J A M M U   &   K A S H M I R

10,000 civilians died in J&K insurgency
Jammu, January 4
Eleven years of militancy in Jammu and Kashmir has taken more lives than all the casualties suffered during the three Indo-Pak wars together, top state government officials said here today.

BSF men patrol in Srinagar on Friday.

Army men patrol a street in central Jammu on Friday.  — Reuters photos

Students suffer as migrants occupy schools
Jammu, January 4
The academic future of over 10,000 students in Jammu sector is in jeopardy following occupation of 21 government school buildings right from the Jammu outskirts to Akhnoor and Samba by a large number of people who fled from their border villages in recent days.

10,000 civilians died in J&K insurgency

Jammu, January 4
Eleven years of militancy in Jammu and Kashmir has taken more lives than all the casualties suffered during the three Indo-Pak wars together, top state government officials said here today.

“During the past 11 years of proxy war, which Pakistan has forced on us since 1990, nearly 10,000 innocent civilians were among the 28,000 who lost their lives and property worth millions of rupees was destroyed”, the officials said.

As many as 14,356 militants have been killed since 1990 till last year they said, adding that well co-ordinated operations of the police and security forces backed by accurate intelligence inputs inflicted heavy casualties on the militants during 2001.

The meticulously planned counter-insurgency operations led to the elimination of 2020 militants in 2001 as against 1,520 in 2000. Eightyfive militants also surrendered to the authorities taking the total number of surrendered militants to 3,197 so far.

A total of 568 personnel of the state police, 2,485 personnel of other security forces followed by 208 SPOs and 66 VDC members have sacrificed their lives while combating militancy from 1990 to 2001-end, they said.

Giving details, he said 128 police personnel sacrificed the lives in proxy war and 61 SPOs and sixteen VDC members also laid down their lives in different encounters with the militants last year. PTI

Students suffer as migrants occupy schools
Tribune News Service

Jammu, January 4
The academic future of over 10,000 students in Jammu sector is in jeopardy following occupation of 21 government school buildings right from the Jammu outskirts to Akhnoor and Samba by a large number of people who fled from their border villages in recent days.

These migrants have camped in the school buildings and “panchayat ghars”. According to the senior government functionaries, the studies of those enrolled in these 21 schools have been disrupted with the migrants having occupied the classrooms and having pitched tents in the lawns of some schools. Other students who face a bleak future are those who have migrated from the border villages. In some of these border villages several school buildings have been occupied by the security forces.

The government functionaries said work in at least 30 schools in the border areas had been suspended with students having fled villages on account of heavy firing and shelling by the Pakistani troops.

Meanwhile, the President of the National Panthers Party, Prof Bhim Singh, who has been touring several border areas in Samba, Akhnoor, Rajouri and Poonch, for the past three days has demanded the dismissal of the government headed by Dr Farooq Abdullah.

Referring to the plight of the border migrants, Prof Bhim Singh said since Dr Abdullah remained out of the state during the current crisis he had no moral grounds to remain in office. He urged the Governor, Mr G.C. Saxena, to use his constitutional powers and dismiss the Farooq government without invoking the provisions of Article 356 of the Constitution.

Prof Bhim Singh said several thousand migrants continued to spend nights in the open even as the entire area was lashed by a severe cold wave. He appealed to human rights organisations, social and religious groups to donate liberally, in cash and kind, so that necessary relief operations could be started in the migrant camps.

Mr Raman Bhalla, a senior Congress leader, and Mr Ashok Sharma, MLA, criticised the government and demanded a better deal for the migrants who, they said, had left their villages not out of choice but as a result of scare created by the Pakistani firing and shelling.