J A M M U   &   K A S H M I R

Three militants killed, six men injured
Srinagar, April 13
A militant was killed and six people, including a soldier and four police personnel, were injured in an ongoing encounter in the Central Kashmir district of Badgam, while efforts are on to force two militants holed up in a house in south Kashmir to surrender.

Militants’ threat to passengers of second bus
Srinagar, April 13
Four militant outfits, which had earlier issued threats to the prospective passengers of the first bus to Muzaffarabad, here today warned those travelling by the second bus against boarding it.

APHC leaders to sort out differences soon: Bilal
Srinagar, April 13
Syed Ali Shah Geelani, chairman of the breakaway faction of the APHC, who has been invited to meet the Pakistan President, Gen Parvez Musharraf, in New Delhi on Sunday, has said that he will put forth his stand on the bus service between Srinagar and Muzaffarabad before General Musharraf.

Electric lines restored

Three militants killed, six men injured

Srinagar, April 13
A militant was killed and six people, including a soldier and four police personnel, were injured in an ongoing encounter in the Central Kashmir district of Badgam, while efforts are on to force two militants holed up in a house in south Kashmir to surrender.

Elsewhere in the state two Lashker-e-Toiba (LeT) militants were killed overnight.

A Defence Ministry spokesman said that troops and the state police personnel, on a specific information, cordoned off Palpora village in the Central Kashmir district of Badgam last night to nab the militants.

When the troops were about to storm a particular house, they came under heavy fire from militants. Troops and police personnel also retaliated and in the encounter a solider, four police personnel, including an officer and a woman, were injured.

Later, reinforcements were rushed to the area from nearby camps and militants were repeatedly being asked to surrender.

The cordon around the house continued after other civilians in the nearby houses were rescued to safer places.

The holed-up militants resumed firing this morning. One militant had been killed and there had been no firing from inside the house for the past two hours. “We believe that another militant has also been killed,” the spokesman said.

Troops are now searching the house, he said.

In a similar case, two militants were holed up in a house at Jalpora Shopian in the South Kashmir district of Pulwama.

Efforts are on to force them to surrender. The militants were firing from inside.

Security forces have sealed all the exit points.

There was also no firing from inside the house where the militant were holed up.

“Though we believe both are dead, we do not want to take any chance,” the spokesman said, adding that they had now launched a search of the house.

An official spokesman said security forces gunned down one LeT militant each at Mankote and Khour today. The slain militants were identified as Abu Qasim and Abu Qadir Nawaz Ahmad, residents of Pakistan. — UNI

Militants’ threat to passengers of second bus
Tribune News Service

Srinagar, April 13
Four militant outfits, which had earlier issued threats to the prospective passengers of the first bus to Muzaffarabad, here today warned those travelling by the second bus against boarding it.

A statement to this effect issued by the spokesman, Sameer Abdullah, was faxed along with the list of 22 prospective passengers to a local news agency. These organisations, Al-Nasireen, Save Kashmir Movement, Al-Arifeen and Farzandan-e-Millat, had also claimed responsibility for the attack on the TRC here on April 6 on the eve of flagging off of the bus by the Prime Minister, Dr Manmohan Singh. The whole TRC complex, where the Muzaffarabad-bound passengers were staying, was gutted, however, without any harm to them.

APHC leaders to sort out differences soon: Bilal
Tribune News Service

Srinagar, April 13
Syed Ali Shah Geelani, chairman of the breakaway faction of the APHC, who has been invited to meet the Pakistan President, Gen Parvez Musharraf, in New Delhi on Sunday, has said that he will put forth his stand on the bus service between Srinagar and Muzaffarabad before General Musharraf.

“There is no change in our stand, which is known”, he said here today and added that this would be clearly conveyed to the President.

Mr Bilal Lone, chairman of the Peoples Conference, who has also been invited to meet the Pakistan President, said the differences among Hurriyat leaders would be sorted out soon. He favoured roping in other “like-minded” leaders including JKLF chief Mohammad Yasin Malik and Democratic Freedom Party (DFP) chief Shabir Ahmad Shah.

Mr Lone said he would put across the point that when India and Pakistan were holding a dialogue, it was necessary that the Kashmiris should be involved in talks process.

Electric lines restored

Jammu
The electric lines to Srinagar, which were blown up by terrorists, have been restored by the Powergrid Corporation by putting in emergency restoration system in operation. A spokesman of the powergrid said here on Monday the task of restoring power supply to the valley had been accomplished in two days. Terrorists had blasted three legs of the 220 kv tower in Kanzkund village in Anantnag district on April 7, snapping power link to the Kashmir valley.