J A M M U   &   K A S H M I R

2 cops among 5 killed in J&K
Srinagar, January 31
Five persons, including two policemen and a militant, were killed in separate incidents in the valley, where the security forces averted a major tragedy with the detection of an IED while militants kidnapped a policeman, since last night, official sources said today.

Pakistani troops lay mines along border
Jammu, January 31
For the first time in the past three months of heavy military build-up Pakistani troops have started laying mines across the international border right from Kathua to Akhnoor.

4 held for not stopping at naka
Kathua, January 31
A hardcore criminal, Bramjot, along with his three accomplices were arrested today after they refused to stop at a police naka in a Maruti car at Basholi Morh, Lakhanpur, near here.

J&K cyber cafe owners suffer losses
Jammu, January 31
Several hundred operators running cyber cafes in Jammu and Kashmir continue to suffer heavy losses following the suspension of Internet connections.

J&K accession was ‘conditional’
Srinagar, January 31
Jammu and Kashmir’s accession with the Union of India was conditional and the Centre should immediately restore internal autonomy to the state, the National Conference (NC) in a significant statement said today.

2 cops among 5 killed in J&K

Srinagar, January 31
Five persons, including two policemen and a militant, were killed in separate incidents in the valley, where the security forces averted a major tragedy with the detection of an IED while militants kidnapped a policeman, since last night, official sources said today.

Special Police Officer Manzoor Ahmad Malla was shot by unidentified militants inside his house at Warpora in the Sopore area of Baramula district in North Kashmir last night, the sources said. PTI

Pakistani troops lay mines along border
Tribune News Service

Jammu, January 31
For the first time in the past three months of heavy military build-up Pakistani troops have started laying mines across the international border right from Kathua to Akhnoor.

According to official sources, Pakistani soldiers were laying mines in border areas across Samba, R.S. Pora and Akhnoor sectors, indicating that it had given up the plan of launching a major offensive on the international border.

The sources said laying of mines across the international border was started on Tuesday, whereas the Indian forces had laid the mines on this side of the border from Samba to Akhnoor last month.

So far eight-foot tall barbed wire fences had been raised on the 24 km border stretch in Samba and the work on the project had been started in the R.S. Pora sector.

According to the BSF authorities, despite intermittent firing and shelling the pace of the fencing project had not been affected. “If all goes well we will be able to fence 187-km long international border by next year,” they said.

Defence experts said though there was no let-up in the military build-up across the border, indications were that Pakistan had gone on the defensive during the past one week. They attributed two reasons for it. First, strong Indian retaliatory measures due to which the Pakistani troops suffered heavy losses and casualties across Poonch and Rajouri discouraged the enemy forces in kicking up a major conflict with India.

Secondly, Pakistan President Pervez Musharraf having come under tremendous pressure from the US Government may have sent a signal to the field commanders not to precipitate the matters on the border.

Defence Ministry sources said without any signal from the Pakistani military ruler there was no question of pulling back “our forces from the border.”

4 held for not stopping at naka
Our Correspondent

Kathua, January 31
A hardcore criminal, Bramjot, along with his three accomplices were arrested today after they refused to stop at a police naka in a Maruti car at Basholi Morh, Lakhanpur, near here.

They were on the way to Jammu from Punjab when their car was signalled to stop, but instead of stopping the car the driver drove away. The SHO, Lakhanpur, however, recognised the driver as Bramjot, alias Seetu, of Shakti Nagar, Jammu. A wireless message was flashed to all concerned to impound the said car.

The naka party at Rajbagh also signalled them to stop but the driver again ignored it. Then they took the car to the old Kathua-Samba border road and deserted it near Chakra Hiranagar. They then boarded a Matador and tried to escape but were arrested.

On search, a revolver, four rounds of ammunition were recovered from Bramjot. His accomplices were identified as Sanjeev Sharma of Shakti Nagar, Jammu, and Vijay Singh of Tallab Tillo, Jammu.

J&K cyber cafe owners suffer losses
Tribune News Service

Jammu, January 31
Several hundred operators running cyber cafes in Jammu and Kashmir continue to suffer heavy losses following the suspension of Internet connections.

A spokesman for the Association of Internet Operators said here today that for the past month, “We have not earned even a penny and we are faced with the problem of returning loans to financial institutions which had been taken for setting up computer centres”.

He said the government continued to be silent over “our plight” because all government departments had Internet facilities through the National Informatics Centre.

He said the government had raised the issue of disconnection of STD and ISD connections from the PCOs but had not bothered to take up this issue with the Central Government.

Internet operators should be given a monthly compensation out of the security-related expenses, he added.

J&K accession was ‘conditional’

Srinagar, January 31
Jammu and Kashmir’s accession with the Union of India was conditional and the Centre should immediately restore internal autonomy to the state, the National Conference (NC) in a significant statement said today.

“People of Jammu and Kashmir joined the Union of India on some conditions. It was agreed by the Indian authorities that except defence, currency and communication, the affairs of the state will be run by the local government,” NC provisional president Ghulam Nabi Shaheen said, addressing party workers here. UNI