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3 killed, 11
injured
Kashmiri leaders
pin hopes on SAARC Summit |
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Fall in militancy
after ceasefire Silk raw material
bank soon Four suffer burn
injuries Sacked workers
ransack garment unit Laparoscopic
surgery introduced
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Srinagar, December 28 Militants also set seven huts ablaze even as security forces arrested two suspected militants and busted one of their hideouts. A large quantity of explosives and ammunition was seized in the state. A security personnel was killed when militants hiding in Chewdara-Veerwah village in Budgam district engaged them in a gunbattle last evening. Militants shot at and critically wounded Bilal Ahmad in front of his house at Nowpora-Khanyar in downtown Srinagar last evening. A released militant, he was shifted to hospital, where he died today. Habibullah Chohan was hanged to death by militants in the forest area of Khudi-Sogam in Kupwara district. A constable of the local police was injured as militants fired a rifle grenade, followed by firing, on a police camp at Gagran-Shopian in Pulwama district last evening. Six ITBP personnel and two civilians were injured in a grenade attack carried out by militants on a security patrol at Kakapora in Pulwama district last night. The injured were hospitalised. Naseema Akhter was injured as security forces and militants exchanged fire at Sollian in Surankote area of Poonch today. Another civilian, Neena Bakerwal, was injured in firing between militants and village defence committee members in Udhampur district yesterday. Police and security forces arrested two suspected militants during search operations at Varmal-Banihal village in Doda district yesterday. Militants set ablaze seven huts at Hari Mohalla Khet in Surankote sector of Poonch district yesterday. Militants also fired a rifle grenade on a security picket near a temple at Amrikadal in the heart of Srinagar this afternoon. The grenade exploded near the security picket at Hunuman Mandir in the busy business area of Hari Singh high street around 2.10 pm, but there were no casualties.
— PTI |
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Kashmiri leaders pin hopes on SAARC Summit
Srinagar, December 28 “I see a bright future for the people of Jammu and Kashmir. A lot of progress has been made by India and Pakistan towards peace and we hope that the two countries will make further strides on the path of peace at the saarc Summit,” Chief Minister Mufti Mohammad Sayeed told PTI here. Mr Sayeed said many bold initiatives had been taken by New Delhi and Islamabad following Prime Minister Atal Bihari Vajpayee’s historic offer of a hand of friendship to the neighbouring country during a public rally here on April 18. “Road links have been restored and the restoration of air and rail links are on the anvil. We hope the Srinagar-Muzaffarabad road will be opened to allow divided families across the Line of Control to meet,” he added. Ruling People’s Democratic Party (PDP) president Mehbooba Mufti said, “We are looking forward to some positive development at the summit. She said the coalition partners in the state government were organising a rally in Kashmir on January 1 in an attempt to mobilise public opinion in support of the peace moves between India and Pakistan. The Chairman of the Hurriyat Conference, Maulana Mohammad Abbas Ansari, said he was hopeful that the SAARC Summit would lead to better understanding between India and Pakistan on all issues, including Kashmir. Asked about the possibility of India and Pakistan agreeing on opening of the Srinagar-Muzaffarabad road at the summit, the Hurriyat Chairman said, “It would be a major step in the resolution of the Kashmir issue as we will be able to hold intra-Kashmir talks before talking to New Delhi. We have accepted to talk to India as it had refused to allow us to visit Pakistan-occupied Kashmir.” The chief of the Democratic Liberation Party, Mr Hashim Qureshi said the improvement in bilateral relations between India and Pakistan indicated that next week’s summit in Islamabad would be result-oriented.
— PTI |
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Fall in militancy after ceasefire Jammu, December 28 According to the police authorities, the level of militancy-related incidents have registered 23 per cent drop during the one-month-long ceasefire when compared to a period between October 25 and November 26. When compared to the corresponding period last year, the incidents witnessed a decline by 35 per cent during the ceasefire period. Government reports said that during the ceasefire period the rate of killing of civilians by the militants had dropped by 38 per cent when compared to the pre-ceasefire month. During the last one month, 41 civilians were killed against 66 a month ago. With the decrease in the militancy-related violence, the casualty in the security forces too dropped from 30 to 18 during the ceasefire period and in the one month. Between November 26 and December 27, 103 militants were killed. According to Lieut-Gen Hari Prasad,
GoC-in-Chief, Northern Command, the level of ingress has declined but it has not stopped altogether. He, however, was not sure whether the drop in the rate of infiltration was the result of ceasefire or on account of border routes having been buried under snow. According to the police, infiltration bids too have declined after the militants could not get the much needed fire cover from the Pakistani
troops. It said prior to the ceasefire on the LoC, Pakistani troops gave fire cover to the infiltrators which enabled them to sneak into Jammu and Kashmir. Another major gain people in the border villages achieved was in the shape of resumption of farming practices in areas close to the LoC and the International Border in the Jammu sector which had remained suspended since 1999 owing to intermittent but heavy firing. |
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Srinagar, December 28 Efforts are afoot to revive the silk sector for which a silk raw material bank will soon be set up in the state, Minister of State for Industries Raman Matoo said. To help the state develop a silk park here, the Central Silk Board has offered to provide 75 per cent subsidy for a common facility centre and 50 per cent subsidy on machines owned by individual unit holders. Stressing the importance of Eri silk for carpet manufacture, Mr Matoo said propagation of cocoons for producing Eri silk was under consideration of the Sericulture Department. The minister said the government was exploring possibilities to provide artisan credit cards under the credit guarantee scheme of the Ministry of Textiles.
— UNI |
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Four suffer burn injuries Srinagar, December 28 The fire broke out in the main building of the Institute of Mountaineering being run by the Army at around 11 a.m. damaging records and computer equipment besides injuring two Army personnel and two porters, fire service sources said. The injured have been admitted to Army base hospital here, the sources said. The cause of fire was being ascertained, the sources said.
— PTI |
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Sacked workers ransack garment unit Jammu, December 28 “Moral Overseas was temporary locked up soon after the attack and ransacking of offices of the unit by dismissed temporary workers on the instigation of an unrecognised rival union,” company president Anil Gandhotra said here today. Mr Gandhotra, who is looking after the 40-crore garment unit, demanded fullfledged security to run the factory “for the benefit of locals, who constitute 70 per cent of its 1,200 strong work force”. “These type of attacks will definitely carry a message across the country's industrial circles, whom the government wants to woo,” he said, adding the factory had been running despite an atmosphere of tension after 65 workers temporary employees were sacked on December 20 due to “slump in the business and change over in the quality of work”. Meanwhile, a case has been registered. The Assistant Labour Commissioner and the Labour Officer visited the unit.
— PTI |
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Laparoscopic surgery introduced Srinagar, December 28 Inaugurating the “Live operative workshop” on laparoscopic surgery at a hospital, state Health Minister Choudhary Lal Singh said the novel type of surgery had been introduced here as part of the efforts to provide advanced medical treatment in the hospitals. Welcoming the expert surgeons at the workshop to train local doctors, he said the workshop would help surgeons in providing efficient health care to the patients of the valley. More centres will soon be opened in other areas of the state to provide the facility, which has already been inaugurated in many areas of Jammu province, he said.
— PTI |
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