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Tuesday,
December 24,
2002, Chandigarh, India  
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3 top Al-Badr ultras killed
APHC terms for talks Will PM oblige Mufti? |
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Heavy shelling by Pak troops 
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3 top
Al-Badr ultras killed Srinagar, December 23 The gunbattle took place when the BSF troops raided Kraltop ridge in Kamla forest at the height of 8,000 feet following specific information about presence of a hideout and some top militants of Al-Badr outfit, the spokesman said. He said a huge cache of arms and ammunition was seized from the deceased militants who included two Pakistani nationals and a local militant. The spokesman identified the slain militants as self-styled divisional commander and media in charge Sohab Ahmad Khan of Multan (Pakistan), operational commander Fakrul Islam of Chakdahara, NWFP (Pakistan) and deputy district commander of central Kashmir, Javid Ahmad Bhat of Pazwalpora village of north Kashmir’s Kupwara district. He said the arms and ammunition seized from the slain militants and their hideout included a Pika gun with a magazine and 75 rounds of belted ammunition, two AK assault rifles with six magazines and 170 rounds, and two pistols with two magazines and 20 rounds. Seven wireless sets, a disposable rocket launcher, four rockets, 10 boosters, two under-barrel grenade launchers, 37 grenades, four remote-control devices, five numbers of tail units of RPG rockets, 43 electric detonators and three timer devices were also seized during the operation, the spokesman said. Meanwhile, in a barbaric act, four persons set ablaze a shopkeeper dealing in cigarettes by sprinkling petrol on him here today. The shopkeeper, Mohammad Shafi Teli suffered serious burn injuries while his shop located in Chandpora locality of Habbakadal area in the city was gutted in the incident, official sources said. The police has registered a case and started investigation into the incident, they said. Shafi, who was admitted to SMHS hospital, said four unknown persons came to his shop this morning and set him on fire after sprinkling petrol on him without any provocation. A caller introducing himself as a spokesman of hitherto unknown Hai-e-Allal Fallah told NAFA, a local news agency, that its activists were responsible for the incident. The shopkeeper, they alleged, was selling cigarettes laced with narcotics and the primary aim of the outfit was to “cleanse” the society of such “evils.” In yet another incident, militants attacked a BSF vehicle with a crude bomb in downtown Srinagar today but the personnel escaped unhurt, official sources said. The personnel jumped off the vehicle as the bomb hurled by militants landed on it and escaped unhurt, the sources said.
PTI |
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APHC terms for talks Srinagar, December 23 Hurriyat should be allowed to go to Pakistan to talk to the militant leadership there for a negotiated solution to the Kashmir issue, APHC Chairman Abdul Gani Bhat told a day-long convention of the Islamic Students’ League which was renamed as Democratic Political Movement. Mr Bhat said “if Hurriyat fails in its endeavour to bring around the militant leadership, it will concede defeat or else India shall give up its rigid stand on Kashmir.” Mr Bhat said the amalgam wanted the right to self-determination, a promise made by then Prime Minister Jawaharlal Nehru in the United Nations. “Give us what you have promised to the Kashmiri people,” he said. He brushed aside the Centre’s assertion that the movement in Kashmir was terrorism.
PTI |
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Will PM oblige Mufti? Jammu, December 23 Will the Prime Minister oblige the Chief Minister? This is the question that seems to occupy the mind of not only Mufti Sayeed but also other political leaders in the state. Right from the day the Mufti floated his People’s Democratic Party (PDP) he has been consistent in demanding parleys with political leaders, separatists and even militants without imposing any precondition. He is on record having said that the issue can be resolved through dialogue and not with the bullet. And this very policy is said to have been one of the factors for his party’s victory in the Assembly poll. It indicates that most people in Kashmir are in favour of bilateral talks. If and when the talks are initiated will these parleys, with the elected members of the Assembly, clinch the issue when there are other key players in the field? The first key player, Pakistan, may not bless such an initiative as Islamabad is keen on opening trilateral parleys for resolving the Kashmir issue. There are different brands of militant outfits and separatists who have their vested interest in perpetuating violence, besides political instability and uncertainty. The Kashmir Chief Minister is aware of such pitfalls and hence he has given weightage to measures which could go a long way in winning the hearts of people. Once people stopped giving shelter to militants and refused to provide the rebels the required assistance, the situation could improve. Mufti Sayeed has identified measures which could win the hearts of people and remove their alienation. In this context an economic package, including a job package for youth, tops the list of his priorities. He has conveyed to the Government of India that Jammu and Kashmir has remained at the bottom in terms of the network of roads, the consumption of electricity and the availability of other basic amenities even though the per capita collection of taxes is Rs 852 against the national average of Rs 847. His complaint is genuine when he conveyed to the Prime Minister that the total foreign investment in Jammu and Kashmir has been merely $ 11 million as compared to a total of $ 47,000 million in the entire country. His concern is over the Union Government’s paltry investment in the public sector (Rs 14 crore) as compared to more than Rs 50,000 crore in the entire country. The Chief Minister has, therefore, suggested to the Central Government to review these anomalies and take measures to rectify the wrong so that those who did not pick up the gun and those who bid farewell to weapons are suitably rehabilitated. Kashmir experts are of the opinion that an economic package should precede talks between the Centre and the people’s representatives. Once the economic package is available, it would create a congenial atmosphere for the talks to succeed, though to a limited extent. It may take a long time for Indo-Pak talks to materialise. Till then the government of India could give peace a chance by accepting the main demands of the Mufti.
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Heavy shelling by Pak troops Jammu, December 23 Defence sources said Pakistani troops stationed across the LoC targeted forward Indian formations at 9 a.m. prompting Indian soldiers to retaliate.
UNI |
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Advani’s visit Jammu, December 23 |
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