Srinagar, Mar 19: Jammu and Kashmir National Conference President Dr. Farooq Abdullah on Tuesday asserted party’s resolve to fight against machinations aimed at obliterating the special identity and integrity of the state saying with active support of people National Conference will never allow such intrigues to get materialized.

Addressing working committee meeting of Srinagar district here at party headquarters Nawa-e-Subha, party president said, “ Forces as inimical to the special constitutional status of our state willtry their level best to go to any extent to weaken the voice of Kashmiris. The forthcoming election is of great importance to us, it provides us with an opportunity to show how passionately we care for our identity and unique status.”

He further added, “The communal forces of the country have a singular agenda in mind, which is to fully merge the state with the union of India. However it is up to people now to not allow them succeed in their designs. The communal forces will try to use government machinery; money and muscle to influence the elections. Their Trojan horses and cronies in the state especially in Kashmir will leave no stone unturned to divide the voice of people. However I am sure that people have made it a point not to fall prey to their evil designs. The forthcoming elections provide us an opportunity to clean the country and the state of the communal yolk.”

Party vice president Omar Abdullah while addressing the meet asked the youth National conference functionaries to gear up and put in their efforts to make party stronger at grass roots.
“It is the youth that has to shoulder the responsibility of guarding the unique status of the state. The ensuing general elections are of supreme importance because it will decide the recourse of the state and country at large for next half a decade. So it is rather imperative for us to have a voice that could raise our issues in the parliament, for that we have to strengthen the efforts of Dr. Sahab,” he said.

Party general secretary while addressing the gathering said that the situation is no different from 1977 elections. “Today we have National Conference versus all those forces as are hell bent to destroy our special character. The need of the hour demands us to forge unity and trounce the machinations of all those forces as are contriving to destroy our special status and unique identity,”
“Sher-e-Kashmir used to say that Srinagar s a fortress of national conference. We have to ensure and put in all our efforts to hoist the flag of national conference in the ensuing Lokh Sabha and legislative assembly elections,” he said.

Srinagar, March 19: J&K High Court Bar Association (JKHCBA), Srinagar, strongly condemned the ‘custodial killing’ of Rizwan Ahmad Pandit of Awantipora.

JKHCBA said Rizwan Ahmad, who was a teacher by profession was arrested by the police some six months back without any rhyme or reason and got detained under J&K Public Safety Act and lodged in District Jail Kathua.

“His detention order was however quashed by the High Court, but he was not released. Instead he was booked in a frivolous case by police Awantipora, in which case also, he got bail from a Pulwama court, but despite that he was kept in P/S Awantipora unlawfully, for about twenty days.

It was after 20 days’ unlawful detention, that he was released, only to be re-arrested by the police again some three days back and while in custody, he was tortured and killed,” the statement said.

The Bar Association demanded that the custodial killing of Rizwan Ahmad Pandit, an innocent teacher, should be investigated by a Special Investigation Team, which should report the result of the investigation on daily basis to the Chief Judicial Magistrate, Srinagar, so that those, who are responsible for the killing of an innocent person, do not go unpunished.

It also urged International Community to take notice of the custodial killing of Rizwan Ahmad Pandit and raise their voice against the massive human rights violations, which are taking place in the State of J&K at the hands of Indian forces, to suppress the demand of the people for their right of self-determination.

In order to record its protest and show solidarity with the members of the bereaved family, the Bar Association has decided to support the strike call given by the pro-freedom leadership for tomorrow.

Custodial death: ANC to knock doors of SC

Srinagar, Mar 19 : Awami National Conference (ANC) on Tuesday said that it has decided to knock the doors of Supreme Court over the custodial death of a youth from South Kashmir’s Pulwama district today.

ANC Senior Vice President, Muzaffar Ahmad Shah told KNS that the party will move to SC and will file a petition regarding the death of a youth in custody today. “We will not shed tears but will take prompt steps by moving straightly to the SC with taking the bereaved family on board.”

He said there are judgments where persons involved in the custodial killings have awarded death sentence and “we will also seek a stern action against those involved in the death of the youth.”

He said the decision to move to the SC has been taken as there are several such cases where the families are awaiting justice in the Valley. (KNS)

Srinagar, Mar 19: Peoples’ Conference chairman Sajad Gani Lone on Tuesday said that Omar Abdullah and his family are ambassadors of Delhi in Kashmir and represent their interests rather than the interests of the people of J&K.

Sajad emphasized that while the representation of Delhi in Jammu and Kashmir was never a problem for the Abdullahs, the same cannot be said when it comes to representing Kashmir and its issues in Delhi.

“They have always been the ambassadors of Delhi in Kashmir but were never the ambassadors of Kashmir in Delhi.”

Revisiting the Sheikh-Indira accord of 1975, Sajad termed it as “most notorious” act in the erosion of state’s special status.
“The 1975 accord was the most notorious in the history of Kashmir wherein the Abdullah family conveniently traded the special status of Jammu and Kashmir in lieu of power. The infamous tradeoff between power and erosions, when Sheikh Abdullah was demoted from the position of Prime Minister to that of Chief Minister, without even contesting the elections was the most questionable act performed by any political party in the history of the the state. The very act of him taking the position of a Chief Minister was the first and biggest ratification of the special status and proves how the Abdullah family has been the ambassador of Delhi in the state from the very inception,” he said.

Reiterating how NC & Congress governments in the past have eroded the special status of Jammu and Kashmir to a point that it barely remains.“All alliances of NC with Congress further ratified and endorsed the erosions of J&K’s special status that was co-scripted by the two parties,” he added.

Strongly opposing dynasty politics, Sajad further said that National Conference is a classic example of how power when passed on as inheritance, is misused to the benefit of a dynasty rather than the welfare of its people, who end up developing a trust deficit in the government.

“These immature, juvenile tantrums are iconic in how Omar Abdullah was given power as an inheritance as opposed to a privileged trust bestowed by the people. He is cranky because an alternative has emerged and emerged from the grassroots. His idea of democracy is a musical chairs game solely between him and Mehbooba Mufti – an either/or scenario which both parties are comfortable with. He should wake up and realize his family, sooner than later, will be held accountable for its mass loot, plunder and the killings it lorded over in Kashmir,” Lone concluded.