J A M M U   &   K A S H M I R

3 Kashmiri Pandits among 12 killed
SRINAGAR, Feb 5 — A father and his daughter were among three members of the Kashmiri Pandit community killed by unidentified gunmen at Tailwani village, 6 km from Anantnag in south Kashmir last night.

Mixed response to 'Kashmir day' call
SRINAGAR, Feb 5 — Normal life was paralysed in most parts of the valley today in response to the separatists' call to mark the "Kashmir solidarity day" which is observed in Pakistan on this day every year.

Jagat begins recruitment
JAMMU, Feb 5 — The Director-General of Police, Mr Gurbachan Jagat, has embarked on the exercise of recruiting able-bodied youths in the police force who will man the second line of defence on this side of the Indo-Pakistan border.

Goodwill tour of students ends
SRINAGAR, Feb 5 — The BSF-sponsored goodwill tour of 40 Kashmiri students from rural areas of the valley came to an end yesterday.

3 Kashmiri Pandits among 12 killed

SRINAGAR, Feb 5 (UNI) — A father and his daughter were among three members of the Kashmiri Pandit community killed by unidentified gunmen at Tailwani village, 6 km from Anantnag in south Kashmir last night.

Elsewhere in the valley three militants and two security personnel were among nine persons killed while the forces arrested three militants and detected an improvised explosive device during the past 24 hours, an official spokesman said.

Unidentified gunmen attacked well-guarded houses of the Kashmiri Pandit community with automatic weapons last night at Tailwani village with AK rifles from a distance.

A constable, Ashok Kumar and his daughter Anshu Raina besides Veerji Bhat were killed on the spot and Head Constable Bashir Ahmad and Jaideep were injured.

However,the gunmen managed to escape under the cover of darkness.

Panic gripped the down town when unidentified militants shot dead a BSF jawan at Khanyar this afternoon.

At least two security personnel were injured when militants detonated a powerful improvised explosive device near Sainik school, Ganderbal this morning.

Militants entered the house of Nambardar Abdul Rehman Malik at Kunzar Tangmarg and shot him dead while another person,Wali Mohammad Bhat, was killed by militants in his Ladoo Baramulla house this morning.

Militants intruded into the house of Dil Ganai and shot him and his son Fayaz Ahmad dead at Qazigund in south Kashmir last evening.

Mixed response to 'Kashmir day' call
Tribune News Service

SRINAGAR, Feb 5 — Normal life was paralysed in most parts of the valley today in response to the separatists' call to mark the "Kashmir solidarity day" which is observed in Pakistan on this day every year.

All shops and business establishments in the capital city were closed. Some of the banks were also closed. Traffic was off the roads, while only the government and some private vehicles plied in some parts of the city here. Attendance in a number of government offices was affected as most of the employees could not reach their offices due to the lack of transport.

Reports from other parts of the valley revealed that life was partially affected in Anantnag and Pulwama district of South Kashmir. Life came to a standstill in the apple-rich town of Sopore in Baramulla district. There was partial response to the call in other major towns of the Kupwara and Baramulla districts in North Kashmir.

The police here said that inter-district transport plied normally in most parts of the valley. It was affected in distant areas of the districts.

"Dukhtaran-e-Millat", an underground women's separatist outfit, had separately given a bandh call for today to observe the "Kashmir day" along with Pakistan's "solidarity day with "Kashmiris". It had asked the people to remain indoors and observe a complete bandh throughout the valley.

In his message, Acting Chairman of the APHC Moulvi Umar Farooq said that the day was observed in Kashmir and by Kashmiris in different parts of the world. He urged India and Pakistan to resolve the "Kashmir issue" by holding tripartite talks and give the people their "right of self-determination". Special prayers were held at various mosques here to observe the day, an APHC spokesman said.

The Mirwaiz on Thursday last here had urged both India and Pakistan to "resolve the issue" at the earliest possible saying that it would go a long way in maintaining peace in the sub-continent. He expressed the hope that Mr Clinton's proposed visit to India next month would be meaningful visit viz-a-viz Kashmir imbroglio.

Jagat begins recruitment
Tribune News Service

JAMMU, Feb 5 — The Director-General of Police, Mr Gurbachan Jagat, has embarked on the exercise of recruiting able-bodied youths in the police force who will man the second line of defence on this side of the Indo-Pakistan border.

Encouraged by the recently sanctioned central scheme of establishing border outposts for checking infiltration and arms smuggling from across the border, Mr Jagat has adopted the strategy of issuing appointment orders on the spot in order to reduce the chances of middlemen and other government functionaries extracting money for recruitment.

During the past two days, Mr Jagat, accompanied by a team of police officials, has been selecting the boys in the remote border areas. More than 121 able-bodied youths have received appointment letters. After completing a crash course at police training centres, they will be posted on the zero line.

The DGP has completed the on-the-spot recruitment in Rajpur, Chakra and Kanachat areas of Kathua district. The villages include those on the border of Punjab and Pakistan.

The police chief is of the firm opinion that once the rate of infiltration and arms smuggling from across the border is reduced, it will be very easy for the security forces to eliminate those who continue to carry out an armed campaign in Jammu and Kashmir.

Mr Jagat has already communicated to Union Home Ministry experts that since men of the Army and the paramilitary forces are not well versed with the topography of the border areas, militants have succeeded in giving the slip to them while sneaking into this side of the border. He has informed the ministry that to check this, there is a need to raise a force of local youths acquainted with every inch of the terrain.

The DGP has decided to raise a couple of battalions of the border police in Jammu, Poonch, Rajouri, Kupwara and Baramula sectors. Once the recruitment and training is over, men of the border police will be able to motivate civilians living in the border villages to counter insurgency and check infiltration.

Police posts and stations are not fully equipped to act as the second line of defence to check infiltrators. This is so because the police has to take care of other crimes in their areas and maintain law and order.

Goodwill tour of students ends
Tribune News Service

SRINAGAR, Feb 5 — The BSF-sponsored goodwill tour of 40 Kashmiri students from rural areas of the valley came to an end yesterday.

During their two week-long tour, the students visited historical places like Jamia Masjid and Parliament House in New Delhi, the Taj Mahal in Agra, Jaipur, Ajmer Sharief and other places. They were flown by a BSF plane on January 20 last from Srinagar and landed back here yesterday, according to a BSF spokesman.

The students also got the opportunity to witness the Republic Day celebrations in the Capital. They met various union ministers, including Home Minister L.K. Advani, Minister of State for Civil Aviation Chaman Lal Gupta and Minister of State for Industries and Commerce Umar Abdullah. They also met DG, BSF, E.N. Rammohan.