Jammu, July 29
A clash between local and Pakistani terrorists in Kot Bhalwal jail here on the stand for a peaceful solution to the Kashmir problem taken by the leader of the opposition in Pakistan, Mr Fazalur Rehman, has exposed the growing divide between the two sets of ultras over the question of shunning the path of violence and returning to the mainstream.

These ultras clashed in the terrorist jail at Kot-Bhalwal on the outskirts of the city twice yesterday when some local ultras appreciated the stand for a dialogue taken by Mr Rehman and also Moulvi Abbas Ansari, the new Hurriyat chief which had so far been dominated by a separatist voice. It is learnt that the terrorists first clashed in the afternoon and then again at night.

Atleast 10 terrorists were injured in the clash and one of them, Mohammad Niyaz, a resident of Gujjaranwala in Pakistan, with serious injuries was admitted to the medical college hospital. He was arrested by the security forces about three years ago in the Kashmir valley. The brawl among the two groups of terrorists was reportedly preceded by a hot discussion on the stand of Mr Rehman during his recent visit to India and that of Mr Ansari.

This is not for the first time that terrorists have clashed in the jail, but what is being seen as a positive sign in the yesterday’s brawl is the growing divide among them on the issue of gun culture to solve the Kashmir issue.

It is learnt that local terrorists favoured a dialogue, while the Pakistani and Afghan terrorists accused them of being cowards and choosing the easy way of surrendering before the Indian Government. The local terrorists reportedly raised pro-Kashmir slogans during the brawl while the foreigners raised Pro-Pakistan slogans.

The jail authorities had to resort to a lathi charge to restore peace and have now segregated the local and foreign ultras in separate cells to avoid further rioting.

Many incidents of brawls between terrorists and other prisoners involved in petty crime were reported mainly over the scale of rich diet provided to the ultras when they were sharing the Central Jail here. Some such cases were also reported when a group of terrorists was shifted to the Central Jail at Nahan in Himachal Pradesh. However, a separate jail at Kot-Bhalwal has now been constructed exclusively for those involved in terrorism.

Zulfikar Ali Shah, a Pakistani terrorist who belongs to Hyderabad in the Sind province, told TNS that the local terrorists were trying to twist the facts leading to the clash. He claimed that the Pakistani terrorists supported the stand of Mr Rehman, while the local terrorists in the jail pleaded for the liberation of Kashmir from India.

He said that yesterday’s attack was the fourth on foreign mercenaries by local militants in the jail in the past sometime. They have taken away our belongings, Zulfikar alleged. Zulfikar was arrested by the security forces in the Poonch area about 11 years ago.

Among the other Pakistani and Afghan terrorists injured in the clash are, Khair-ud-Din (Afghanistan), Mohammad Aslam (Sialkot), Fiyaz (PoK), Mohammad Shreif (Jhelum,Gujarat) and Qamar Ayum (Bhimber, PoK). The local terrorists injured in the clash on Hussain, Barkat, Arshad, Manzoor and Tahir.