Will panchayat poll pass off peacefully?
Tribune News Service JAMMU, March 20 Will the Jammu and Kashmir Government be able to conduct the panchayat elections proposed to be held towards the end of May? This question has assumed significance on account of the continuing cash crunch, when more than Rs 15 crore are need for the poll, and the threats from militant outfits to disrupt the pre-poll process so that the state government is forced to postpone the poll. Apart from the cash crunch the security related matters seem to have cast a shadow on the proposed panchayat poll. The Centre is yet to respond to the state government’s request for despatching additional companies of paramilitary forces to strengthen security arrangements before and during the polling, when more than thirty-five lakh electorate will cast their votes. Official sources said Pakistani agencies have floated a new militant outfit, Al Badr, and the activists of this outfit have been drawn from Harkat-ul-Ansar and Lashkar-i-Toiba, two groups dominated by fore
