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Top LeT terrorist held
Top Al-Badr militant killed
Bandh hits life in valley
Working group discusses CBMs
Phone, Net services hit in Jammu
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Top LeT terrorist held Srinagar, July 22 A reward of Rs 5 lakh had been announced for information leading to the arrest of the militant, Mohammad Rafiq Sheikh, alias Raju, from Tilar, Kishtwar, in Doda district of the Jammu region. He had spent four years in Pakistan and had been working under different code names like Raju, Mudasir Gujri, Abu Aqeel, Javed, Shahnawaz, Shahzad and Abu Omar. Disclosing this at a press conference here this afternoon, the Director-General of the Jammu and Kashmir Police, Mr Gopal Sharma, said several cases had been solved though some other militants of the outfit were yet to be arrested. He said Raju’s questioning had revealed “certain remarkable things about the LeT and the direct hand of Pakistani agencies in training saboteurs for subversive activities in Kashmir”. Mr Sharma said Raju was also responsible for the grenade attacks at the Jammu bus stand following the assault on APHC leader Syed Ali Shah Geelani, for which three persons were engaged who had been arrested. They are Master Bilal, Riyaz Baba and Wasim, alias Kashif, all from Srinagar outskirts, who had been sent to Jammu to undertake the attacks. They lobbed the grenades at the bus stand, Jammu, and immediately thereafter returned to Srinagar, the DGP said, adding that “the case now stands solved.” He said Abu Al Qama, commander of the Lashkar-e-Toiba in Pakistan, issued instructions from his camp to Raju that yatris and tourists be targeted. Following this, he again distributed grenades and set in motion targeting of tourists and yatris in Srinagar, Ganderbal and Gulmarg, Mr Sharma added. Mr Sharma held that Raju was also responsible for the grenade attacks, shootings and killings in Srinagar, Sopore and elsewhere. Raju was also responsible for planning simultaneous killings of two injured persons at the SKIMS hospital, Soura, here and Sopore, and the killing of two policemen. Raju, the DGP said, had been leading in coordinating and organising different attacks. He had also been responsible for the serial blasts here on July 11 and April 14 this year, Mr Sharma said. Another top militant, Salahuddin, alias Bilal, operating in the Bandipore area of north Kashmir for whom a reward of Rs 5 lakh had also been announced, is still at large. The DGP said Raju was the kingpin in organising fidayeen attack on the Congress rally here on May 21 last. The attack, he said, had been organised “under direct orders of Abu AlQama from Pakistan for which Bilal, alias Salahuddin, of the Lashkar-e-Toiba provided one PoK suicide terrorist from Bandipore and another Pakistani fidayeen by Abu Anas from
Rafiabad”.
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Top Al-Badr militant killed
Srinagar, July 22 Three BSF personnel were also injured in the encounter between militants and the security forces in the horticulture garden near Harwan here last evening. The troops laid an ambush in the horticulture garden following a tip-off. |
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Bandh hits life in valley
Srinagar, July 22 Shops and business establishments remained closed and traffic was off the roads. However, auto-rickshaws and private vehicles plied in some areas of the city here. There was thin attendance in government offices and banks, while educational institutions remained closed. There was minimal traffic on the inter-district routes, while a complete shutdown was observed in other major towns of the valley. Mr Geelani, who had called for a general strike was kept under house arrest at his Hyderpora residence today. The moderate faction of the Hurriyat Conference led by Mirwaiz Umar Farooq has also condemned the attacks and warned of dangerous repercussions. It has also expressed concern over the role of the international community on the issue by remaining silent on the issue. Meanwhile, the state Congress has also condemned the Israeli attacks on Lebanon and appealed to the Prime Minister to use his good offices to stop the bloodshed. Senior vice-president of the Jammu and Kashmir Pradesh Congress Committee and MLC, Mr Abdul Ghani Vakil, while addressing a public meeting at Handwara in Kupwara district yesterday had also condemned the attacks. |
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Working group discusses CBMs
Srinagar, July 22 Five working groups were constituted on the suggestions of the Prime Minister, Dr Manmohan Singh, while presiding over the second roundtable on Kashmir held here on May 24 and 25. The working group was constituted by the Chief Minister, Mr Ghulam Nabi Azad, as a follow-up measure of the announcement made by the Prime Minister. Mohammad Hamid Ansari is the chairman of the working group dealing with confidence-building measures across sections of society. Mr Ansari, who is at present the chairman of the Minority Commission has been the Ambassador to the United Nations, Saudi Arabia and Iran. The first working group meeting was held at the Sher-e-Kashmir International Conference Centre (SKICC) here today. Representatives of various political parties, ethnic groups and regions participated in the meeting. The meeting was held in a cordial atmosphere. The meeting focused on evolving measures to improve the condition of people affected by militancy, especially schemes to rehabilitate orphans and widows. It also discussed issues relating to the relaxation of conditions for persons who have forsworn militancy, an effective rehabilitation policy, including employment, for Kashmiri Pandit migrants and an approach considering the issue relating to the return of Kashimri youth from areas controlled by Pakistan. Talking to the media at the SKICC, Mr Ansari described the deliberations as useful, saying that the members expressed their views frankly. The members, he said, also highlighted various problems arising out of the ongoing militancy. To a question, Mr Ansari said all working groups constituted for the purpose would submit their recommendations to the Prime Minister.
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Phone, Net services hit in Jammu
Jammu, July 22 The services got disrupted in the morning and were restored around midnight. Work in the banks was paralysed as the computers did not work and the ATMs did not respond to the requests of customers. Crippling of the telephone and banking services has become a routine affair eversince the widening of the road started about two years ago. It is almost daily that the telephone, banking and Internet services remain down for most part of the day because of the damaged cables. The BSNL officials are seen rectifying the cables that get cut due to the haphazard widening of the highway. Credit and debit card machines in commercial establishments also did not work and tourists not carrying cash were disappointed as they were unable to do shopping or pay hotel bills. Last week, it took five days to open a new account of a customer in a bank as the Internet services were disrupted. The STD services also remained paralysed for most part of the day and mediapersons faced problems in transmitting reports. Mobile telephones were also hit. It might take a few months to stabilise the BSNL services as work on the highway is progressing slowly. The business community has urged the Chief Minister to intervene and get the things settled. |
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