J A M M U   &   K A S H M I R

2 jawans killed in encounter
SRINAGAR, Jan 11 — At least 80 structures, including shops and residential houses, were gutted following an encounter between militants and security forces in Pattan township, 27 km north of here in Baramula district last night.

Panun Kashmir flays Centre
JAMMU, Jan 11 — Panun Kashmir, an organisation of displaced Kashmiris, has expressed dissatisfaction over India’s reluctance to declare Pakistan a terrorist state.

2 jawans killed in encounter
Tribune News Service

SRINAGAR, Jan 11 — At least 80 structures, including shops and residential houses, were gutted following an encounter between militants and security forces in Pattan township, 27 km north of here in Baramula district last night.

Two Armymen were killed when a patrol was fired upon by militants from a locality adjacent to Pattan main bazaar last evening, reports here said. Wasim Ahmad, 12, died due to shock. His body was found this morning. Five security force personnel, including three personnel of the Fire Services, were injured in the encounter.

The encounter, according to the police and the Army, started at about 5.30 p.m yesterday and continued for about six hours. The locals told visiting mediapersons today that damage to property was due to the retaliatory action by security forces. The hiding militants managed to escape, reports said.

There were varying reports about the exact figure of the shops and residential houses gutted in the incident. A handout issued by the police, Kashmir range headquarters, said about two dozen shops and two residential houses were gutted during the incident. The police has already ordered an inquiry into the cause of the fire.

The police in Baramula confirmed the gutting of 42 shops and 10 residential houses. The Fire Services headquarters here, which had sent firetenders to the spot said nearly 100 structures have been gutted.

A Defence spokesman stated here that during the encounter, "an electric pole got short-circuited as a result some shops in the area caught fire. The troops helped the fire brigade personnel in extinguishing the fire. Fire brigade operations were temporarily held up as its personnel sought security, the Defence spokesman said.

Elsewhere, three militants, one of them a foreigner, were killed in an encounter at Magraypora, Achchabal, in Anantnag district yesterday. Those killed have been identified as Irfat Ahmad, Khursheed Ahmad, both locals, while the foreigner has been identified as Abu Abdullah.

The police today found the body of a woman, Halima Akhtar in the Beijbehara area of Anantnag district.

Security forces have seized a huge cache of arms and ammunition in Kupwara district. These include two AK-56 rifles, 45 magazines, 750 rounds of ammunition, 10 rifle grenades, five hand grenades, three anti-personnel mines and three pistols.

Panun Kashmir flays Centre
Tribune News Service

JAMMU, Jan 11 — Panun Kashmir, an organisation of displaced Kashmiris, has expressed dissatisfaction over India’s reluctance to declare Pakistan a terrorist state.

In a statement issued here today the chairman of the political affairs committee of Panun Kashmir, Dr Ajay Chrungoo, said after the hijacking of the Indian Airlines plane the Government of India, including the Prime Minister, Mr Atal Behari Vajpayee, had been urging the USA to declare Pakistan a terrorist state.

Dr Chrungoo said soliciting the USA and other developed nations to treat Pakistan as a terrorist state was a sign of political immaturity. He wondered why India itself was not declaring Pakistan a terrorist state.

The Panun Kashmir leader also came down heavily on the central government for not tackling hijacking in a firm manner and for bartering away interests of the nation.