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Friday,
May 3, 2002, Chandigarh, India  
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APHC leaders present united front BSF, Pak Rangers cancel meeting
Step up violence, Pak tells ultras Hizb sets terms to give up gun |
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6 ultras killed in encounter 3 die as truck falls into gorge
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APHC leaders present united front Jammu, May 2 The APHC had witnessed a storm over the visit of two senior leaders Maulvi Umar Farooq and Mr Abdul Gani Lone, to Dubai for participating in a
conference on Kashmir. At one stage, the APHC leadership had thought of seeking an explanation from the two leaders for visiting Dubai without informing other members of the committee. However, the tough stand taken by Maulvi Umar Farooq forced the APHC leadership to sweep the “rift” under the carpet. The Maulvi had told a Friday congregation in Jamia Masjid soon after returning from Dubai that as Kashmir Mirwaiz he was “answerable to people of Kashmir and Allah.” Consequently, the Hurriyat leadership dropped the idea of seeking an explanation from Maulvi Umar Farooq. The Dubai conclave did not figure in a recent meeting of the Executive Committee, according to the APHC Chairman, Prof Abdul Gani Bhat. Prof Bhat admitted that he and the Moulvi discussed briefly the outcome of the conclave. “I am satisfied that there was nothing wrong in participating in the conclave of Kashmiri leaders from both sides of the border,” he said. Answering a question, Prof Bhat said: “There is no misunderstanding. We are one.” Another senior APHC leader, Maulvi Abbas Ansari, also said that “there is no rift among the Hurriyat leaders”. But the rift between Syed Ali Shah Geelani, who had criticised Maulvi Umar Farooq and Mr Lone, for having gone to Dubai without informing him, and the Kashmir Mirwaiz has widened. The two have never met nor talked to each other over the telephone since the Maulvi’s return to Srinagar. Sources close to Maulvi Umar Farooq are candid in holding Mr Geelani responsible for “sabotaging” the peace process from time to time. The sources said the Maulvi and Mr Lone had been invited to Dubai and they had a session with several Kashmiri leaders besides those from Pakistan-occupied Kashmir. They said Mr Geelani
protested when he had sent a senior functionary of the Peoples’ League to attend a conference on Kashmir organised by a Government of India aided organisation in Chandigarh recently. “If Mr Geelani can send his trusted man to attend a meeting in Chandigarh, why cannot Maulvi Umar or Mr Lone travel to Dubai to meet Kashmiri leaders? they said. Supporters of Maulvi Umar Farooq also blamed Mr Geelani for having annoyed the Centre when it had agreed in principle to send a Hurriyat delegation to Pakistan for meeting leaders of militant outfits and others last year. They said a majority of people in Kashmir wanted peace and an amicable settlement of the Kashmir issue. They have not responded favourably to Mr Geelani’s support to jehad. They said after realising that the people and the Srinagar-based newspapers had berated Mr Geelani for support to jehad he had recently clarified that he was for “jado jehad” (movement) and not for “jehad.” Reports say Prof Abdul Gani Bhat and Maulvi Abbas Ansari have been instrumental in stemming the rot in the APHC. Prof Bhat has also decided to tolerate Mr Geelani’s occasional fulminations against one or the other constituent of the APHC. However, “It is a marriage of convenience for the main constituents of the Hurriyat Conference,” a senior APHC leader said. |
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BSF, Pak Rangers cancel meeting Jammu, May 2 A BSF spokesman, while confirming that no meeting of field commanders took place this season, said as a result of heavy military buildup on both sides of the border and on account of heavy firing by Pakistan troops “on our pickets and villages”, the routine meeting was dropped. He said during the past several months Pakistan troops had been targeting civilians and their cattle. Reports revealed that because of heavy firing during the past 10 days, 12 persons had been injured. Out of these, two had succumbed to their wounds. More than 20 cattle heads had also perished. Since the meeting did not take place, farmers in border villages had not been able to harvest rabi crop. Whenever peasants moved to villages for reaping the crop, they would come under firing. Their loss had been two-fold. First they had not been able to carry out cultivation in their fields because of heavy firing from across the border during the past five months. Whatever small areas had been brought under cultivation of wheat and other rabi crops could not be looked after properly due to constant threat of firing. Trilok Singh, a farmer of R.S. Pora, has demanded adequate compensation for the losses that the farmers had suffered during the past over one year. He said a large number of farmers could not carry out sowing because after the build up of military mines had been laid on their farms. He further said on an average, farmers of border villages in Samba, R.S. Pora and Akhnoor sectors had suffered losses to the tune of over Rs 400 crore during the past two years. He said the plight of border migrants was equally miserable. They had lost their homes after migrating from Pallanwala and its adjoining areas since the Kargil conflict in 1999. He said whenever these migrants attempted to return to their ancestral villages, Pakistani troops would resort to heavy firing. The BSF spokesman said the Pakistan troops and agencies were frustrated after their attempts to push into Jammu sector large groups of infiltrators from across the border had failed. He said within the next two months, 40 km of the border belt would be covered under the fencing programme. Fencing and deployment of additional forces on the border had prevented infiltration and hence the Pakistan troops were resorting to intermittent but heavy firing to stall the fencing project and provide fire cover to the infiltrators. “We have taken suitable measures to foil the Pakistan gameplan. We have decided to complete the fencing of 187-km-long IB at any cost,” he said. |
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Step up violence, Pak tells ultras Srinagar, May 2 “Militants who were until recently confused because of the cosmetic action being taken by the Pakistan authorities against the Jaish-e-Mohammad and Lashkar-e-Toiba under pressure from international community, have now been directed to spread violence and terror in the valley, IG K. Rajinder Kumar told UNI. “We have definite information that militants have received fresh directives by their mentors from across the border to enhance the level of violence particularly on the eve of the reopening of the Civil Secretariat in the summer capital here next week”, he said. He said, “Because of the heavy deployment and mobile patrolling all along the 300-km-long Srinagar-Jammu national highway we succeeded in foiling the militants’ design to attack the convoy carrying officials to the winter capital here”. We had intelligence reports that militants would attack the convoy of officials and also attack the trucks carrying government files and other records from Jammu. Because of our precautionary steps and the initiatives taken by the security forces jointly, we could keep them (militants) away successfully and all Srinagar based officials and official records reached here safely, he said. He said messages had also been intercepted from across the border directing militants here to cause explosions and grenade attacks in the city, particularly on the Civil Secretariat and the police headquarters on the eve of reopening of offices here. Mr Kumar said to thwart any attempt by militants to fire rockets or rifle grenades they planned to deploy security forces on all highrise buildings around the Secretariat and other important buildings in the city. This drill would continue throughout summer. Cordon and search operations against militants were being intensified beside the regular routine and intelligence-based search operations, against militants hiding in the city and its outskirts. He said the new strategy planned by Pakistan was that the JeM and the LeT would carry out attacks on the security forces but local militant groups like Al-Omar Mujahideen and the Hizb-ul Mujahideen would claim the responsibility to give the impression that only local militants were operating in Kashmir.
UNI |
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Hizb sets terms to give up gun Srinagar, May 2 “Once India takes an initiative with good intentions, she will find us ten steps ahead of her one step. We will at once give up guns and observe real ceasefire so that solution finding path receives a headway,” deputy supreme commander of Hizbul Mujahideen, Moin-ul-Islam, said in an article published in an English daily here today. However, he said, “Let India bear it in mind that unless genuine peace process precedes — Hizbul Mujahideen and other United Jehad Council (UGC) constituents would remain wedded to the armed struggle’’. UGC is the umbrella organisation of over 12 Pakistan-based militant groups operating in Kashmir. “India should always keep it in mind that if she has a sincere desire to see that peace returns to Kashmir she has to make a beginning,” the top commander of the outfit said, adding “If today India begins a genuine process of settlement and peace we will not wait till tomorrow. We will give up our defensive operation right now.” In July 2000, the Hizbul Mujahideen had announced a unilateral ceasefire, but its Pak-based leadership withdrew it a fortnight later after India rejected its demand to involve Pakistan in any talks on Kashmir. “We are not fighting or resisting the Indian onslaught for the sake of fighting. Gun is not a hobby with us, it is a symbol of compulsion and token of India’s obduracy,” the deputy supreme commander of the outfit said. “Should India opt for real peace and resolution of the Kashmir tangle, we will welcome it burying at once all our differences,” he said.
PTI |
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6 ultras killed in encounter Jammu, May 2 According to the police, on receipt of information that a group of militants was hiding in a shed in the forest belt of Bori Bhalla, security personnel cordoned off the area. As the personnel neared the shed, they came under heavy fire. In the retaliatory fire, the shed was blown-up and the six militants were killed. A large quantity of arms and ammunition was seized from the spot. Srinagar (UNI): Seven persons, including five militants, were killed while an ultra surrendered in the Kashmir valley since Wednesday night. An official spokesman said the beheaded body of Ghulam Mohammad Lone was found in the Paner forest of Baramula district on Thursday morning. Meanwhile, Abdul Majid Ganai, who was injured in a firing incident at Chechkote on Monday died in hospital on Thursday. One militant was killed when a grenade exploded in his hands at Zirpora in south Kashmir. Security forces killed two militants each at Sarni Adhani and Sildhar on Wednesday evening. Four AK rifles, 12 magazines, 316 rounds, two grenades and a wireless set were seized from them. A militant surrendered along with an AK rifle, six magazines and 180 rounds at Kupwara. |
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3 die as truck falls into gorge Jammu, May 2 The police said the truck was on its way to Dul-Hasti Hydel Project Kishtwar from Jammu. The driver lost control over the vehicle while negotiating a sharp turn and it rolled down into the gorge. All three persons aboard the truck including the driver were killed on the spot.
UNI |
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