Militants target police
From M.L. Kak
Tribune News Service

JAMMU, March 18 — The recent attack on the district police lines in Ganderbal, Chief Minister Farooq Abdullah's constituency, in which the militants killed three constables and wounded three others, is viewed as part of the ongoing campaign against the police with the sole purpose of demoralising the force to bring to a point of dormancy manifest between 1990 and 1993.

It is also intended to sow confusion in the various branches of the police, especially in the Special Task Force and the Special Operation Group. 54 policemen lost their lives fighting in different parts of the state during 1998 and during the last 75 days more than 15 policemen have been killed in action against militants.

The 40,000 strong police force now wears a more energetic visage because of better training and weapons. During the past two years, they have taken on militants in very difficult terrain. What has particularly worried the militants are the recent successes of the police.

The recoveries made by the police in the state are 31 per cent of the total, the police effected the arrest of 57 per cent of militants and killed 15 per cent of militants killed by security forces in 1998.

In terms of numbers the police arrested 708 militants last year, killed 155, recovered 463 assault rifles, 170 pistols and revolvers, 18 missile launchers, 1037 grenades, 44 bombs, 302 mines, 370 kgs of explosives and other weapons during the last one year. This has alarmed Pakistani agencies which directed militants, especially the foreign mercenaries, to target the police.

The Director General of Police, Mr Gurbachan Jagat, expressed satisfaction with the achievements of the police during the past two years. In fact it was under the leadership of Mr Jagat, from Hoshiarpur in Punjab, that the police was revamped in Jammu and Kashmir. His plan for raising the strength of the police force and providing them better weapons received the immediate financial backup of the state and central governments. During the past two years 10221 additional posts were sanctioned in the police, which included raising of two battalions of India Reserve (IR) police and two more IR battalions have been sanctioned for manning 114 border posts.

Around 5,000 trained constables joined their units last year and 4500 constables will complete their training within the next three months.

This helped Mr Jagat to establish more police posts, especially in remote and hilly sensitive areas of Rajouri, Udhampur and Doda districts.

The DG police has seen to it that police posts were set up at heights varying between 10,000 ft and 13,000 ft. This restricted the movement of militants from one district to the other. Training infrastructure was augmented with the establishment of police training schools at Kathua (Jammu) and Manigam (Srinagar). Two subsidiary training centres were set up at Talwara (Reasi) and Channi Himmat (Jammu).

A technical training centre was set up at Vijapur (Jammu) for specialised training in intelligence, security, telecommunication and photography.

Within a span of two years 52 police stations were renovated and residential accommodation increased in the police lines in Jammu, Srinagar, Budgam and 20 buildings of border police stations are under construction.

As the government has enhanced ex gratia and other benefits for victims of militancy the policemen move out with a sense of dedication. But the process has slowed because of the cash crunch. The Centre had agreed to allocate Rs 190 crore for modernisation of the police force. But inordinate delay in the release of funds has forced a major section of the police to continue to bank on antiquated .303 rifles and rickety vehicles.

2 top Pak militants shot dead
Tribune News Service

JAMMU March 18 — Two top Pak militants, Saifullah and Abdullah Bhai, were killed in a "seek-and-destroy" operation launched by the Army in the Surankot area of Poonch- district yesterday.

Defence Ministry sources said the two had been operating in the Poonch Rajouri belt for a long time and were behind a number of killings and blasts.

Saifullah was the district commander of the Harkat-ul-Ansar and had acted as the chief guide for organising infiltration and arms smuggling from across the border.

Two assault rifles, four grenades and ammunition were seized from the possession of the slain militants.

The sources said the operation would continue in view of reports that militants planned to step up violence to force the government to postpone the panchayat elections, scheduled to be held towards the end of May.

Intelligence agencies had sent reports to the state and the central governments that groups of militants, most of them foreign mercenaries, had been brought close to the border across the Bandipore, Uri and Karnah areas in Kashmir and across the Poonch, Rajouri and Samba sectors in Jammu for pushing them into the state within the next three months.

Consequently, the security forces had been directed to step up patrolling to prevent infiltration and arms smuggling. The police planned to increase the number of border posts.

J&K Cong opposes move on nominations
Tribune News Service

JAMMU, March 18 — The state unit of the Congress has opposed the government's decision to nominate women to those panchayats where female representation is poor.

The PCC president, Mohd Aslam, told reporters here today that he had submitted a three-page memorandum to the Governor, Mr G.C. Saxena, seeking his intervention to stop the government from executing its plan to nominate its "favourites."

Releasing copies of the memorandum, Mr Aslam demanded an amendment to the Panchayat Act to bring it on a par with the Panchayati Raj Act in force in other states of the country.

He said the purpose of holding the Panchayat elections would be defeated if the government nominated women members to the "halqa" panchayats. Once it happened the panchayats would remain subservient to political pressure.

He said that for the first time Kashmiri migrants had not been given the right to cast votes in the ensuing panchayat elections.

It was unfortunate and the government should rectify the order because the migrants had been allowed to cast their votes in the two Lok Sabha elections and during the 1996 assembly poll.

In reply to a question the PCC president favoured a dialogue with militants within the ambit of the Constitution. He said for restoring normalcy and peace the government needed to win over the misguided youth.

Mr Aslam hinted that the PCC reconstitution would be announced shortly. He could not explain the reason behind the inordinate delay in announcing the names of the office-bearers of the PCC which had been dissolved two years ago.

Each panchayat to have 2 women
From Our Correspondent

JAMMU, March 18 — The state government will give 33 per cent reservation to women in the forthcoming panchayat elections in the state and in case, they are not adequately elected in the ensuing elections, they would be nominated so that every panchayat has two women panches.

Informing this at a women's rally organised by the women cell of the National Conference in connection with International Women's Day, the Chief Minister, Dr Farooq Abdullah, said women would also get adequate representation in the legislative council where six seats have fallen vacant. They would also get a share in eight seats proposed to be enhanced in the upper House which await presidential assent.

Dr Abdullah said the panches would be empowered to fix priorities of development in their villages and monitor functioning of various government institutions. He asked the women to benefit from various schemes of Women Development Corporation and avail themselves of the loan facilities on low interest for setting up their units. "They should sit in competitive examinations and come forward to join the police force, "he said adding that women are second to none and have proved to be very good administrators and police officers.

He said 50 per cent seats in medical colleges were reserved for women adequate as female patients shied away from consulting male doctors. Empowerment of women was necessary and efforts should be made by the state government to provide ample opportunities of employment to educated women.