Kashmir only problem of governance deficit: Vasudeo

Excelsior Correspondent

JAMMU, Dec 30: Secretary Human Resources, Vivekananda Kendra, Kanyakumari, and a renowned environmentalist, C Vasudeo said that Kashmir is not a problem of trust deficit as alleged but it is the outcome of governance deficit.

Mr Vasudeo who was here to pay homage to martyr Pt Prem Nath Bhat, while delivering a series of lecturers at different functions organized by Kashmiri Pandit organizations said Pakistan will continue to create disturbances in Kashmir as it is working on a fixed agenda. The Kashmir problem is in the interest of Pakistan as well as Geelanis and other Hurriyat leaders as it has become a milking cow for them, he added.

He said though the coalition Government in the State was elected with a good mandate in 2008 Assembly elections, still the separatists who constitute one or two percent of the total population of the Valley fix the agenda and Government is totally helpless in countering them. The separatists are puppets in the hands of Pakistan and it is the duty of the Government to know who are the people behind the disturbances in the Valley, he added.

Terming the rising corruption as one of causes of the unrest in the State, Mr Vasudeo said Centre is giving more than the plan outlay to Jammu and Kashmir but this money does not go to the poorest of the poor. If the money is properly utilized the people will not take to arms, he added.

Strongly favouring tough action against the anti nationals and secessionists, he alleged that Government of India has done a series of blunders in Kashmir since 1947. The Central Government instead of being offensive is still defensive over Kashmir while Pakistan is working on a fixed agenda. If China issues stapled visas to Indian citizens the India should also reciprocate in the same manner, he added.

 (Courtesy : www.dailyexcelsior.com)

"JK govt should mobilise men and machinery to help people"

Srinagar, Dec 30 (PTI) Union Minister for New and Renewable Energy Farooq Abdullah, who is also the president of ruling National Conference, today asked Jammu and Kashmir administration to gear up to tackle the problems that have erupted due to snowfall.

"Government should use all its resources to help the common people and work to provide respite to them. This is our moral and basic duty," Abdullah said in a statement. He said the administration should mobilise its men and machinery to help people in dealing with problems due to snowfall.

Abdullah, who is chief minister Omar Abdullah''s father, asked the heads of Power Development Department, Public Health Engineering Department, Roads and Buildings Department and Food Supplies department to "personally monitor" the work of their departments. Valley has been witnessing moderate snowfall since yesterday, which has resulted in disruption of power supply and blocking of many roads.

(Courtesy : http://news.in.msn.com)

AFSPA is a must for functioning of security forces : Army

Udhampur: Ahead of the Cabinet Committee on security meet to discuss the proposal of amendment to the controversial AFSPA, a senior army officer today said the act is a "must" for the functioning of security forces in Jammu and Kashmir. 

"AFSPA is a must as far as functioning of the security forces is concerned and that is my stand," General Officer Commanding in Chief (GOC-in-C), Northern Command Lt Gen B S Jaswal told reporters in reply to a question about army's stand on Armed Forces Special Powers Act.

"I had time and again spoken on this issue. Our Chief has spoken on it and also Ministry of Defence has spoken on it and cleared their stand," he said. Referring to the security situation in the state, he said, "The internal and external situations on the borders is under control". "As far as the internal security is concerned, a dynamic situation emerged in the North of Pir Panchal and that is what I called agitation terrorism", he said.

 (Courtesy : www.indianexpress.com)

Year of taming the China dragon (2010 in Retrospect)

New Delhi, Dec 30

The Chinese dragon hissed and sweet-talked by turns, but the lumbering Indian elephant surprised many towards the year-end by asserting itself, compelling an aggressive Beijing to discreetly stop stapling visas for visitors from the Indian state of Jammu and Kashmir. The two Asian powers began 2010 with their leaders exchanging warm feel-good greetings on the 60th anniversary of their diplomatic ties, but as the year progressed subliminal tensions came to the surface, putting a prickly relationship under stress.

The turbulence in ties between the two continent-sized neigbours with about 4,000 km shared border has been brewing since the landmark India-US nuclear deal in 2005. It acquired disruptive force in the ensuing years as Beijing first tried to block consensus for India in the Nuclear Suppliers Group in 2008 and showed a new assertiveness over Arunachal Pradesh.

In 2010, the Chinese assertiveness, however, made a mistake of targeting India on Kashmir. In a surprise move in July, Beijing denied a regular visa to Lt.General B.S. Jamwal, an army general in charge of Jammu and Kashmir, allegedly on the ground that Kashmir was a disputed territory between India and Pakistan. New Delhi retaliated, putting bilateral defence exchanges on hold. 

Subsequently, Prime Minister Manmohan Singh hosted at his residence the Dalai Lama, the Tibetan spiritual leader who is seen by Beijing as a traitor. New Delhi tried to downplay the meeting as "routine", but the message was clear to Beijing. Amid growing diplomatic friction, the mild-mannered Manmohan Singh went public with his critique of China in September, saying China was trying to expand its foothold in South Asia. He warned that India needs to be prepared to deal with "a new assertiveness among the Chinese." Amid reports of thousands of Chinese troops building roads in Pakistani Kashmir, Manmohan Singh aired India's concerns over stapled visas for visitors from Jammu and Kashmir and accelerated Chinese investment in the Pakistan-administered Kashmir when he met Chinese Premier Wen Jiabao in Hanoi on the sidelines of the India-ASEAN summit October-end.

The prime minister is understood to have conveyed that China should respect India's sensitivities on Jammu and Kashmir just as India had done so with Tibet and Taiwan, showing a tough posture which was reiterated when External Affairs Minister S.M. Krishna met his counterpart Yang Jiechi in Wuhan Nov 14. Although there was no break through on any of the thorny issues, be it the stapled visas or Beijing's support for New Delhi's bid for a permanent seat in the Security Council, Wen Jiabao's Dec 15-17 trip succeeded in stemming the downward slide and in getting the message across that India and China are partners, not rivals, in an emerging Asian century. 

Defying sceptics, the two sides set up an ambitious target of nearly doubling bilateral trade to $100 billion by 2015, launched a CEOs' forum, started a strategic economic dialogue to address $24 billion trade imbalance, and ushered an annual trust-building dialogue between foreign ministers. Highly-placed sources told IANS that with New Delhi upping the ante, Beijing has discreetly stopped stapling visas for visitors from Jammu and Kashmir. Officially, however, the two sides maintain their officials will meet to resolve the issue. As the year was closing out, New Delhi toughened its diplomatic spine to deal with China as India's decision to attend the Nobel Peace Prize ceremony for Chinese dissident Liu Xiaobo in Oslo showed. 

The absence of a reiteration of India's commitment to one-China policy from the Dec 16 joint statement that followed talks between Manmohan Singh and Wen Jiabao also was a clear message to China that it was time to get used to an assertive India in the year ahead. The India-China relations, as Chinese ambassador Zhang Yan warned, could be fragile. And they will perhaps remain so unless, as Foreign Secretary Nirupama Rao said, "Chinese friends" get used to dealing with the "vibrant...noisy, nature of our democracy."

(Courtesy : www.prokerala.com)

Pakistan to India: Stop Using Mumbai Attacks for Propaganda

ISLAMABAD : Pakistan has asked India to stop using terrorist attacks in Mumbai for propaganda purposes, and it should also resolve the lingering Jammu Kashmir issue in accordance with the UN resolutions, a private TV channel reported on Thursday.

Speaking with journalists, Foreign Office spokesman Abdul Basit said that India has a rigid stance on the issues of Kashmir and Siachen. He reiterated that Pakistan was serious in the investigations of the attacks in Mumbai.

To a question, the spokesman hoped that the Indian government would allow the judicial commission from Pakistan to visit India for the investigations. Pakistan was concerned over the continued drone attacks and hoped that the US would review its policy, he said.

Later, a Foreign Ministry statement stated that Pakistan would contest two US lawsuits that link one of its premier intelligence agency and its chief to the Mumbai attacks. It shows how sensitive Islamabad is to allegations that its intelligence services were involved in the assault in India.

The ministry said that Pakistan will fully and properly defend ISI Director General Ahmed Shuja Pasha against the accusations. Prime Minister Yousaf Raza Gilani has already said that General Pasha could not be made to testify in the New York civil lawsuits.

The plaintiffs include relatives of the attack’s victims. They seek financial damages. Experts say such cases rarely succeed beyond being symbolic. Several international defendants claim immunity or don’t bother to respond. 

(Courtesy : www.breakingnewsweek.com)