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Saturday,
February 23, 2002, Chandigarh, India  
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Troops’ leave facility restored as tension
eases 2 JeM ultras shot in
Baramula 2 abducted persons
freed by ultras Students taken on dream tour |
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Troops’ leave facility restored as tension
eases Jammu, February 22 Sources in the Ministry of Defence said that men of the armed forces, belonging to any rank or regiment, could now avail themselves of the leave facility. Leave facility was suspended with the heavy Pakistan military build-up across the LoC which warranted similar measures from the Indian side. In the past two months soldiers or officers could avail any kind of leave only under special or emergency conditions in the family. The sources said that following military build-up on the LoC provision for training courses, including the provision for pursuing higher studies, too had been suspended. This facility has been restored to the men of the armed forces. On the telephone facilities under which any civilian could connect any Army phone number have not yet been restored. Any civilian wanting to get in touch with some- one in the Army had to go through the Army telephone exchange. However, in some border areas even the Army exchanges had been delinked from the civil phone lines. According to sources, such measures were necessary at the time of war. The events from January 1 could trigger a war between India and Pakistan so Army phones were delinked from the civil lines to check tapping or cross talks which could leak out Defence information. The sources said that the facility may be restored in another fortnight in case there was no further tension on the LoC. The central government is also examining the possibility of restoring ISD, STD facilities to the PCOs and internet connections to cyber cafes, computer Institutes and to the private customers in Jammu and Kashmir. This facility has been off the hook in the last one month resulting in losses to the PCO owners and inconvenience to several lakhs of people in the state. Asked whether companies of additional troops deployed on the border would be withdrawn to the barracks the sources said that question of de-escalation could be discussed at the highest level only after Pakistan pulled back troops from the LoC. State Government sources said that the Chief Minister, Dr Farooq Abdullah, has suggested to the Prime Minister, the Union Home Minister and the Defence Minister, that additional troops be withdrawn from the LoC only after Delhi received a firm word from Islamabad that Pakistan would stop encouraging crossborder terrorism. The state government authorities have conveyed to Delhi that since the border routes would be free from snow in next two to three months strict patrolling and vigilance on the LoC were needed to check infiltration from across the border. The authorities have for fir’m opinion that militants had lost nerve to strike in a big way because of the fact that they have begun to feel the pinch of shortage of man and machine power. Hence it was imperative for the government of India to prevent any ingress so that those militants operating within the state had no choice but either to surrender or to get killed in operations or to cross back to Pakistan. These sources said that it was in this context that the US government was trying to persuade Islamabad to stop aiding infiltration which alone could amount to Pakistan keeping its hand off crossborder terrorism. According to these sources, next three months would determine the contours of Islamabad’s policy on crossborder terrorism. During these months it would become clear whether the scope for de-escalation on the border would become bright or not. |
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2 JeM ultras shot in Baramula Srinagar, February 22 The encounter broke out when BSF personnel laid a cordon around Kunzer village, about 30 km from here on the Srinagar-Gulmarg road, this morning following specific information about the presence of some JeM ultras there, they said. Hiding militants opened fire on the search party, which was conducting house-to-house searches, in an attempt to escape the security cordon. The troops fired back and engaged the ultras in a fierce encounter. Army reinforcements joined the BSF in the operation and two militants were killed in the encounter. The identity of the slain ultras was being ascertained. The encounter continued for nearly six hours despite rain and snow that lashed several parts of the valley. Meanwhile, 70-year-old Habib Mir was abducted by militants last night from his residence and his bullet-riddled body was found this morning from the Lolab area of Kupwara district, the sources said. Army personnel busted two militant hideouts in the Z-gali area of Kupwara during search operations and seized a pika gun with 146 rounds, six RPG rockets, 200 AK ammunition, 5 kg of plastic explosive and RDX, four claymore mines, 3 m of cordex wire and six detonators. Security personnel apprehended Anis Akhter along with an improvised explosive device and some ammunition from Aloosa in Baramulla district last night. A Hizbul Mujahideen militant was nabbed from the Tarzoo area of the district, the sources said.
PTI |
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2 abducted persons
freed by ultras Jammu, February 22 Nizamuddin and Sandeep Singh, who were used as guides by militants, were released after a brief encounter, he said, adding that they were later taken for questioning by the Special Operation Group (SOG) of the police. “The security arrangements in and around the shrine have been further tightened after reports about movement of anti-national elements in the Seroli Dhar area.,” he added.
PTI |
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Students taken on dream tour Jammu, February 22 For these students, it was a dream come true when the BSF Inspector General, Mr Vijay Raman, organised a 12-day tour of various historical and religious places in the country. They went to Delhi from where they travelled to Agra, Mathura, Ajmer, Chandigarh and Amritsar. The BSF took care of all expenses. On their return here today, the students met Mr Raman and urged him to make such tours a regular feature. |
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