Top Pak guerrillas in Kupwara
JAMMU, Aug 20 — More than 60 top Pak guerrillas, most of them drawn from the Pakistan infantry, crossed into the Kupwara sector recently and soon after their entry into Indian territory, engaged the troops in a fierce encounter killing five Armymen near Kralapora in Kupwara yesterday.

10 left in fray for Srinagar seat
SRINAGAR, Aug 20 — Ten candidates are in the fray for the Srinagar, Lok Sabha seat while eight others are in the fray for Ladakh seat after the scrutiny of nomination papers was conducted yesterday.

13 killed in Kashmir
SRINAGAR, Aug 20 — Thirteen persons, including seven militants and four securitymen, were killed and six wounded in militancy related-violence in the state since last evening.

Top Pak guerrillas in Kupwara
From M.L. Kak
Tribune News Service

JAMMU, Aug 20 — More than 60 top Pak guerrillas, most of them drawn from the Pakistan infantry, crossed into the Kupwara sector recently and soon after their entry into Indian territory, engaged the troops in a fierce encounter killing five Armymen near Kralapora in Kupwara yesterday.

Official reports said that these infiltrators, equipped with highly sophisticated weapons, visited several villages in the Kandi areas of Kupwara and advised them to leave their hamlets as they (militants) were preparing for on offensive against the Indian troops.

Official sources said more than 50 families had responded and migrated to safer areas. The infiltrators asked the villagers to move out of their hamlets because after the encounter they would face the wrath of the Indian security forces.

The sources said several other militant groups, most of them foreign mercenaries, had entered into Kupwara belt from across the Bungus valley and were on their way to the interior areas of Baramula district, including Pattan belt, which is just 25 km away from Srinagar.

Even the Police Chief, Mr Gurbachan Jagat, admitted at a news conference in Jammu on Friday that groups of militants, especially foreign mercenaries, had crossed into Kashmir in recent weeks. He, however, claimed that the rate of infiltration had dropped because of round-the-clock patrolling.

Mr Jagat said the number of local youths crossing over to Pakistan was quite small and in the past three months a few hundred Kashmiri youths had crossed the border for arms training.

At the same time reports from Kupwara indicated that people were gripped by scare after the militants carried out a series of attacks on Army pickets, camps and convoys in which in the past 15 days more than 20 Army men were killed, including three officers.

Official sources said that so long the Indian troops did not carry out major operations against militants hiding in forest belts in upper reaches of Kupwara, Handwara and Lolab the security scenario would assume alarming dimensions.

10 left in fray for Srinagar seat
Tribune News Service

SRINAGAR, Aug 20 — Ten candidates are in the fray for the Srinagar, Lok Sabha seat while eight others are in the fray for Ladakh seat after the scrutiny of nomination papers was conducted yesterday. The last date for withdrawals is Saturday, while the elections in these two constituencies will be held in the first phase on September 5.

Out of 11 candidates who had filed their nomination papers from the Srinagar parliamentary constituency, nomination papers of 10 candidates were found valid. The papers of Mr Ali Mohammad Sagar covering candidate for the National Conference candidate, Umar Abdullah were not found in order.

Similarly out of 12 candidates who had filed their nomination papers from the Ladakh parliamentary constituency, the nomination papers of eight candidates were found valid. However, the nomination papers of Mr Mohammad Abbas, Mr Sonam Rinchen, Haji Ghulam Mohammad and Mr Nurboo Gialchan who were the covering candidates of the Jammu and Kashmir National Conference, the BJP, the Janata Dal (Secular), and the Indian National Congress, respectively, were not found valid. The nomination papers of Mr Kamal Kishore, an Independent, were found valid while as the second set of nomination papers which he had filed as a Janata Party candidate were not found in order.

The candidates now in fray for the Srinagar seat are: Age Syed Mehdi, Indian National Congress, Mr Umar Abdullah, NC, Mr Fayaz Ahmad Bhat, BJP, Mr Abul Hassan, Rashtriya Janata Dal, Moulvi Abib-ul-Rehman, Samajwadi Rashtriya Janata Party, Mr Nazir Ahmad, J&K National Panthers Party, Mr Mohammad Yousuf Shah, J&K Awami League and Ms Hafiza Begum, Ms Mehbooba Mufti and Miss Waheeda Shah, all Independents.

The candidates left in the fray for the Ladakh seat are: Mr Thusptan Chewang, Indian National Congress, Mr Hassan Khan, J&K National Conference, Mr Sonam Paljore, BJP, Mr Nassurullah, Janata Dal (Secular) and Mr Ahmadullah Azad, Mr Kamal Kishore, Mr Mohammad Hassan Commander and Mr Mohammad Murtaza, all Independents.

Police foils ISI game plan
Tribune News Service

JAMMU, Aug 20 — The police has foiled a major ISI game plan of destabilising peace and of kicking up subversive violence in Haryana, Andhra, UP, Maharashtra and Jammu and Kashmir by killing one Pak guerrilla and arresting 11 top ISI operators from different states in the past three weeks.

Divulging the contours of the ISI game plan of disrupting normal life not only in Jammu and Kashmir but in other Indian states, including Haryana, the Director General of Police, Mr Gurbachan Jagat, told a press conference here today that the lid was off the secret plan when the police and the troops prevented a major infiltration bid from across the border in the Samba sector on July 31. One Pak national was killed and two were arrested in the encounter.

Sustained interrogation of one Waleed, alias Amir Khan, Code Abu Wahid had led to the unveiling of the ISI plan under which the Lashkar-i-Toiba militant outfit had been directed to carry out subversive activities in different Indian states and recruit Muslim youths in Haryana, UP, Andhra, Mumbai and Jammu and Kashmir for arms training in camps in Pakistan and the occupied Kashmir.

Mr Jagat said Waleed had received arms training at Maskar Abu Bashir camp in the occupied Kashmir. He infiltrated into India a year ago and was entrusted with the task of organising an ISI module in various Indian states under the cover of Tabliqu-e-Jamat and religious preachers. With the assistance of Usman Khan and Mohd. Ismail of Mumbai, Waleed procured two fake educational certificates and a driving licence. Two others, Abdul Salam and Mohd. Mobin, helped him in getting married to an Indian girl and in getting accommodation so that he could carry on the ISI task as an "Indian" without allowing the police to have any suspicion about him.

The police chief said that Waleed was asked to contact another ISI operator Jamal Ahmed, hailing from UP but settled in Mumbai, for any cash assistance. He said that on August 8 Islam-u-Din, a resident of Tirwara ka Nangla in Gurgaon district of Haryana, was arrested while moving in suspicious way in the Samba sector of Jammu. His interrogation revealed that he was an ISI operator and an activist of the Lashkar. He disclosed that he along with Illyas of Multan and Waleed had been given the task of motivating Indian Muslim youths for carrying out anti-India jehad and for sending these youths for training across the border.

Another task assigned to the group was to arrange infiltration of militants from across Rajasthan and the Samba area of Jammu and after their entry into Indian territory they were to be kept at safe places. Once they fortified their positions their job was to carry out explosions, kill VIPs, and disrupt Independence Day celebrations and the Lok Sabha elections.

Islam-u-Din of Gurgaon had been given the task of meeting his contacts in Punjab and Jammu and disclosed that after completing arms training in various camps in Pakistan he was given Rs 25,000 by Abu Qasim, chief of the Lashkar-e Toiba in Pakistan at the time of his departure from Pakistan to India. He was paid another sum of Rs 25,000 to arrange for shelter to militants and menial jobs for them. He arranged a job for Waleed in a clinic of a doctor Faqir-e-Alam in Bihar.

It was on his information that the Jammu police arrested 10 others from UP, Maharashtra, Andhra nd Haryana who are still in police custody here and were paraded before the newsmen in the police control room. Those arrested are Mohd. Mustafa of Muzaffarnagar, UP, Riasud Din Bagpat, UP jamal Akmed of UP, Usman Khan of Bhiwandi, Mohd. Ismail, Bhiwandi, Abdul Salam, Mobin, Wali Mohd. of Hyderabad.

Mr Jagat said the arrested ISI operators had confirmed that there were five arms training camps near Muzaffarabd and Lahore where Kashmiri and non-local youths were given training in the handling of sophisticated weapons, in making bombs and in fighting mountain warfare. Among the trainees included youths from Afghanistan, Pakistan, Sudan and Nigeria, in the advanced training camps they were given training in para dropping, in targeting aircrafts and in carrying out acts of sabotage and subversion.

The arrested youths also identified certain infiltration routes which the police plan to plug with the help of the Army.

13 killed in Kashmir

SRINAGAR, Aug 20 (PTI) — Thirteen persons, including seven militants and four securitymen, were killed and six wounded in militancy related-violence in the state since last evening.

An official spokesman said panic gripped Maisuma locality in the heart of the city shortly before Friday prayers when unidentified militants targeted a security patrol of Special Security Branch (SSB) killing a jawan and wounding another.

Armed with pistols, militants fired upon two jawans of the force from close range wounding them critically. The injured were rushed to hospital where one of them, Neelam Barwah of third battalion was declared dead while his colleague, Navaljeet of the same battalion, was battling for his life, the spokesman said.

The attack, carried out at around 12.25 p.m., was the first militant strike on SSB after some battalions of the force were inducted into Srinagar recently.

The police, assisted by Central Reserve Police Force (CRPF) and Border Security Force (BSF) personnel, immediately sealed the area but no one was arrested in connection with the shootout, the spokesman said.