TOP STORY OF THE DAY |
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| Deadlines, political fanfare, historic references; completion nowhere in sight | | | | Syed Junaid Hashmi
JAMMU, Mar 3: Much ado about nothing! Despite too much political fanfare, prestigious Mughal road project, connecting Rajouri and Poonch districts of Jammu region with Kashmir Valley, is nowhere near completion.
Founder of National Conference (NC) Sheikh Mohammed Abdullah took up the project for execution in the year 1977. Ex-Prime Minister Inder Kumal Gujaral announced its construction in the year 1998. Ex-Chief Minister Mufti Mohammed Sayeed got project approved for funding under Prime Minister's Reconstruction Programme (PMRP) in the year 2004. Work started but had to be stopped midway due to Supreme Court stay.
Another ex-Chief Minister Ghulam Nabi Azad got the Supreme Court (SC) stay vacated in the year 2007 and work began in double shift. Chief Minister Omar Abdullah threw road open for light motor vehicles on September 27, 2009, pledging to get road ready for heavy traffic by June 2010. However, more than two years have passed and the state government has already missed three deadlines.
Government's new conditional deadline is March 2013. It has alrea... | |
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FRONT PAGE STORIES |
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| Cabinet reshuffle after assembly session? | | | | Early Times Report
Jammu, Mar 3: The long overdue cabinet expansion in the State is likely to take place after the present session of the legislature ends, highly placed sources told Early Times.
With the decks getting cleared for the much awaited cabinet reshuffle hectic lobbying has started both within the NC and the Congress party. Both veterans and new faces have started pressing the right connections to get a berth in the cabinet.
The Congress has two slots to be filled while the NC can fill up one slot. Last slot for the Congress fell vacant when R&B minister G.M. Saroori resigned following allegations of arranging a proxy for his daughter who was taking a medical entrance exam. Th... | |
| | | | 7 thefts in 7 days at Kishtwar | | | | Asif Iqbal Naik
Kishtwar, Mar 3: Seven thefts have taken place in and around the town here in the past one week with burglars decamping with cash and gold jewellery from residential houses.
Two thefts took place today. In the first incident, the burglars entered the house of Mohammad Shabir Zargar working as junior assistant in information department. According to Shabir, the burglers entered his house after breaking the windowpanes and stole Rs 40,000 and 50 grams of gold when he was in office. His family members were in Jammu.
In the other incident, unidentified persons entered the house of late Mehmood Qazi and decamped with household items and other things. There was no on... | |
| | | | Can India, Pakistan freeze Kashmir issue? | | | | Early Times Report
Jammu, Mar 3: Recent political/ diplomatic developments suggest that New Delhi and Islamabad have finally decided to consign Kashmir issue to cold chambers for the time being. But, will it freeze? The question haunts every Kashmiri.
Kashmir, political experts believe, has changed drastically during the past four years in particular. Gone are the days when leaders would call the shots. Now, the people decide what to do, how and when. The leaders have to follow. The moderate faction of the Hurriyat Conference has remained silent for the past three years. Geelani, not his faction of the separatist conglomerate, enjoy some acceptability. But he too has been shown his La... | |
| | | | 14 arrested 50 injured in lathicharge | | Govt's decision to terminate NYC workers may boomerang | | | Early Times Report
Jammu, Mar 3: Not to speak of providing jobs to unemployed youth in the state whose number has crossed over five lakh and claims of government regarding Sher-I-Kashmir Employment Policy, which has already come to a severe criticism from the from opposition parties, the state government has started a process of terminating the in service temporary employees appointed under National Youth Corps (NYC).
The government through a recent order has issued directives to terminate over 7000 workers by March 31 this year engaged under NYC a centrally sponsored scheme in different departments in the state two years back. This notification has generated a lot of resentment among... | |
| | | | An assembly of contradictions | | Budget Session | | | NEHA
JAMMU, Mar 3: The budget session of Jammu and Kashmir legislature started on February 23. Ever since then, the legislators from Kashmir, including ministers, and legislators from Jammu province, excluding those belonging to the Congress and the NC, have been treading diametrically opposite paths, thus establishing once again that the state legislature is nothing but an assembly of contradictions.
During the last 10 days or so, the ruling National Conference raked up political and emotive issues and left none in any doubt that they are interested more in the resolution of the so-called Kashmir problem and revocation of laws such as AFSPA and PSA than in providing an administration t... | |
| | | | Freezing Kashmir issue may freeze separatists' political fortunes | | | |
Early Times Report
Jammu, Mar 3: Though the idea for freezing the Kashmir issue for a period of 10 years has been mooted during discussions between non-official players in India and Pakistan,leaders of various separatist outfits in Kashmir have voiced their opposition and objection to this idea.
As far as the back channel diplomatic exercises on promoting peace in the South Asian region is concerned keeping the Kashmir issue in the cold store for 10 years is one of the options suggested by those engaged in track two diplomacy.In fact the idea on freezing the Kashmir issue had been mooted from time to time and what had lent some credibility to the plan was the way President Asif Ali Zar... | |
| | | | Charges against Geelani's aide, three others framed | | | | ET Report
NEW DELHI, Mar 3: Charges were today framed against a close aide of hardline Hurriyat leader Syed Ali Shah Geelani and three others, arrested for allegedly running hawala racket to fund banned terrorist outfit Hizbul Mujahideen in Kashmir Valley, by a Delhi court, paving the way for their trial.
District Judge H S Sharma framed charges under various sections of the Unlawful Activities (Prevention) Act against Ghulam Mohd Bhat, said to be Geelani's close aide, Mohd Siddiq Ganai, Ghulam Jeelani Liloo and Farooq Ahmed Dagga, who are presently in Tihar jail under judicial custody.
"The charges have been explained to each accused in detail. They have pleaded not guilty," the judge s... | |
| | | | Lease Of Gilgit-Baltistan: Silence of Congress government intriguing | | Northern Frontier Under Threat | | | RUSTAM
JAMMU, Mar 3: It was some 15 days ago that a disturbing report appeared in a section of print media about the lease of the strategic Gilgit-Baltistan region to China by Pakistan. Gilgit-Baltistan was part of the princely State of Jammu and Kashmir as it existed on August 15, 1947, when the British quit India after dividing her or after creating out of it Muslim Pakistan. Pakistan occupied Gilgit-Baltistan and other areas of the state (read PoK) after rape, murder and pillage not because Pakistan was powerful enough to grab the Indian territories but because of the follies of the Indian Prime Minister, Jawaharlal Nehru. Nehru had ordered a strict ceasefire at a time when the Indian... | |
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