Our Correspondent,Hamirpur, March 4

Ex-servicemen from Sujanpur organised a meeting at the residence of Rajinder Rana, Vice-Chairman of the Disaster Management Authority, yesterday.It was learnt that over 100 ex-servicemen had decided to join a protest being organised at Dharmasala if the match venue between India and Pakistan was not changed.Rajinder Rana said a delegation of one hundred ex-servicemen came to meet him. They demanded the cancellation of India-Pakistan match to be held on March 19.Sources said the ex-servicemen had urged Rana to convey their feelings to the Chief Minister.Rana said HPCA president Anurag Thakur should also reconsider the decision and change the venue.He said it was surprising that the BCCI and HPCA were not considering the sentiments of soldiers and their family members.

Arun meets martyr’s kin, seeks support for match

Family members of martyr Sanjeevan Rana at his home in Siyunh village

Lalit Mohan,Tribune News Service,Dharamsala, March 4

Arun Dhumal, younger brother of HPCA president and BCCI honorary secretary Anurag Thakur today met the family of martyr, Sanjeevan Rana. He met the wife of Sanjeevan Rana, Pinki Rana at her residence near Shahpur.The sources here, however, said the visit failed to cut ice with the family of the martyr over the issue of hosting the India-Pakistan cricket match at Dharamsala on March 19.When The Tribune team contacted Pinki Rana she said that Arun Dhumal did not talk directly about the match and maintained that he had come to convey his condolences. He, however, tried to explain that the dates of the India-Pakistan match had been finalized in advance and the venue cannot be changed now.“We are against the holding of match at Dharamsala. I have lost my husband who laid down his life for the country fighting Pak-sponsored terrorists just two months ago. I cannot tolerate Pakistan Zindabad slogans in the vicinity of house in such conditions,” Pinki Rana said.Pinki Rana further said, “Though we are against the match, I do not think the venue would be shifted from Dharamsala. Nobody values our opinion. Though the Chief Minister has said that the match should not be played at Dharamsala, he will not be able to stop it.”“Pakistan had never shown any eagerness to talk to India. It is India leaders who go after Pakistan seeking holding of talks. Whenever, Indian leaders take the initiate with Pakistan there is attack by terrorists and our soldiers have to lay down their lives to save the country”, she said.Arun Dhumal’s visit to the family is seen as a late effort to placate the hurt feeling of ex-servicemen.Members of strong Gorkha community also carried out a march in Dharamsala today to protest against the hosting of India-Pakistan match at Dharamsala. Gorkha community, most of whom are ex-servicemen, said that feelings of the families of martyrs should be respected and the match should not be held at Dharamsala.The sources here said the HPCA was resorting to intense lobbying to soften the opposition stand on the match. Senior officials of cricket body and their supporters have met Congress leaders who have announced their support for the agitation against the match.During his recent meeting with Anurag Thakur, the Chief Minister had clearly stated that though he was not against the match, the state would not use force against the families of martyrs protesting against the match.

Match an insult to martyrs’ families: Youth Cong chief

Tribune News Service,Shimla, March 4

The Youth Congress today joined the chorus against the match as its state president Vikramaditya Singh said the match was an insult to the families of the martyrs.“The Youth Congress is against any engagement with Pakistan till the time the country stops supporting terror activities. We will oppose the match,” said Vikramaditya who also the son of Chief Minister Virbhadra Singh.He termed the meeting of HPCA president and BJP MP Anurag Thakur with Virbhadra Singh as a mere political stunt and requested the government to continue to oppose the match as a mark of respect to the martyrs and their families.“Holding of the match is purely a commercial activity and it will not have any impact on diplomatic ties between the two countries as is being projected by the BJP leaders,” he said.He added that if the match was not cancelled by the HPCA, his party, along with the families of the martyrs would take out a protest march from their houses to the Dharamsala stadium.He said the HP Youth Congress was against any kind of sporting engagement with Pakistan.“As per our resolution adopted during the HP Youth Congress Executive Committee meeting, we will continue to oppose the match,” he said.He demanded that the match should be cancelled, keeping in view the sentiments and feelings of the families of the martyred soldiers and the anger of the general public.

Chandigarh: The election for five Rajya Sabha seats of Punjab is likely to take place on March 21. A notification regarding this will be issued on Friday. The term of five Rajya Sabha members — Ashwani Kumar, Avinash Rai Khanna, Sukhdev Singh Dhindsa, Manohar Singh Gill and Naresh Gujral — ends on April 4. The election will be held in two phases. In the first phase, polling will take place for the three seats represented by Ashwani, Khanna and Dhindsa. This will be followed by another election for the remaining two seats. The Akalis are likely to put up candidates for two seats and leave one for the BJP. Akali Dal’s Dhindsa and Gujral may be re-nominated. The Congress is likely to win two Rajya Sabha seats. The party had three Rajya Sabha MPs. Tns

Brig Prahlad Singh was commissioned into 3 DOGRA in1974 and commanded the same at SIACHEN GLACIER(NG) ,MASHKOH and PALLANWALA from 1994_97.He later commanded RR Sect in Valley  was PD in SFC and Dy GOC In J&K..

After his retirement on Dec 2007 he served with CRPF as  DIG for four and Trg Consultant for two year at Jammu.

SANJHA MORCHA  welcome Brig Prahalad to the folds its family and looking forward for his valuable contribution towards the welfare of Ex-servicemen community  and assist the veterans  as and when required.He has taken over the appointment from Brig Manjit SIngh who is now the chairman of Sanjha Morcha

Bhopal: Legislators in Madhya Pradesh are set to become richer with the BJP-led state government approving a hike in their salary and allowances. The decision was taken on Wednesday at the state Cabinet meeting chaired by CM Shivraj Singh Chouhan. The government raised the salary and perks of members of the MP Assembly after six years. The Bill to this effect is expected to be tabled on Thursday. The salaries and allowances of MLAs will go up to Rs 1.1 lakh from the present Rs 71,000. The CM and the Speaker’s salary will increase to Rs 2 lakh from Rs 1.43 lakh and to Rs 1.85 lakh from Rs 1.2 lakh, respectively. PTI

Members of the Ex-Central Paramilitary Forces’ Welfare Association protest in Jammu on Tuesday. Tribune photo: Amarjeet Singh

Tribune News Service

Jammu, March 15

Staging a vociferous protest here, the Ex-Central Paramilitary Forces’ Welfare Association today reiterated its demand of “one rank, one pension” on a par with Defence personnel.Led by acting president SS Manhas, protesters that included retired personnel from the BSF and CRPF, Veer Naris and their dependents demanded that they being retired personnel from Central paramilitary forces be given their due share.Manhas alleged that due to utter neglect by successive regimes at the Centre and state, the retired personnel from Central paramilitary forces were compelled to live a “beggar’s” life.“A delegation will soon approach the IG, BSF, Jammu Frontier, and DIG, CRPF, Group Centre, Ban Talab, to submit them memorandums of demands marked to the Governor,” said Manhas, adding that the protest was held today to express solidarity with the retired personnel protesting at New Delhi for their rights and due share.General secretary of the association Darshan Kumar said besides “one rank, one pension” on the lines of Defence personnel, retired personnel of paramilitary forces demand revision of pension of pre-2006 retirees and widows’ pension on a par with the Zila Sainik Welfare Board, CSD facilities instead of CPC canteen, medical allowance of Rs 2,000 per month instead of Rs 500 as CGHS, medical facilities on a par with ECHS and allotment of land for setting up a residential colony for retired personnel.

Suhail A Shah

Anantnag, March 26

Three persons, two of them Army men, were wounded in a grenade attack by militants in Bijbehara town of Anantnag district, 40 km south of Srinagar, today.The soldiers are being treated at the Army’s 92-Base Hospital in the Badamibagh cantonment of Srinagar, while the civilian has been admitted to the SK Institute of Medical Sciences in the Soura area of the summer capital.As per police reports, the attack was carried out at about 2:20 pm on Saturday afternoon near the local police station along the Srinagar-Jammu national highway.“The Army men on duty were targeted in this area, which generally remains very busy,” a senior police official from the area said. He said all the three injured had splinter injuries. The injured were immediately taken to the nearby Sub-District Hospital, Bijbehara, from where they were shifted to the respective hospitals.“The civilian is stable, I am told. One of the Army men, however, was in a critical condition,” Medical Superintendent of the hospital, Dr Naheed, told The Tribune.The Army men, surprised by the attack, opened fire as per the eyewitnesses. The militants, however, fled the scene and did not retaliate.The injured civilian has been identified as Farooq Ahmad of Dupathyar village in the Bijbehara area. The identity of the Army men, however, remains to be ascertained as an Army spokesperson refrained from giving out any details. He also did not comment on the condition of the injured.Meanwhile, militant outfit Hizb-ul-Mujahideen claimed responsibility for the attack. The outfit spokesperson Burhan-ud-din talked to a local news agency to claim the responsibility for the attack.

New Delhi, March 25

India has granted visas to five members of a Pakistani team probing the terror attack on the Pathankot air base in January this year.The Pakistani joint investigation team (JIT) has sought seven-day visas after it reaches India on March 27, it was reliably learnt on Friday.Following a meeting with Sartaj Aziz, adviser to the Pakistan prime minister on foreign affairs, on the sidelines of the South Asian Association for Regional Cooperation (Saarc) ministerial meeting at Pokhara in Nepal last week, External Affairs Minister Sushma Swaraj announced that the Pakistani JIT would arrive in India on March 27 and start its work from the following day.Seven Indian security personnel lost their lives when terrorists from across the border attacked the Indian Air Force base in Pathankot, Punjab, early on January 2.The Pakistan-based Jaish-e-Mohammed (JeM) claimed responsibility for the attack in which all the six terrorists also were reportedly killed.The attack derailed the proposed Foreign Secretary-level talks that were scheduled for the middle of January after the two countries agreed in December last year to start a comprehensive bilateral dialogue.India has since sent “actionable evidence” to the Pakistani authorities. Pakistan filed an FIR in Gujranwala last month against “unknown” terrorists in connection with the attack. — IANS