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Sunday,
June 16, 2002, Chandigarh, India  
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Build-up has made little difference: Lashkar unit busted, 2 ultras held
CEC to
tour J&K to assess situation BJP chief assures fair J&K poll J & K levies tax on pilgrims’ buses |
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Build-up has made little difference: J-K report Jammu, June 15 If the Jammu and Kashmir Government report is any guide, there has been no major transformation in the security environment in the troubled state. The slight improvement witnessed has been in the area of infiltration from across the border. According to the report, prior to the military build-up, which was ordered soon after the terrorist strike on the Indian Parliament House on December 13, nearly 1,300 infiltrators trained in camps in Pakistan and occupied Kashmir had sneaked into Jammu and Kashmir between July 1, 2001, and December 14, 2001. During this period, as many as 870 foreign mercenaries and over 430 local rebels crossed into Jammu and Kashmir. During the past six months of the military build-up nearly 600 infiltrators had crossed into Jammu and Kashmir, out of which 450 were foreign mercenaries. A senior state government functionary told TNS that the report revealed that there had been slight drop in the rate of killing of civilians despite the carnage at the Kaluchak Army camp in Jammu in which 32 people were massacred. During the past six months, the report said, not more than 400 civilians were killed against 415 during the six months of pre-military build-up. The report said that better border management by additional forces deployed along the LoC and IB did not only result in a slight drop in the rate of ingress but also resulted in an increase in the rate of elimination of militants. During the six-month- long military build-up on the border, over 600 militants were killed by the security forces in different parts of the state against 635 during the six months of the pre-military build-up period. Another area where one could observe a minor improvement is in the rate of killing of security personnel. During the past six months, 200 security personnel were killed by the militants when between July, 2001, and December 13, 2001, nearly 250 men of the Army, police and paramilitary forces had been killed by the rebels. The rate of surrender of militants has not registered any upward curve. No doubt during the past six months 60 militants had surrendered before the state and Army authorities against 56 during the six months of the pre-military build-up, but the figure could have been on a lower side had not 31 rebels laid down their arms before the Army authorities in Kupwara district during the first week of this month. The state government functionary said the report on the rate of ingress “cannot be accurate.” If the report had indicated that nearly 600 rebels crossed into Jammu and Kashmir during the past six months, it was based on the information supplied by the field agencies. These agencies based their report on information collected from the border people. He said the ingress figure could be on the higher side because several groups of militants get unnoticed while crossing the LoC during night time. The Corps Commander, 16 Corps, Lieut-Gen J. B.S. Yadava, and Maj-Gen Randhir Singh, whose division controls the LoC in the Mendhar sector, have said that infiltration had not been totally stopped. They admitted that there had been a drop in the level of ingress, but “it is difficult for our troops to stop infiltrators who are pushed into the state under the Pakistan fire cover.” The state government functionary said though there had been a drop in the level of militancy-related violence and in the activities of the rebel during the pasts six months, it was not because of the military build-up but because of a plan of the terrorists to store weapons and ammunition and increase their manpower. He said reports had indicated that the state may witness a fresh flare-up when the dates of the Assembly poll were announced. The functionary said that since troops were sent to the border, areas within the state were left unmanned, allowing militants to establish bases in regions which had been sanitised earlier. He said that had the Centre agreed to the state government’s demand for sending additional companies of paramilitary forces and had the security grid ordered a massive crackdown on rebel hideouts, the security environment in the state would have improved to a great extent. The military build-up simply heightened tension on the LoC and the IB which led to a fierce exchange of fire between the two sides and migration of over 50,000 people from the border villages. |
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Lashkar unit busted, 2 ultras held Jammu, June 15 According to the Inspector-General of Police, Mr P.L. Gupta, the police with the help of Central intelligence agencies arrested Zulfiqar, alias Abu Jahad, of Gujranwala in Pakistan and Zakir, alias Usman, of Prem Nagar in Doda district. The raiding party seized two assault rifles, three pistols, eight grenades, 130 detonators, 19 remote control devices, 10 time pencils and other ammunition from them. Mr Gupta told reporters that a manhunt had been launched to track down six more Lashkar activists who were still at large in Jammu. He said Zulfiqar had crossed over into Jammu thrice during the past eight months and after a brief stay in Poonch and Rajouri he had been assigned the task of establishing Lashkar bases and a module in the city of temples. Mr Gupta said the interrogation of the two rebels had revealed that their task was to strike at vital government and Army installations and blow up strategic civil installations. He said Zulfiqar and his associates had been staying in Jammu for the past eight months and had occupied an evacuee house in Ustad Mohalla, a crowded locality, in the city after spending Rs 2.50 lakh. The duo had also distributed over Rs 20 lakh to Lashkar activists and their supporters for sustaining militancy related activities. The IGP said the module was demolished after Mohammad Ashraf had been arrested on June 2. He said local contacts of the duo were also being interrogated and they, too, would be arrested. He said the Lashkar plan was to enable its activists to settle down in Jammu city so that they had sufficient bases to stoke subversive violence. |
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CEC
to tour J&K to assess situation New Delhi, June 15 During their tour, Mr Lyngdoh and Mr Tandon will hold discussions
with the State Chief Electoral Officer and other election staff and
would meet representatives of political parties and officials of the
state administration and police officers in Jammu and Srinagar.
Mr Lyngdoh and Mr Tandon had last visited Jammu and Kashmir in
March this year during which they had received a large number of
complaints about faulty electoral rolls.
The tour assumes great significance as the Election Commission is
expected to finalise the date of poll on the basis of their
assessment during the three-day visit.
The Election Commission has already taken major initiatives for
holding a free-and-fair poll in the militancy-affected state.
The commission has ordered that special "high-security"
photo identity cards be issued to the electorate in Jammu and
Kashmir and has nearly completed the job of computerisation of
electoral rolls after weeding off dead voters. It had also ordered
"rationalisation" of polling stations so that no voter has
to traverse a distance of more than 2 km to cast his or her vote. It
had also directed the state Election Commission not to have more
than three booths at each polling centre. |
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BJP chief assures fair J&K poll Udhampur, June 15 Addressing mediapersons here, he said the decision with regard to the adjustment of Assembly seats with any party would be taken after reviewing the situation. He said the decision to provide relief to persons who had migrated from the border areas in the state was being taken by the Centre shortly. Regarding the issue of discrimination against the people of the Jammu region, he said the BJP would definitely put pressure on the National Conference government to shun discriminating against the people of the region. Mr Krishnamurthi also addressed a convention in which BJP workers from Udhampur, Doda and Kathua participated. He said an election management committee comprising BJP leaders from the Centre and the state would be formed. Party leaders Mr Om Parkash Kohli, Mr Baya Krishan Kotwal, Mr Chaman Lal Gupta, Mr Lala Shiv Gupta (MLA), Mr Prithvi Chand (MLA), Mr Hans Raj Dogra (MLA) were among others who addressed the convention. |
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J & K levies tax on pilgrims’ buses Jammu, June 15 Vehicles on way to Vaishno Devi in Jammu will be charged Rs 2000 at the entry point. If the vehicle stays for more than three days, Rs 2000 per day will be charged, an official spokesman said here today. Similarly, Rs 2000 as road tax would be charged from vehicles moving to Amarnath in Kashmir at the entry point. After a week, Rs 2000 per day would be charged. These orders were implemented with effect from yesterday, the spokesman
said. PTI |
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