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Tuesday,
May 13, 2003, Chandigarh, India  
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5
securitymen, 3 militants among 11 killed in J&K A tight-rope walk for soldiers Hawks turn hope into despair Heavy firing by Pak troops BRO to build bridge over
Chenab: minister |
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Mild quake rocks J&K Bank robbery bid foiled: 2 cops
killed
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5 securitymen, 3 militants among 11 killed in J&K Srinagar, May 12 Unidentified militants hurled a hand grenade and later fired on security forces near the State Bank of India, Kupwara, about 90 km from here, today. The security forces retaliated and in the ensuing encounter, two Central Reserve Police Force (CRPF) jawans — B. Prasad and Ramaya — were killed and 11 others, including two civilians, were wounded. A LET militant Mohammad Ibrahim, a resident of Pakistan, was also killed in the shootout, the sources said. A spokesman of the militant outfit Al-Nasreen has claimed responsibility for the attack. The injured were admitted to hospital. Militants also ambushed a patrol party at Nadihal in Baramulla district today. Security forces also retaliated and in the exchange, one jawan lost his life and three others were wounded. The militants however, managed to escape. An official spokesman said a group of two unidentified gunmen entered the Jammu and Kashmir bank branch at Shopian in south Kashmir around noon today. On being challenged by the police guards, they opened fire, killing selection grade constable Farooq Ahmad and constable Abdul Rashid. The gunmen were also wounded but managed to escape. A massive hunt has been launched to nab them, the spokesman said. He said a body of one Zaheer Ahmad was fished out from Brari Nambal in the downtown city today, while another decomposed body of one Mohammad Akram was recovered at Larkuti in Rajouri district. A militant was killed in an encounter with security forces at Dhanaw Khandi Marg in Kulgam last night. Two militants of the Lashker-e-Toiba were killed in an encounter with the security forces at Ashar in the Banihal area of Doda district last evening. Some arms and ammunition were recovered from the slain militants. Poonch: Two surrendered ultras helped the security forces in identifying a militant hideout and recovering a huge cache of arms and explosives in the district on Sunday, official sources said here on Monday. Both ultras accompanied the security forces to the hideout from where a universal machine gun, a rocket- propelled gun with four rockets, an under barrel grenade launcher with its one shell, a 92-mm mortar, two AK rifles with its two magazines and 60 rounds were recovered, the sources said. Besides, the recovery also included1.5 kg of RDX, an IED, 75 m of fuse wire and eight blankets and mats, they said.
UNI, PTI |
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A tight-rope walk for soldiers Rajouri, May 12 Human rights has become a sensitive issue in rural areas of Poonch and Rajouri districts, the entry points of terrorists from Pakistan. A separate cell for dealing with complaints of human rights violations has been established at the local Army headquarters here. Initially, there were a number of complaints of rights violations by Army personnel. But during the past five years, it is learnt, only five complaints have been registered with the National Human Rights Commission (NHRC) which, officers of the cell say, are fictitious. At times, it is learnt, false complaints are sent to the NHRC to harass and demoralise the armed forces. This is also the motive of the Pakistani ISI which trains the terrorists. A senior Army officer said the soldiers could ill-afford to annoy the civilians as they were generally the source for information on the whereabouts of terrorists. “A single wrong step can alienate the security forces from the local population”, he said. He said the soldiers had learnt much about human rights since 1990 when terrorism started here. It is worth mentioning that human rights have often been used as a political weapon by vested interests. A rights activist in Srinagar has threatened self-immolation on several occasions. In a recent incident near Rajouri, two civilians were injured in a cross-fire between the terrorists and the Army, but the village residents came out protesting against the Army personnel alone. The shifting of the Special Services Bureau (SSB) from the border districts to the Nepal border by the Home Ministry has become an impediment for the security forces in gathering information. The SSB had struck roots in each and every village after being set up in the early sixties. However, the setting up of a unified command has been helpful in sharing of intelligence among various agencies of the Centre and the state government. |
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Hawks turn hope into despair Jammu, May 12 Within a week this had changed to despair and despondency. The reason: hawks in Delhi and Islamabad have again begun to adopt tough postures with the potential of derailing the peace process. Though Mr Shabir Ahmed Shah, President, Democratic Freedom Party (DFP) remains optimistic, he too is critical of the hardliners in India and Pakistan as they may “delay” the peace process. He does not believe that the rise in the level of militancy-related violence in Jammu and Kashmir can stall the talks. Instead, he says, once the talks resume, the violence will “definitely decline”. Mr Shah is among many in Kashmir who believe telling Islamabad to stop infiltration and then resume talks is “putting the cart before the horse.” Critics say many additions have been made to the initial peace initiative proclaimed by Mr Vajpayee in Srinagar at a public rally and the first response to it by Mr Jamali. They say Mr Vajpayee had not, at the Srinagar rally, placed any condition for resumption of dialogue and Mr Jamali had responded, saying ; “Let us first talk about trade and travel and then Kashmir.” The Chairman of the APHC, Prof Abdul Ghani Bhat, says: “Neither Islamabad nor Delhi can avoid the much-needed dialogue and the two sides may have started adopting tough postures as part of strategy to secure concessions.” |
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Heavy firing by Pak troops
Jammu, May 12 “Pakistani troops fired light and medium machine guns from their posts of Umrah
Wali, Pipal Morcha, Kesri and Ucha Wains around midnight,” they said. Around 1000 rounds were fired from the Pakistani side on the Indian posts of Bakerpur, Suchetgarh, Nikowal and Karotna, sources said. Indian troops retaliated and the exchange of fire continued till the wee hours today. There was no damage or loss on the Indian side. Any damage on the other side could not be ascertained, they added. Sources, however, said there had been a “considerable reduction” of firing in almost all sectors between the two sides along the border in the division during the past one week.
PTI |
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BRO to build bridge over Chenab: minister Jammu, May 12 The bridge, important for both strategic and civilian purposes, would cost Rs 16 crore, Minister of State for Roads and Buildings Abdul Rehman Veeri said. “The most strategic and prestigious bridge on the Chenab will be constructed at a cost of Rs 16 crore at Akhnoor on the Jammu-Poonch highway, keeping in view the defence requirements and needs of the people of Rajouri and Poonch border districts,” Mr Veeri said. Work on the bridge would start in August this year as all formalities had been completed, he added.
PTI |
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Mild quake rocks J&K Srinagar, May 12 He said the tremor, measuring 4.5 on the Richter Scale, were felt at around 11.05 pm and lasted for a few seconds. The epicentre was in the Udhampur area of Jammu region. There was, however, no report of any loss of life or damage to property. |
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Bank robbery bid foiled: 2 cops killed Srinagar, May 12 The two policemen, deployed as security guards at the bank, were killed as they successfully foiled the robbery bid, a police official from Shopian said. He said a police party had been despatched to the scene and the deceased were yet to be identified. The three civilians injured in the incident were present inside the bank at the time of the incident, official sources said.
PTI, OC |
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