Rock band girls go into hiding after social boycott threat

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Ahmed Ali Fayyaz

SRINAGAR, Feb 4: Despite Jammu and Kashmir Chief Minister Omar Abdullah’s reassuring tweets, the teenage members of the Valley’s first all-women rock band have gone into hiding immediately after receiving a threat of ‘social boycott’ from the Dukhataarn-e-Millat, a radical women’s outfit.

Coming as it did after the fatwa from Kashmir’s head mufti, this development has halted all support for the band from civil society and cultural circles.

Left to fend for themselves, the families of Noma Nazir, Farah Deeba and Aneeka Khalid in the vulnerable neighbourhoods of Chhanpora, Bemina and Rajbagh have forced the teenagers to snap their contact with all, especially the media. “We have seized their cellphones and laptops,” two of their relatives revealed to The Hindu. “Their band has been shut.”

“Nobody is safe here. The Chief Minister’s tweets and the police can’t protect us. We don’t want to get caught in politics,” one of them said.

Dukhataarn-e-Millat has in fact avoided issuing a direct threat to the girls. It has rather innocuously communicated that their continued performance would force the outfit to call for a social boycott of their families. “We appeal to the parents of the band members to ask their children to refrain from singing as it is against Islamic principles. If they don’t follow our advice, we will be forced to announce a social boycott against them,” it said in a statement on Sunday.

The Dukhataarn-e-Millat does not have any history of using firearms. Founded in 1982 by Syeda Asiya Andrabi, the outfit claims to orchestrate ‘peaceful campaigns’ against anything it perceives to be contrary to the tenets, teachings and traditions of Islam. It played a key role in a campaign to close down cinema, video libraries and wine-shops, which culminated in the eruption of an armed insurgency in January 1990. Since then, it has been among the outlawed radical groups in the Valley. In 1992-93, it grabbed the headlines, enforcing the Islamic dress code allegedly by sprinkling acid on young girls wearing jeans and refusing to clad the ‘Abbaya’. Ms. Andrabi has repeatedly denied having used acid. The spray, she insisted, was “a harmless ink.”

Nonetheless, the Dukhataarn-e-Millat carries the image of a dreaded outfit for many — particularly those associated with the media, art and culture — in Srinagar. Ms. Andrabi is the wife of the jailed founder of the Jamiatul Mujahideen, Ashiq Hussain Faktoo, who now heads a different political outfit called the Muslim League.

More than fighting Indian troops and the police, the Jamiatul Mujahideen is known for its anti-media strikes, including banning publications and kidnapping theatre and television talents. Police records show that the group was responsible for the assassination of the former Joint Director of Information, Syed Ghulam Nabi, human rights activist Hridhay Nath Wanchoo and a couple of television artists.

The police consider the Dukhtaraan threat more seriously than the Mufti’s fatwa. “Till date, there’s no FIR but we are working on certain inputs,” Srinagar SSP Ashiq Bukhari said.

Another senior police official pointed out that many people, from Mufti Azam Basheer-ud-din to heads of the two Hurriyats Mirwaiz Umar and Syed Ali Shah Geelani, were all dismissing the December 2012 concert as ‘immoral and un-Islamic.”

Chief Minister vocal, government mute

With the exception of the reactions from Mr. Abdullah and PDP leader Mehbooba Mufti, hardly anyone of consequence has supported Pragaash.

Three fresh Facebook pages have come up with nearly 1,000 supportive posts in the past four days but most of the contributors are either morphed or believed to be those from outside the Valley. ‘Filmmakers’ and music lovers, who have expressed solidarity with the group, are familiar to a few in the media and cultural circles. Even officials of the Department of Information and the Cultural Academy have chosen to be mute spectators.

No association of the film, theatre, music, culture, art or media circles has come up with a statement of solidarity. Aziz Hajini, the Sahitya Akademi’s convener (Kashmiri), and president Adabi Markaz Kamraz maintained that they had no knowledge of the developments.

A Kashmir University professor, who runs a representative civil society group of intellectuals, traders and rights activists, declined to comment. “Now that the politicians and the clerics are in, it’s really difficult to make a comment,” she said. Woman rights activists Quratul Ain, Ezabir Ali and Hawa Bashir are the three-odd individuals who unequivocally condemned the hate campaign.

“Why these double standards? Don’t millions of the Kashmiris enjoy the songs of Raj Begam, Zoon Begam, Shameem Dev and Jameela Khan for the last many decades? Why don’t these groups object to the extremely objectionable songs and dances running in our drawing rooms through the local cable TV channels,” asked Ms. Bashir, who taught at the Department of Music at Government Women’s College for more than 30 years. “By their argument, there’s has to be a blanket ban on music in Kashmir.”

Pragaash’s promoter and organiser Adnan Matoo, who claimed to have launched the State’s first rock band, Bloodrockz, in 2005, refused to admit that that there was anything objectionable or un-Islamic in the performance. According to him, it was all a Sufi musical with a number of Bhule Shah hits — and a remix: mein hoon mushkil mein nazar tou kar le, faza ke pal mein zara gul kar de.

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Poonch wants cross-LoC trade to continue

Traders view killing of the two Indian soldiers as a ‘bigger conspiracy’ to fail the Indo-Pakistan CBMs on J&K

Ahmed Ali Fayyaz

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POONCH, Jan 12: For 26-year-old Kulsoom Akhtar, who lives with her husband and two children in a hutment right in front of Gurdwara Dheri Sahab on the middle of the road leading from Poonch to Chakan-Da-Bagh, revival of the cross-LoC trade and travel after 58 years carries no meaning.

“Our roads are completely different from yours,” says the young Bakerwal woman of Khari hamlet.

Even when activity resumed with fanfare in 2005 and 2008 on the once-bustling trade route, connecting Rajouri and Poonch areas of Jammu to Rawalakot and Kotli towns across the LoC, Ms. Akhtar was dying for her reunion with the husband who then earned a livelihood in Saudi Arabia.

“It takes us four days to walk our herds to Gulmarg. We tread further to Srinagar and Baba Nagri [seat of the prominent spiritual leader of the Gujjars and Bakerwals, Mian Bashir Ahmad],” Ms. Akhtar told The Hindu. “What have we shepherds got to do with these roads?”

Ongoing skirmishes between the Indian and the Pakistani troops on the LoC from Uri to Mendhar have put a minuscule political chunk on Ms. Akhtar ’s side. Contrary to her innocence, the outbursts by a few BJP activists are pregnant with politics. “To hell with this trade and travel which make us helpless before the aggression. Our jawans are being killed,” the angry activists were heard shouting after the killing of two soldiers on January 8.

A 10-minute drive on Residency Road drops you at a military memorial, just a couple of miles short of the splendid palace of the ruler in 1947 Raja Moti Singh, Moti Mahal — now headquarters of 93 Infantry Brigade. Immediately after the reported death of a Pakistani soldier across Charonda, Uri, on January 6, and the killing of two Indian soldiers at Mankot, Mendhar, on January 8, men of all formations of 93 Brigade are on a high alert from Haji Pir to Poonch. “Uri 45 km, Hajipir 22 km, Degwar 5 km” announces the memorial made of jet black granite.

Deepak Khanna, who has been hosting variety shows and public events for the Army, in addition to producing and presenting patriotic programmes on All India Radio Poonch, negates both Ms. Akhtar and the local BJP leaders. “Trade and travel through Chakan-Da-Bagh has proved to be the biggest confidence building measure between India and Pakistan in Jammu and Kashmir,” Mr. Khanna asserts.

“Particularly the trade has come as a boon. Previously, only the few affluent people would enjoy the luxury of buying a kilo of apple. Fresh or dry fruit or vegetables, these are now affordable to the poorest here as the prices have come down drastically after 2008,” Mr. Khanna said. He narrated how his Muslim father stood back and chose to become a Hindu during the 1947 war. “Two of my uncles are still Muslims. They live in Rawalakot,” Mr. Khanna revealed.

“Fruit of real Azadi”

Nevertheless, the proverbial horse’s mouth clarification comes from none other than the general secretary of Cross-LoC Trade, Krishen Singh. “Both travel as well as trade have brought about a veritable revolution in Poonch,” Mr. Singh told The Hindu. “We have tasted the fruit of the real Azadi since 2008.”

Mr. Singh narrated how people from across the LoC used to enjoy their visits and sometimes refuse to go back. Some of them died a natural death and were buried in the local community graveyards by members of the divided families.

“Sometime back, three of our guests from PoK met Deputy Commissioner Mohammad Ramzan Thakur and told him that they would never return even if they were killed. DC Sahab strived hard and managed to extend their stay by 10 days,” Mr. Singh recalled. “They told DC that they were living in hell while they viewed the Indian-administered J&K as heaven.”

“But, believe me this disruption is the part of a bigger conspiracy. The agencies in Pakistan are not comfortable with the way that country’s false propaganda is getting exposed before our guests from PoK. They seem to be bent upon sabotaging it,” Mr. Singh claimed. According to him, it would be “falling in ISI’s trap foolishly” if the Indian authorities opted for hard options and froze the CBM.

Some reports insist that the PoK authorities had suspended the trade and travel only after one of the Pakistani trucks got hit by Indian shelling across Battal, Mendhar. Mr. Singh dismissed these reports as “rubbish” and claimed that the Pakistani troops “under the influence of ISI” had made several attempts in the past to sabotage cross-LoC trade and travel.

President of Anjuman-e-Jaffriya, Zaki Hyder, too echoed Mr. Singh’s views and claimed that the authorities in Pakistan had little sincerity in running the trade and travel operations. He, however, insisted that mistrust and propaganda would have to be replaced by sincerity and goodwill from both sides.

Noted writer and Urdu scholar Khush Dev Sing Maini confirmed that a part of the 50 Km road from Tatarinot (Hajeera) was exposed to Indian shelling in Battal area of Mendhar where the brutality happened on Tuesday last. He, however, pointed out that the troops of opposite sides had rarely targeted a road.

Government of India’s Trade Facilitation Officer at Chakan-Da-Bagh, Paramjit Singh, as well as J&K Government’s Custodian of Cross-LoC Trade, Abdul Hamid Sheikh, sounded confident that both the activities would resume soon.

“…peaceful atmosphere has been disturbed due to unfortunate incidents of firing and brutal killings across the LoC at various places in Poonch and Uri areas. These incidents have shaken the confidence of the people. There is a lot of tension and panic among the public. We the people of border areas who have enjoyed the fruit of peace and the LoC CBMs following the ceasefire on the LoC do not want the escalation of the situation and lives being disturbed as a result of more killings,” said an appeal issued through the media by the local civil society and signed by 14 prominent traders, intellectuals and lawyers.

It added: “The members of civil society of Poonch would like to make a humble appeal to Governments of India and Pakistan to take immediate steps towards the restoration of peace on the LoC and implement in letter and spirit the ceasefire agreement of November 26, 2003. We urge that all efforts be made to defuse the tension on the LoC and restore trade venture and weekly bus service from Poonch — Rawalakot route so that we the people of border areas can live in our houses and localities near the LoC with a sense of peace and security in conducive atmosphere. This, we believe is in the utmost interest of the people residing on both the sides of LoC.”

END

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http://www.thehindu.com/news/states/other-states/poonch-wants-crossloc-trade-to-continue/article4302472.ece

Jammu &Kashmir Public Service Commission members cry foul

Ahmed Ali Fayyaz

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SRINAGAR, Jan 5: Well before a petition was sent to Jammu and Kashmir Governor Narinder Nath Vohra last week, three of the four members of the J&K Public Service Commission [PSC] had made it clear to panel chairman S.L. Bhat that they would not participate in any decision-making until the services of five temporarily-engaged persons were terminated.

Hired as ‘consultants’ and computer operators, these officials have, for long, been handling critical data of examinations and evaluation and allegedly faced charges of selective leakage.

According to a bundle of documents provided to the Governor and accessed by The Hindu, dissident member Masood Samoon was on leave when PSC secretary T.S. Ashok Kumar fixed November 15, 2012, as the date for the commission’s 10^th meeting. Before his departure for Haj, Mr. Samoon had levelled an unprecedented accusation on the chairman’s only loyalist member, alleging that Mr. Khizar Mohammad Wani had accessed the merit list of the previous years’ Kashmir Combined Civil Services examination, a.k.a. Kashmir Administrative Service, far before it was revealed to other members and notified.

Two other dissident members, Javed Makhdoomi and Kulbhushan Jandial, were surprised to note that approval of the results of Kashmir Civil Service (Judicial) Examination and a government-sponsored proposal to amend the Commission’s rules of business and procedure were on the agenda of the November 15 meeting. Both the members wrote a joint letter to the chairman seeking postponement of the meeting until Mr. Samoon’s return. They demanded that the contractually-engaged officials be discharged and removed from the process of selection of the junior judges (munsiffs).

Bureaucrats at the State government’s Law Department are said to have played a key role in drafting the amendment to the rules, aimed at stripping the PSC members of their powers and shifting the same to the chairman. It would indeed be easier for members of the bureaucracy and politicians to run their writ in the fully autonomous and constitutionally independent multi-member commission.

END

Web Link:

http://www.thehindu.com/todays-paper/tp-national/jammu-kashmir-public-service-commission-members-cry-foul/article4278424.ece

J&K Public Service Commission member alleges violation of norms in selection of officers

 “Result notification issued on November 16 without mandatory approval”

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Ahmed Ali Fayyaz

SRINAGAR, Jan 3: Days before his retirement on Thursday, one of the four members of the Jammu & Kashmir Public Service Commission [PSC] complained to Governor Narendar Nath Vohra that rules and regulations were being flouted with impunity in the selection of gazetted officers for different civil and judicial services in the State.

A communication received by the Raj Bhavan from the outgoing PSC member Javed Makhdoomi last week alleged that Chairman S.L. Bhat “completely sidelined and reduced to a rubber stamp” three of the four members of the multi-member constitutional body with the help of one member and Secretary of the commission. Mr. Makhdoomi cited the selection of junior judges, while dropping a veritable bombshell that the result notification issued on November 16 had not been signed or approved in any other manner by three of the four members.

The communication accessed by The Hindu carries along a bundle of documents to establish that the three members — Javed Makhdoomi, Kulbhushan Jandial and Masood Samoon, had made repeated submissions to the Chairman, urging him to stem the rot of “selective leakage” and make the selection processes fair and transparent. However, Mr. Bhat not only persisted with the scheme of things with impunity but also got the result of the Kashmir Civil Service Judicial Examination notified without the Commission’s mandatory approval.

“Yes, I have sent a representation to the Governor and sought his intervention to set things right at the PSC,” Mr. Makhdoomi confirmed. “If three of the four members of the Commission have recorded their reservations, expressed serious apprehensions with regard to the fairness of the selection process and refused to sign it, somebody needs to probe,” Mr. Makhdoomi told The Hindu. The Governor, he said, was the “last resort” as the Chairman, according to him, had not responded to the representations of the three members. He asserted that the result notification of KCS (Judicial) examination was “completely illegal and unauthorised,” confirming that he, on behalf of the three dissident members, requested the Governor to order an investigation.

Raj Bhavan sources said that a letter from Mr. Makhdoomi had been received and it was being passed on to the Governor.

“The result notification needs to be cancelled forthwith as it doesn’t have approval of three-fourth of the members,” Mr. Makhdoomi said. Quoting from PSC’s rules of business and procedure, he contended that all decisions, including selection lists and result notifications, were required to be approved by the quorum — 50 per cent of the members plus one. He claimed that only one of the four members— Khizar Mohammad Wani, was taken on board in issuing the result notification of the Munsiffs’ written examination.

 

Vacancies

As against the sanctioned strength of eight members and a chairman, the PSC has been operating with just four members and the chairman since 2011. With Mr. Makhdoomi’s retirement now, its size has further reduced to three — the first time in the last several years.

Interestingly, none of the government departments has referred any vacancies to the Commission in recent times, though they are all bound by SRO-166 dated 14-06-2005 to refer all vacancies “by the 15th of January every year.”

The PSC is currently scheduling the interview of the 202 candidates declared as passed in the screening test. However, in the last seven weeks the Chief Justice of the J&K High Court has not deputed any of the judges to assist the PSC panel in holding the viva voce. Informed sources insist that inclusion of names of the children of some influential men in the executive and the judiciary has raised many eyebrows in certain institutions and the civil society.

The communication received by the Raj Bhavan carries documentary evidence to prove that the members had repeatedly urged the Chairman to plug the “selective leakage,” which, according to the three dissident members was being managed by men in the Civil Secretariat through some computer operators and ‘consultants’ engaged on contract. It has been pointed out that even a retired official, who has worked with the Chairman’s loyalist member at the non-gazetted recruitment board previously, has also been engaged by the PSC.

The Commission's chairman, S.L. Bhat, and Secretary, T.S. Ashok Kumar, did not respond to phone calls. The Hindu also e-mailed a questionnaire to Mr. Kumar, but did not receive a response in the last 10 days.

END

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Three B.Tech students questioned for hacking university website

1

VC constitutes faculty panel for probe, asks police to wait

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Ahmed Ali Fayyaz

RAJOURI, Dec 2: Three B.Tech students are being interrogated by the police and are facing an in-house enquiry as well for allegedly hacking the data system of the College of Engineering and Technology (COET) of the State-run Baba Ghulam Shah Badshah (BGSB) University, Rajouri, in Jammu.

Informed sources said the Rajouri police detained the students earlier this week for “questioning” to investigate their role in cracking the administrator codes of their college website and IT system. They allegedly hacked the system and uploaded on the COET domain a press release that, according to Vice-Chancellor Prof. Irshad Ahmad Hamal, was “two-year-old” and aimed at “defaming the University.”

The 5th semester students, detained and questioned ‘informally’ by the police, include the son of an Associate Professor of Hospital Administration at the Sher-e-Kashmir Institute of Medical Sciences (SKIMS), Soura, Srinagar.Superintendent of Police Rajouri, Mubassir Latifi, confirmed that BGSB University Registrar, Mohammad Rashid Choudhary, approached SHO Rajouri on November 27 with a verbal complaint that the COET website had been hacked and objectionable material criminally uploaded. He, however, asserted that the police neither registered an FIR nor arrested the suspects in the absence of a written complaint.

“SHO Rajouri advised the university staff to file a written complaint,” Mr. Latifi told The Hindu, “making it clear that police would not launch an informal investigation.” “On November 29th, BGSB officials came again, this time with a letter from the Registrar, that the VC had constituted a committee which had started in-house investigation. They wanted the police to stop and wait for findings of the enquiry,” Mr. Latifi said.

Even as Mr. Latifi said the police did not act, acquaintances of the three students claimed that they remained in custody for four days, facing questions as to why and how they had executed the hacking. This was also corroborated by one of the detained student’s family members on condition of anonymity. They said a detenu’s father, along with a senior SKIMS official, was camping in Jammu to help out the accused students. He reportedly told the VC that the matter can be resolved without filing a criminal complaint under the Information Technology Act.

Prof. Hamal confirmed hacking of the COET data system, but maintained that the website had been restored.

END

Web Link;

http://www.thehindu.com/todays-paper/tp-national/three-btech-students-questioned-for-hacking-university-website/article4155514.ece

Srinagar under indefinite curfew

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Ahmed Ali Fayyaz

SRINAGAR, Nov 28: In the wake of sectarian tension in Baramulla and Budgam districts of Jammu and Kashmir on Tuesday over an alleged sacrilegious marking on some shoes, the authorities imposed curfew in more than half of Srinagar on Wednesday.

Deputy Commissioner of Srinagar Baseer Khan told The Hindu that curfew was imposed in areas falling under the jurisdiction of nine police stations — Nowhatta, M.R. Gunj, Safakadal, Khanyar, Rainawari, Nigeen, Lal Bazar, Zadibal and Parimpora.

Apprehensions

“We had serious apprehensions and some disturbing reports indicating a wider flare-up. After incidents of stone pelting in Baramulla and Budgam districts on Tuesday, miscreants gathered in Srinagar at some places and clashed, initially with the police and later with each other,” Mr. Khan said adding that nobody was injured in Wednesday’s sporadic incidents of stone pelting.

According to SSP Srinagar Ashiq Bukhari, groups of youths forced the closure of shops and stopped traffic at certain places in downtown Srinagar in the morning. While a shutdown was enforced in Nowhatta area over the detention of some stone-pelters, demonstrators staged protests at Sayeedakadal, Hawal and Sazgaripora against the purported sacrilegious marking.

As the day progressed, intense clashes broke out between people of two sects at Hawal Chowk, Alamgari Bazar, Sazgaripora and Gojwara. “Fearing that the trouble could engulf a larger area in the historically sensitive downtown, we recommended [imposition of] curfew,” Mr. Bukhari said adding Kralpora Hawal was the worst-affected locality where two groups fought each other even after curfew was declared in the evening.

A police spokesman said in a release on Wednesday night: “The police have taken cognisance of some skirmishes between two sectarian communities in Zadibal area. The civil and police administration are monitoring the situation. There are no reports of anybody getting injured. However, sporadic incidents of stone pelting have been reported.”

Sources said that after Tuesday’s demonstrations, the police seized about 10 pairs of the controversially designed shoes of a Chinese company. According to reports on Wednesday, the situation was tense in some Shia localities but no sectarian clash was reported from anywhere in the Valley.

Exams postponed

According to the Controller of Examinations, Kashmir University, all examinations scheduled on November 29 have been postponed.

END

Web Link:

http://www.thehindu.com/news/states/other-states/srinagar-under-indefinite-curfew/article4143574.ece

E-mail threat to avenge execution of Kasab sent to Jammu from Bangalore

J&K Police team in Karnataka to question cyber café owner

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Ahmed Ali Fayyaz

UDHAMPUR, Nov 28: Following a threat to avenge Ajmal Kasab’s execution with terror strikes on the Mata Vaishno Devi shrine town of Katra, Jammu and Kashmir police have registered a criminal case, sounded a red alert and beefed up security in Udhampur and Reasi districts.

After detecting that the e-mail threat to a hotel at Katra emanated from Bangalore, a J&K Police team went to Karnataka and started questioning a couple running a cyber café in a posh locality.

Authoritative sources revealed that the manager of Hotel Grand Devi at Katra, 13 km from the Vaishno Devi shrine, informed the police on November 24 that a threat to avenge Kasab’s death had been emailed by an unknown sender.

“We will avenge the execution of Ajmal Kasab. We will teach India a lesson. We will celebrate Deepavali in Katra. The flying birds will be fired. Indians will be targeted. Stop us if you can,” the text of the email, according to informed sources, read. The unknown sender’s email address, they said, was syedanwar@gmail.com.

Officials associated with the investigation said the police registered a case under Sections 505 and 507 of Ranbir Penal Code (RPC), Section 66 of Information Technology Act, besides Sections 13 and 20 of the Unlawful Activities (Prevention) Act. A team of personnel from the executive Police and Cyber Crime Cell, headed by a Deputy Superintendent of Police directly under the supervision of SP Katra, was constituted for investigation.

Inspector General of Police Jammu, Dilbagh Singh, told The Hindu that the police team led by an S.P. and comprising investigators and some IT experts from the Cyber Cell, have started questioning the suspects in Bangalore in coordination with the Karnataka Police.

No CCTV cameras

The cyber café had neither maintained any record of customers nor installed CCTV cameras.

“As of now,” the IG said, “the threat appears to be real and we have taken all necessary steps to safeguard Vaishno Devi pilgrims, the shrine and the hotels at Katra.”

“However, we are still trying to determine whether the email had come from a real terror outfit or someone was playing a prank,” Mr. Singh added. The police would crack the mystery “very soon” and arrest the culprits, he said.

“We are also investigating why the threat had been sent to one particular hotel manager. A possibility exists that someone is harassing him out of mischief or personal enmity,” Mr. Singh said. Udhampur police sources told The Hindu that, immediately after the complaint was received, authorities put extra security arrangements in place to protect pilgrims, hotel operators, Mata Vaishno Devi Shrine Board functionaries and others associated with the round-the-year pilgrimage.

The authorities were also planning security for a University and other establishments operated by the Shrine Board that functions independently under the command of Governor, the sources said.

On hit list

Nearly ten million Hindu devotees from all over the country, as also from some foreign countries such as Nepal, Bhutan and Sri Lanka visit the shrine annually to pay their obeisance. The shrine, as well as the hilly Katra township in Reasi district, according to police sources, have been high on the terror hit-list ever since the armed insurgency began in 1990. However, no attack has taken place over the two decades.

END

Web Link:

http://www.thehindu.com/news/national/email-threat-to-avenge-execution-of-kasab-sent-to-jammu-from-bangalore/article4140957.ece