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| Gunman opens fire on NC leader in Srinagar downtown | | Militants spill first blood on Omar’s day one in office | |
Ahmed Ali Fayyaz
SRINAGAR, May 4: In their third successive strike since announcement of the Parliamentary elections in Kashmir---and the first ever in the Central Kashmir constituency of Srinagar-Budgam---suspected militants today fired upon a National Conference (NC) leader and left him critically wounded in downtown Srinagar hours after Durbar Move offices opened for the season and Omar Abdullah attended first day of his work as Chief Minister in the summer capital.
Informed sources told Early Times that a youth in mid-20s took out his pistol and opened fire on Abdul Aziz Fashoo S/o Mohammad Subhan Fashoo R/o Khankah-e-Moula in the capital city interior at 1930 hours this evening. With three gunshot wounds on his hand, thigh and abdomen, Fashoo was evacuated to SMHS Hospital where doctors subjected him to surgery and late tonight believed that he had chances of survival. Sources said that Fashoo was a prominent political activist in his area and he had, of late, returned to the ruling NC after a tryst with Hakeem Mohammad Yasin’s PDF.
Officials said that in view of his threat perception, Police had deputed two PSOs for his security but neither of them was escorting him when suspected militants attacked him close to his shop in Khanka-e-Moula locality. IGP Kashmir, Dr B Srinivas, confirmed that Fashoo had one armed guard for his personal security. He said Police were investigating where the protected person’s PSO was at the moment he was supposed to protect him from an assailant’s gunfire.
After eliminating a ‘surrendered militant’ and an NC activist in Tral on April 20th and 24th, it was for the first time since the announcement of the Lok Sabha elections in March that a mainstream political activist was attacked by suspected militants in Central Kashmir. Reports from downtown Srinagar said that suspected militant strike two days before the scheduled date of polling in Srinagar-Budgam-Ganderbal spread a wave of terror as it was widely perceived to be an anti-election offensive from the separatist militants. Even as Police claimed that it was a militant strike, none of the guerrilla outfits had owned responsibility till late tonight.
Unlike in the Assembly elections of November-December 2008, some separatist militant organizations have issued a diktat and called upon the people to stay away from the democratic exercise. Almost all hues of the separatist movement have called for “total boycott” to the Lok Sabha elections and a major part of downtown Srinagar has remained disturbed due to intermittent clashes between the separatist supporters and Police.
It was in the back drop of considerable tension that Durbar Move offices opened here today after the winter break of six months in the winter capital of Jammu. Chief Minister Omar Abdullah’s was treated to a ceremonial guard of honour from J&K Police as he entered the Civil Secretariat for first day of his work as head of the government. Alongwith nine of his NC-Congress Ministerial colleagues, he had been sworn in as Chief Minister in Jammu on January 5th this year.
While Police and security forces appeared to be on high alert and they checked vehicles and frisked pedestrians at some places, there was no militant strike till a ruling party activist was attacked in the city interior. Authorities had introduced a fresh scheme of traffic regulation that proved to be a success but caused jams on certain streets in Civil Lines.
Unfazed by Hurriyat’s threatening and complaining statements, mainstream political leaders continued with their election campaign, mostly in the rural districts of Budgam and Ganderbal. Senior NC leader and Minister for Rural Development, Ali Mohammad Sagar, virtually broke a jinx when he succeeded on organizing his party’s first ever “election rally” in his Assembly segment of Khanyar in downtown. Rains did only delay the programme by one hour. It was thus first time that NC’s President and contesting candidate, Dr Farooq Abdullah, addressed a public meeting of the current electioneering in a downtown locality.
While Dr Abdullah later flew to Khansahib and Magam townships in Budgam district, Omar Abdullah was dropped by a helicopter in Kangan in the afternoon. Reports said that nearly 6,000 people participated in the NC’s rally at Kangan and most of them were the Gujjar followers of senior NC leader and Forest Minister Mian Altaf Ahmed. Omar, Altaf and Sagar later took a whirlwind tour of Ganderbal and addressed public meetings at Lar, Wat Lar, Nepora and Pirpora. PDP President Mehbooba Mufti and former Forest Minister Qazi Mohammad Afzal addressed “roadshows” at about 20 places in Ganderbal segment today.
Reports said that nearly 5,000 people attended the coalition rally at Khansahib which was addressed by Dr Abdullah, J&K PCC Chief, Prof Saif-ud-din Soz, former Chief Minister and AICC General Secretary Ghulam Nabi Azad and the local PDF MLA and former Minister Hakeem Mohammad Yasin. According to these reports, Dr Abdullah later addressed another public meeting of nearly 4,000 people at Magam on Srinagar-Gulmarg Road before leaving for New Delhi this evening.
On the last day of campaigning, NC and PDP will be holding a series of public meetings in all the three Central Kashmir districts of Srinagar, Ganderbal and Budgam. PDP’s contesting candidate, Maulvi Iftikhar Hussain Ansari, is scheduled to address a major rally of his supporters alongwith his party President, Mehbooba Mufti, at Budgam tomorrow. With 15 candidates in the fray, NC’s Dr Abdullah and PDP’s Ansari are believed to be the key contestants in Central Kashmir on the day of polling on May 7th.
Electioneering is, meanwhile, picking up in the North Kashmir constituency of Baramulla-Kupwara-Bandipore where polling is scheduled to be held on May 13th. NC’s Sharief-ud-din Shariq, PDP’s Mohammad Dilawar Mir and the Peoples Conference Chairman, Sajjad Gani Lone, are believed to be the key contestants in North Kashmir.
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