India firm on agenda
Pak admits army involvement
From Shubhabrata Bhattacharya
Tribune News Service

NEW DELHI, June 11 — The stage was set for the visit of Pakistan’s Foreign Minister, Mr Sartaj Aziz, with India clearly defining its agenda for the talks and Pakistan, for the first time, admitting in a Press briefing in Peshawar that its troops were active in Kargil and Dras.

The External Affairs Minister, Mr Jaswant Singh, addressed the media today and demanded that Pakistan should take action against those who are responsible for the brutalisation of six Indian Army personnel whose mutilated bodies were received yesterday.

Mr Jaswant Singh made it clear that restoration of status quo ante in Kargil and identification and bringing to book the "perpetrators of barbaric crime against uniformed soldiers"were the two areas which bounded the parameters of the talks as far as India is concerned.

Earlier in the day, in Lucknow, Prime Minister Atal Behari Vajpayee, reiterated that the Line of Control (LoC) was not negotiable. Pakistan’s armed intrusion in Jammu and Kashmir is the limited agenda for the proposed talks, he asserted.

Mr Vajpayee pointed out that Pakistan stood isolated on the Kargil issue. Even countries considered friendly towards Pakistan had advised it to resolve the crisis peacefully through "bilateral talks", the Prime Minister said and noted with satisfaction that India’s controlled response to the armed intrusion had received widespread international support.

Pakistan, on its part, today did three divergent things from three different centres. From Islamabad, a report emanated suggesting that Pakistan had refuted the Indian charge that the six bodies of the soldiers yesterday had been mutilated. For the first time holding a briefing at Peshawar instead of Islamabad, the Pakistani Army authorities admitted the presence of their troops in Kargil and Dras. And in Karachi, Pakistan announced release of 109 fishermen who had been held in Pakistani jails.

Mr Sartaj Aziz returned to Islamabad from Beijing today without causing much ripple in the Chinese capital where he had flown in a dramatic gesture on the eve of his visit to India. He had meetings with China’s second top leader, Mr Li Peng, and the Chinese Foreign Minister, Mr Tang Jiaxuan. The Chinese reaction was not made available. However, the official news agency, Xinhua, said from Beijing that Mr Aziz had informed Chinese side of the "latest developments of the situation in Kashmir".

Meanwhile, the Chinese Foreign Ministry spokesperson, Zhang Qiyue, quoting Chinese scholars said India and China must join forces for a "multipolar" world and desist "US attempts" at "global hegemony". These comments came on the eve of Mr Jaswant Singh’s visit to China scheduled for June 14.

It may be recalled that the visit of Mr Sartaj Aziz taking place tomorrow had been proposed by Pakistan for June 7 but tomorrow’s day was settled after India preferred to hold talks on June 12.

Pakistan has not been able to find any takers for its line on the present controversy so far. The USA in particular has asked Pakistan to de-escalate the crisis. The European Union (EU) troika has given a demarche to New Delhi in which the Indian standpoint has been appreciated. Japan, despite initial hesitation, has also come out in favour of de-escalation of hostilities.

G-8, the economically advanced nations, have appealed to Pakistan to end the hostilities. None among the P-5, the permanent members of the United Nations Security Council, have accepted the Pakistani viewpoint. So much so that even the Organisation of Islamic Countries (OIC) has chosen to look the other way.

UNI adds: External Affairs Minister, Mr Jaswant Singh, asserted that earlier there was only one item on the agenda for his talks with Mr Aziz: Pakistan’s armed intrusion in Kargil. "Now there will be two items: Barbarity against uniformed Indian soldiers and the restoration of status quo ante in Kargil", he added.

Mr Singh said the government shared the entire nation’s outrage over the savage treatment meted out to Indian Army personnel. "What we have witnessed is not simply breach of international norms but civilisational crime against humanity and barbaric medievialism... I am outraged. I feel I have been personally violated", he added.

Asked if there could be a war if Pakistan did not agree to India’s demand to withdraw to the LoC, he said it was Pakistan’s problem. "Time will tell", the minister remarked when asked what would be India’s response if Islamabad did not withdraw the infiltrators.

Mr Singh said India had incontrovertible evidence of the involvement and complicity of the Pakistan establishment in "misadventure" in Kargil. Islamabad’s involvement raised doubts about the brief Mr Aziz was carrying for the talks, he said, adding that the questioning of the validity of the LoC by Pakistani leaders was "dangerous".

On whether the Kargil developments would figure in his discussions with Chinese leaders during his two-day visit to Beijing from Monday, he said "as a mature country, I hope China fully realises what is happening in its neighbourhood".

He said he was not going to Beijing on a mission to question China what relations it had with other countries. He said he was going to Beijing on an official visit at the invitation of his Chinese counterpart.

Troops recapture ‘Batalik Top’
23 intruders, 15 Armymen killed
Tribune News Service and PTI

JAMMU, June 11 — Indian troops achieved a major success when they recaptured prime area ‘Batalik Top’ from Pakistan-backed infiltrators inflicting heavy casualties on the Pakistani Army and intruders during the operation in the Batalik subsector of Kargil today, according to defence sources.

The troops in the process lost 15 Army personnel, including Captain Kalia, in a seven-hour gunbattle on 17th day today, the sources at Northern Command headquarters told PTI on the phone from Udhampur.

Giving details, the sources said the operation to dislodge the infiltrators from main and highest post in Batalik was started late last night with the help of field guns.

In the fierce seven-hour battle, the troops recaptured the highest post in Batalik inflicting heavy casualties on Pakistani Army regulars and infiltrators, the sources said.

"Recapture of the Batalik Top has given a severe jolt to infiltrators and the Pak Army regulars who have no alternative but to run away from the area," they said.

In the Dras offensive, six more intruders were killed after the Indian troops pillaged through their bunker in an attempt to vacate enemy positions in the Tiger Hills and Tololing Pass, a report for Srinagar said.

The offensive at a mountain height in the Batalik subsector was given a go ahead last night and the operations began around 4 a.m. when Indian troops started zeroing in on the positions occupied by the intruders backed by the Pakistani Army regulars, the sources said.

When the troops neared the height they were surrounded by intruders and a heavy exchange of fire took place from a close range.

As Indian troops fought bravely, the Pakistan Army started shelling at the site from across the Line of Control.

The Indian troops killed 17 intruders and injured an unspecific number as 15 Army men laid down their lives, the sources said.

Pakistan made desperate attempts to push in infiltrators in the Gurez and Keran sectors in north Kashmir under the cover of artillery shelling and mortar firing, the sources said.

Jawans repulsed the attack and forced the intruders to flee back to Pakistani side. The shelling also caused casualties to the Pakistani side, the sources said.

Frenzied military activity is going on in the Skardu sector in the occupied-Kashmir with an additional division and a brigade being moved there, according to reports reaching here a day ahead of Pakistan Foreign Minister Sartaz Aziz's visit to New Delhi for peace talks on Kargil.

Meanwhile, a security jawan was killed in an encounter with militants while the security forces averted a major tragedy with timely detection of a powerful bomb in Kashmir valley since last evening.

The police repulsed a militant attack on their post set up to safeguard a vital road link and arrested a militant while militants torched five residential houses and abducted a former militant in the valley during the period, an official spokesman said here today.

The bomb disposal squad immediately rushed to the spot and neutralised the bomb.

Meanwhile over 150 families from four villages in the Akhnoor sector of Jammu district have fled to safer places following heavy Pakistani firing on Indian posts and hamlets since yesterday in which one civilian was wounded.

Reports said panic gripped residents of Salwan, Champrial and Milane Bhoi villages when Pakistan troops resorted to unprovoked firing in an attempt to intrude into the Indian territory. When the intensity of firing increased over 150 families fled to safer places.

Indian troops retaliated and pushed back the intruders inflicting heavy casualties on them. Reports said Pakistani guns fell silent this afternoon.

The Indian troops and the BSF have been directed to maintain strict vigil on the border to prevent infiltrators from sneaking into this side of the Line of Control and the international border.

Tapes expose Pak gameplan
Tribune News Service

NEW DELHI, June 11 — India today produced verbatim record of a taped conversation between the Pakistan Chief of Army Staff Gen Pervez Mushrraf and Chief of the General Staff Lieut Gen Mohammed Aziz which establishes beyond the doubt involvement of the Pakistani Army in the armed intrusion in the Kargil sector and the country’s gameplan to internationalise the Kashmir issue.

Releasing the transcripts of the telephonic conversation between the two Generals when Gen Mushraff was in China last month, the Minister of External Affairs, Mr Jaswant Singh, said these tapes clearly indicated the involvement of the Pakistani authorities in the Kargil intrusion.

The taped conversation, played before the media, has at one point Lieut-Gen Aziz telling General Mushraff at the China end that "..... we gave the suggestion that there was no such fear as the scruffs (Tooti) of their (militants) necks is in our hands".

At another point, General Aziz is heard telling General Mushraff "as far as internationalisation is concerned, this is the fastest that has happened".

Here are some of the excerpts of the conversation held on May 26 and May 29 between the two Generals:

Pakistan end (P) Sir, about 12-13 bombs were dropped of which three fell on our side, which does not appear to be a result of inaccuracy. In my interpretation, it is sort of giving a message that if need be, we can do it on the other side as well. They have tried to drop bombs from a good position where they are in difficulty, from behind the LoC, but they have fallen on our side of the LoC. So I have spoken to the Foreign Secretary and I have told him that he should make appropriate noises about this in the press."

China end (C) — They (Indians) should also be told.

P — That we have told the Foreign Secretary will also say and Rashid will also say. He will not, generally speaking, make any such mistake about those other bombs falling on the other side. Our stand should be that all these bombs are falling on our side...

P — "... The entire reason for the success of this operation was this total secrecy. Our experience was that our earlier efforts failed because of lack of secrecy. So, the top priority is to accord confidentiality, to ensure our success. We should respect this and the advantage we have from this would give us a handle.

Excerpts from the conversation of the two Generals on May 29:

P — "... He (Nawaz Sharif) told the Indian PM that they should have waited instead of upping the ante by using the Air Force and all other means. He (Nawaz) told him (Indian PM) that he suggested Sartaj Aziz could go to New Delhi to explore the possibility of defusing the situation."

C — Idea on LoC.

P — Yes. Given that the LoC has many areas where the interpretation of either side is not what the other side believes, comprehensive deliberation is required. So that can be worked out by the Director General of Military Operations (DGMOs).

C — If they are assured that we have been here for a long period. We have been sitting here for long. Like in the beginning no post was attacked and no post captured. The situation is that we are along our defence line of control. If it is not in his (Sartaj Aziz’s) knowledge, then discuss it altogether. Emphasise that for years we are here only.

C — Yes, this point should be raised. We are sitting on the same LoC since a long period.

P — This is their weakness. They have not agreed on the demarcation under UN verification, whereas we have. We want to exploit it.

C — This is in the Simla Agreement that we cannot go for UN intervention.

P — Our neighbour does not accept their presence or UNMOGIP arrangement for survey of the area. So we can start from the top, from 9842 (NJ 9842). On this line we can give them logic. But in short, the recommendation for Sartaj Aziz Saheb is that he should make no commitment at the first meeting on the military situation. And he should not even accept a cease-fire because if there is a cease-fire then vehicles will be moving (on the Dras-Kargil highway). In this regard they have to use their own argument. There is no justification in tension on the LoC. No justification. We want to give them this type of briefing so that he does not get into any specifics.

C — Has this MI-17 not fallen in our area?

P — No Sir. This has fallen into their area. We have not claimed it. We have got it claimed through the Mujahideen.

C — Well done.