• Ten killed in militant attack on Ram temple in Jammu
• Panun Kashmir accuses BJP govt of betrayal
• Polls no solution, says APHC
• Vajpayee owns up responsibility for BJP debacle
• Israel traps Arafat in ravaged HQ
• Bandh affects normal life in Coimbatore
• Fernandes rules out troop pullout

Ten killed in militant attack on Ram temple in Jammu Jammu, Mar 30 (ANI): At least ten people were killed and 20 wounded on Saturday in a grenade and gun attack by militants near a Hindu temple in Jammu, the winter capital of strife-torn Jammu and Kashmir. Police said a group of militants hurled a grenade in Jammu's main trading centre of Raghunath Bazar near a famous Ram temple. Anil Goswami, Divisional Commissioner of Jammu, said, that when militants opened fire with automatic weapons in a bid to enter the temple, security forces returned the fire. "You are all aware that today at 10:20 hours an attack was mounted by two fidayeen (suicide bombers) at the security forces personnel deployed at the Raghunath Bazar Mandir complex. They killed two SSP (Special Security Police) men who were deployed on duty there and one personnel from the Jammu and Kashmir police. They also resorted to indiscriminate firing on the civilians resulting in the killing of four civilians. The police deployed in the area retaliated and was successful in eliminating both the terrorists," said Goswami. Goswami added that they recovered two rifles, one pistol and six grenades from the dead separatists. The temple premises was littered with empty cartridges and there were blood stains on the floor. Shops and businesses in the city have been shut following the incident. No militant group has so far claimed responsibility for the attack. The wounded, some of them in serious condition, have been admitted to hospital. About a dozen militant groups are fighting India's rule in Muslim-majority Kashmir, where authorities say about 33,000 people have died in 12 years of rebellion. Separatists put the toll closer to 80,000. India which controls 45 percent of disputed Kashmir accuses Pakistan of arming and training militants. Pakistan which rules over a third denies the charge and says it only offers moral, political and diplomatic support to Kashmiri separatists. The mountainous region remains at the heart of a military stand- off between India and Pakistan who have fought two of their three wars over the disputed Kashmir since 1947. The stand-off was triggered after an attack on India's parliament last December, which New Delhi blamed on Pakistan-based rebels. Close to a million troops have been mobilised on both sides of the border.(ANI)
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Panun Kashmir accuses BJP govt of betrayal
New Delhi, Mar 30 (ANI): Panun Kashmir, an orgnisation of Kashmiri Pandits on Saturday came down heavily on the Kashmir- related policies of the Vajpayee Government. Panun Kashmir president Pt Moti Kaul said that there could be no solution to the Kashmir tangle minus the Kashmir pandits. Addressing a press conference here, Kaul charged the Centre and State Chief Minister Farooq Abdullah with deliberate exclusion of the community. He said Kashmiri pandits' long pending demand for the reogranisation of the state and creation of constituencies in exile were yet to be met. He said pandits are determined to go back to their homes. Kaul accused the BJP-led government for betraying the sentiments of thousands of displaced Kashmiri pandits. He said, " The entire displaced community had got attracted towards BJP for its nationalistic postures and had contributed a lot for the success of the party but, the party's subsequent apathy towards the pandits has forced them to re-define political strategies for the sake of safeguarding the legitimate and genuine interests of the exiled community." Kaul was very critical of Farooq Adbullah for being apathetic to the plight of pandits. He said the chief minister had done precious little by way of creating a conducive atmosphere for an early return of pandits to the state. Among those who attended the conference included senior functionaries of the organisation Pt Kamal Hak, Pt. Ramesh Manvati and Prof. Neerja Tikku. The speakers at the conference emphasised that the BJP government has discontinued to be the party which displaced Kashmiri Pandits could trust. They also stressed that Kashmiri Pandits are being sacrificied on the altar of pseudo-secularism in the country. Dr Anil Kaul, Panun Kashmir's Sr USA coordinator, said it was shocking to note the BJP government's lack of sensitivity towards Kashmiri Pandits. It was also revealed during the conference that the influential US congressman Frank Pallone had granted a special audience to the Panun Kashmir delegation during his recent visit to India. (ANI)

Polls no solution, says APHC Go to top
New Delhi, March 30 (ANI): The All Party Hurriyat Conference (APHC) has said that elections were no solution of the Kashmir problem. According to the Conference, only talks with a 'meaningful approach' could solve the vexed issue. General elections in the state are slated to be held in October. An amalgam of 13 parties, the APHC had already announced to boycott the polls and setting up of its own election commission. The Conference has also been seeking the implementation of the 1948 U.N. resolution which suggests a plebiscite to decide whether Kashmir should be folded into India or Pakistan. The body believes that before any further step, the Indian Government should win the confidence of Kashmiris. A senior APHC leader Mirwaiz Omar Farooq on Saturday said, "we don't have faith in the Indian Government, and whenever they propose something we consider it a foul play". Farooq was speaking to reporters here after a meeting of representatives of various Kashmiri organisations. He said, "APHC has always supported democratic process for solving the issue". A fresh political process of talks with the Kashmiris should be initiated, he said adding "elections could be a part of the process". "Many such elections have been held in the vallley since Independence in 1947, but the problem remains as it originally was. We feel that instead of elections if a political process, including talks, is initiated with the Kashmiris and Pakistan then we may agree on a common agenda". Leader of Jammu and Kashmri Freedom Party Shabbir Shah, who also participated in the meeting, said, "if the Indian Government is serious and wants to solve the problem through talks, our doors are always open". He added "we are looking for the forthcoming visit of Prime Minister Atal Behari Vajpayee to the state". (ANI)

Vajpayee owns up responsibility for BJP debacle Go to top
Nainital, March 30 (ANI): Prime Minister Atal Behari Vajpayee on Saturday said that his government was responsible "to some extent" for the BJP's poor performance in the recent Assembly elections in four states and the municipal polls in Delhi. The party was thrown out of power in three states (Uttar Pradesh, Uttaranchal and Punjab), while in the MCD polls it was reduced to a mere 18 seats from 79. Its rival the Congress bagged a whopping 108 seats in the 134-member strong Corporation. Vajpayee said: "I think there is a need for introspection and analysis of these results (within the BJP)". He was speaking to reporters here. The Prime Minister is here on a three-day private visit. Referring to BJP's defeat in the MCD polls in Delhi, Vajpayee said "though we had apprehensions of defeat, we did not expect that results would be so bad". Vajpayee said in Uttaranchal his party paid the price for being "overconfident". "When I visited the state during the elections, I had cautioned party leaders not to be overconfident about the results", he added. The Prime Minister also announced excise and taxation relief for industries in Uttaranchal and declared the government would give excise and Income Tax relief to environment-friendly Small Scale Industries (SSIs) in the state. He further said that there was no scope for heavy industry in the region. SSIs which can generate employment and protect the environment will be given encouragement, he added. As an assurance to the business class, Vajpayee said that the Centre would relax norms for setting up appropriate industries in the hilly areas. (ANI)

Israel traps Arafat in ravaged HQ Go to top
Nicosia, Mar 30 (ANI):Israeli forces are keeping the Palestinian leader Yasser Arafat pinned down without electricity or water inside his ruined West Bank headquarters, according to a BBC report. The United Nations Security Council passed a resolution on Saturday calling on Israel to withdraw from Ramallah and other West Bank cities and urging both sides to move immediately towards a ceasefire. Arafat is confined to one floor of his office block in the Ramallah compound, surrounded by Israeli troops who occupied seven other buildings after smashing their way in with tanks on Friday. One of Arafat aides said the Palestinian leader was also running out of food, amid continuing sporadic Israeli tank fire. Street battles raged in Ramallah all night, with exchanges of heavy machine-gun fire between Palestinian gunmen and Israeli forces, which have been deployed across the city. An emergency meeting of the Security Council debated the crisis for more than 10 hours before voting on the Norwegian-sponsored resolution aimed at halting the fighting. It was passed by 14 votes to nil, with the support of the United States - the second time in a month that Washington has backed a UN resolution on the Middle East crisis after years of abstaining. In the centre of Ramallah, Palestinian gunmen took refuge in a shopping centre, but came out with their hands up early on Saturday after fierce clashes with Israeli troops. Witnesses said a nearby building housing a Palestinian information office was on fire. Israeli troops are reported to be moving from house to house in the city, rounding up suspects. Most of the city is without power and it has been declared a closed military zone. Israel has warned that the military offensive is just the beginning of a long campaign against Palestinian militants and has called up reservists. (ANI)

Bandh affects normal life in Coimbatore Go to top
Coimbatore, Mar 30 (ANI): The joint secretary of R.S.S. Coimbatore unit, Murugesan (34) was stabbed to death by unknown persons in the early hours of Thursday. The killing was widely believed to be in retaliation for the killing of Sultan Meeran, a medical shop owner, on Tuesday this week. "Bandh call has been given to defeat terrorism and 99 per cent of the people are supporting," said Muruganamdam, organiser RSS, Coimbatore. More than 10 buses were stoned and their wind screens were broken when mobs protested the bus traffic on Saturday in Coimbatore. Most of the shops in the city were closed and only private vehicles were plying on the roads. Schools, colleges and business establishments were closed fearing violence. Since Saturday is a holiday for both Central and State Govt offices the movement of people on the roads was very minimal. As a precautionary measure police have arrested the district secretary of Coimbatore BJP, Arumuga Chandra Mohan and more than 300 activists of BJP, RSS, VHP and Hindu Munnani. The bandh call has evoked a good response in the adjoining textile town of Tirupur too and more than 3,500 hosiery factories were closed since most of the workers stayed away from their work. In Tirupur also more than 10 buses were stoned by the mobs. The vehicle traffic between Coimbatore and its adjoining towns like Tirupur, Mettupalayam and Ukkadam was seriously affected and not even Govt buses were operated. More than 5,000 policemen were on duty in and around Coimbatore to maintain law and order. Meanwhile around 300 Christians including a sizeable number of women and children observed a day's fast in Chennai protesting the Gujarat carnage and the resultant attacks on minorities throughout the country. "In our country, all the Christian Churches are being demolished by the RSS, VHP and Bajrang Dal. We want the government to ban the RSS and VHP because they are doing so many things against our efforts," said D.D.Samson, vice-president of All India Christian Rights Organisation. The protest was organized by an outfit called All India Christian Rights Organization. Speakers from communities like Muslims attended the protest and greeted the Christians. Even local leaders of Congress, CPI, CPM and social organisations greeted the christians. A resolution urged the Union govt to ban VHP and Bajrang Dal. This is the first time that Christians have come out in the open protesting the assault on minorities by the Sangh Parivar outifts since the Gujarat riots surfaced.(ANI)

Fernandes rules out troop pulloutGo to top
Bangalore, Mar 30 (ANI): Defence Minister George Fernandes has firmly ruled out the possibility of pulling back troops on the border until Islamabad ends cross-border terrorism and hands over the 20 terrorists as demanded by India. Pakistan's response so far to the demand has been negative and "there is no way one can think of de-escalation," he told reporters at the handing over function of the indigenously built Advanced Light Helicopter to the Indian Air Force. "I would not say there is tension on the Indo-Pak border. Our troops are on the border just as the Pakistani troops are there," Fernandes said when asked to describe the situation on the Indo- Pak border. To a query, he said he did not share the perception of the American Central Intelligence Agency (CIA) which spoke of a high possibility of a war between India and Pakistan. "No. We do not share their perception for the simple reason that India is not a country which has ever initiated a war. We have always fought back," he said.(ANI)

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