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Saturday,
December 28, 2002, Chandigarh, India  
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LeT
hideout busted
YEARENDER — 2002 IAF planes
to ferry civilians also |
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| Awards for
79 officers, jawans Jammu, December 27 As many as 79 soldiers and officers received gallantry and distinguished service awards at a glittering and colourful ceremony here today. 
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LeT hideout busted
Srinagar, December 27 A BSF spokesman said troops of 191 Batallion along with an intelligence team got vital information that Pakistan-based Lashkar-e-Toiba had stored IEDs and other arms and ammunition in a hideout at Gohal Katinawali in Baramula district. He said as soon as the information was received that the IEDs would be used to target senior politicians and senior civil and security officials on the national highway between Baramula to Pattan, the troops swung into action. After a long search, they unearthed the hideout at Gohan heights on Katinwali to Baba Rishi road in the Kandi area of Baramula district last evening. Ten powerful IEDs, three boosters, two remote receivers, three wireless sets, two kg explosive, 14 detonators, 2 grenades, five magazines, 270 rounds of ammunition and two pistol silencers were seized from there. The explosive material was enough to cause large-scale killings and damage to property, he said. He attributed the success to local people who are now providing information about militants and their hideouts to security forces. Meanwhile, militants today shot at and critically wounded a police constable in the crowded Maharaj Bazar market in the heart of the city, official sources said. Constable Aijaz Ahmad of Sherghari police station was shot from point-blank range by militants while he was on duty at around 4 pm, the sources said. The constable was hit in the head and immediately rushed to the SMHS hospital from where he was referred to Soura Medical Institute for specialised treatment. The shooting triggered panic among pedestrains and shopkeepers who ran for safety. The police, assisted by the BSF, immediately laid a cordon around the area and a hunt was launched to arrest the militants involved in the attack. However, no militant outfit has claimed responsibility for the shooting so far, they added. A militant was killed today in an encounter with security forces at Kundlan village in the Shopian area of south Kashmir’s Pulwama district, official sources here said. The militant, identified as Mohammad Shafi Bhat, alias Abu Huranira, a resident of Mulandpora in the district, was killed in a gunbattle with the security forces this morning, the sources said. One AK rifle, its two magazines and 36 rounds of ammunition were seized from the slain militant, they said. Security forces were engaged in a gunbattle with militants at Trehgam in Kupwara district but there was no report of loss of life from any side, the sources added. JAMMU: A soldier was killed in a fierce encounter with militants in the Hari Budha area of Rajouri district on Friday afternoon. The police said acting on a tip-off that some militants were hiding in the area, security forces launched a search operation to flush them out. When challenged, the militants opened fire on the security forces. In the ensuing gunbattle, one solider was killed. The encounter was still going on when last reports came in.
UNI, PTI |
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YEARENDER
— 2002 JAMMU: The people spent the year in scare as the Pakistan-backed terrorists stepped up targeting innocent persons throughout Jammu and Kashmir putting a question mark on the “healing touch” policy of the newly installed Chief Minister, Mufti Mohammed Sayeed. Shockwaves were sent when the terrorists started massacre of innocent infants and girls towards the end of the year. Three girls were beheaded in Rajouri district of Jammu as they refused to obey the diktat of the terrorists to wear ‘burqa’ and not attend the educational institutions. There was scare as the terrorists have renewed the same diktat. Over 1050 civilians fell to the bullet so far this year, 125 of them lost their lives in cross-fire between security forces and the terrorists. As many as 528 security personnel lost their lives while 1662 terrorists were eliminated. Infiltration of terrorists from across the border was continuing despite the claims of Pakistani rulers that they were not helping the militants. However, reports indicate that Pakistan was not only training the terrorists in at least 14 camps near the line of control, but was also financially aiding them. This was the reason that terrorism has refused to end in the past 13 years. The recent Assembly elections witnessed terrorist strikes at many places in which several innocent people were killed. The famous Raghunath Temple in the heart of the town here was captured by terrorists twice, once in March and then again last month, killing about 20
devotes. The Shiva temple was also targeted. The security forces have been keeping a tight vigil, but the line of control being mountainous and
porous, terrorists continue to sneak into J and K. What was worrying is that the terrorists have established their base in this winter capital of the state and have been striking at will as the police has miserably failed to track them. As many as 38 persons, including women and children, were gunned down when terrorists raided the labour colony of Qasim Nagar on the bypass here and sprayed bullets on residents. The hijacking of a bus of the Himachal Road Transport Corporation (HRTC) by terrorists and killing of 10 passengers and the subsequent attack on the Kalu Chak cantonment, near here, in which about a dozen women and children were massacred drew the attention of the world community. The attack on the cantonment on the Jammu-Pathankot highway came when the defence personnel were deployed on the borders due to the build up by Pakistan and their families were alone in the cantonment. Besides, the terrorists hijacked a tourist bus coming from Delhi near Hiranagar and killed 13 persons. A day later they blew off a bus here carrying pilgrims to the Vaishno Devi shrine. A top military officer said only 30 to 35 per cent of the total infiltration was detected by the security forces. The foreign mercenaries outnumber the local militants in five of the six districts of Jammu. It is estimated that not less than 600 foreign mercenaries were actively operating in the Jammu region with nearly 200 of them in the border district of Poonch and 120 in Udhampur which is the headquarters of Northern Command of the Army. About 50 per cent terrorists were of the Afghan origin and 45 per cent were Pakistanis. The recovery of the ANZA surface-to-air missile of the Pakistani army in the jungles has exposed the plans of the terrorists to hit aircraft flying here. |
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IAF planes to ferry civilians also Jammu, December 27 Deputy Prime Minister, L.K. Advani and Union Minister of Civil Aviation, Syed Shahnawaz Hussain, stated this while inaugurating the airport terminal building here today. Mr Advani said that in view of security problems due to intermittent shelling by Pakistanis Kargil airport would be controlled and managed by the Defence authorities and air service would be made available to civilians in IAF planes. The Deputy Prime Minister said that the day the NDA Government since its inception prepared two-point programme of security and development. He said the programme was being implemented in Jammu and Kashmir. Referring to development he said for economic growth basic infrastructure had to be provided which included roads, Railways and air services. He said since 1983 the rail project, connecting Jammu with Udhampur, had been moving at a snail’s pace and “we have given new direction to the project by ensuring that the rail link was ready within one year.” Mr Advani lauded people of Jammu and Kashmir for participating in recent Assembly election despite militants’ threats. He said people were responsible for ensuring transparent and free election. The Jammu and Kashmir Chief Minister Mufti Mohammad Sayeed, said that air flights between Leh and Jammu needed to be increased. He suggested to the Civil Aviation Ministry to allow Jet Airways to operate air service between Jammu and Leh because two Indian Airlines flights from Jammu to Leh in a week were insufficient for the civilians when road link between Ladakh and the world remain blocked for six months. The Mufti assured the central leaders that his government would extend cooperation for the expansion of airports and completing rail and other projects in Jammu and Kashmir. Syed
Shahnawaz Hussain said that so far Rs 25 crore had been spend on the expansion and renovation of Jammu airport. Expansion of Leh, Kargil and Srinagar airports had already been taken in hand, he added. He agreed with Union Minister for Defence, Prof Chaman Lal Gupta’s plea that Jammu airport be developed into international airport to enable Haj pilgrims to travel to Mecca from Jammu direct. He said that Rs 40 crore had been provided for the expansion of Srinagar airport where a lounge for 600 passengers was to be constructed. Prof Gupta was greeted by people gathered at the airport for sanctioning air terminal expansion when the Minister of State for Civil Aviation, said that now for aircrafts could land there. He suggested to the Deputy Prime Minister to sanction an NSG detachment for Jammu and Kashmir for an emergency instead of bringing NSG men from Delhi. Chairman, Airports Authority of India, S.K. Narula, said that under Phase-I runway had been extended from 6000 feet to 6700 feet at a cost of Rs 8 crore. He said under Phase-II it would be extended to 8000 feet. It would cost over Rs 13 crore. He said check-in counters had been increased from four to 10 and passenger capacity of the terminal building was being increased from 300 to 500. |
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Awards for 79 officers, jawans Jammu, December 27 The GOC-in-C, Northern Command, Lt-Gen R.K. Nanavatty, presented the awards. Out of these three Sena Medals were awarded posthumously. General Nanavatty presented 65 Sena Medals for gallantry, nine Sena Medals for distinguished services and one Jeevan Raksha Padak to the officers and jawans. The president of the Army Wives Welfare Association, Mrs R.K. Nanavatty, interacted with next of kin of the jawans who had sacrificed their lives while defending the country’s integrity and security. Among the prominent persons who attended the ceremony were Hon Capt Bana Singh (retd), recipient of the Param Vir Chakra, and Mr Amitabh Mattoo, Vice-Chancellor, Jammu University. |
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Srinagar, December 27
