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| Sunday,
July 8, 2001, Chandigarh, India   
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Lashkar to
train Pak women in arms Laskhar
assurance to yatris
Chopper
with DC, DIG on board crashlands |
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Tell Pak
to vacate Poonch areas: APJSM Army
chief visits Siachen J&K
gets sugar from Punjab
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Lashkar to train Pak women in
arms Jammu, July 7 An indication to this effect was given by Syed Ali, chief commander, Lashkar-e-Toiba, during a meeting of party activists in Karachi recently. Lashkar-e-Toiba is keen to train women not only in the handling of arms but in spreading the “message of Islam” to promote real Islamic culture in each household. Lashkar-e-Toiba has issued a new code of conduct for the women in Pakistan. Under this code, women have been debarred from moving out without “mahrum”. They must be accompanied by their husbands or parents or brothers. Women moving out without their parents have been directed to return to their homes before sunset. Reliable reports reaching here from across the border have said that after having inflated its cadre with inclusion of groups of ‘fidayeen’, the Lashkar-e-Toiba plans to cap its armed struggle with social and political movement so as to broadbase its activities which may allow it a chance to be a force to reckon with by any government in Islamabad. For this they need the active support of women in Pakistan. According to these reports, Lashkar-e-Toiba has plans to recruit Kashmiri women. Its leadership has realised that women, whether in Pakistan or in the Kashmir valley, now play a limited role in the ongoing armed struggle for “liberating” Kashmir. They can play a pivotal role provided they are also trained in the handling of arms. During the past 10 years small groups of Kashmiri girls were trained in handling of pistols and revolvers. They were mostly used as couriers for arms and ammunition or for carrying information from one place to the other. Over the years there has been a visible change in the attitude of women in the Kashmir valley. The teenagers among them are no longer enthusiastic or excited over the armed struggle. Between 1990-1992 more than 50 Kashmiri girls were sent across the border for arms training. Till date none has returned. Most of them were maltreated in the training centres and eyewitness accounts said that those discarded after maltreatment had been forced to take up menial jobs for survival. These reports coupled with innumerable cases of molestation and killing of women in Kashmir by the militants and by the security forces seem to have resulted in a major transformation among the people belonging to the fair sex who yearn for peace. When the militancy took roots in Kashmir in 1990 the strings of the “liberation” struggle were in the hands of the JKLF which had also floated a women wing called Khwateen Markaz to enlist support of the womenfolk for the struggle. This outfit lost its teeth after agencies across the border stopped providing moral and material assistance to it as was the case with the JKLF. However, it is Dukhtarani Milat (daughters of the nation) which, while supporting fundamentalism and Kashmir “liberation” from India, continues to be active in Kashmir. Already there is revulsion against the activities of foreign mercenaries in Jammu and Kashmir and the Lashkar plan to recruit women for arms training may not achieve any significant success. There is no denying the fact that different militant outfits and separatist groups continue to receive help from groups of women in carrying messages and arms from one place to the other, but not many are prepared to jump into the “fire”. Thousands of pretty Kashmiri damsels have defied the code of ethics issued by different rebel outfits from time to time. It was the fair sex that persuaded the menfolk to defy the orders of militant outfits under which a ban was imposed on viewing films on the cable network. |
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Laskhar assurance to yatris Srinagar, July 7 “Our aim is neither to attack the Amarnath yatra nor the people of the state and, therefore, the pilgrims should join the yatra without any fear”, LeT spokesman Abu Abra said in a statement to a local news agency. He said, “By providing the so-called security to the yatra, the government has made them (pilgrims) believe that there is a threat to their lives. It is a ploy on the part of the government to create a wedge between the yatris and the Kashmiri Muslims and the Mujahideen”. Stating that the Lashkar had decided to intensify “fidayeen” (suicidal) attacks in the Jammu region, particularly along the Srinagar-Jammu National Highway, he said the target of such attacks were security forces and their agents and not pilgrims. Meanwhile, a government spokesman defending the policy adopted by the Jammu and Kashmir Government to restrict the number of yatris and langars (community kitchens), said overcrowding at places like Pahalgam and Jammu posed a serious security risk. “The state government has concrete intelligence reports suggesting militants’ attempt to disrupt the yatra at various points, including Jammu, Pahalgam and the Srinagar-Jammu National Highway”, he said, adding that three militant attacks had already taken place. Earlier, militant outfit Hizbul Mujahideen expressed apprehensions about a possible attack by “anti-movement elements” on the yatris to vitiate the atmosphere on the eye of Indo-Pak summit and defame the Mujahideen at the international level. “The anti-movement elements may go for an unwanted act and, therefore it is responsibility of the people to remain vigilant”, a Hizbul spokesman, Commander Masood, said in a statement immediately after the commencement of the month-long yatra on July 3. He said, “the Hizbul considers creating any hurdle in performing one’s religious obligations as against the teachings and tenants of the holy Koran”. JAMMU: Army troops foiled militant plan to disrupt the Amarnath yatra by seizing a huge cache of arms and explosives near Gurwatan village in Anantnag district, a defence spokesman said here today. The explosives and rockets, recovered on July 5 during an operation launched at suspected terrorists hideouts across Pir Panjal ranges, were intended to be taken to Banihal for disrupting the Amarnath yatra, he said.
PTI |
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Chopper
with DC, DIG on board crashlands Srinagar, July 7 Those on board included the DIG, Anantnag-Pulwama Range, Mr Ashok Gupta, the SSP, Anantnag, Mr Muneer Ahmad Khan, the Deputy Commissioner, Anantnag, Mr G.A. Peer and the DIG, Ms D.R. Doley, besides the pilot. The officers were on their way to the holy cave shrine to take stock of arrangements in connection with the ongoing Amarnath yatra. All five on board escaped unhurt. The chopper carrying them had developed a technical snag. |
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Tell Pak to vacate Poonch areas:
APJSM Jammu, July 7 This demand was contained in a resolution adopted at a meeting of the APJSM here today. The resolution suggested to the Prime Minister to deal firmly with General Musharraf and stick to the stand of keeping the Hurriyat Conference out of the talks. The resolution said the Hurriyat Conference and Pakistan were two faces of the same coin. Hence, the Hurriyat had no role to play. It said the Hurriyat Conference was the creation of Pakistan and the “hands of its leaders were soiled with the blood of innocent Kashmiris and security personnel.” The resolution said that Pakistan should appreciate the magnanimity shown by India in inviting its President for talks, despite the fact that Islamabad had launched a proxy war which had resulted in death and destruction in Jammu and Kashmir. It appealed to the Prime Minister not to succumb to pressure from Pakistan and refuse permission even for a courtesy meeting between the Hurriyat leaders and General Musharraf. While criticising continued diplomatic and material support from Pakistan to the Hurriyat Conference, the resolution called upon the Government of India to ensure that the summit mainly centred around the issue of restoration of peace in Jammu and Kashmir. Meanwhile, state Akali Dal president, Jagdev Singh has suggested to Mr Vajpayee to discuss the condition of gurdwaras in Pakistan with General Musharraf and secure a clearance for Indian Sikhs to visit Sikh shrines in Pakistan round the year. |
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Army chief visits Siachen Jammu, July 7 General Padmanabhan interacted with soldiers and officers and was briefed about defence preparedness. The Army Chief also visited Turtuk village where the Army had taken in hand series of development works. He appreciated the role of the troops in coming to the rescue of people in remote areas of
Ladakh. He asked the troops to intensify development measures and said the support of the locals was essential. He advised the forces to step up human resource development programmes which would bring the troops closer to people. |
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J&K gets sugar from
Punjab Jammu, July 7 Sugarfed in Punjab launched the sale of clear sugar in the trouble state today. The sugar is being manufactured by cooperative sugar mills in Nawanshahr. Mr Vinay Kumar, Managing Director, National Federation of Cooperative Sugar Factories Ltd., and Mr Jagjit Puri, Managing Director, Sugarfed, launched the sale of sugar, popularly called Doaba crystal clear sugar. Mr Puri and Mr Vinay Kumar told newspersons here today that the Doaba plant was the first to use syrup clarification. Sugarfed would produce four lakh quintal of sugar annually, to start with. The latest technology would be introduced in sugar manufacturing in Punjab to meet the WTO threat and in this context the Doaba mill was the first successful experiment. Sugarfed was expected to net sugar market in Pakistan, Nepal and other neighbouring countries. Mr Puri said the federation would export one lakh tonnes of sugar to Pakistan this year. He was confident that the Punjab brand would have a bigger home market because of better quality and price level. He said other brands of sugar were available at Rs 25 a kg but “our price structure is Rs 21 a kg.” He said it was for the first time that sugar would be available in 1 kg pouches. He said this sugar would neither get soiled nor moist during monsoon. He said several mills in the cooperative sector that were using syrup clarification system were being up in Punjab and Haryana. |
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