J A M M U   &   K A S H M I R

15 militants freed; deported to Pak
Jammu, August 14
On the eve of Independence Day, 15 Pakistani militants of the Jaish-e-Mohammad (jem), the Lashkar-e-Toiba (LeT), the Harkat-Ul-Jehad Islami (HUJI) and the Hizbul Mujahideen were released from eight Indian jails and deported to Pakistan authorities via Wagah International border, official sources said here today.

3 pilgrims killed as vehicle falls into nullah
Jammu, August 14
At least three Vaishno Devi pilgrims were killed and 16 injured when a light motor vehicle (LMV) fell into a nullah near Bantalab Nagrota 15 km from Jammu last evening, the police said today.

Parties exploiting migrants: Cong
Jammu, August 14
The Congress today said the political parties in J and K were exploiting the migrants of Talwara camp displaced from far- flung areas of different districts due to insurgency in the state.

Shiv Sena’s march stopped
Udhampur, August 14
The Police today stopped Shiv Sena activists , who were proceeding towards Kashmir to hoist national flag there. Cavalcade of Shiv Sena activists was stopped near Jagano, 3 km from Udhampur.

15 militants freed; deported to Pak

Jammu, August 14
On the eve of Independence Day, 15 Pakistani militants of the Jaish-e-Mohammad (jem), the Lashkar-e-Toiba (LeT), the Harkat-Ul-Jehad Islami (HUJI) and the Hizbul Mujahideen were released from eight Indian jails and deported to Pakistan authorities via Wagah International border, official sources said here today.

Soon after receiving the government directive, the 15 militants, who were detained in different areas of the state, were freed from eight jails of the country where they had been lodged for past two to three years after arrest.

Authorities released two militants each from Kot Bhalwal jail in Jammu, Jodhpur jail and Central jail, Jodhpur (Rajasthan), Sangrur jail in Punjab and Tihar jail in New Delhi and three militants were released from Naini jail in Allahabad district of Uttar Pradesh while one militant each were released from central jail, Varanasi (Uttar Pradesh) and central jail, Agra (Uttar Pradesh), sources added.

Most of the militants, freed last evening, were detained under the Public Safety Act (PSA) for involvement in subversive activities across Jammu and Kashmir.

To facilitate their release, the Home Affairs Ministry vide its order which has revoked the PSA detention of all 15 militants sources said.

Two militants, who were released from Kot Bhalwal jail, have been identified as Mohammad Billal alias Billu ( Lahore) and Uumar Din alias Amjad Chadha (Muzaffarabad PoK) while the others were Javed Akhtar Abbasi alias Arslan (Rawalpindi), Talib Hussain alias Irfan Shah (Muzaffarabad), Mohamad Sharief Haidari alias Sharief (Faisalabad), Shekhawat Hussain Shah (Challan, PoK), Sofi Jamal alias Mushtaq (Muzaffarabad) Mohammad Ramzan Ansari alias Vikas Khan Afghani (Faisalabad),Sajjad Sajid Khan (Rawalakot, PoK), Mohammad Akram Balouch alias Hamid Bbalouch (Quetta, Blouchistan), Mohammad Ishfaq Rajput (Sialkot), Tariq Abdullah Lohar alias Abu Samana (Karachi), Rsaifullah alias Code Bobby Lahore), Amjad Ali Jat alias Ali Akbar (Lahore) and Alam Khan (Muzaffarabad, PoK). — UNI

3 pilgrims killed as vehicle falls into nullah

Jammu, August 14
At least three Vaishno Devi pilgrims were killed and 16 injured when a light motor vehicle (LMV) fell into a nullah near Bantalab Nagrota 15 km from Jammu last evening, the police said today.

The LMV, which was returning to Jammu from Vaishno Devi, Katra rolled into a nullah, sources said adding, three pilgrims died on the spot while 16 were injured.

The deceased were identified as Raj Kumar, Nirmal Kumar and Rozy, residents of Ferozepore district in Punjab.

The injured were shifted to Government Medical College and Hospital (GMCH) Jammu where condition of two was stated to be critical, sources said. — UNI

Parties exploiting migrants: Cong
Tribune News Service

Jammu, August 14
The Congress today said the political parties in J and K were exploiting the migrants of Talwara camp displaced from far- flung areas of different districts due to insurgency in the state.

Accusing the Jammu-Kashmir National Panthers Party (JKNPP) of inciting the Talwara migrants during a recent clash with the police at Katra, Jammu province Congress spokesman Ravinder Sharma said at a press conference here the BJP and other parties were also exploiting poor migrants.

Several activists amongst the Talwara migrants were injured when their protest march from Katra to Jammu was stopped by cops last week. The march was organised by the JKNPP. Various political parties had condemned the police action.

Sharma today said JKNPP chief Bhim Singh and his party colleague Harsh Dev never raised the issue of the pathetic condition of these migrants when the said party was part of the government.

He said the pensions and other relief measures for the migrants at the Talwara camp had got delayed due to delay of grant of Rs 12 crore by the Centre.

The Congress spokesman said the Ghulam Nabi Azad-led coalition government was deeply concerned about the problems faced by the migrants and the state administration was already disbursing relief money to them on a par with those who had migrated from the border areas.

"The state government is also of the view they should get relief on a par with the Kashmiri migrants and we have taken up the matter with the Centre," he said.

He stated there were in all 741 such families which had been rehabilitated at the Talwara camp and of these 191 families were from Rajouri district alone.

On steps taken for the return of these migrants to their native places, Sharma said these families did not want to go back at this juncture as they still feared threat to life and property. He, however, said peace now prevailed in many areas from where the migration took place due to insurgency nearly 10 years back.

Shiv Sena’s march stopped
Tribune News Service

Udhampur, August 14
The Police today stopped Shiv Sena activists , who were proceeding towards Kashmir to hoist national flag there. Cavalcade of Shiv Sena activists was stopped near Jagano, 3 km from Udhampur.

Jammu and Kashmir unit of the Shiv Sena had announced to march towards Kashmir on August 14 to hoist national flag at Lal Chowk, Srinagar. As they reached near Jaganoo, they were stopped. The police was deployed there and barricades were also erected.

Sena workers sat on dharna and shouted slogans against militancy. They later returned to Udhampur.