Pakistan fires US missiles
Tribune News Service

JAMMU, Oct 29 — Following the smashing of 10 Pak bunkers across Kargil Kupwara and Gurez, Pakistani troops used US-made missiles to pound Indian border villages and pickets in the Tangdhar area today. Two Indian bunkers are said to have been destroyed by the US-made, small-range missiles in the area.

After Pakistani troops fired mortar and artillery shells on the Indian pickets in Kargil, Kupwara, Tangdhar and Gurez today the Indian soldiers retaliated destroying over 10 Pak bunkers and wounded at least 20 Pak soldiers in Sargoji, Tekri and Saigar across the border.

Latest reports said that Pakistan had moved additional troops all along the border to provide fire cover to militants who were being pushed into Jammu and Kashmir. The Indian troops retaliated soon after Lieut Amit Kaul, was gunned down in Kargil on Wednesday.

According to these reports more than 10,000 persons living in villages across Kargil, Kupwara, Tanghdar have fled to safety after the Indian troops took measures to silence the Pak guns.

Reports said it was a war like situation in the Siachen, Kargil, Kupwara and Hiranagar area. Observers are of the opinion that Pak troops have intensified firing on the Indian border villages and pickets to prevent Indian troops from carrying out major anti-insurgency operations in Poonch, Rajouri and Doda districts.

According to official sources, the ISI had received reports that the Indian troops and paramilitary forces including the commandos of the NSG had taken up positions to smash the hideouts of the militants. The ISI planned to divert the attention of the Indian security forces from the turmoil in Doda, Poonch and Rajouri so that the Indian soldiers remained pegged to the border.

The Indian troops, the BSF and the police have been directed to be on the offensive so that Pak agencies were not in a position to push into Jammu and Kashmir foreign mercenaries.

PTI adds from Srinagar: Eight persons, including five militants, have been killed and 14 wounded while the security forces arrested 21 youths led by a guide who were trying to cross over to Pakistan in Jammu and Kashmir since last evening.

The youths had been motivated by militants to go across the border for subversive training, but were intercepted by troops in the Kupwara sector last night, an official spokesman said here today.

He said five militants were killed in an encounter during search operations by the joint party of the police and the security forces at Sathra-Mandi village area of Poonch in Jammu region last evening.

A jawan and a civilian were injured and three houses gutted during the encounter, he said.

Two rocket projectile guns, six launchers, five eliminators, three assault rifles, two wireless sets, 5 kg of RDX, a grenade launcher and eight remote control devices were seized.

The spokesman said militants shot dead two persons in their villages at Wadipora-Chadoora in Badgam and Palhalan-Pattan in Baramula districts.

Militants lobbed a grenade on a hotel at Kurigam-Qazigund in Anantnag district, killing the hotel owner and wounding three others.

The spokesman said militants threw a grenade near Punjab National Bank at Kulgam in Anantnag district last evening, causing injuries to nine pedestrians.

The police arrested two militants from Kupwara town yesterday. Two AK assault rifles, three rockets with boosters, a hand grenade and some ammunition was recovered from them, he said.

The BSF troops on Thursday arrested three Pakistan-based Harkat-ul-Ansar men allegedly involved in militancy-related incidents in the city, BSF spokesman said here.

The militants identified as Jan Mohammad Mir, self-styled group commander of the outfit, his deputy Mohammad Rafiq Shah, Alias Abdullah, and Manzoor Ahmad Khan were arrested by the troops of 100 Battalion from the Rainawari and Bemina localities of Srinagar, he said.

Two kg of RDX, a silencer-fitted pistol, four detonators and some ammunition were recovered from them.

During interrogation, the three confessed they were members of a squad of the Harkat-ul-Ansar and had been asked to carry out selective killings and target security pickets and patrols at random in the city.

They admitted killing three policemen in Rainawari and Nowhatta localities, besides carrying out 10 grenade attacks in the city this month

White Paper on ISI soon

AHMEDABAD, Oct 29 (PTI) — A White Paper is being prepared on the activities of Pakistan’s Inter Services Intelligence (ISI) in India and it would be placed before Parliament during its winter session, the Home Minister, Mr L.K. Advani, said here today.

The White Paper is being prepared following demand in this regard by members of Parliament during the meeting of state unit of the BJP.

During the meeting, a presentation on the ISI was made, consequent upon which the MPs demanded a white paper on ISI activities in India which was agreed upon by the government, Mr Advani added.

He said in the past seven months, his ministry, ever since his taking over, had put in an improved performance comparatively with regard to tackling of internal situations.

Mr Advani said he would not claim that everything had become "hunky-dory especially when the ISI agents were still active in India" but added that he, however, has the satisfaction of seeing lately, many successes of the police in busting the ISI bases and nabbing its agents throughout the country.

The ISI is masterminding a proxy war for Pakistan against India and trying to create internal disturbances, he alleged, adding that India would never fall short of defeating Pakistani designs.

"We will never allow Kashmir to be annexed by Pakistan or anybody", he added.

Mr Advani said the ISI was conceptualised by Pakistan after it tasted defeat in the 1971 war at the hands of the Indian armed forces and was activated fully after 1980.

The Union Home Minister said he had so far visited BSF and other paramilitary personnel posted along the International border with Pakistan and Tibet. Mr Advani said he was yet to pay a visit to the Indian jawans deployed along the border with Bangladesh and with China in the North-East.

Replying to a question, he denied the Army had taken over the responsibility of manning the border in Jammu and Kashmir. He, however, said the Army presence would be strengthened in Jammu and Kashmir.

Mr Advani was confident of his party winning the ensuing Assembly elections in Delhi, Rajasthan and Madhya Pradesh.

Defending the Centre’s decision of not approving the change of Ahmedabad’s name to "Karnavati" as resolved by the Ahmedabad Municipal Corporation ruled by the BJP and recommended by the BJP government in the state, he said the proposal was rejected as it did not figure in the agenda of governance of the coalition government headed by the BJP.

"This is a coalition government, so we have to function as per the agenda of governance agreed by the coalition partners. Personally, I am for a uniform civil code in the country, but will not propagate its implementation as I am part of a coalition government".