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Monday,
May 21, 2001, Chandigarh, India  
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No talks
with Delhi ‘till Pak visit allowed’ Bhat NC
activist among 5 killed in valley Heavy
firing by Pak Rangers Pak UAVs
mapping infiltration routes |
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No talks with Delhi ‘till Pak visit allowed’ Bhat Srinagar, May 20 “We want to start the peace journey from Pakistan by taking the Mujahideen into confidence”, he said addressing a seminar on the 11th death anniversary of Mirwaiz Maulvi Farooq who fell to the bullets of gunmen on May 21, 1990. “The ice would have started melting had the Hurriyat delegation been allowed to travel to Pakistan”, he said. The Hurriyat’s visit to Pakistan could persuade Mujahideen groups to end operations for a stipulated period and end the hostilities, he said. “The All-Party Hurriyat Conference (APHC) stands for a just, viable and permanent solution to the Kashmir issue which is acceptable to India, Pakistan and primarily, the people of Jammu and Kashmir”, he said. “If Kashmiris are given the right to self-determination under the supervision of world bodies then there is no need for tripartite talks,” Mr Bhat said. However, Mr Bhat said bilateral talks could in no way be a solution to the Kashmir imbroglio. He said tripartite talks involving all three parties to the issue was the best way to settle the issue. Meanwhile, describing New Delhi’s talks offer as a “hoax”, former Chairman of Hurriyat, Mr Mirwaiz Umar questioned the sincerity of the government when atrocities on people were not only continuing but increasing in proportion and dimension. Mr Umar said the Kashmir problem should be resolved according to the wishes and aspirations of the people of the state.
PTI |
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NC activist among 5 killed in valley Srinagar, May 20 One person, identified as Aijaz Ahmad, who had been reportedly arrested by the security forces on Thursday last, was killed in the Ganderbal area today. The police said Aijaz Ahmad was killed in an exchange of fire between
militants and the security forces in the area today. Residents, however, alleged that the youth was killed while in custody. the incident led to resentment among residents of the area. Three unidentified militants were killed in an encounter with the security forces at Pakhnar-Ratnipora in Kupwara district today, the police said here. Two AK rifles, eight magazines with 76 rounds, a pistol with a magazine and five rounds, two RPGs, six hand grenades, a wireless set and three pouches were recovered from the slain militants. A National Conference worker, Mohammad Munawar Mir, was kidnapped and subsequently killed by unidentified gunmen at Vijhera, Lowdara, in the Bandipore area of Baramula district today. He had been kidnapped last night while his bullet-riden body was recovered from Nadihar village today, the police said here. A boy, Mohammad Altaf Ganai, was critically injured when some explosive device exploded while he was cutting grass in a field at Daudura in Pulwama district of south Kashmir. Unidentified militants fired and injured a constable, Gul Mohammad, of the Kulgam police station in the Kulgam market of Anantnag district yesterday. He has been admitted to a hospital where his condition is stated to be out of danger. The security forces recovered six rockets, nine rocket boosters, 70 rifle grenades, a AK magazine and two hand grenades from a hideout in Milyal village of Kupwara district last night. The police said here today that two of the militants killed at Kabamarg in Anantnag district on Friday were
identified as Mohammad Amin Ganai, alias Saleem Javed, and Manzoor Ahmad Dar, alias Danish. |
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Heavy firing by Pak Rangers Jammu, May 20 Official sources said the Pakistani Rangers opened fire to disrupt the ongoing fencing of the 187-km long international border in the Jammu sector. The BSF retaliated, smashing some Pakistani bunkers. The sources said there was no casualty on “our side”. Pak Rangers had adopted a novel way of disrupting fencing in the Ramgarh sector, 55 km south of Jammu. The BSF authorities said the Pakistani troops had planted three IEDs near the fencing site. Two of the IEDs exploded, leaving at least 20 pillars partially damaged. A 20-kg IED had been planted in a milk container. The BSF spotted it and its bomb disposal squad defused it. So far the BSF has completed fencing on a 10-km stretch and work on a 13-km stretch is in progress. Firing by Pakistan has not affected the pace of the fencing programme. Additional forces have been rushed to Ramgarh and Akhnoor sectors to give a befitting reply to Pakistani Rangers in case the latter resume attacks. The fencing project was started in 1995 but had to be suspended when Pakistani troops resorted to heavy firing and mortar shelling. The work on the project was started last month. India made it clear to Pakistan that an 8-feet-tall fence was being raised on Indian soil to check infiltration and smuggling of weapons, explosives and narcotics from across the border. Pakistan objected to it on the plea that it treated the 187-km border stretch from Akhnoor to Kathua as a working border and not as an international border. In the light of Pakistan offensive in the past, the BSF altered the alignment of the fencing line so that it did not touch the Zero Line. Since Delhi has decided to deal any Pakistani mischief with a firm hand, the Army has been asked to stand by so as to meet any eventuality in case the Pakistani troops step up shelling and firing. |
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Pak UAVs mapping infiltration routes Jammu, May 20 During the past six months, over 35 Pakistani UAVs have been observed in different areas along the international border in the Jammu sector, mapping Indian defence locations and infiltration routes, the sources told PTI. The UAVs which have been seen include ASN-105 Alfa and ASN-206, which Pakistan has procured from China, the sources said. ASN-105 Alfa, which can take pictures from a height of about 3000 metres, has been used by the Pakistan army for the past several years, the sources said, adding that now more sophisticated UAVs like ASN-206, having a capacity of taking pictures from a height of 5000 to 6000 metres, had been inducted in the Pakistani surveillance set-up. The sources said the thrust had been on the international border during the past six months to infiltrate more and more mercenaries in order to spread the arch of militancy to the Hindu-dominated districts of Jammu and Kathua. The UAVs have been used by Pakistan to discover new infiltration routes, including dried river beds, bushy terrains and crop fields, belts or places traditionally used by agencies across the border to push armed mercenaries into Jammu areas. However, alert security personnel assisted by border dwellers have been able to eliminate 41 heavily-armed militants in 23 unsuccessful attempts to enter Jammu and Kathua, the sources added.
PTI |
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Shahnaz
Bano, a five-year-old Kashmiri Muslim girl belonging to a nomadic family, is accompanied by her pet dog as she leads her sheep and goats through Srinagar
on Sunday. Nomads, who migrate to the planes from the mountains during the winter months, depend on such dogs to provide protection for their livestock.
— Reuters
