The Tribune – Lashkar-e-Toiba targets police patrol in Pulwama; Militant gunned down, two cops injured

Suhail A Shah

Anantnag, June 10. A Lashkar-e-Toiba (LeT) militant was killed and two police personnel were injured after militants opened fire on a patrol party of the Special Operations Group of the police in the Litter area of Pulwama district here in south Kashmir.

Sources said the patrol party was on a regular round when some militants opened fire on them at the Niloora crossing in the Litter area.

“Two policemen were injured critically in the firing,” said a source, adding, “There was a brief exchange of fire between the militants and the policemen, wherein a militant was gunned down.”

The injured policemen are constable Mohammad Ashraf and special police officer Arif Maqbool — both of whom have been referred to a Srinagar hospital for treatment.

Police sources said the slain militant had been identified as Ashiq Lone of the Heff Shirmal area in Shopian district of South Kashmir. However, there was no official confirmation on the identity of the militant.

While the Kashmir valley has been witnessing a revival of the militancy-related incidents, Pulwama district in south Kashmir is fast becoming a hot bed of militant revival.

On June 5, two militants of the Jaish-e-Muhammad outfit were gunned down during a 20-hour-long encounter in the Kellar area of Pulwama district.

On May 24, militants ambushed a search party of the Army in the forest area of Tral tehsil in Pulwama district.

Four Army personnel were killed in the attack and a local militant was also shot dead in the ensuing gun-battle.

However, the other militants accompanying the slain militant, believed to be three to four in number, managed to flee from the spot. Security forces carried out a combing operation in the forest area for two days without any success. Later, the Hizb-ul-Mujahideen outfit claimed responsibility for the attack.

http://www.tribuneindia.com/2013/20130611/j&k.htm#2

United Sikhs – Sikh Students Now Wear Turban to Indian [J&K] Catholic School

Following an incident on 16th May, when Sikh students were excluded from classes for wearing their turban at the St Joseph’s Higher Secondary school, the Principal has said that Sikh students may wear their turban to school.

We congratulate the brave stand taken by the Sikh students of St Joseph’s school, to project the principles of Sikhism by wearing their turban to school, even though, this meant their exclusion from classes. United Sikhs thanks the school principal for now coming around to understanding the need to promote unity through religious diversity, said Gurpreet Singh, United Sikhs Director.

After how things turned out, I feel proud to wear a turban. I would like to give a message: Sabat Soorat Dastaar Sira (Let your total awareness be the turban on your head), said one of the students who was excluded from class for wearing a turban, whose name has been withheld at his parent’s request.

Highlights:

On 16th May, some 40 Sikh students of the St Joseph Higher Secondary School, Baramulla, Kashmir, were excluded from classes for wearing their turban;

On 21st May, United Sikhs advocated for these students’ right to wear the turban by writing to the principal, the Education Ministry, The Catholic Church of India, The National Human Rights Commission and the National Commission for Minorities of India;

On 25th May, the Principal called for a meeting with the Baramulla Gurdwara Parbandhak Commitee and some parents and said that the students may return to school wearing their turban;

On 28th May, Sikh students attended classes wearing their turban

On 15th June, United Sikhs directors, Bhai Esher Singh and Gurpreet Singh, will visit the Sikh community in Baramulla and honour the Sikh students and parents who stood their ground and made it possible for Sikh students to wear their turban at St Joseph’s School. The will also conduct motivational workshops for Sikh youths and their parents.

Baramulla, Kashmir, India – 10th June 2012: Turbaned Sikh students have been attending classes for the last fortnight following their earlier exclusion for wearing their turban at the St Joseph’s Higher Secondary School in Baramulla, 50 km from the State Capital, Srinagar.

From 16th May, the 107 year old school, which has 300 Sikh students, had excluded turbaned Sikh students from classes saying that the turban is against the school’s uniform code. Following a letter writing campaign by United Sikhs to the school and State and national authorities, the school principal called a meeting with parents of the affected students and the Sikh community representatives, on 25th May, when he announced that the students may return to school wearing their turbans.

On 21st May, on behalf of some parents and the Baramulla Gurdwara Parbandhak Committee, United Sikhs had written to the school principal, Fr Sebastian Nagathunkal and to Rt. Rev. Peter Celestine, the Bishop of the Diocese of Jammu-Srinagar that runs the school, asking them to uphold the Sikh students’ religious right to wear their turban.

“We also wrote to the Education Minister of Jammu and Kashmir asking him to intervene. These letters were copied to the Cardinal of the Indian Catholic Church of India, the National Human Right Commission and the National Commission for Minorities,” said Mejindarpal Kaur, United Sikhs International Legal Director.

“United Sikhs is very grateful to all parties who helped resolve this issue expeditiously. We are very pleased that this incident has opened the way for students to wear a turban at the St Joseph’s school in Baramulla, where historically the wearing of the Sikh turban was a rare occurence,” she added.

“With the grace of god, about 25 students wore the turban to school (on 28th May 2013). This is a positive sign,” said Dr Tara Singh, member of the Baramulla Gurdwara Parbandhak Committee, who met the school principal with some parents, after the issue was raised by United Sikhs.

Mejindarpal Kaur
International Legal Director
United Sikhs
law@unitedsikhs.org

http://www.unitedsikhs.org/

The Tribune – Brigadier, 2 soldiers injured in cross-border firing in Kupwara

Ehsan Fazili, Tribune News Service

Srinagar, May 25. In the first ceasefire violation from across the Line of Control (LoC) this year, a senior Army officer of the rank of Brigadier and two soldiers were injured when Pakistan troops opened fire in Nowgam sector of Kupwara district in north Kashmir last evening.

In another incident, Pakistan troops fired from across the LoC in Karnah sector of Kupwara district. However, there were no reports of any damage. Sources said Pakistan troops resorted to unprovoked firing in Tutmari Gali in Nowgam sector of Kupwara district around 7.30 pm yesterday.

The troops retaliated with an equal measure to the mortar gun fires from across the border. The exchange of fire lasted for about 15 minutes during which a senior officer of the rank of Brigadier and two jawans were hurt.

The Brigadier, Sanjeev Lange, who was on a visit to a forward post, was held up for some time during the firing.

He sustained “minor injuries” as a result of the splinters flying from the targeted sites, sources said. There were no reports of any firing today.

http://www.tribuneindia.com/2013/20130526/main3.htm

The Tribune – Visa on arrival for Pakistan senior citizens

Tribune News Service

New Delhi, April 5. Indicating a small yet significant shift, India has started visa on arrival facility for senior citizens of Pakistan.

The facility, originally supposed to start on January 15 this year as part of the new liberalised visa regime between the two neighbours, was put on hold after two Indian soldiers were beheaded along the Line of Control (LoC) on January 6. Pakistan had, however allowed Indian senior citizens to utilise the facility in January.

A senior Home Ministry official said: “We have launched visa on arrival facility for Pakistan senior citizens at the Attari-Wagah Integrated Check Post from April 1.” No decision has been taken to allow group tourist visa facility to Pakistan nationals. The scheme was to start from March 15 but was put on hold by India citing “technical issues”.

After two Indian soldiers were beheaded along the LoC, Prime Minister Manmohan Singh had said the incident had cast a shadow on bilateral relations and asked Pakistan to create conducive environment to take the normalisation process forward.

He had said he was yet to see any “tangible progress” in dismantling of terror infrastructure in Pakistan and bringing to justice the perpetrators of the Mumbai terror attacks. The new visa agreement was signed last September.

http://www.tribuneindia.com/2013/20130406/main3.htm

The Asian Age – Two cops shot dead in Kashmir

Yusuf Jameel, Asian Age Correspondent

Sunday, 3 March 2013. Suspected Kashmiri militants killed two Indian Reserve Police personnel in a hit-and-run attack in Handwara town of Jammu and Kashmir’s frontier Kupwara district on Saturday, the first such incident in Handwara in five years.

Officials said the policemen, in their mid-twenties, were standing guard at the bus terminus when masked gunmen abroad a red Maruti Omni struck. The vehicle then sped away.

The security forces had launched a massive manhunt when reports last came in.

[Reports said they were slain around the time the Army’s 15 (Chinar) Corps GOC, Lt. General Om Prakash, and Brigadier A. Arun of the 7th Sector of Rashtriya Rifles were at a function at “Environment Hall”, about 250 yards from the scene of the shooting].

Azad Chand and Santosh Kumar, of the IRP’s 13th and 16th Battalions, respectively, were rushed to a nearby hospital where doctors declared them brought dead. The police blamed separatist militants but none of the outfits active have so far admitted responsibility.

http://www.asianage.com/india/2-cops-shot-dead-kashmir-082

Dawn – India can divert only minimum water from Kishanganga: tribunal

Mubarak Zeb Khan

Islamabad, 18 February 2013. In a partial award announced in the Kishanganga dispute, the Hague-based Court of Arbitration allowed India on Monday to divert only a minimum flow of water from Neelum/Kishanganga River for power generation.

The Indian government had sought full diversion of the river water, but the court determined that India was under an obligation to construct and operate the Kishanganga Hydroelectric Plant (HEP) in such a way as to maintain a minimum flow of water in the river at a rate to be determined by the court in its final award.

A copy of the judgment available with Dawn shows that the final award will be announced in December this year. The court asked India and Pakistan to provide data by June so that it could determine the minimum flow of water.

On May 17, 2010, Pakistan had instituted arbitral proceedings against India under the Indus Waters Treaty 1960 and approached the International Court of Arbitration (ICA) against violation of the treaty. The ICA granted a stay and stopped India from constructing the 330MW Kishanganga hydroelectric project in occupied Kashmir.

Pakistan had put two questions, which were legal in nature, before the tribunal — whether India’s proposed diversion of the Neelum/Kishanganga River into another tributary breaches India’s legal obligations owed to Pakistan under the treaty and whether under the treaty, India may deplete or bring the reservoir level of a run-of-river plant below the dead storage level in any circumstances except in the case of an unforeseen emergency.

On the second question, the court determined that except in the case of an unforeseen emergency, the treaty did not permit reduction below the dead storage level of the water level in the reservoirs of run-of-river plants on the western rivers.

It further said the accumulation of sediment in the reservoir of a run-of-river plant on the western rivers did not constitute an unforeseen emergency that would permit depletion of the reservoir below the dead storage level for drawdown flushing purposes. Accordingly, India may not employ drawdown flushing at the reservoir of the Kishanganga hydroelectric plant to an extent that will entail depletion of the reservoir below dead storage level.

A senior official who is familiar with the development told Dawn that the court’s decision had endorsed Pakistan’s view that the neutral expert’s decision in the Baglihar case regarding drawdown flushing below the dead storage level was wrong and in gross violation of the parameters defined by the Indus Waters Treaty. Henceforth, designs and operations of run-of-river plants on western rivers would be determined by this decision and not that of the neutral expert.

By obtaining this award, Pakistan has taken the issue of Indus waters with India on a new basis. The years of inconclusive discussions and delays in the Indus Waters Commission during which Pakistan was constantly frustrated by the apparent inability of the commission to oversee the water regime effectively have been brought to an end.

Experts said the award had clearly and conclusively established that there were procedures set out in the Indus Waters Treaty that India must follow and the commission must secure and that India’s compliance with these obligations could and would be reviewed by international courts.

India is constructing the 330MW hydroelectric project with a dam at Gurez from where it intends to divert the entire winter flow through a tunnel and deliver water into Bunar, Madhmati, Nallaat, Bandipora in occupied Kashmir.

The court’s partial decision is clear in this regard that it permits India to divert water for power generation but will determine limits and parameters of the diversion. The court will define a minimum flow regime and thus India will be unable to divert permanently complete winter flows over a period of six to eight months in a year.

The Indus Waters Treaty denoted the conclusion of protracted and taxing negotiations ending the canal waters dispute which had erupted in 1948. Unlike other water treaties, it created an inimitable paradigm by allocating entire rivers dividing the Indus system of rivers between India and Pakistan. While largely perceived to be an exemplary accord having endured two wars and constant strain between the two governments, some experts question its efficacy. They consider this view to be a misnomer as India’s disregard for the treaty began from its inception.

From its planned construction of Wullar Barrage in 1961, failures to release canal waters in 1965, Dul Hasti, Salal, Baglihar, Kishanganga, Nimoo Bazgo, Chutak, Uri-I to many other projects on the western rivers, India has ignored its treaty obligations and designed its projects as it saw fit.

The erroneous perception stems from Pakistan’s omission to take timely action against illegalities. India proceeded with the construction of works not permitted under the treaty and kept Pakistan engaged in correspondence and negotiations for years while taking their projects to a stage of a fait accompli.

http://dawn.com/2013/02/19/india-can-divert-only-minimum-water-from-kishanganga-tribunal/

The Hindu – India for winding up UN mission on Kashmir

Sandeep Dikshit

New Delhi, 22 January 2013.  India has suggested the winding up of the United Nations Military Observer Group in India and Pakistan (UNMOGIP) because its “role has been overtaken by India-Pakistan Shimla Agreement in 1972.”

Participating in a debate on UN peacekeeping operations, India’s Permanent Representative Hardeep Puri reiterated India’s call for more effective utilisation of resources. In this context, he felt the U.N. should consider whether money being allocated for UNMOGIP could be allocated to another mission which required beefing up.

Mr. Puri pressed home the point about the UN mission having outlived its utility. The Shimla Agreement which enjoins India and Pakistan to bilaterally sort out their disputes was “signed by the heads of the two governments and ratified by their respective parliaments”, he pointed out.

“In times of austerity, we need to address the question, whether the resources being spent on UNMOGIP would not be better utilised elsewhere,” he added.

India has two main complaints against the UN peacekeeping architecture. One, manpower providers such as India must be kept in the loop while taking a decision on the mission and keeping everyone informed when it changes character.

The second grouse is about resource allocation failing to keep pace with the mandate expansion. As a result peacekeeping missions are called upon to do more and more with less and less.

This has added to operational challenges faced by peacekeepers and missions are overstretched due to shortage of personnel and equipment.

http://www.thehindu.com/news/national/india-for-winding-up-un-mission-on-kashmir/article4330381.ece

The Tribune – Post RTE, reading ability takes a hit; Haryana sees steepest fall, Punjab, HP pupils weaker in maths

Aditi Tandon, Tribune News Service

New Delhi, January 18. The Right of Children to Free and Compulsory Education (RTE) has failed to positively impact learning outcomes of students across government schools in the country with more than half the class V students now unable to comprehend class II texts.

This marks the steepest decline in children’s reading levels over the past three years, putting a question mark over the employment of continuous and comprehensive evaluation of students as a strategy under the RTE Act.

The major drop – of five percentage points as compared to 2011 – in reading abilities of students has been seen in Haryana, Bihar, Madhya Pradesh, Maharashtra and Kerala. The decline is true of students in both government and private elementary schools, indicating a significant challenge for school education.

The Annual Status of Education Report-2012 published by community building organisation Pratham further shows that despite being the year of arithmetic, 2012 hardly brought any good news for the subject.

Arithmetic abilities of students have in fact dropped sharply. In 2010, of all children enrolled in class V, 29.1 per cent could not solve simple two-digit subtractions with borrowing. The percentage rose to 39 in 2011 and is 46.5 pc this year.

Such has been the drop that comparing a cohort of children in government schools in class V in 2011 with that in the same grade in 2012, there is evidence of over 10 percentage point drop in the ability to do basic subtraction in all states.

Class-V graders have been found to be much weaker at problem solving this year than in 2011 particularly in Jammu and Kashmir, Himachal Pradesh, Punjab, Haryana, Chhattisgarh, Madhya Pradesh, Gujarat and Maharashtra. Other states have recorded declines but not that sharp.

In J&K, for instance, only 17.3 per cent elementary school students (classes I to VIII) can do divisions as of 2012. The ability of students to divide is the lowest in smaller grades.

In class III, only 6.8 per cent of all students in government and private schools in the state can divide and the percentage is 20.9 for those in class V.

Around 30 per cent students of classes I to VIII in the state can do subtraction but no division. Punjab and Haryana are slightly better than J&K but struggling to improve nevertheless.

In Punjab, 35.4 per cent of all elementary-level students can do divisions; 23.9 per cent can do subtractions but no divisions. Corresponding percentages for Haryana are 33.8 and 22.8.

“The continuous comprehensive evaluation mandated under RTE Act has not really improved the learning ability of students. The practice has actually led to declines. That poses a question mark on the merit of the strategy,” says Madhav Chavan of Pratham.

So far as reading goes, in 2010, the year of RTE’s implementation, nationally 46.3 per cent students of class V enrolled in both government and private schools could not read basic class II text. The percentage rose to 51.8 in 2011 and further to 53.2 in 2012.

http://www.tribuneindia.com/2013/20130119/main3.htm

BBC News – Indian officials accused of Kashmir rights abuses

Thursday, 6 December 2012. More than 500 members of India’s armed forces are accused of human rights abuses in a damning report on conflict in Indian-administered Kashmir.

The alleged offences detailed in the report by a leading human rights group include custody deaths, abduction, torture and rape.

Army, police and paramilitary officers of senior rank are among those named. There was no immediate army response.

Thousands have died in a separatist insurgency in Kashmir since 1989.

The disputed region, claimed by both India and Pakistan, has seen violence fall in recent years.

But tens of thousands of Indian army and paramilitary troops continue to be deployed in the Muslim-majority Kashmir Valley.

The report’s authors say they gathered information from the police and under India’s new freedom of information laws, as well from interviews with families and others.

An army spokesman said he was not aware of the report.

“If they have sent it to the defence ministry we have not received it so far. We can respond after proper perusal of the document,” Lt-Colonel H S Brar, who speaks for the Indian army’s Kashmir-based 15 corps, told the BBC.

Perpetual wait for justice’

The 354-page report was compiled by the Association of Parents of Disappeared Persons (APDP) and the International People’s Tribunal on Human Rights and Justice in Indian-administered Kashmir (IPTK).

It has analysed 214 cases of abuse and highlighted the role of officials in the killing of nearly 70 people and the disappearances of 8,000 people over two decades, the BBC’s Riyaz Masroor in Srinagar says.

The report names military officials of very senior rank as “perpetrators”, our correspondent reports.

Releasing the report in Srinagar, Kartik Murukutla, a human rights lawyer and one of the authors of the report, said India’s priority in Kashmir was to control the territory, not pursue justice.

“For the victims, the wait for proper justice seems perpetual. In its approach to justice, the Indian state has not moved beyond cash relief or the promise of re-investigation.

“The state has wilfully lowered the standard of justice as well as the crimes perpetrated,” he said.

The report says that despite the evidence, many of those accused of brutality were decorated for their role in fighting the separatist insurgency.

“While we believe in fixing the responsibility on the individuals, we have highlighted the culpability of the Indian state in shielding the perpetrators,” the APDP chief Parvez Imroz said.

http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-asia-india-20624798

The Tribune – Militants target Srinagar hotel, kill 1; Attack an Army convoy on highway before forcing their way into hotel; 2 employees hurt in firing

Majid Jahangir, Tribune News Service

Srinagar, October 19. Suspected militants today fired at an Army convoy near a hotel on the outskirts of Srinagar city killing a hotel employee and injuring two others. “Initial investigations into the firing incident have shown that the militants had planned an attack on the highway. They did not succeed and tried to enter a nearby hotel. They opened indiscriminate firing, killing Farooq Ahmad, a bellboy, and injuring two others, Anees Ahmed and Bilal Ahmed,” a police spokesman said.

Police sources said at least three militants armed with assault rifles attacked an Army vehicle near Nowgam on the Parimpora-Panthachowk bypass at 4.30 pm in which the vehicle was damaged.

“No security man was injured. After carrying out the attack, the militants forced their way into the hotel premises and started shooting indiscriminately, killing the bellboy and injuring two others. After the firing, the militants fledthe hotel,” sources said.

Anees, who got a bullet embedded in his abdomen, was shifted to Sri Mahraja Hari Singh (SMHS) Hospital, where his condition is stated to be serious. Bilal Ahmed, who also had a bullet in his arm, was shifted to Bone and Joints hospital for treatment.

A hotel employee said the militants also fired at the reception counter. One report said the armed militants entered the hotel creating panic among the staff and guests. In the melee, the armed militants dragged the bellboy. Before fleeing, they shot him dead.

Initially, police thought that the militants had hid themselves inside the hotel and a search was launched. After almost two hours, the hotel was declared safe and the guests were allowed to move in. “Bullet marks were visible near the hotel reception. All the guests and employees of the hotel are safe,” said a hotel employee. “It was not an attack on the hotel. The militants took the hotel route to escape after attacking the Army convoy,” he added.

Inspector-General of Police (Kashmir) S M Sahai termed it a militant attack. When asked to clarify whether it was an attack on the hotel or the highway, he said it was too early to comment. “Nothing seemed to have been targeted by the militants in the hotel,” Sahai said.

Soon after the shootout, police along with paramilitary troopers launched a manhunt to nab the militants.

“The entire area has been cordoned off and search for the militants is on,” police said.

Militants had carried out an attack on CRPF at Rainawari in May-end in the heart of city in which seven CRPF personnel were injured.

http://www.tribuneindia.com/2012/20121020/main1.htm