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Lashkar militant, jawan among 4 killed Bar leaders fail to unite APHC factions
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Peacocks make merry along LoC Flights take off after sunset Nine houses destroyed in fire
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Lashkar militant, jawan among 4 killed
Srinagar, December 27 An Army jawan was killed and three others were injured when militants opened fire on a search party at Chewdara village in Badgam district of central Kashmir today, the sources said. The LeT militant hailing from Pakistan, Umer Jan, was killed in an encounter with security forces at Sogam forest in Kupwara district, the sources said, adding that an AK assault rifle, its three magazines, 800 rounds and five kg of RDX were seized from his possession. The sources said the bullet-riddled body of a former Hizbul militant, Aijaz Ahmad Dar, was found by the police from Arwani village in Anantnag district today. Dar, a resident of Nowpora-Kralpora, was killed by militants who had abducted him from his residence last night. The police also found the bullet-riddled body of Javid Ahmad Khan from Midoora area of Pulwama district. Khan, an employee in the Irrigation Department, was abducted and later shot dead by militants. Two shopkeepers were injured in a grenade explosion at Nillow in Kulgam area of Anantnag district, the sources said. The grenade was lobbed by militants towards a security camp but it missed the target and exploded on the main road, injuring two persons. The sources said militants set ablaze the house of Ghulam Ahmad Dar at Zasoo in Pulwama district last night, partially damaging it. Two Tehreek-e-Jihadi Islami militants, identified as Ghulam Nabi Khawaja, alias Waseen, and Lal Din Khatana, alias Bilal, surrendered before security forces at Bandipora in Baramula district yesterday. Hailing from Dardpora and Kalaroos villages of Kupwara district, the two militants handed over two AK assault rifles, eight magazines, 210 rounds, two wireless sets and three hand grenades to the authorities, the sources said. The BSF busted a militant hideout during search operations in Chalwan forest of Bandipora area today and seized a wireless set, six hand grenades, four detonators, three AK magazines with 53 rounds, four packets of plastic explosives with detonators, a claymore mine, a timer for IED and a nine-volt battery.
— PTI |
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Bar leaders fail to unite APHC factions Jammu, December 27 The Kashmir Bar Association, headed by Mian Qayoom, had invited leaders of the two factions of the APHC and other separatist groups to forge unity between the conglomerate headed by Molvi Abbas Ansari and the other led by Syed Ali Shah Geelani. Prof Abdul Gani Bhat, former APHC Chairman, said, “We did not accept the invitation from the association on the instruction of our chairman, Molvi Abbas Ansari.” “When we had convened a meeting to bridge the gap, Bar members did not respond to our invitation,” he said. Leaders of the APHC (Abbas) said the Bar members were part of the general council of the APHC and not of the executive committee. “The Bar members should have first of all secured acceptance from all groups and convened the meeting at the Hurriyat Conference headquarters,” they said. Professor Bhat made it clear that the chasm between the two factions of the APHC had become so wide that any exercise carried out by the Bar members was doomed to fail. He also did not like the “neutral stance” adopted by the Kashmir Bar Association when the split took place in the APHC. The APHC (Abbas) leaders have been irked by the way Syed Ali Shah Geelani and JKLF chief Mohammad Yasin Malik did not attend any of the meetings which had been convened by senior APHC leader Molvi Umar Farooq for bridging the gap between the two factions. While Mr Geelani had refused to return to the parent body, Mr Malik had preferred to remain neutral, which forced Molvi Umar Farooq to give up his bid to unite the two factions. No other senior separatist leader had attended the meeting. |
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They hunt for gold down in the drains Jammu, December 27 Bitoo said that each one of them found gold, silver and other metals worth about Rs 100 to Rs 200 every day. But sometimes with God’s blessings the slivers could be bigger. Jasbir found a gold chain of 12 gm about a week back. The three boys said that their area of operation was Jain Bazar and the localities around it where most of the goldsmiths had set up their establishments. These boys hunted for the minute gold particles that flowed into the drains while the yellow metal was processed or polished in these workshops. The gold which they fetched from the drains was so minute that it was just like dust which only their sharp eyes could spot. They blocked the drains in the evening and reached their allocated places early in the morning to take out the filth and segregate sand and mud which was then washed several times until the gold dust particles started shining. These were taken out and sold back to the jewellers at a lower price than that of gold. Jasbir said that it was not only gold, but also silver, iron nails and brass pieces which they collected from the drains. At times, if luck smiled, they also found precious stones like diamond flowing in the drain. He said that they disposed off such stones at a price about Rs 1000 cheaper than the market rate. |
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Pallanwala (Jammu), December 27 They are no mere infiltrators, militants or smugglers but the National Bird, the peacocks. The birds had been keeping away all this while when the guns boomed intermittently during the eyeball-to-eyeball confrontation with Pakistan following the Kargil conflict. Prior to Kargil, the Army had set up a mini zoo in the area with a variety of wildlife being fed and taken care off, the villagers told a correspondent. Ramesh Kumar, a villager, expressing happiness at no longer having to live under the shadow of the gun, said families which had migrated during the heavy shelling in the Kargil conflict, were returning. He was also happy at the return of the birds. “Wildlife, especially peacocks are an attraction in the area... our children are very excited to see the peacocks back,” he said. Echoing similar sentiments, Mohanlal said the area was a natural habitat for peacocks. “We hope that the ceasefire continues...it will make life easy for us.”
Pallanwalla is located on a strategically lower elevation and has come under heavy Pakistani bombardment in all wars. The ceasefire came into force on November 26.
— UNI |
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Flights take off after sunset Jammu, December 27 The commercial flights are not supposed to operate here after sunset because the airport does not have night landing facilities. However, the IAF has some makeshift equipment for making the runway operational even at night in case the need be. It is learnt that the IAF, which handles the air traffic here, summoned the Fire Brigade from its base at Udhampur to enable the two flights to take off after 6 pm when it was almost dark. The Srinagar-Jammu-Delhi flight of Jet Airways was scheduled to take off for Delhi at 2.40 pm and the IAC flight, according to the time table, was to follow a few minutes later. The passengers of the two flights had to keep waiting for more than five hours. |
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Nine houses destroyed in fire Jammu, December 27 While four of the houses were completely gutted, five others were partially damaged in the fire, the reports said, adding that there was no casualty. The fire, believed to have started from one house, later engulfed eight others. Local residents helped in putting in the village. The cause of the fire was not immediately known, reports said.
— PTI |
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