SOPORE WOMEN KILLING

Widespread condemnation forces Geelani to call shutdown in hometown

Ahmed Ali Fayyaz

SRINAGAR, Feb 3: Cold-blooded killing of two young women, that has been conveniently downplayed or completely ignored by most of the separatist leaders and human rights groups for allegedly being a handiwork of separatist militants, today generated first protest demonstration in the summer capital. Under the impact of widespread public condemnation across the Valley, hardliner separatist Syed Ali Shah Geelani has finally called for a shutdown in the north Kashmir apple town on Friday.

Carrying placards and asking Hurriyat (G) Chairman, Syed Ali Shah Geelani, why he had not called for any shutdown against the Sopore killings, scores of men, women and children, appeared at Sher-e-Kashmir Municipal Park in Civil Lines in the forenoon today. They registered their strong protest against killing of two young daughters of a poor labourer, Ghulam Nabi Dar of Muslim Peer, Sopore, while shouting slogans against the killers. For fear of reprisal from militants, a number of the participants had their faces covered. As already reported, 17-year-old Aarifa and 20-year-old Akhtara, had been dragged out by gunmen late in the night on January 31 and shot dead near Rahim Sahab shrine in Sopore.

Participants described themselves as members of a non-governmental organization even as many in media suspected it as a Police-sponsored demonstration and did not lend too much of importance to the outburst. Similar demonstrations had been witnessed in the Civil Lines during the thick of last year’s mass uprising that was publicly sponsored by Geelani and his hardliner supporters. That time, demonstrators had questioned Geelani’s wisdom of enforcing over a hundred shutdowns through four months of the academic and tourist season.

Demonstrators in today’s rally, whose number was not legion, expressed surprise over the “double standards” adopted by politicians and human rights activists vis-à-vis killings happening at the hands of security forces, Police, counter-insurgents and separatist militants since 1989 in Jammu and Kashmir. They pointed out that politicians, human rights groups and media had raised hue and cry selectively on the killings committed by Police, armed forces and other government agencies but the same civil society groups and politicians, separatist as well as mainstream, had conveniently downplayed the twin murder in Sopore that was widely believed to the handiwork of separatist militants.

An elderly woman lashed out even at the mainstream politicians and government officials and expressed surprise that none of them, with the exception of a junior Minister and NC’s Sopore MLA, had called on the bereaved family. According to her, pro-India politicians in the Valley were acting as blotting papers on India’s exchequer, making it poorer and poorer by drawing all kinds of benefits and privileges but simply following the separatist politicians in selectively condemning the incidents of violence.

Hours after the demonstration dispersed, Geelani issued a statement from his New Delhi residence and asked the residents of his hometown to observe complete shutdown against the twin killings tomorrow. Geelani as well as other separatist leaders have earlier issued mild statements of condemnation but none of them has visited the victim family in Sopore in the last three days. A spokesman of Jamaat-e-Islami also issued a statement of condemnation today.

Cornered by Chief Minister Omar Abdullah on the twin murder on day one, most of the separatists have now condemned the assassination. Significantly, however, none of them has pointed fingers on Police and other government agencies that have been always at the receiving end on such occasions.

Calling for shutdown in Sopore and protest demonstrations after Friday prayers across the Valley tomorrow, Geelani expressed hope that killers of the young women would be exposed sooner than later. He was critical of forces and Police for patrolling in the apple town by night but avoided to directly put the blame of double murder on them.

Residents in Sopore said that Geelani was himself perturbed over the activities of a particular guerrilla outfit that had allegedly gunned down his confidante, cable operator Ashiq Hussain, last year and was now believed to be responsible for kidnapping and killing two young women---members of the poorest family in Muslim Peer locality.

END 

Kar survives rifle grenade attack on Sopore house

Police launches manhunt for Muz Maulvi in killing of two sisters

Ahmed Ali Fayyaz

SRINAGAR, Feb 2: In a day of the assassination of two young daughters of a poor labourer, seniormost Congress leader Ghulam Rasool Kar today survived yet another militant strike at his residence in Sopore township of Baramulla district. Even as both factions of the separatist Hurriyat Conference have begun to condemn the gruesome double murder and militant outfit Lashkar-e-Toiba has denied its involvement in the Muslim Peer slaying, Police have launched a manhunt to arrest or eliminate the dreaded guerrilla operative Muzaffar Ahmed Naikoo alias Muz Maulvi in North Kashmir.

Informed sources told Early Times that around 0955 hours, suspected militants fired two rifle grenades towards the CRPF-guarded private residential house of senior Congress leader, Ghulam Kasool Kar, at Town Hall in Sopore township of North Kashmir. The first one exploded in the air and failed to hit the target but the following one landed precisely on the courtyard. It went off with a deafening blast but the inmates, as well as the CRPF guards, escaped the brunt. Glazed windows and ventilators of the house suffered minor damage.

Sources said that 90-year-old Kar, who had returned from New Delhi and reached home last evening, was present in his bedroom when his residence came under attack in the forenoon. He came out while loudly hurling invectives on militants and asked Police and CRPF officials to ferociously strike on “these terrorists”. He was heard shouting that such dastardly attacks would never succeed in terrorizing him.

A die-hard pro-India politician, Kar has survived several attacks on his life. In one of such strikes, he had a providential escape when a militant gunned down his PSO, Hakoomat Singh, but his gun got accidentally locked on the main road outside a mosque at Jamia Qadeem in old town Sopore about a decade ago.

Not holding any position in top brass of his party now, Kar has served in the past as President of J&K Pradesh Congress Committee and a Minister in the state governments headed by Ghulam Mohammad Sadiq, Syed Mir Qasim and Dr Farooq Abdullah. He has also functioned as a member of the state Legislature and Member of Parliament in Lok Sabha as well as Rajya Sabha. He also happens to be the printer and publisher of Congress party’s official organ, daily Khidmat, published from Srinagar.

Officials, however, insisted that the militants’ real target was Superintendent of Police of Sopore, Altaf Khan, whose residence as well as office are next door to the Congress leader. In a hard-hitting statement on Tuesday, Khan had held Lashkar-e-Toiba responsible for killing two young daughters of one Ghulam Nabi Dar at Muslim Peer. He had also identified three militants of the group, including the locals Muzaffar Ahmed Naikoo alias Muz Maulvi of Khushaal Matoo and Waseem Ahmed Ganai of Chinkipora, as the killers of the young female duo.

Having survived a number of militant strikes, Khan had a providential escape when militants tossed RPGs straight into his bedroom at the midnight on December 6^th, 2010. He had shifted to an adjoining room minutes before in search of something. In an earlier broad daylight strike on him at entrance of Police Station Sopore earlier, he had an equally narrow escape though one of his driver-guards got killed.

Since today’s strike occurred in a high security zone, that also houses headquarters of CRPF 179 Bn and BSNL exchange, more than one guerrilla groups claimed responsibility. In a statement, LeT spokesperson, Jameel Ahmed, told a local news agency that militants of his organization had attacked Kar’s residence after learning of his return from Delhi. He claimed that Kar had, however, returned to Delhi when his house came under attack. The spokesman made it clear that all pro-India politicians were on the hit list of his outfit as India, according to him, would not have succeeded in establishing its foothold without support from Kashmir’s mainstream political activists. Striking on these politicians, he said, was LeT’s “top most priority”.

According to KNS, spokesman of Al-Badar Mujahideen, Mohammad Qasim, claimed that cadres of his group had actually attacked CRPF battalion headquarters and left several paramilitaries injured.

Meanwhile, Early Times learned from authoritative sources that J&K Police, CRPF as well as Army had launched a manhunt to arrest or eliminate local militants, Muz Maulvi and Waseem Ganai, in entire Sopore belt. These militants, according to Police, had kidnapped and gunned down 17-year-old Aarifa and 20-year-old Akhtara, daughters of Ghulam Nabi Dar in Muslim Peer locality the other day. Killing of the young women has spread a wave of terror in Sopore which was evident when not more than 100 residents participated in their funeral rites yesterday. Silent condemnation was nevertheless in evidence everywhere in the Valley.

Issuing a statement from New Delhi today, separatist hardliner Syed Ali Shah Geelani condemned the double murder in his home town. He called upon separatist leaders to visit Dar’s residence. A number of other separatist leaders, including Mirwaiz Umar Farooq and JKLF Chairman Yasin Malik, have also condemned the brutal slaying. However, in sharp contrast to previous incidents like that of Shopian in May 2009, in which Police and government agencies were suspected, none of the separatist leaders has either visited the Sopore family or called a shutdown against the killings. Absence of such reaction from the Valley’s human rights groups, media and separatist leaders, has led Kashmiris to believe it as the handiwork of separatist militants.

END

[In daily Early Times (www.earlytimes.com) dated Feb 2, 2011]

Shopian condemned, Sopore condoned!

Yet another slaying of two young women exposes Kashmir’s double standards on violence

Ahmed Ali Fayyaz

SRINAGAR, Feb 1: Brutality has yet again surfaced with a macabre dance of death. Like on scores of occasions in the last 21 years of violence, it has consumed two young women---siblings as usual. In the year 2009, eight young women, most of them in the age group of 15 to 25 years, were found dead in South Kashmir. Valley ignored all---including the killing of a woman who was gunned down alongwith her 4-year-old child---but erupted selectively on the death of two women. Neelofar and her sister-in-law, Asiya of Shopian, alone carried the promise of implicating J&K Police and “Indian” armed forces. The world of politicians, clerics, human rights activists and mediapersons was on the boil for next seven months.

People, perhaps, are not to blame. In fact, the most protected and the most privileged among the politicians, who served as Chief Ministers in the state and Cabinet Ministers and Governors in Government of India, rarely uttered a word to stigmatize violence, perceived to have been committed by pro-Azadi and pro-Pakistan militants. Exceptions like Farooq Abdullah lost themselves in jingoism that appeared less an obituary on the victims and more a labour to strengthen New Delhi’s hold on Jammu & Kashmir.

These dramatis personae did not chose a mime for themselves. They left even the militant leadership and the Hurriyat miles behind in their oral diarrhea of praising all killers brandishing a Pakistani gun. They condemned their acts only after these non-state actors of violence switched over their allegiance to the state. Those who had reneged on Kashmir’s “freedom struggle” and decided, or felt compelled, to eschew violence were almost officially denigrated as “renegades”. Many in PDP as well as NC call them by this sobriquet alone.

Even as the ordinary “renegades” were given a bad name and got killed, seats were cleared for their powerful leaders in not only Legislature but also in the Council of Ministers. Hundreds of them were even used as private army to eliminate political rivals. Some were encouraged to outclass all separatist guerrillas in getting the women raped, men tortured to death and children orphaned. The politicians needed body bags to shed their tears on. The state needed wounds to utilize its stuff of healing touch.

In a strange confluence of interest and vested interest, exactly the same came handy to masters of the “proxy war” across the border. The poor, ordinary Kashmiris kept dying. Every death brought fortunes to stellar players as well as all character actors in the conflict. In the process, all good deeds were placed in the basket of Pakistan, militants and the separatist leadership and all the bad ones in that of “terror state India”. This exactly explains why there is invariably a beeline of politicians, clerics, mediapersons and so-called human rights activists when there is a Shopian and total absence of sympathy when “Mujahideen” are perceived to be the actors.

It is admittedly unfair to identify the killers who, most often, operate under darkness or a mask. But, it needs to be a resident Kashmiri to know as to who has killed whom. The formula that was discovered with the first assassinations in 1988-89---Ghulam Hassan Halwai and Tika Lal Taploo---has remained unchanged. Even today, it takes the Valley a minute to erupt over an act suspected or believed to have been done by Police, troops or counter-insurgents. Nobody has shed tears on killing of all four male members of a family at Gopalpora (Budgam) in December 2002, merciless slaying of dental surgeon Dr Mushtaq in Sopore in October 2006 or half-a-dozen others that happened in South Kashmir in 2009.

That the dingy alleys of Muslim Peer remained deserted in Sopore today serves as a statement of the public perception. That militants are believed to be the killers is evident from the fact that none from Hurriyat to JKLF to PDP has raised fingers on Police or “Indian occupational forces”. Chief Minister Omar Abdullah, who himself played safe in many of such assassinations---including that of the poor dental surgeon---has succeeded in extorting some statements of condemnation from politicians in the late afternoon today but nobody has heard his own colleagues (including MLA Sopore Ashraf Ganai) sympathise with the bereaved parents of 20-year-old Aarifa and 17-year-old Akhtara.

END

DD Director forced artist Jai Kishori suffer till death

Five DDK Srinagar producers die of stress and cardiac arrest in one year

Early Times Report

SRINAGAR, Jan 30: Director Doordarshan Kendra (DDK) Srinagar, Rafeeq Masoodi, traveled all the way from Srinagar to Jammu to deliver payment cheques worth Rs 8 Lakh on residence of a Jammu-based private producer last week. On Masoodi’s direction, Executive Producer Shammi Shair has acquired hundreds of tapes from this freelance producer cum property broker who has helped both the DD officials in purchasing plush houses in Jammu. Fifty-two episodes of his two programme serials at the rate of Rs 40,000 each episode have been telecast in the last few months. However, elderly Kashmiri migrant woman artist-producer Jai Kishori was mercilessly made to suffer for 18 months, with the false argument of non-availability of time and funds, till she died helplessly in Delhi on Friday last.

One among the pioneering theatre, radio and television artists in Jammu & Kashmir, Jai Kishori is the 5^th private producer in the state who has died of acute stress, caused by DD officials, in the last eleven months. Eminent producers and artists who have invariably died due to cardiac arrest in acute stressful conditions since February 2010 include Syed Gulzar Rizvi, Abdul Rasheed Farash, Saleem Khan, Tasleem Khan and now Jai Kishori.

According to informed sources and those close to the bereaved family in Jammu, 70-year-old Jai Kishori had submitted her life’s first 10-episode musical series, titled ‘Hee Thar’, to Masoodi in the middle of 2009. In the last 18 months, she was forced to shuttle between Jammu and Srinagar for at least four times but the series never went on air.

“Every time, Masoodi Sahab asked her to wait and sweared that there was no availability of time and funds. Her payment was never released till she died in total helplessness at a relative’s house in Delhi on Friday”, said a family source. He revealed to Early Times that similar treatment was accorded to DD’s icon Bharti Zaroo whose performance led Bashir Badgami’s legendary serial “Hazaar Daastaan” break all records of popularity in 1980s. Like Kishori, all ten of Zaroo’s programmes are gathering the dust on cupboards at DDK Srinagar.

While Bharti Zaroo rose to zenith of fame with her performance in scores of Radio Kashmir Srinagar and DDK Srinagar plays in 1980s, Kishori was among the first Kashmiri women who came out to perform on theatre in 1970. She also performed in more than 250 of Radio Kashmir Srinagar plays and drama serials including Pushkar Bhan’s phenomenally popular comedy serial “Machaama” till her displacement from Srinagar to Jammu in 1989. In 1972, when DD established its first station in J&K at Srinagar, Kishori had the privilege of being the first Kashmiri woman actor to perform on television. In the last 40 years, she is estimated to have worked in more than 100 television drama episodes to achieve distinction of being arguably the most famous female artist in Jammu & Kashmir.

“Fraternity of drama artists has lost its mother in Mrs Jai Kishori’s death”, Rafeeq Masoodi said in his condolence statement in Jammu yesterday. His crocodile tears trickled only after the artist’s death who lived in penurious conditions but was never supported by either of the premier organs of Prasar Bharti Broadcasting Corporation of India--- Radio Kashmir Srinagar and DDK Srinagar--- she served with her sweat and blood for over 40 years.

On the other hand, Masoodi and Shammi Shair acquired more than 400 programme episodes from the Jammu-based property broker, Kohli. Payment of more than Rs 50 Lakhs is estimated to have been released in different names to Kohli who has shown a number of his relatives, friends and other contacts as facility providers of the in-house productions he has submitted to DDK Srinagar. Sources revealed that five DDK Srinagar officials, namely Rafeeq Masoodi, Ghulam Mohiuddin, Nasir Mansoor, Bashir Qadiri and Mohammad Yusuf Parray, traveled to Jammu to participate in the IMPCC meeting and one of them delivered cheques worth Rs 8 Lakh at Kohli’s residence.

Like Jai Kishori, famous singer and freelance producer, Abdul Rasheed Farash had called on Masoodi a day before his death last year and begged him to release a part of the payment due to him. He was not obliged as the lion’s share of the funds stood reserved for five particular producers, including Kohli, who have been paying 30 to 40 percent of their payments as “commission” to the senior DDK Srinagar officials. Executive Producer of Farash’s submitted programmes, Kausar Parveen, has been shifted from Srinagar after she was found involved in a major embezzlement of musical programmes by CBI last year.

Srinagar-based officials of CBI are now working hard to hush up this scam to exonerate Masoodi who quickly allotted programmes to a private producer having his brother posted as DIG at CBI headquarters in New Delhi.

Support from union Minister of Health, Ghulam Nabi Azad, inability of Omar Abdullah-led coalition government to take cognizance of rampant corruption besides sharing a part of the ill-gotten money with CBI, Central Vigilance Commission (CVC) and senior Mandi House and Shastri Bhawan officials in New Delhi are said to be Masoodi’s strength. 

While Masoodi’s mobile phone was continuously switched off, none of the DDK Srinagar officials was available for comment due to holiday on Sunday.

END

Hardliner Geelani gets protocol at Airport VIP Lounge

Dir Airport, SP Airport, SSP Budgam pass the back to one another

Ahmed Ali Fayyaz

SRINAGAR, Jan 28: Days after Chairman of the separatist Hurriyat Conference, Mirwaiz Umar Farooq, was accorded VIP treatment on his departure to New Delhi by anti-jacking wing of Jammu & Kashmir Police, separatist hardliner Syed Ali Shah Geelani was also accommodated in the VIP Lounge of Srinagar Airport by the state Police today. Even as a number of separatist leaders, including former militants, have been enjoying hospitality and protocol of Cabinet Ministers and High Court judges at Srinagar Airport, it is first time that VIP Lounge at the country’s most sensitive airport has been unofficially made open for Mirwaiz and Geelani.

Eyewitnesses told Early Times that Chairman of the radical faction of Hurriyat Conference, Syed Ali Shah Geelani, arrived at the Departure of Srinagar Airport alongwith two of his associates at around 12.10 pm today. All the three were straightaway escorted to the VIP Lounge by staff of the anti-hijacking wing of J&K Police and treated to the hospitality and protocol of Cabinet Ministers and High Court judges. After enjoying the official protocol for about 40 minutes, Geelani boarded Delhi-bound flight IA 826 of the Indian Airlines.

On Friday last, Chairman of the Hurriyat’s so-called moderate faction, Mirwaiz Umar Farooq, was accorded similar VIP treatment when he was on way to London via New Delhi. According to official sources, staff of a security related agency had complained to their headquarters in New Delhi last week that J&K Police, CRPF and Airport Authority of India personnel had been making “serious compromises” with regard to the airport security by lodging “anti-India politicians and former terrorists” at the VIP Lounge of Srinagar Airport though none of them was by law and restrictions entitled to such treatment.

Director Airport, Captain Raj K Malik, maintained that he was not aware of any security or protocol breach. “Only high protocol dignitaries like Central and State Ministers and judges of Supreme Court of India and State High Courts are entitled to sit in the VIP Lounges of airports. Men from Airport Authority are posted there but they do not normally recognize the passengers. When men from J&K Police escort any passenger into the VIP Lounge, our staff have no reasons to suspect and interfere. J&K Police is responsible if passengers, not entitled to enter, have been accommodated in the VIP Lounge. We will definitely look into it tomorrow and check as to who has committed the lapse”, Malik said.

SSP Budgam, Uttam Chand, asserted that District Police was responsible only for maintaining order upto first entrance of the airport on Srinagar-Humhama-Airport Road. He maintained that men of Police Division Humhama were also available when called to take cognizance of any criminal matter happening inside or outside the airport premises. He clarified that responsibility of servicing the VIPs at Departure and Arrival lounges lay exclusively with anti-hijacking wing of the state Police headed by SP Airport.

However, sources insisted that SSP Budgam, Uttam Chand, SHO Budgam, Inspector Rafeeq, and incharge of Police Division Humhama, Sub Inspector Imtiyaz, were themselves present at the terminal building, though they did not visit the Airport Lounge. “They seemed to be taking care of the BJP leaders sent back today”, a source said.

SP Anti-hijacking at Srinagar Airport, Abdul Rasheed, told Early Times that it was “all actually the responsibility of the Airport Authority of India staff. He said that they alone knew, with the help of an official document, as to who was entitled to sit in a VIP Lounge and who was not. “There is always an AAI man at the gate there. What’s his duty? We only escort and accommodate only the Cabinet Ministers. If any of the separatist leaders is taking extra advantage of his Police security guards, we are not to blame”, SP Airport said. When it was pointed out to him that Mr Geelani was not even a protected person like Mirwaiz and many other separatist leaders, he insisted it was all responsibility of the AAI staff.

END

‘Jhansi kii raani’ arrested while sending JKLF flags in air at Maisuma                     

Before his arrest, Yasin Malik had put two persons from UP on the Azadi task

Ahmed Ali Fayyaz

SRINAGAR, Jan 26: With all eyes on Kashmiri Muslim supporters of Yasin Malik to fail their attempts of hoisting anti-national flags at Lal Chowk, Police today discovered that JKLF’s balloons were sent in air nowhere but Malik’s residential locality of Maisuma. Two persons were found doing the Azadi job with an inflating machine. Both of them, immediately arrested by Police, are members of the majority community from Jhansi city of Uttar Pradesh. Malik, alongwith 16 separatist activists, was himself arrested by Police parallel to a crackdown on BJP activists as 25 of them were picked up from different locations. On occasion of the Republic Day, BJP and JKLF had announced plans to install conflicting flags on the Clock Tower at Lal Chowk.

Informed sources revealed to Early Times that Police swooped on a residential house in Maisuma minutes after JKLF balloons were spotted flying in air. Thirty-year-old Prakash and 20-year-old Koli, both residents of Jhansi, were caught red-handed while inflating and sending the balloons in air with the help of a pumping machine. Their balloons and machine were seized and both the youngsters were detained at a local Police Station.

SSP Srinagar, Syed Ashiq Hussain Bukhari, confirmed the arrest of the most unexpected duo from Jhansi. He said Prakash as well as the young woman, Koli, disclosed during questioning that they had been making and selling the balloons in Batmaloo area. They revealed that they had been specially engaged by JKLF activists for the job of sending balloons in air on January 26^th from a house in Maisuma. Bukhari said that Police were likely to file an FIR against the duo after assessing all related circumstances within next 24 hours.

Earlier today, amid total shutdown in Kashmir valley and undeclared curfew in Srinagar, Police arrested Malik alongwith 16 of his separatist associates as they emerged from Maisuma and began proceeding towards nearby Lal Chowk while shouting pro-Azadi slogans. Many of them carried JKLF flags in hand. Those arrested included representatives from different constituents of Mirwaiz Umar-led Hurriyat Conference, like Bilal Gani Lone of Peoples Conference and Shahidul Islam of Awami Action Committee.

Once dreaded militants of Hizbullah and JKLF, Yasin Malik, Shahidul Islam, Mohammad Iqbal Gandroo, Showkat Bakhshi and Javed Ahmed Zargar did not offer any resistance to Police. That Police were in agreement with them in holding “a restricted show” was evident from the fact that all of them had gathered at Malik’s office and marched through the fully cleared lane before being picked up gently and packed into vehicles. They were later lodged at Police Stations of Kothibagh, Rajbagh and Kralkhud.

Malik, Lone and their key associates were detained at Kothibagh where over a dozen of BJP activists had already been lodged. Informed sources said that full hospitality and protocol was provided to the detainees who were free to interact with anybody on mobile phones. Police arranged lunch and dinner for them all. Sources said that one unidentified BJP activist was arrested and his flag was seized immediately after he came out of a Delhi-Srinagar Kingfisher plane at Srinagar Airport. He was whisked away to the Police Gazetted Officers Mess at Police Division Humhama where three of the party’s MLAs from Jammu were already detained.

As already reported in today’s newspapers, BJP’s MLAs Prof Garu Ram, Jugal Kishore and Sham Choudhary, alongwith a party activist from Udhampur, Pawan Gupta, had been detained on their arrival at Srinagar Airport yesterday. Authoritative sources today said that as many as 25 BJP activists, having reached here from different Indian states, were taken into custody by Police from different places in the capital city. Six of them were staying at Hotel Broadway, two at Hotel Pamposh and few others in residential houses of party workers in Habbakadal area. Sources said that most of them informed Police and mediapersons on phone about their whereabouts.

Officials said that all the BJP and JKLF detainees would be released in the forenoon on Thursday. Authorities were yet to decide whether they would be allowed to proceed with their plans of holding separate press conferences.

Even as all the scheduled flights operated at Srinagar Airport today and Police maintained surveillance on every incoming and outgoing passenger, Srinagar-Jammu national highway remained closed for traffic. Officials admitted that the unprecedented decision had been taken and enforced only to prevent BJP activists from arriving in the Valley. However, around a thousand trucks were allowed to reach from Srinagar and Anantnag to Qazigund.

The establishment succeeding in holding a trouble-free state ceremony on the R-Day at Bakhshi Stadium in Srinagar and all other district headquarters. While as Minister of Finance Abdul Rahim Rather was the chief guest at the main ceremonial parade in Srinagar, nine other Ministers took the salute and hoisted the Tricolour at similar ceremonies at other district headquarters. There were no reports of any untoward incident as Police and security forces enforced restrictions on ordinary civilian movement and the separatist groups had, as usual, called for total shutdown. Consequently, transport was fully off the road, people remained confined to their homes and none of the shops or any other business establishments were open in the Valley.

Separatist hardliners Syed Ali Shah Geelani and Shabir Shah were not allowed to move out of their residences while as other separatist leaders did not make any attempt to come out and disturb peace.

In Srinagar, Lal Chowk area was found completely out of bounds for everybody. None of the unauthorized officials was allowed to pass through Civil Lines as Police had put barbed wire barriers on all incoming and outgoing roads. For the first time since 1947, not a single journalist was allowed to pass through Lal Chowk. Most of the mediapersons had already shifted from their offices and residences in Press Enclave to other locations in the city due to undeclared curfew in town.

END

NC, BJP gainers in the Lal Chowk stand-off

Omar has no worries after gaining AICC support to hard stance

Ahmed Ali Fayyaz

SRINAGAR, Jan 25: Mainstream opposition party, BJP, as well as the separatist opposition outfit, JKLF, were gunning for Omar Abdullah and his National Conference-led coalition in Jammu & Kashmir until September 2010. Call it irony or DNA characteristics of the J&K politics, both are now helping once beleaguered Chief Minister to reclaim the ground he lost in the death of 112 civilian protesters in his principal constituency of Kashmir last year.

Perhaps nothing better could have brought Omar Abdullah back to the glamour in Valley. Notwithstanding the impression in a section of the population that Mufti Mohammad Sayeed’s regional party had been ‘created by the BJP’ in 1999 to checkmate NC’s advances over autonomy, PDP has left no stone unturned to paint Farooq Abdullah in the saffron colour. Even earlier this week, PDP attempted to float that the Republic Day flag hoisting stand-off was nothing but a “fixed match” between NC and BJP. And that was not for nothing.

The rhetoric of abusing New Delhi---and anything “Indian”, including the Reserve Bank of India---has been recognized by political establishment at the Centre as an essential qualification for every Kashmiri leader since day one of accession. Die-hard Indians like Mufti took decades to realize that confrontation with Delhi was the bliss, if contained within limits.

However, luck did not favour Mufti in 2008. In August, he got entangled in the cobweb when ‘Ragda’ transcended from “National” and “Bharat” to revered deities of the religion of bureaucrats and politicians in Delhi. Rest of the damage came from the most unexpected Ajmal Qasab whose strike in Mumbai in the thick of Assembly elections in J&K made Mufti and his clan untouchable for Congress. Patrons like Pranab Mukherjee and Makhan Lal Fotedar gave in, rather desperately. NC, obviously, was the beneficiary.

An equally die-hard Indian Farooq Abdullah’s greenhorn son gained over Mufti’s experience. He drew lines to remember that limits would not have to be crossed. Omar intelligently positioned himself somewhere between the jingoist Farooq and the pseudo-separatist Mufti. He asserted as an Indian Chief Minister to retain his acceptability in the country without mugging his father’s refrain of ‘atoot ang’ and applying vermilion to his forehead at temples and Gurudwaras. He exhibited the temerity of calling Kashmir “a political dispute” well at the face of Prime Minister in Qazigund, put himself and his government on the controversial page of Hurriyat and Bar Association in the Shopian tragedy in 2009 and allowed his Cabinet colleague Ali Mohammad Sagar to spit on the CRPF in 2010 but did not make himself politically untouchable in Delhi. That paid him dividends in 2009 as well as in 2010.

With his disadvantage of limited control over bureaucracy in the state and an extremely poor delivery system, Omar landed in an unenviable situation when he fell to receiving end of all anger in Valley and, at the same time, people in Delhi began taunting him with “governance deficit”. A timely overhaul in administration in August helped him retrieve his credibility to a large extent, though effective action against corrupt Ministers and officers has not been possible till date.

PDP’s assertion over the “fixed match” apart, there is no disputing the fact that a tug-of-war with the Sangh Parivar---that too over the invasion of hoisting the “Indian flag” at Lal Chowk---was bound to turn a goldmine for any political outfit in the Valley. It could have, for sure, ended up into a dangerous gambling in absence of support from 10-Janpath. Jammu-based Congress leaders by now would have been publicly rebuking their coalition partner to neutralize the BJP. And, back home, the competition of gaining the centrestage would have been between the PDP and the Hurriyat (including JKLF). Support from Delhi has given Omar a magic handle to flatten all----from separatist opposition to the mainstream opposition, BJP excluded.

Cracking the whip on BJP has every promise of an “advantage BJP” and “disadvantage Congress” situation in Jammu. As Sonia Gandhi and Manmohan Singh have both offered to put their state unit on the altar, Omar has nothing to worry about. Corresponding gains in the Valley are obvious: None of his ‘3-Idiot’ images are now on Facebook, Twitter and YouTube. There are no blood-soaked lips of the “ Year 2010’s Bacha Khour” on any wall.

Even the bitter e-jihadis have begun to appreciate his tough stand on the flag hoisting at Lal Chowk. “It’s after 60 years that someone in Kashmir has shown the courage of deporting Jan Sanghis”, posted one of them, with his reference to Shyama Prasad Mukherjee’s detention by Sheikh Abdullah. This is exactly threatening all, from PDP to Hurriyat, to oblivion. But don’t forget, nothing has been permanent in Kashmir. With just one mishandling or oddity of fate, Omar could be the Mulla Omar any day in rest of his tenure.

END