J A M M U   &   K A S H M I R

Over 100 children missing from Doda
DODA (Jammu), July 16 — More than 100 children between 13 and 18 years are reported to be missing from hilly terrains of Doda district and are believed to have been sent to Pakistan for being trained as "battle machines", a senior Army official said today.

German tourist feared kidnapped
SRINAGAR, July 16 — A German tourist, Harfurth Rolf, was reported missing and was feared kidnapped by militants responsible for the gruesome murder of three monks at Rungdum in the frontier region of Ladakh on Tuesday.

Curfew lifted in Leh
SRINAGAR, July 16 — Normalcy returned to Leh and adjoining areas where curfew was completely lifted this morning, a top state government official said. Curfew was lifted at 5 am following improvement in the situation, Deputy Commissioner, Leh, Naveed Choudhary told PTI over phone, adding that no untoward incident had been reported from any part of the district.

J&K BJP unit’s plea to PM
JAMMU, July 16 — The state unit of the BJP has requested the Prime Minister, Mr Atal Behari Vajpayee, to take into confidence peoples’ representatives in Jammu and Ladakh regions over the autonomy issue.

Over 100 children missing from Doda

DODA (Jammu), July 16 (PTI) — More than 100 children between 13 and 18 years are reported to be missing from hilly terrains of Doda district and are believed to have been sent to Pakistan for being trained as "battle machines", a senior Army official said today.

These children are missing from the areas of Gandoh, Thathri, Kishtwar, Bhaderwah and Doda for the past several months, General Officer Commanding (GOC), Delta Force, Maj-Gen Mohinder Singh said.

The children are mostly forced to cross over to Pakistan and get arms training in different camps located along the LoC and international border in Pakistan and Pakistan Occupied Kashmir (PoK), he said.

"We do not have the exact number but these figures are based on an FIR," he said, adding, "It could run into few hundreds if we consider unreported cases."

Rashtriya Rifles (RR), looking after the operational area of over 16000 sq km Doda, has so far rescued 34 children, who had been forcibly taken for arms training by militant outfits, including Lashker-e-Toiba, Harkat-ul-Jehad-Islami, Hizb-ul-Mujahideen and Harkat-ul-Mujahideen, the Major-General said.

"Militants threaten villagers and demand Rs 5 lakh or a child," said Rashid, who was among the five children rescued by the RR. "When families refuse their demand, militants forcibly take away their children for arms training," he said.

Militants gun down NC leader

JAMMU, July 16 (PTI) — A National Conference (NC) leader was among three persons killed in militancy-related incidents in Doda district of Jammu division since yesterday, official sources said today.

Munshi Qudaratullah, president of district NC of Doda, was fired upon by militants when he was returning along with his personal security officer (PSO) in Doda town last evening, the sources said, adding that Qudaratullah died on the spot, while his PSO succumbed in hospital.

The militants escaped after firing in the air to scare the local residents, the sources said.

In another incident, militants kidnapped four villagers in Dessa in Doda district and forced them to carry their ammunition bags to their hideouts.

As the villagers were walking along the hilly terrain, one of them slipped resulting in an accidental fire from a gun carried by him. The bullet pierced through his leg and he died later due to excessive bleeding.

Meanwhile, a militant of Hizb-ul-Mujahideen outfit, identified as Setta Shah, surrendered before security forces at Budhal in Rajouri district yesterday.

Srinagar: According to an official spokesman a security jawan was killed when militants ambushed a search party of security forces at Karishma village in Baramula district of north Kashmir today.

Security forces returned the fire and in the shootout, a civilian was killed and four houses gutted, he said.

In another encounter, a militant of banned Hizb-ul-Mujaheedin, Mohammed Maqboll Khanday, was killed by the security forces at Nowgam-Achabal in Anantnag district of south Kashmir today.

Militants also shot dead three persons in Anantnag district. A civilian was injured in an exchange of fire between troops and militants in Anantnag yesterday evening, he said.

The spokesman said militants also ambushed a search police party at Nirpora-Qazigund village in Anantnag, wounding a policeman.

He said the police assisted by paramilitary forces arrested two top Hizb-ul Mujaheedin militants, including a self-styled battalion commander, during specific raids on militant hideouts in Srinagar yesterday.

The militants were involved in a large number of militancy-related incidents, including grenade attack on Civil Secretariat and other security installations in the city, he said, adding some arms and ammunition were seized from them.

German tourist feared kidnapped

SRINAGAR, July 16 (UNI) — A German tourist, Harfurth Rolf, was reported missing and was feared kidnapped by militants responsible for the gruesome murder of three monks at Rungdum in the frontier region of Ladakh on Tuesday.

The investigation launched into the gunning down of three monks revealed that a German national was also travelling in the same truck in which the militants were travelling, a police spokesman said.

He said the militants responsible for the crime had brought the foreigner down from the truck, about 20 km away from the spot of occurrence, towards Panikar.

It is not yet clear whether the foreigner was taken away by the militants or released, the spokesman said, adding that search had begun for the German national in Kargil and areas adjacent to the location where militants had got down from the truck.

The police achieved the breakthrough in the case when they arrested the driver of the truck in which five militants had travelled before killing the monks.

The driver, Nazir Ahmad Bakshi, was arrested and his truck was seized, the spokesman said, adding others travelling in the truck were also being questioned.

Govt fears increase in militancy
From M.L. Kak
Tribune News Service

JAMMU, July 16 — The state government is worried by a sudden spurt in the infiltration from across the border in recent weeks.

It is equally upset at a proportionate increase in Kashmiri youths crossing over to Pakistan occupied Kashmir to receive arms training.

Though infiltration from across the border never actually stopped it had been contained to a large extent between 1996 and 1999.

Since 1997 the state government functionaries have stressed to the Union Home Ministry and Defence Ministry that so long the rate of infiltration was not reduced containing the activities of the rebels was difficult. Subsequently, on several occasions, the state government functionaries were assured that steps had been taken to curb infiltration.

However, in recent months the Pakistani agencies have succeeded in pushing in large groups of foreign mercenaries. A senior state government official said, till two months ago the rate of infiltration from across Kupwara, Keran and Tangdhar was quite low. However from the first week of June the rate of ingress has shot up with 10 to 25 militants sneaking into the Kashmir valley every day on an average.

He said infiltration from across Poonch and Rajouri had been a continuous affair and during the past three months there had been an increase in the rate of ingress from across the LoC right from Poonch to Samba.

Official sources said that at one stage the rate of elimination of militants was higher than the rate of infiltration. But while there has been no let up in anti-insurgency operations because the rate of infiltration is up militants have been successful in extending their activities to several areas of south Kashmir, Doda and the upper reaches of Udhampur, which had been sanitised three years ago. In this context the sources referred to the rise of militancy in several parts of Kathua district in Jammu.

One senior police officer said that between January and June-end security forces killed over 635 militants in various parts of Jammu and Kashmir — 65 per cent more than those killed during the corresponding period last year.

132 security personnel were killed during the past six months against 100 during the corresponding period last year. The militants also killed 361 civilians between January and June-end this year.

He said as many as 51 SOG men, including three officers had lost their lives.

The state government fears a further escalation in violence once local youths, who crossed over to Pakistan for arms training, return.

The government has information that more than 300 youths from Doda district crossed over to Pakistan in recent weeks. Groups of local youths from various parts of Kashmir valley, besides Poonch, Rajouri and Udhampur, have also gone across the border for arms training.

During the past several months Pakistani soldiers resorted to heavy firing and shelling in several sectors including Poonch, Rajouri, Uri, Kupwara, Keran and Tangdhar to carve out infiltration routes for the militants.

Curfew lifted in Leh

SRINAGAR, July 16 (PTI) — Normalcy returned to Leh and adjoining areas where curfew was completely lifted this morning, a top state government official said.

Curfew was lifted at 5 am following improvement in the situation, Deputy Commissioner, Leh, Naveed Choudhary told PTI over phone, adding that no untoward incident had been reported from any part of the district.

He said the markets had opened and all modes of transport were back on the roads.

Tension had gripped Leh in Ladakh on Monday after Ladakh Buddhist Association (LBA) vice-president Sonam Gombu allegedly made some derogatory remarks against a religious scripture.

The situation further deteriorated with the killing of three monks on Tuesday, forcing the authorities to clamp an indefinite curfew in Leh and its adjoining areas on Thursday.

In all 38 people, including Gombu, were taken into custody as a precautionary measure.

J&K tourism down sharply

SRINAGAR, July 16 (PTI) — Militancy coupled with retention of two special laws to tackle terrorism have badly hit tourist arrivals in Jammu and Kashmir this year.

Official figures available indicate that tourist arrivals have come down to 58,000 in the first half of this year compared to 1.48 lakh in the same period last year.

“With overcrowded locations elsewhere the tourist attention shifts to Kashmir but the Disturbed Areas Act (DAA) and Armed Forces (J&K) Special Powers Act (AFSPA) and ongoing militancy-related violence are hampering the growth of tourism in the valley — a star attraction for holiday-makers a decade ago,” traders connected with tourism said.

Many hoteliers, houseboat owners, tour operators and handicraft dealers have taken to other trades to eke out a living but a handful of die-hards still put up with hardship in the hope of better days ahead.

In the 11-year-long militancy since 1990 the picturesque valley, also known as “Switzerland of the east” has virtually vanished from the tourism map, despite the best efforts by the government and private tour operators to get it back on the rails.

As if this were not enough, a Pakistan based militant outfit, Lashker-e-Toiba, warned tourists to ‘vacate’ the valley.

The militant threat followed two powerful explosions at tourist places of Boulevard and Shalimar Garden on the banks of the world famous Dal Lake, causing many tourists to flee in panic.

A mere 58,709 tourists visited the valley in the first six months of the current year compared to 1,47,884 holiday-makers who visited the valley during the corresponding period last year, figures with the Tourism Department said.

The state government, however, claims that the overall situation has improved and will look up in the coming months. But the optimists are outnumbered by doomsayers who believe the slump will continue.

The slump has wrought havoc on the state’s finances as well as tourism had been a vital component of the state economy.

Leading taxi unions in the city said they were pushed to the wall by the long slump forcing many taxi owners to sell their vehicles and start small business to maintain their families.

A two-way shopping complex at fashionable Lambert Lane in Srinagar’s posh Residency Road, which used to do a roaring business in handicrafts and shawls, wore a changed look today as most handicraft shops have changed their trade — from shawls and handicrafts to readymade garments.

“Since the tourists have stopped visiting Kashmir we have changed the trade to eke out a living,” said Ghulam Mohammad, a shopkeeper.

Many handicraft dealers have moved to other parts of the country while those remaining in the valley are hardly doing any business.

J&K BJP unit’s plea to PM
Tribune News Service

JAMMU, July 16 — The state unit of the BJP has requested the Prime Minister, Mr Atal Behari Vajpayee, to take into confidence peoples’ representatives in Jammu and Ladakh regions over the autonomy issue.

The president of the BJP, Mr DK Kotwal, told newspersons here today that the National Conference president, Dr Farooq Abdullah, was not the true “representative” of the people of the state. He said discussing autonomy with him would be unfair to the people of Jammu and Ladakh regions if their representatives were not involved in the talks.

Mr Kotwal said the National Conference had in the last Lok Sabha elections polled less votes than the BJP. He said the erosion was evident as a small number of people were present during the funeral procession of Dr Abdullah’s mother as against the 1 million who were weeping when Sheikh Abdullah died in September, 1982.

The BJP chief said Dr Farooq Abdullah had raised the autonomy issue to divert the attention of the people from the real economic problems. He said the BJP would launch an agitation for focussing attention on the problems of the people, particularly in Jammu and Ladakh regions.

He said Kashmiri Pandit leaders, who represented seven lakh migrants, should also be involved in the talks.