Villager killed in Pak firing

JAMMU, Feb 8 (PTI) — An Indian villager was killed when Pakistani troops opened heavy firing at several Indian positions and civilians areas along the Line of Control (LoC) in the Noushera sector of the Jammu region while BSF jawan gunned down a Pakistani infiltrator in the Samba subsector, official sources said here today.

The Pakistani troops resorted to heavy firing along the LoC in the Noushera and Poonch sectors last evening, the sources said.

In the Pakistani firing, a resident of Seri village situated near the LoC was injured critically. He was shifted to district hospital, where he was declared brought dead, the sources said.

The Indian troops retaliated and the exchange of fire with the Pakistani troops continued for about four hours, the sources said.

In another incident, BSF troops gunned down a Pakistani infiltrator near the Ben Galat border out post (BoP) in Samba subsector last night. The infiltrator had crossed over from across the international border Galat BoP in the Samba subsector, the sources said.

An AK-47 rifle and a large quantity of RDX was seized, the sources said.

SRINAGAR: Four militants have been killed while militants kidnapped two persons in the Kashmir valley since last evening, an official spokesman said here on Monday.

Three militants were killed in an encounter at Sindoo-Achabal, some 65 km from here, in Anantnag district of south Kashmir last evening. Two AK rifles, a grenade and six magazines were seized, he said.

A self-styled launching chief of the Hizb-ul-Mujahideen, Ghulam Mohammad Paul, was killed in an encounter with joint troops of special operations group of the local police and the Border Security Force at Buchoo-Dadsar near Tral, about 40 km from here in Pulwama district of south Kashmir, he said.

However, residents alleged Pal (60), the religious scholar and Jamaat-e-Islami leader, was arrested from the Chhanpora area of Srinagar on February 6 and died in custody.

More than 20,000 residents of Dadsar took to streets on Sunday when the body of Pal was handed over to his kin at Buchoo.

Bus diplomacy won’t normalise ties: APHC
 Tribune New Service

SRINAGAR, Feb 8 — Syed Ali Shah Geelani, Chairman, All Party Hurriyat Conference (APHC) today urged both India and Pakistan to "address the core issue of Kashmir for the restoration of peace in the region".

"The bus and cricket diplomacy will not bring any results in normalising relations between India and Pakistan", Mr Geelani said. He added that the supply of power from Pakistan to India and the strengthening of trade links between the two countries were also "futile exercises". Such steps would not bring any tangible results in normalising ties "unless these address the core issue of Kashmir", the APHC Chairman added.

Addressing a press conference at the Hurriyat headquarters at Raj Bagh here, the APHC Chairman expressed concern over the human rights violations at the hands of the security forces in Kashmir. He said there was an increase in violence against civilians under "operation sangam". "Any talks between India and Pakistan are futile without the representation of the people of Kashmir", Mr Geelani said. He added that tripartite talks would lead to the restoration of peace in the region. He sought the United Nation to respect the aspirations of the people of Kashmir and demanded the resolution of the "Kashmir issue" under UN resolutions.

Referring to various incidents of violence against "innocent civilians", the Hurriyat chief said there was an increase in the human rights violations at the hands of the security forces. He also blamed the security forces for the blasting of various houses under the garb of fighting militants.

In this connection, the APHC Chairman and his colleague, Javed Ahmad Mir and Bashir Ahmad displayed pieces of the body of Gulzar Ahmad Bhat, a carpenter from Baramulla district. The carpenter, Hurriyat leaders alleged, had been "blown to pieces by the security forces". They expressed serious concern over such incidents across the valley.