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Thursday,
August 8, 2002, Chandigarh, India  
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11 ultras, NC tehsil chief shot Undeterred, they continue
yatra Yatris ‘forge’ papers for
darshan Parties condemn
massacre |
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EU team meets Farooq, APHC leaders APHC flayed for backing
panel J&K rights front calls for strike tomorrow First phase of border fencing
completed BJP revives Kashmir unit ahead of
poll Control paddy blast, J&K asks experts Jammu bandh call evokes little response
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11 ultras, NC tehsil chief shot Srinagar, August 7 Militants shot dead Ghulam Hassan Jan, tehsil president, of Tral tehsil in Pulwama district at Dalgate here today. He died on the spot. The police said here that three security force personnel and two militants were killed in an encounter at Pathardari Gali in Khurhama area of Kupwara district yesterday. Two AK rifles, five magazines, 80 rounds, two UBGLs, three UBGL grenades and three hand grenades were recovered from the site of the encounter. One militant was killed in an encounter with the security forces at Sherpora, Kreeri, in Baramula district yesterday. One AK rifle, three magazines, 20 rounds, one pistol, one magazine and four rounds were recovered from the site. One civilian was killed in an exchange of fire between militants and security forces at Paner, Bandipore in Baramula district yesterday. The militants had fired towards a medical camp organised by the security forces. The deceased was identified as Ghulam Mohiuddin of Kuinis village in the area. In another incident militants kidnapped a BSF official Mohammad Shafi from his Gunthal house and later killed him. He was on leave, an official spokesman said. The security forces gunned down two militants in an encounter at Marwah while another ultra was killed at Sheela last night. Two AK rifles, one pistol, eight magazines and three grenades were recovered from the slain ultras. One security jawan was injured in a blast at Lawhang-Sarihal, while militants shot dead a special police officer Veer Singh at Gandoh last night. JAMMU: The security forces foiled an infiltration bid by a group of ultras in Mendhar area of Poonch district early today and shot dead two of them, they said, adding that the operation was still continuing in the area when reports last came in. Two terrorists were gunned down by the security forces in an encounter in Keri area of Noushera sector of Rajouri district today, they said. Two AK-type rifles with six magazines and 180 rounds, four handgrenades nine detonators and 18 kg of explosives were recovered from the site, they added. Two foreign mercenaries were shot in an encounter at Tiller village in Doda district last night, the sources said. They were identified as Saiful Rehman and Skib Code Abu Parbat — both belonging to Pakistan. Meanwhile, three panchayat members, including two sarpanches and a panch, resigned today following militant threats and lack of security in Gandoh belt of Doda district in Jammu and Kashmir. Two sarpanches — Sher Mohammad, Gulam Qadir and a panch Mohammad Ramzan resigned after receiving threatening letters from militants to disassociate themselves from the panchayat office, official sources said. |
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Undeterred, they continue
yatra Srinagar, August 7 The incident, which sent shock waves all around, has changed the otherwise festive mood along the Anantnag-Pahalgam road and the famous tourist spot of Pahalgam. Apart from being a famous tourist spot, Pahalgam has been serving as the base camp for the annual pilgrimage. The police and security forces along the 40-km-long Khannabal-Pahalgam road have further intensified checking of vehicles carrying passengers and occasional visitors to the area, mostly government officials and mediapersons. “We do not leave anything to chance, more so following the suicide attack by the militant”, said a policeman at Sarbal, the main checking point, 6 km short of Pahalgam. Unaware of the details of the incident at Nunwan, a BSF jawan was curious to know what exactly happened there as he remained alert on the main road at Aishmuqam, 20 km short of Pahalgam. “Wearing a 20 kg bulletpro of jacket, I remain on duty for 12 hours every day. We keep a vigil round the clock”, he said, questioning as to how the militant could reach so close to the base camp despite a strong security cover. At a distance of about 20 yards from the BSF jawan, two little girls, least concerned about the incident, washed their clothes. No vehicles, not even a bicycle, are parked along the sides of the 40-km-long road to Pahalgam from Anantnag “for security reasons”. This is in practice ever since the yatra started” said a policeman at Lazbal on the periphery of Anantnag town, where a grenade explosion claimed the lives of a pilgrim and his driver on July 30 last. Pahalgam, 100 km south of here, wears a deserted look today following the attack on the nearby Nunwan base camp. The usual hustle and bustle due to the presence of many locals has vanished. The oval-shaped bus stand and the adjacent marketplace are not witnessing routine business. There are no customers and no passengers, and securitymen maintain a strict vigil against the parking of any vehicle around the place. A majority of the locals have abandoned their picnic trips to this hill resort in view of the yatra, though officials claim that there are no restrictions on their movement. |
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Yatris ‘forge’ papers for darshan Jammu, August 7 With security personnel unrelenting on Amarnath Yatra permits, it is now a row between the two, with some pilgrims forging registrations to converge on the holy cave shrine despite some ending up in a temporary lockup. Yatris keen to undertake the pilgrimage reached here much in advance and when not permitted to go ahead, changed dates, replaced photographs on the permits or simply sneaked their way through. This reporter was witness to the desperate measures of pilgrims in the face of restrictions imposed by the J&K Police in the name of security. It all begins at the MAM Stadium from where the convoy of pilgrims leave every morning for the Yatra Base Camp at Pahalgam and Baltal. To be part of a batch of pilgrims, a yatri has to gain entry to the stadium on the previous night itself. J&K Police allows only those yatris to enter the stadium whose allotted darshan date falls four days later. With yatris arriving here days in advance, the stadium gates are a constant site of altercation with the state police personnel. When denied entry, these pilgrims try to doctor the date of darshan, while those eligible after entering the stadium, smuggle their I-Cards out for replacing the photographs for reuse by fellow travellers. To make matters worse, many groups of pilgrims have got cards printed on their own and used forged seals to stamp them for paying obeisance at the holy cave. Security officials concede that for every genuine yatra permit there is a doctored one in use. Officials, however, say this in no way affects the overall security scenario “as it is next to impossible” to enter the stadium with any explosive device due to intensive frisking. Meanwhile they are considering introduction of laminated cum computerised yatra I-cards in the coming years. One reason why yatris are able to forge the permits is that I-cards are seldom checked once they enter the stadium and during the course of the pilgrimage. Many pilgrims who are unable to get entry into the stadium spend the night outside and board their respective chartered buses without restriction, once the convoy leaves for the base camp in the morning. I-cards are allotted with the specific date of darshan from branches of J&K Bank all over the country and yatris complain the same group of people have been allotted different dates amongst themselves causing inconvenience. Officials counter it saying dates are allotted on a first-cum-first-serve basis and yatris cannot be permitted to move ahead irrespective of dates as that would mean an unmanagemable rush. For the official agencies, the bottomline is security which makes it imperative to send a limited number of pilgrims at a time in well-guarded convoys from Jammu. On the other hand for the yatris what has been of primary concern is to seek blessings from the holy “ice lingam” before it melts due to increasing heat. “What is the point of giving me August 13 as the date of darshan when the lingam completely melts by the first week itself,” says Om Prakash a Patiala-based pilgrim.
PTI |
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Parties condemn massacre Jammu, August 7 Lambasting the government for laxity on the security front, Jammu and Kashmir Pradesh Congress Committee (JKPCC) at a meeting here today, demanded the strengthening of security so that such massacres did not recur. Nine pilgrims were killed and 32 injured when a militant lobbed a grenade and fired indiscriminately at the Nunwan camp yesterday before he was shot dead by the forces. National Conference leader Bushan Lal Bhat, who blamed Pakistan for engineering the carnage, said it was an act of cowardice. The JKLF condemned the killings, describing the act as the handiwork of those who want to divide Jammu and Kashmir on communal lines, JKLF spokesman Masood Ahmed said. The Akhil Bhartiya Shiv Sena, condemning the attack demanded the dismissal of the Farooq government. Nationalist Congress Party president Thakur Randhir Singh said: “The hollowness of the state government on the security front has been exposed”. “The brutal Nunwan massacre as part of the unending series of mass killings was a challenge not only to India but to the whole of humanity”, convener of the People’s Union for Civil Liberties, Balraj Puri said. Other organisations, including the BJP, Kisan Morcha, Kashmir Pandit United Forum, J and K Nationalist Panthers Party, Awami League and Panun Kashmir also condemned the attack.
PTI |
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EU team meets Farooq, APHC leaders Srinagar, August 7 “We are here on an assessment tour,” delegation leader Michel Stenberg of Denmark told reporters at the end of an over two-hour meeting with the Hurriyat leaders at its headquarters here today. “We will now report to our respective government”, he added. The delegation, which was on a five-day visit to the state, had an hour-long meeting with Mr Abdullah last night during which the Chief Minister gave an account of the human tragedy and the colossal damage caused to the infrastructure in the state in the wake of Pakistan-sponsored terrorism. Mr Abdullah told them that cross-border terrorism had retarded the pace of development. Hurriyat chairman Abdul Gani Bhat said after the meeting that the delegation was told that the “resolution of the Kashmir issue is the key to the normalisation of relations with Pakistan. PTI, UNI |
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APHC flayed for backing panel Srinagar, August 7 “Mr Jethamalani wants to present the process as a step towards the resolution of the Kashmir problem, though we see it as an attempt to sabotage the issue and a part of the American time-gaining strategy”, Asiya, who went underground to avoid arrest under POTA in connection with a hawala case, said in a statement issued yesterday. Meanwhile, the Democratic Freedom Party (DFP) has ruled out its participation in the ensuing Assembly elections in the state, branding it as yet another futile exercise. However, DFP accepted the invitation from the seven-member Kashmir Committee to discuss the Kashmir
problem. Party chairman Shabir Ahmad Shah said the “so-called’’ elections were held in the state in the past also without achieving any breakthrough and the forthcoming poll would never help in restoring peace.
PTI, UNI |
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J&K rights front calls for strike tomorrow Srinagar, August 7 “The front appeals to people to observe a complete strike on August 9 to show to the world that Kashmiris are not terrorists but friends of humanity and will not accept the label of terrorism, the group’s chairman, Mohammad Ahsan Antoo, said. Stating that the attack was a conspiracy to trigger off clashes between the yatris and the people of Kashmir, he said “the militant outfits active in the valley have neither imposed a ban on the yatra nor threatened to attack yatris. In fact, they (militants) consider yatris as their brothers”. Meanwhile, the pro-Pakistan Hizbul Mujahideen has condemned the attack and said “whosoever is
responsible for the incident has left a scar on the movement in the state.”
PTI |
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First phase of border fencing
completed Jammu, August 7 The sources confirmed that the third phase of raising eight feet tall fence on the 40 km IB stretch in the
R.S. Pora and Akhnoor sectors had been delayed because of mines laid along the border. The sources said except for a small patch fencing and flood lights on the 40 km border stretch has been completed in the past two years. The planning for the third phase had been completed, they added. Work on the project was suspended in 1995 following heavy firing by Pakistani troops with a view to disrupting the fencing work. It was two years ago that the Union Home Ministry decided to resume work on the project which was deemed necessary to check infiltration of militants and smuggling of narcotics and other contraband from Pakistan. The Army was directed to provide logistic support in case the Pak troops intensified firing to stall the project. Border guards had identified over 70 infiltration routes on the 187-km-long border in the Jammu sector. Hence fencing the border was vital for checking the ingress. Border posts were also doubled from 32 to foil any Pak game plan of forcing the BSF to suspend work on the project. The sources said work on phase III would be taken in hand once mines were removed and that was possible only after
de-escalation on the border. |
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BJP revives Kashmir unit ahead of poll Srinagar, August 7 Mr Vivek Dadkar, State secretary of the party has already been appointed as the in charge of Kashmir valley. Two women leaders, Ms Shamima Wani and Ms Bilkiss, have been included in the committee, it said. Immediately after its formation, Mr Fayaz Ahmad Bhat convened a meeting of all members and appealed to the state government to provide all facilities, including security to the nominated members. The newly-appointed convener appealed to the Centre to impose Governor’s rule in the state ahead of the elections. The members also condemned the militant attack on Amarnath pilgrims in Nunwan yesterday. A district committee would be set up in all districts of the valley, the statement added.
PTI |
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Control paddy blast, J&K asks experts Srinagar, August 7 The directions came in the course of a meeting convened here to review the adverse affects of the paddy blast and the steps taken by the government to control the disease. The meeting, which was chaired by Agriculture Minister Choudhary Mohammad Ramzan, today threadbare discussed the arrangements made by the Agriculture Department, the Jammu and Kashmir Horticulture Production and Marketing Corporation (JKHPMC) and the Agro Industries Development Corporation for the availability of fungicides required by the farming community to control the paddy blast.
PTI |
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Jammu bandh call evokes little response Jammu, August 7 Vehicular traffic plied as usual in the city and suburbs, official sources said. All schools, colleges and private educational institutions remained closed today, they added. The committee which held a meeting of party functionaries under the chairmanship of Mohammad Yusuf Wani yesterday, had given a call for Jammu bandh today against the massacre of the Amarnath pilgrims yesterday. Blaming the ISI for perpetrating violence against innocent civilians, the party, in a statement, also urged the Centre to “teach a lesson to the neighbouring country through war”.
PTI |
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