5 Pak soldiers killed in bid to capture post
SRINAGAR, Aug 11 — Alert soldiers foiled a Pakistani attempt to capture an Indian post in the Siachen glacier area yesterday, a defence spokesman said here today.

Kabuli not to contest polls
SRINAGAR, Aug 11 — Jammu and Kashmir BJP unit Vice-President Abdul Rashid Kabuli, twice winner from the Srinagar Parliamentary seat, yesterday said he would not contest in the coming Lok Sabha polls in the state and wanted to work for strengthening the democratic institutions.

Two Amarnath pilgrims dead
JAMMU, Aug 11 — Two pilgrims died during the annual pilgrimage to the holy cave shrine of Amarnath in South Kashmir even as 58,115 pilgrims performed darshan of the holy ice lingam of Lord Shiva till today.

Poll will be normal: Army
Tribune News Service

JAMMU, Aug 11 — The Indian troops are ready to foil any Pak gameplan of disrupting the Lok Sabha poll in Jammu and Kashmir. "If the militants try to disrupt the poll process we will thwart their moves" said Major-Gen P.P.S. Bindra of the Northern Command while talking to newsmen at Udhampur today.

General Bindra said militancy related violence may have shown an upward graph because of the ongoing Amarnath yatra. Independence Day celebrations and the Lok Sabha elections but the security forces were ready to meet any challenge.

In reply to a question he said when elections could be held in a difficult period in 1996 there should be apprehensions about incident free polling in September-October.

General Bindra said after the Kargil conflict the intensity of shelling and firing by Pak troops on Indian border villages and posts on this side of the Line of Control had witnessed a decline.

He said Pakistan had received a shock in Kargil as it had not anticipated the quality and quantity of the Indian offensive. The victory in Kargil was the result of sound military and diplomatic planning.

General Bindra said in Operation Vijay India had lost 487 Armymen, including 25 officers and 19 JCOs. About 1190 Army personnel were wounded, including 71 officers and 75 JCOs. Eight Pakistani Armymen were still in "our custody" as prisoners of war.

Referring to the situation in the Jammu region he said between 600 and 700 militants, most of them foreign mercenaries, were active in Doda, Rajouri, Poonch and Udhampur.

More than 50 per cent of militants operating in the state now were foreign mercenaries while their number in 1990-93 was not more than five per cent. This indicated that the local youths had bid farewell to the gun culture.

Asked to comment on a BSF charge that political leaders, including legislators, were helping militants in carrying weapons and men from one place to another General Bindra said "we have no information and hence I cannot comment on it."

Asked whether Taliban had sneaked into Jammu and Kashmir he said foreign mercenaries operating in Jammu and Kashmir were as good as Taliban as they had come from the same camps.

Regarding a Chinese project of constructing a road across the western bank of river Chip Cgap at Daulat Beg Ouldi in Ladakh General Bindra said the Chinese had metalled 4 km of road on a ‘controversial’ piece of land. He said despite this there was neither any tension on the Indo-China border nor any threat from China.

5 Pak soldiers killed in bid to capture post

SRINAGAR, Aug 11 (PTI) — Alert soldiers foiled a Pakistani attempt to capture an Indian post in the Siachen glacier area yesterday, a defence spokesman said here today.

Taking advantage of poor visibility conditions due to had weather Pakistani troops attempted to capture a post in the northern portion of the glacier at 6.40 p.m. yesterday, the spokesman said.

The sentry at the post observed six persons advancing at a distance of about 100 metres and immediately raised the alarm, following which the enemy was engaged with small arms and automatic fire, he said.

Two Pakistani personnel were killed while the remaining ran back towards their area, the spokesman said.

However, at 7.50 p.m. 15 Pakistani soldiers were observed moving towards the post. In the "heavy volume" of fire from the Indian side, three of them were killed while the remainder retreated, he said.

The bodies of the dead Pakistani soldiers were seen lying on the glacier throughout the day today, the spokesman said.

NC not backing militancy: CM
Tribune News Service

SRINAGAR, Aug11 — Jammu and Kashmir Chief Minister Farooq Abdullah today denied a report that the National Conference was supporting militancy.

"I do not know what the Hurriyat Conference is doing or other nationalist parties are doing....we do not support militancy. We are not a party to it.....None of us is involved in militancy in the state", Dr Abdullah said at a press conference here.

He described the report published by some newspapers that National Conference leaders were supporting militancy as baseless. The report was based on an interview of the Inspector-General of the Border Security Force (BSF) Baramula range, Mr A.S. Mangat. The Chief Minister said Mr Mangat was "misquoted".

The Chief Minister, who is also the President of the National Conference, said every day there were killing of his partymen or attacks on their houses.

He lamented that police and paramilitary personnel were becoming the target of the ISI and other agencies. "Our police is at the receiving end", the Chief Minister said, adding that his government proposed to announce special packages for next of kin of those personnel who were killed by militants.

The Chief Minister expressed the hope that there would be peaceful elections in spite of attempts made by Pakistan and its agencies.

He expressed concern about recent militant attacks on Army camps in Kupwara district.

8 Pak soldiers held in July

SRINAGAR, Aug 11 (PTI) — Eight Pakistani army regulars were captured between the first week of July and July 26 on the Indian side of the Line of Control (LoC) in Batalik, Mushkoh and Dras sectors, a Defence Ministry spokesman said here today.

All captured personnel, being treated as prisoners of war (PoWs), had confessed during interrogation that they belonged to Pakistan army units which had replaced the Northern Light Infantry units in the intruded areas, he said.

The documents recovered from them also proved their identity, he added.

Capture of these PoWs clearly establishes participation in the intrusion and attacks in these sectors by not only the Northern Light Infantry but also other regular units of the Pakistan army, the spokesman added.

The captured Pakistanis have been sent to Delhi for further necessary action, he said.

Kabuli not to contest polls

SRINAGAR, Aug 11 (PTI) — Jammu and Kashmir BJP unit Vice-President Abdul Rashid Kabuli, twice winner from the Srinagar Parliamentary seat, yesterday said he would not contest in the coming Lok Sabha polls in the state and wanted to work for strengthening the democratic institutions.

"I was offered a ticket for the Srinagar Lok Sabha seat by the party high command, but I have decided not to contest the coming elections. I will utilise time and energy in strengthening democratic institutions, allowing people to cast their votes in a free and fair manner," he said.

He alleged that the ruling National Conference had "hatched a conspiracy" to rig the coming elections.

Mr Kabuli said the root cause of the present problem in the state was the rigging in the 1987 Assembly elections "resorted to by the ruling National Conference".

He said it was the duty of the Election Commission and the Centre to ensure free and fair elections in the state to restore the shaken confidence of the people.

Two Amarnath pilgrims dead

JAMMU, Aug 11 (PTI) — Two pilgrims died during the annual pilgrimage to the holy cave shrine of Amarnath in South Kashmir even as 58,115 pilgrims performed darshan of the holy ice lingam of Lord Shiva till today.

One pilgrim identified as Sublesh Patil of Baroda in Gujarat died at Panchtarni following cardiac arrest, an official spokesman said here.

The doctors declared him dead in a local makeshift medical camp, he said, adding that another pilgrim also died due to cardio-respiratory failure at Sheshnag. However, the identity of the second pilgrim was yet to be ascertained.

Both pilgrims were on their way from Chandwari to Amarnath for darshan of the holy ice lingam of Lord Shiva at the 5000-year-old cave shrine.

The bodies were being sent back to their native places for the last rites, he said.