Mirwiaz Aide Attacks Geeelani

NGO moves PIL in HC against daily shutdowns in Valley

Mirwiaz aide attacks hardliner for daily strikes

Srinagar, Oct 18: A Non Government Organization—Rahul Gandhi Foundation, Monday moved a Public Interest Litigation in High Court against continued strike by separatists in Kashmir.

Sources said that the NGO through its top office bearer, Ghulam Qadir moved the PIL before the registry of the court, calling for end to the daily shutdowns by the seperatists.

“The PIL has been moved to Chief Justice for its approval,” sources in state High Court said.

They said the litigant has made hardliner Syed Ali Shah Geelani and his close confident and underground wanted separatist Masrat Alam Bhat as respondents while calling for an end to daily strikes. The petitioner has maintained that strikes were having a telling effect on common masses in Kashmir particularly public sector entrepreneurs and students. Kashmir valley is in the middle of unrest that has already completed 128 days. During the course, over one hundred people have died and nearly six hundreds were injured.

This is the second writ of its kind during the unrest. Earlier in September this year, National Panthers Party chief Bhim Singh had filed a petition in the Supreme Court against the continued curfew in the Kashmir Valley.

Meanwhile, senior leader in moderate faction of separatist faction and chief patron of Islamic political Party, Mohammad Yousuf Naqash openly attacked hardliner Syed Ali Shah Geelani for continued shutdowns.

In a statement here, Naqash said that people in Valley have been left to starve. “Neither empty stomach raise the voice of freedom nor can illiterate people prove fruitful for the movement,” he said. “The freedom movement may take decades and for sustaining and promoting this ongoing momentum of the movement, economic and educational activities are a necessity. Otherwise, there is every apprehension of the failure of this movement,” he said, adding, “It is the responsibility of those devising the calendars (referring to Geelani) to devise protest chart keeping in view restoring economic activities “at least to the extent of fulfilling basic necessities of life and an uninterrupted education.”

LeT Com’der among 3 killed in Kashmir

Srinagar, Oct 18: Three persons including a top commander of Lashker-e-Toiba, a soldier and civilian were killed in separate gunfights in Kupwara and Baramulla districts of north Kashmir, officials said Monday.

They said a division commander of LeT was killed in a gunfight with 3-Madras unit of army in Barzulla forests in Bandnipora district last night.

Lt Col JS Brar, Defence ministry spokesman based here, said that the encounter started Sunday evening after the army unit launched an operation following specific information about the presence of militants in the woods. The militants, he said, present in the area opened fire which was retaliated, triggering off a fierce gunfight. “One foreign militant was killed during the course of operation,” he said.

The army officer said that the slain is believed to be divisional commander of LeT, Abu Dawood, a wanted militant who carries bounty of Rs 11 lakhs on his head. An Ak-47 and ammunition has been recovered from the encounter site, he added.

In another operation, the defence ministry officer said that army’s 4 JAT foiled an infiltration attempt by militants along Line of Control (LoC) in Uri sector of Baramulla district last night.

He said that group of heavily armed militants tried to sneak through Golta Nallah near Uri sector during the intervening night of 17 and 18 October. However, alert troops spotted the group and asked them to surrender. “The militants turned down the offer and instead opened indiscriminate fire, resulting into the death of a jawan, Kartar Singh,” he said.

The militants, Brar said, managed to retrieve towards Pakistan Occupied Kashmir, taking advantage of the darkness.

Meanwhile, a sexagenarian civilian was killed in “cross firing” between militants and troops of 19 Rashtriya Rifles in Handwara area in the frontier Kupwara district on wee hours today.

JS Brar, the army spokesman, said that the civilian— Muhammad Mukhtar Shiekh, was killed in cross firing near Bawan Watsar area in the forests. The slain civilian was grazing cattle when the incident occurred, locals said.

The gunfight between militants and troops was going on when reports last came in, army spokesman said.

Sources said that four militants were trapped in the area. No casualty to either side was reported until late in the evening, sources added.