14 militants shot in J&K
SRINAGAR, Oct 7 — Fourteen militants, including a Pakistan national, were killed and a woman was wounded in Jammu and Kashmir since last evening.

Hold talks with
militants: Mufti
SRINAGAR, Oct 7 — Claiming that the J & K Government had gone "bankrupt", a former Union Home Minister , Mr Mufti Mohammad Sayeed, said here today that he would meet the Prime Minister to discuss the discriminatory attitude" towards the state.

President to visit Kashmir
SRINAGAR, Oct 7 — President K.R. Narayanan will arrive here on Friday on a two-day-visit to Kashmir, official sources said today.

14 militants shot in J&K

SRINAGAR, Oct 7 (PTI) — Fourteen militants, including a Pakistan national, were killed and a woman was wounded in Jammu and Kashmir since last evening.

Seven militants were killed in a gunfight with the security forces at Kirni village in Poonch district yesterday. Six more militants, including a Pakistani national, were killed in two separate encounters with the security forces in the nearby Rajouri district, the spokesman said.

He said a militant of the outlawed Hizbul Mujahideen was killed by the security forces at Charigam-Pahalgam, about 96 km from here in Anantnag district.

Two persons were killed and a woman was injured when an explosion rocked their house at Lachi-Guru near Kokernag in Anantnag district of South Kashmir last night.

The body of a man, kidnapped by militants on Monday from his house at Doda, was found by the police yesterday. The body of another hostage was picked up from Sangla village in Poonch district.

The bullet-riddled body of an unidentified person was found on the outskirts of Baramulla last night

Five intruders were shot dead when they tried to cross over to India from Pakistan in Kerni area of Poonch yesterday. Pakistani troops provided cover to the infiltrators during the encounter. Some of them managed to flee back to Pakistan.

In another exchange of fire, security personnel shot dead three infiltrators near Kotranka in Kerni area. A large quantity of arms and ammunition, including rifles, grenades, detonators and explosive material were seized from the site.

Pakistani troops resorted to heavy firing on Indian positions in R.S. Pura and Akhnoor sub-sectors of Jammu region last night, official reports said.

Eight border outposts (BoPs) and civilian areas in Nikowal, Maljoda, Kanachek, Saderwan, Garoda, Simbal, Makawal and Sangral BoPs of R.S.Pura and Akhnoor sub-sectors came under "unprovoked and heavy firing’’ by Pakistani rangers who used heavy weaponry.

Border security force jawans returned the fire and the exchange lasted more than three hours, the reports said adding that no one was injured or killed on the Indian side.

An army spokesman at Northern Command Headquarters, Udhampur, said the Pakistani troops also resorted to "mild firing’’ in Kargil and Siachen glacier in Ladakh region, Uri and Tanghdar sectors of the Kashmir valley and Rajouri and Poonch sectors of Jammu region last night.

Meanwhile, a police spokesman said Pakistani troops fired at two villages of Jogwan and Rajpura and two BoPs at Chargali and Pangore in Kanacheck sector earlier yesterday. There was no loss of life or damage to property on the Indian side.

Hold talks with militants: Mufti
Tribune News Service

SRINAGAR, Oct 7 — Claiming that the Jammu and Kashmir Government had gone "bankrupt", the former Union Home Minister and senior Congress leader, Mr Mufti Mohammad Sayeed, said here today that he would meet the Prime Minister to discuss the discriminatory attitude" towards the state.

Addressing newspersons, the Congress MP sought a white paper from the Jammu and Kashmir Government "on the position of finances." He said the Centre was adopting "double standards" as it had already waived of loans worth Rs 800 crore to Punjab, adding that Jammu and Kashmir was more militancy-affected and no measures had been taken in this regard.

"The Centre treats it (J&K) only as a security problem... it is discrimination against the state", Mr Sayeed said in reply to a question. He said he would raise the issue of financial constraints "in spite of the claims of the generous release of funds" in the party fora and meet the Prime Minister, Mr Atal Behari Vajpayee.

He said a dialogue with militants was the only solution to the present state of affairs. "There is no breakthrough possible in Jammu and Kashmir without a dialogue", he said, reiterating his and the party's stand. Bullet was no answer to the problem. He said the Centre had initiated a dialogue with Sheikh Mohammad Abdullah after 22 years as it thought that there was no alternative. "When you talk to Nawaz Sharif, why not to the people of Kashmir?", he remarked.

Referring to the crossborder firing in the Kargil sector, especially during the past three months, Mr Sayeed demanded the inclusion of the issue in the forthcoming talks between India and Pakistan. He said several villages in Kargil had been evacuated. He accused the Defence Minister and the Union Home Minister of not visiting the area for an on-the-spot assessment of the situation.

He alleged that there was no accountability of money spent on the reconstruction of damaged infrastructure. He said state government employees had not been getting salaries for months. The government spent a lot of money on winter sports in Gulmarg, while crores of rupees remained unpaid on the Pahalgam project and the SDA.

In order to revitalise the economy, he said. "The Centre should encourage the state government to negotiate with foreign investors".

Mechanism to explore job avenues

SRINAGAR, Oct 7 (UNI) — An institutional mechanism to promote manpower and explore employment avenues for youths will be created in Jammu and Kashmir.

This was decided at a meeting of the apex committee on employment held under the chairmanship of Chief Secretary Ashok Jaitly here last evening.

The meeting was convened to review the performance of various self-employment programmes in the state.

During the meeting, it was disclosed that the government had taken up the matter regarding placement of unemployed youths with various employers’ federations.

A similar drive was also being launched in collaboration with other bodies like the FICCI, CII and PHDCCI, it was informed.

The meeting decided that in order to offer high quality efficient services to both employers as well as job seekers, the employment exchange would be modernised and fully computerised.

Manpower planning and forecasting cells would be set up in all districts of the state to help youths find suitable jobs immediately after the completion of their education.

A manpower data bank was being prepared by the Employment Department where placement services in the government and private sectors would be offered.

President to visit Kashmir

SRINAGAR, Oct 7 (PTI) — President K.R. Narayanan will arrive here on Friday on a two-day-visit to Kashmir, official sources said today.

The main engagement of the President while in Kashmir is to present the colours to the Jammu and Kashmir Light Infantry.