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Wednesday,
January 16, 2002, Chandigarh, India  
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200
Lashkar men waiting to cross LoC Pak Rangers target border outposts Triangles
depicting mines dot villages Probe
ordered into Dutch men’s killings 18
shanties gutted |
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200 Lashkar men waiting to cross LoC
Jammu, January 15 Security sources told UNI here today that these terrorists completed their training at various camps in Muridke, Multan, Bahawalpur and elsewhere run by the Inter-Services Intelligence (ISI) and had massed near the LoC. They were eagerly waiting for the ISI to facilitate their entry into India. Despite Pakistan President Pervez Musharraf’s apparent crackdown on various ‘jehadi’ outfits, the fact remained that outfits like the Jaish-e-Mohammad (JeM) and LeT continued to function as usual under the ‘protective cover’ of the ISI. Various ‘facilitation centres’ built some distance from the LoC for the ‘convenience of Mujahideen’ had virtually become turned into fortresses with heavily-armed guards manning them. Searchlights had been installed to scan the surrounding areas and the inmates were Mujahideen who have passed out from various training centres in Pakistan the sources said. There were also reports that senior commanders of the Hizbul Mujahideen’s Pir Panjal Regiment were drafting fresh recruits to bolster depleted ranks. In a message intercepted here, senior leaders of the outfit requisitioned fresh cadres to carry out subversive strikes in India, the sources said. Hizb supremo and United Jihad Council (UJC) Chairman Syed Salahuddin had reportedly instructed frontline commanders to try and register the outfit’s presence in the valley. In view of the heavy military build-up on both sides of the LoC, militants were finding it increasingly difficult to sneak into India across the LoC. Effective retaliation by Indian soldiers to Pakistani firing had lessened their chances for infiltration. It is a known fact that Pakistani troops from the tenth corps across the LoC provide heavy firecover to the terrorists to help them sneak into India.
UNI |
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Pak Rangers target border outposts Jammu, January 15 |
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Triangles
depicting mines dot villages R. S. Pora (Jammu), January 15 These triangles have caused panic among the villagers who remain huddled indoors. They do not venture out to collect fodder for cattle after several stray dogs lost their lives in the danger zones. Fodder intake has been reduced, affecting milk yield. Harbans Lal of Devigarh village, a tiny border village in this sector, said buffalos now yield 3 to 4 litres of milk against the average of 10 to 12 litres during the past 10 days. “Whatever fodder we had stored is about to exhaust and we fear our buffalos and cows may break tethers in search for grass and get killed in explosions, he said. “Our movement is restricted and we do not know for how long we have to suffer,” said another villager, Bodh Raj. “We do not attend to our farms and we may, sooner than later, face starvation,” he added. The villagers, who have decided to stay in their hamlets, have demanded that government agencies should be asked to distribute fodder and foodgrain in the affected-villages. Rain and icy winds, sweeping several areas in the Jammu sector, has worsened the situation. A majority of these migrants were seen shivering due to the cold. At Devipur and other camps, whatever small belongings they managed to carry, were soiled in rain. Tattered tents had been blown away by strong winds. According to the Minister for Rural Development, Mr Ajay Sadhotra, the government has taken all possible measures to ensure the survival of the migrants. He said despite a resource crunch “we have been trying to distribute free ration to the migrants aid have implored business houses and other social organisations to come forward to help them.” He said besides the Red Cross, several agencies had distributed kitchenwares, blankets and other items among the migrants. The task for the government is colossal. It has approached the Centre to release adequate funds either from the national defence fund or the Prime Minister’s Relief Fund in this regard. Whatever money had been made available for relief measures, has come from security-related funds and the state government needed Centre’s help to tackle the situation. |
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Probe ordered into Dutch men’s killings Jammu, January 15 Speaking at the annual conference of the Police Welfare Committee here today, Dr Farooq Abdullah said General Musharraf’s stand against the terrorists was appreciable but “we cannot afford to show laxity in view of the past experience we have had with Pakistan.” He said India would have to watch General Musharraf’s words being translated into action because in the past every assurance from Pakistan was followed by escalation in militancy-related violence on this side of the border. Dr Abdullah lauded the initiatives taken by General Musharraf and urged the international community to mount pressure on Pakistan so that it entered into a new era of peace in the region. He said de-escalation of troops on the LoC would start only when the Indian government was satisfied with the measures taken for stopping cross-border terrorism. The Chief Minister urged the police to remain vigilant and work in coordination with other security agencies to instil confidence among the people. He suggested to the police and other security agencies that they should ensure that no civilians were harassed or harmed while operations against the terrorists were in progress. Later talking to newspersons, Dr Abdullah said the government had constituted a committee to inquire into the circumstances that led to the killing of two Dutch nationals, Ell Bakiowali Ahmed and Ell Hassnowi Khaliq, two BSF constables near Dal Lake in Srinagar on January 13. He said only after the government received the report, would he be able to shed light on the incident. The BSF had claimed that the Dutch nationals had tried to kill BSF constables who had opened fire in self-defence, killing them on the spot. A report from Srinagar said, a senior police officer of the rank of Superintendent was carrying out the investigation. Jammu and Kashmir Minister of State for Home, Mr Khalid Najeeb Suharwardhy, at a meeting of senior functionaries of civil and police officers yesterday, directed the police to file a case against the BSF personnel if found guilty. Meanwhile, the Kashmir Bar Association has decided to take legal course against the BSF for killing the tourists. Meanwhile, the Jammu and Kashmir police has started investigating the circumstances in which the Dutch tourists were killed and are supposed to have got some “significant clues”. “The Dutch tourists are reported to have been missing from their places since December 18”, the IGP, Kashmir Zone, Mr Ashok Bhan, told TNS. He said following a report that these youths were missing by their respective families, the two got their visas on December 19. They reached New Delhi from Amsterdam on December 26 and reached Srinagar by road on January 6. |
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18 shanties gutted Jammu, January 15 The fire broke out in one of the huts yesterday and within half-an-hour destroyed 18 of them, they said. There was, however, no loss of life in the fire. |
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