action against the killers could restore our credibility”, Mehbooba asserted. She made a dramatic announcement that PDP would boycott rest of the session and stay away from business until “killers of 109 Kashmiri youths martyred in the last four months” were identified, arrested and punished under law. With that, all of her party’s MLAs led by her walked out of the Assembly complex.

In his key address on the obituary references later, Chief Minister Omar Abdullah claimed that he was equally agonized over the death of 109 Kashmiris but would not convert the solemn occasion into a political debate. He said that he would reply the PDP leader, point by point, later in the current session if Speaker granted him time and an occasion to clarify the government’s position with regard to current political upheaval.

In an impressive speech from the Traesury Benches, senior NC leader, Chowdhary Mohanmmad Ramzan, dismissed PDP’s allegations as a “drama”. “We would appreciate Ms Mufti’s sincerity had she also condemned Hurriyat’s unending shutdown calendars that are the real source of current bloodshed and violence in Kashmir”, Ramzan grumbled in the House. He suggested that PDP had a soft corner for Kashmiri secessionists who, according to him, had brought about a dark period of shutdown and economic crisis.

Independent MLA from Langate, Er Rasheed, asked Prime Minister of India to declare J&K as a “disputed state” and start negotiations with Kashmiri separatists on the 5-point charter released by hardliner Syed Ali Shah Geelani. “Let the talks begin with Azadi as the point of reference”, he said, raising eyebrows from members of a number of mainstream political parties.

Panthers Party leader, Harsh Dev Singh and Blwant Singh Mankotia, BJP’s Ashok Khajuria and Jugal Kishore, Ashwani Kumar of Jammu State Morcha, Mohammad Sharief Niyaz of Congress and Kafeel-ur-Rehman of NC were among over a dozen MLAs of different political parties besides Minister of Law and Parliamentary Affairs, Ali Mohammad Sagar, questioned Er Rasheed’s act of challenging India’s sovereignty and integrity after having taken oath to protect it as a Member of Legislative Assembly.

On Mankotia’s initiative, Speaker Mohammad Akbar Lone ordered expunction of some uncharitable remarks made by the MLA against Prime Minister Dr Manmohan Singh.

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Govt files criminal complaint against Nizam, Naeem, Dr Shawl

Civil suit, seeking damages worth Rs 10 Cr, being filed separately

Ahmed Ali Fayyaz

SRINAGAR, Sep 29: On the eve of a potentially hot session of the state legislature, National Conference-led coalition government today filed criminal complaints against two leaders of the opposition Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) and a Kashmiri-American cardiologist of high international reputation with the argument that the respondents’ accusations of corruption against Chief Minister Omar Abdullah and a junior Minister, Nasir Aslam Wani, were not only baseless but also injurious to their public and private life.

Authoritative sources revealed to Early Times as a sequel to some PDP leaders’ press conference, Managing Director of Jammu & Kashmir State Power Development Corporation (PDC) had approached the state government with the complaint that “unsubstantiated accusations” leveled against its Chairman were highly injurious to his public and private life. Chief Minister Omar Abdullah is the Minister incharge Power as well as Chairman of PDC.

Power Development Department forwarded the submission to Chief Secretary with the request that sanction be accorded to the prosecution of the two PDP leaders who had leveled the allegations of corruption against the Chairman of PDC and Minister incharge Power, Omar Abdullah.

On August 25th, PDP leaders, led by MLA of Bandipore, Nizam-ud-din Bhat and the party Spokesman, Naeem Akhtar, had claimed at a news conference in Srinagar that Chief Minister had received kickbacks worth Rs 500 Cr from a private company on account of the allotment of 690 mw Rattle Hydroelectric Power Project. Dismissing the charge against him as baseless and motivated, Chief Minister had served a legal notice on the PDP leaders, on August 28th, asking them to either withdraw their allegation with a public apology or else face criminal and civil suits in a court of law.

Even as the PDP leaders chose neither to apologise nor to respond to the legal notice, newspapers quoted Naeem Akhtar to have said that his party was prepared for the legal battle and would prove the accusations against the Chief Minister in the court of law.

Sources said that Chief Secretary, S S Kapur, who happens to be the competent authority, granted sanction to prosecution of the two PDP leaders on Tuesday. Consequently, Government today filed a criminal complaint of defamation under sections 499 and 500 of RPC in terms of section 198-A of CrPC in the court of Principal District & Sessions Judge, Srinagar, Mr B L Bhat. Public Prosecutor, Abdul Aziz Teli, appeared in the court to press criminal action under law against the two PDP leaders. Imprisonment upto seven years is the penalty in such matters of criminal defamation.

According to these sources, Minister of State for Housing & Urban Development Department, Nasir Aslam Wani, had approached the government separately, seeking sanction to the prosecution against the Washington DC-based world-renowned cardiologist, Dr Fayaz Shawl, on account of latter’s claim that Chief Minister Omar Abdullah’s Ministerial colleague had demanded a sum of Rs 3 Cr for granting permission to a modern heart center in Nishat area in Srinagar outskirts.

Born and brought up in Srinagar, Dr Shawl, wanted to establish a hospital on the land he purchased in foothills of picturesque Zabarvan. In June this year, he abandoned his plan and left back for USA while complaining publicly that permission to the proposed hospital had been made subject to payment of bribe money worth Rs 3 Cr by men in Omar Abdullah’s government. He reportedly told Chief Minister that corruption was growing as a cancer in his government. He claimed to be in possession of a “smoking gun”.



In days of the cardiologist’s press conference, Mr Wani served a legal notice on Dr Shawl, asking him to withdraw his allegation with a public apology or be prepared to face a libel suit. Dr Shawl could not be reached over telephone but sources said that he clarified to Mr Wani in an email that the text of his assertion was far different from what he had stated at the press conference in Srinagar. He neither withdrew the allegation nor tendered any apology to Mr Wani.

Sources said that like in the PDC case, Chief Secretary, S S Kapur, yesterday granted sanction to the prosecution of Dr Fayaz Shawl under sections 499 and 500 of RPC in terms of section 198-A of CrPC. Consequently, Government today filed a complaint of criminal defamation against Dr Fayaz Shawl in the court of Principal District & Sessions Judge, Mr B Sources said that after hearing preliminary arguments from Public Prosecutor, Abdul Aziz Teli, court issued warrants for personal appearance of all three of the respondents---Nizam-ud-din Bhat, Naeem Akhtar and Dr Fayaz Shawl---in two separately filed criminal complaints against them. While the warrants against Nizam and Naeem are being executed through SSP Srinagar, sources said that summons against Dr Shawl were likely to be served through the American Embassy in New Delhi.

Chief Minister, some government officials as also the mediapersons who attended the separately held conferences of the two PDP leaders and the Kashmiri-American cardiologist, have been mentioned as witnesses. Sources said that the government was separately drafting and filing civil complaints against the two PDP leaders and Dr Shawl, seeking damages worth Rs 10 Cr. Two of senior New Delhi-based Supreme Court lawyers are likely to be engaged in these high profile libel suits. Advocate General, Mohammad Ishaq Qadiri, was currently in New Delhi but it was not immediately clear whether he was approaching the lawyers or was preoccupied with different chores.

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20 pc students, 60 pc staff turn up despite attacks on few buses, schools


Educational institutions open in Valley after three months of shutdown

Ahmed Ali Fayyaz

SRINAGAR, Sep 27: Even as the separatist hardliner Syed Ali Shah Geelani asked the Kashmiris not to send their children to school and his followers operated to harass staff, students and parents at several places, educational institutions in Kashmir valley opened today after three months of shutdown. Authorities have resolved to carry out all academic activities, including holding of annual examinations, in defiance of a call from the radical faction of Hurriyat Conference.

Most of the private schools refused to operate in defiance of Geelani’s call but reports available from all ten district headquarters in the Valley said that all government schools and colleges, besides a number of private educational institutions, resumed academic activity after nearly months of continued shutdown and curfew. In Srinagar, all four of the leading Christian Missionary schools---Tyndale Biscoe, Mallinson, Presentation Convent and Burn Hall---opened in the morning. Teaching as well as non-teaching staff turned up for duty but very few students dared to attend their classes.

With enrolment of around 10,000 students, these four schools---partly funded by the state government---are the learning centers of the Valley’s elite. Nervous parents were seen ferrying and escorting their children to the classrooms. Most of remaining private schools had decided to wait and watch results of today’s defiance by some parents and teachers. A number of them are now expected to send their children to schools in view of the annual examinations approaching fast.

Reports said that a large number of government schools opened in the capital city under tight security arrangements but few teachers and students turned up for the classroom activity. According to these reports, parents and students defying Geelani’s call were harassed and sent back to home by saboteurs at several places. Reports of stone pelting on vehicles were also received from at least four places in the capital city.

Government had overnight mobilized its machinery for safe and secure transportation of students and the staff with instructions to Police and security forces that the uniform of pupils and photo-identity cards of teaching and non-teaching staff be entertained as curfew passes. Curfew remained strictly in force till 1400 hours. J&K State Road Transport Corporation (SRTC) had deployed over a hundred buses of its fleet for transportation of students, their parents and staff of all educational institutions in Srinagar alone. Police protection was in place in all buses to ensure safety and security of the young students, their parents and staff.

Reports from remaining nine rural district headquarters said that most of the government-run as well as private educational institutions resumed activity in the face of threats from unruly groups, calling themselves as Geelani’s followers, and reassuring statements from the authorities. Independent reports said that nearly 20 percent students turned up for classroom activity while as around 60 percent of the staff attended duty.

In peripheral areas of the capital city, youngsters on motorcycles appeared at a number of schools and forced their closure with harassment to staff as well as students and their parents. Deputy Commissioner of Budgam, Mohammad Rafi, told Early Times that the staff and the students were harassed at Government High School Bemina, two Higher Secondary Schools at Beerwah besides a number of schools on Srinagar-Chadoura and Srinagar-Neewa Road. He said that there were around half-a-dozen incidents of stone pelting on schools and buses. However, nobody had been reported injured till late this afternoon.

DC Budgam said that a female lecturer got hit against CGI sheets and sustained injuries when unruly groups resorted to stone pelting on a Higher Secondary School at Kanipora. Some parents in Beerwa town expressed surprise over the way authorities had left two major government schools unguarded and there was no Police presence. They said that miscreants harassed and humiliated the staff as well as students and their parents at Beerwah and did not allow the educational institutions function.

Reports from Kupwara said that miscreants resorted to stone pelting on a government-run Degree college and disrupted the B Ed examinations underway. The examiners and the examinees remained in confinement for over two hours. Reports of similar disruption poured in from Rangreth, Rawalpora, Manchhwa and Nowgam localities in the capital city outskirts.

Authoritative sources said that government was initiating action, including detention, against at least ten teachers, three of them in Baramulla alone, who were reportedly found defying government orders and harassing students and their parents by way of asking them to stay indoors.

Expressing satisfaction over opening of educational institutions across Kashmir Valley today, Minister for School Education, Peerzada Mohammad Sayeed, said that 80% students attended their schools in rural areas today. He claimed that 30 to 40% attendance was recorded in urban areas. In Srinagar he said 30% students and 85% of the staff resumed their activities in different government and private educational institutions. He appealed to the microscopic anti-education elements not to harass majority of pro-education population.

Terming the opening of schools as a good beginning in right direction, Peerzada called for avoiding politicking on the issue. “ We cannot afford to derive any political gains on opening of schools and resuming academic activities as the issue concerns career of Lakhs of students, whose future has to be safeguarded by one and all”, he said and added that safety of the young students was the topmost priority.

The Minister said that Department of Education would strictly maintain its examination calendar from 30th September till mid of December in which 11 lakh students would appear. He appreciated the bravery of students and teachers who attended the classes today.

He called for utilizing morning assembly time as well as recess break for compensating academic loss so that students were prepared for the examinations the schedule of which had been already announced.

Peerzada appreciated forthcoming parents and teachers whose dedication, he believed, had helped to open the schools today, bringing good prospects for all the stake holders in education sector.

Giving a break-up of attendance, Peerzada said Anantnag, Kulgam, Baramulla and Kupwara districts registered 75% turnout by students, Shopian 60%, Bandipora and Ganderbal 50% each, Pulwama 30% and Budgam and Srinagar around 30% each.

Harassment by stone palters at Chattabal, Soura, Newtheed, Nowshera, Nowhatta, Middle School Gori Masjid Saidakadal, Rainawari and Bagwanpora was also resisted by parents, locals as well as students. It was with the help of locals that no harm was allowed to cause to school building.

In an interview with a local news agency, Geelani this evening asserted that the government’s plans of opening educational institutions on the day of Hurriyat’s “civil curfew” had ended up in a fiasco. He claimed that very few schools opened---with just skeletal attendance. He claimed to enjoy full support of the Kashmir population to his calendars of shutdown. He reiterated that education was extremely important but the struggle of Kashmir’s freedom from India was supreme and paramount.

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Geelani determined to fail Govt’s academic offensive

‘We called for shutdown for 75 days, Govt enforced curfew for 76 days’

Ahmed Ali Fayyaz

SRINAGAR, Sep 26: Separatist hardliner Syed Ali Shah Geelani today called for “total civil curfew” in entire Kashmir valley on Monday and warned students and their parents against acting on the state government’s academic offensive. Geelani asserted that participation of the Kashmiri students in current political upheaval was “paramount to everything” and nothing could be allowed to serve as an impediment in what he believed as “path to the freedom”.

In a day of Government of India’s virtual snub to Omar Abdullah government over its governance deficit---made public in New Delhi’s 8-point J&K charter---Minister of School Education, Pirzada Mohammad Sayeed, today asserted at a news conference that the academic calendar would be protected at every cost from September 27th. He said that the annual examinations in thousands of schools, scores of degree colleges and half-a-dozen Universities in the state would commence from September 30th without any regard to Hurriyat’s shutdown calendar.

Point No:7 of the charter drafted by Cabinet Committee on Security has urged the state government “to take steps to immediately reopen all schools, colleges, universities and other educational institutions; hold special classes/lectures, if necessary; and to ensure that the examinations for the current academic year (2010-11) are conducted (on time)”.

Even as the authorities woke up quickly to implement the ‘orders’ issued in New Delhi and began mobilizing entire Police and civil administration to keep the educational institutions operational from Monday, Geelani took it as a direct affront. In a statement issued this evening, Geelani asserted that the “movement launched for our nation’s freedom” was supreme and paramount to everything. He said that education was extremely important but it could not be allowed to serve as an impediment in the path of getting “freedom” from an occupier---India.

Geelani ridiculed Omar Abdullah government’s expression of concern for the education of Kashmiri children and pointed out that most of the 109 civilians killed by Police and armed forces in the last four months were students of schools and colleges. According to him, both, the state as well as the Central government, were thirsty of the blood of young Kashmiris and their expression of concern for the students’ academic year was nothing but crocodile tears.

Geelani alleged that the real purpose of holding classes and examinations was “to break our current movement” that, according to him, had unnerved Government of India. He asked the students and their parents to remain confined to their homes and observe “total civil curfew” so as to convey to New Delhi that the Kashmiris of 21st century could not be duped with “false sympathies”. He also called upon teaching and non-teaching staff of all educational institutions not to move in the direction of their places of work on Monday.

On Saturday, Geelani issued a shutdown calendar for the next 10 days while asking the people of Kashmir to observe complete shutdown on all days except on Sep 29th, Oct 1st and Oct 4th. With his typical shutdown calendars, Geelani has completely paralysed life in the Valley and crippled almost all delivery systems of the government since June 11th this year. Of late, authorities have adopted a fresh policy of failing Geelani’s schedule of relaxation in shutdown by strictly enforcing curfew on particular days.

In today’s statement, Geelani held the government responsible for confining the Kashmiris. He said that he had called for shutdown on 75 days but the government had enforced curfew on 76 days in the last 109 days.

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