Guns fall silent in Kargil
Heavy shelling in Uri
JAMMU, Aug 6 — A BSF jawan and two civilians were killed and 20 injured in Pakistani shelling in Karnah, Uri and Poonch during the past 24 hours. According to one report six were killed and 21 hurt.
Relief package for
shelling victims
SRINAGAR. Aug 6 — The Jammu and Kashmir Government is formulating a package of relief for the families affected by unprovoked shelling from across the border.

Guns fall silent in Kargil
Heavy shelling in Uri
Tribune News Service and agencies

JAMMU, Aug 6 — A BSF jawan and two civilians were killed and 20 injured in Pakistani shelling in Karnah, Uri and Poonch during the past 24 hours. According to one report six were killed and 21 hurt.

Reports said 20 civilians, including women, were wounded, when Pakistani troops resumed shelling in Karnah and Uri areas. The injured were taken to hospitals for treatment. One among the wounded is said to have succumbed to his injuries. Mohammad Sadiq, who was working in a field, was killed in Poonch Sector.

A BSF jawan was killed in Uri when a shell exploded near a BSF picket raising the toll of the BSF personnel killed so far to five.

According to reports, as many as 34 houses of villagers in Uri Sector have been damaged since last evening. As panic among the border villagers increased, more families have fled to safer places. While the shelling in Kargil Sector has stopped, Uri and Karnah areas witnessed heavy shelling in which Pakistani soldiers used small-range missiles.

The Indian troops used artillery guns and at some places the Bofors gun in retaliation.

With no let-up in the shelling from across the border, residents of Dura, Dardkhah, Reshwari and Tetmulla have migrated to Boniyar, Gantmulla and Shreen in Baramula district.

Meanwhile, 12 persons, including nine militants, were killed, three militants captured and six hideouts smashed in Kashmir since last evening.

A Pakistan-trained militant of the banned Hizb-ul Mujahideen surrendered to the police at Panzgam in the frontier district of Kupwara last night, an official spokesman said.

Four militants were killed in an encounter with the security forces at Shaligul-Bijbehara in Anantnag district of South Kashmir today.

Two militants each fell to the bullets of the security forces during search and combing operations at Bander forest and Awatkaul-Kralpora in the frontier district of Kupwara last night. A rifle, 6 kg of explosives and four hand grenades were recovered from the slain militants.

An unidentified Pakistani intruder was killed in an encounter with the police in Lokhalsey Sector in Kathua district. A pistol was recovered from the slain militant who was trying to sneak into the state from occupied Kashmir.
Militants shot dead a person in his house in Sopore area of Baramula district late last night. They killed one more in Bandipora area of Baramula yesterday.

The body of an unidentified person was fished out from Sindh nullah at Bobusipora in Ganderbal area on the outskirts of Srinagar.

Relief package for shelling victims
Tribune News Service

SRINAGAR. Aug 6 — The Jammu and Kashmir Government is formulating a package of relief for the families affected by unprovoked shelling from across the border.

Disclosing this here yesterday, Finance Minister Mohammad Shafi said over Rs 30 lakh had been released by the government to under- take immediate relief measures for the affected families. More than Rs 8 lakh had already been disbursed in the Uri sector, including distribution of ex-gratia payment to next of kin of the seven out of 10 killed. In Kupwara district, an ex gratia of Rs 1 lakh to next of kin of each killed had been sanctioned and the amount was being disbursed. An ad hoc relief of Rs 25,000 had been sanctioned for the damaged houses, Rs 5,000 for each injured person and Rs 75,000 for those who suffered permanent disability.

According to an official spokesman, the Finance Minister said while the people in Uri town and other area had displayed lot of courage and have stayed put in the area despite continuous shelling, about 250 families had been shifted to the Gantamulla and Bhella colonies where they were being looked after by the administration. Additional ambulances had been rushed along with doctors to the areas where this facility was found inadequate in view of the present situation.

While the Finance Minister, who represents Uri in the state assembly, had toured the Uri sector twice during the past week, local MLC Mohammad Aslam had been camping at Uri for the past one week.

Forest Minister Choudhary Mohammad Ramzan and Minister of State for Home Mushtaq Ahmad Lone had been visiting Kupwara district which they represented. Minister of State for R&B Qamar Ali Akhoon is camping at Kargil, which had also witnessed heavy firing during the past one month.

Defence Minister George Fernandes, who visited the valley on Tuesday, toured Kargil, Kupwara and Baramula districts and took stock of the situation. In view of shelling in Tangdhar and Uri, the Defence Minister's helicopter could not land at Tangdhar and Uri. Accompanied by Mohammad Shafi and Mushtaq Ahmad Lone, the Defence Minister was given briefing by the Army and civil authorities. He had a half-an-hour meeting with Governor G.C. Saxena.

Before flying back to Delhi, the Defence Minister also visited Army Hospital and Bone and Joints Hospital in Srinagar and inquired about the condition of those injured as a result of firing by Pakistani troops in the Uri and Kargil sectors.