Indo-Pak Border, BOP Chak Pagwari, September 27
Indian troops foiled an infiltration bid by a group of armed militants on the Chak Pagwari border outpost (BOP) along the International Border (IB) in Pargwal sector of Jammu today.

Additional DIG, BSF, Jammu Frontier, J.B. Sangwan said: “Around 10 to 12 suspected militants took positions on an embankment across the IB and our three border outposts came under heavy gunfire.”

According to PTI, Pakistani Rangers opened fire on the outpost in the wee hours today, a BSF spokesperson said.

Sangwan said the militants first fired grenades using UBGLs and then resorted to indiscriminate fire from AK-47 rifles. However, our jawans retaliated and the exchange of fire continued for about 45 minutes, he added. The exchange of fire started at around 12.05 am and continued till 12.50 am, Sangwan said.

P.S. Dhiman, Commandant, 26 Battalion (guarding BOPs Devra and Chak Pagwari), said: “Around 10 to 12 militants in three to four groups first fired grenades with UBGLs and then resorted to heavy fire.”

Our jawans immediately took positions and returned the fire, forcing the militants to retreat, Dhiman said.

Some jawans at the BOP said militants stopped gunfire and retreated only after Indian troops fired mortar bombs.

However, there was no loss of life or injury in the cross-border firing and searches were being conducted in the area.

IANS adds: A BSF official said it was a cover fire to enable infiltration of a group of over 10 armed militants. However, there was no tampering with the barbed wire fencing on the IB, he said. “We think at least two terrorists managed to sneak in”. It is a matter of concern as Pargwal is quite near to Jammu, a senior police official said.

Srinagar, September 27
Three militants and an Army jawan were killed in three separate encounters in the valley, official sources said today.

At Kenigam in Pulwama district, the police and troops of the 53 Rashtriya Rifles in a joint operation killed two Jaish-e-Mohammad militants.

The police received information regarding the presence of militants in the house of one Abdul Rehman Wani and killed two militants in the operation.

The militants have been identified as Adnan and Showkat. Three personnel of the 53 RR and one constable of the Budgam Police were injured in the firefight.

In another success, a hardcore militant of the Lashkar-e-Toiba was killed by the Handwara police and the 9 Para of the Army in wee hours today. Security forces carried out an operation in Hafrada forest and killed Abu Khubaib of Pakistan.

Khubaib was A category militant, list of most active ultras, and was operating as outfit’s launching commander. One AK 47 rifle, three magazines and 38 rounds besides one blanket and dairy were recovered.

Khubaib, who was active in Ramhall and Rajwar forests, used to receive and launch militants who would cross through Hafrada-Palhmarg-Trehgam area.

Meanwhile, the Army lost a jawan in another encounter that occurred yesterday in Kangan forests leading to Bandipore. Havaldar Bahadur Singh Bahar of the 10 Para had received injuries and was shifted to 92 Base hospital where he succumbed to his injuries today.

UNI adds: A major tragedy was averted when security forces recovered an explosive from a passenger vehicle in north Kashmir, official sources said today.

They said during a routine checking of a vehicle, the 13 Rashtriya Rifles (RR), the 45 battalion CRPF and the police recovered a 1.5-kg explosive connected with improvised detonator from the backseat of the vehicle at Sumbal in Baramulla district.

The explosive was later defused without causing any damage.

Jammu, September 27
The BJP today accused the Congress leaders of “taking recourse to the politics of deceit and rhetoric in order to bluff the oppressed and sidelined people” of Jammu province.

State BJP vice-president and spokesman Hari Om stated this while ridiculing the statement of Union minister of state Prithvi Raj Chavan that the Congress would contest the forthcoming Assembly elections on the slogans of peace, secularism, unity and integrity of Jammu and Kashmir.

“How could the Congress leaders talk in such terms when their party was squarely responsible for pitting the people of one region against the other over Amarnath land transfer issue and putting the entire state on fire,” he asked.

He said the party, “which denies the existence of Ram Setu, opposes anti-terror laws such as POTA and keeps company with the pro-Pakistan and militant-friendly PDP, has forfeited all rights to talk in terms of secularism, peace, stability and unity and integrity of the country”.

Hari Om further asserted the reiteration by the Congress leaders that their party would constitute a delimitation commission and end discrimination with Jammu was nothing but yet another attempt on their part to hoodwink the people of Jammu.

He said they could not fool the people of Jammu province anymore, as the latter knew that the Congress “treated Jammu shabbily while creating new districts and allocating funds”.

The BJP spokesperson asked the people of Jammu to punish the Congress and similar other outfits, including the NC, the PDP and the JKNPP.

Reasi/Udhampur, September 27
Even as the other political parties are desperately searching for appealing issues to attract voters in the coming Assembly elections, the BSP has started an aggressive campaign to woo “upper castes” and Gujjars.

Holding a campaign at Reasi today, BSP national general secretary and in charge Jammu and Kashmir Affairs Narinder Kashyap sought to remove misconceptions about the party.

In his bid to woo "upper castes", Kashyap repeatedly gave examples of Uttar Pradesh where a large number of "upper castes" leaders have joined the BSP.

Buoyed over its successful social engineering in Uttar Pradesh, BSP leaders have been desperately trying to repeat that experiment in Jammu and Kashmir also.

The party has already announced many “upper castes” for the forthcoming Assembly elections. Besides the Assembly elections, it has also nominated Rakesh Wazir, an upper caste candidate, for Udhampur-Doda Lok Sabha.

As far as Gujjars are concerned, the BSP has been working overtime to woo this ST tribe lot in its fold.

Party leaders are very much aware that consolidation of SC and ST votes is must to face the challenge of other political parties.

Narinder Kashyap, along with other senior leaders had already toured Udhampur, Reasi, Doda, Bhaderwah, Ramban and Kishtwar and had held several meetings.

The main reason behind these tours was to interact with the Gujjars to make inroads among STs.

Unlike other political parties, BSP leaders are trying to bring Gujjars and Bakkerwals, especially government employees, into its fold.

Instead of wooing prominent Gujjar leaders in the party, the BSP has been concentrating on common people.

Presence of large number of Gujjars in the BSP rally at Udhampur on Thursday reflected that the party had managed to make some dint in the vote bank of the National Conference.

Srinagar, September 27
The Awami National Conference has written a letter to the Election Commission of India in which it has said the present situation in the state was not conducive for holding free and fair Assembly elections.

In its response to the EC, the ANC, a party headed by former chief minister Ghulam Mohammad Shah, said the representative character could not be obtained in the prevailing atmosphere in the state. The letter stated the people of Kashmir division felt that the Centre let them down time and again with promises made remaining unfulfilled, while people in Jammu felt that they had been discriminated.

“The Amaranth issue just provided the spark”, it added.

The letter listing six major points giving in detail the party’s assessment on the prevailing situation and possibilities of holding elections states that present political situation had become very complex.

“Polarisation between Jammu and Kashmir divisions is complete: regionalism and communalism are taking the upper hand. Intellectuals and prominent leaders are still not involved to seek amicable solutions at the negotiation table. Commonsense has to prevail. The Amaranth issues must cool down. The people of Jammu and Kashmir must speak with each other. The basic problem now is the sharp divide between the two regions of the Jammu and Kashmir State at the behest of the communal and fascist forces help bent upon dividing the state on communal lines”.

Srinagar, September 27
The announcement of opening of LoC trade route from October 21 has come as a relief for the government as the decision, many believe, will calm down the frayed nerves in the valley.

A common Kashmiri would believe that India is making efforts to fulfill the recommendations, which were made to improve the situation and things might have been delayed but were not doomed forever.

The immediate fallout could be on the proposed ‘Lal Chowk Chalo’ march on October 6.

With Amarnath land controversy dying down and LoC trade a reality, the edge of the separatist cause had been taken off, a senior official said.

Though there is a little chance of separatists being reduced to the periphery of political activities, as was three months back, they are left without any core issue except for the vague azadi demands, which means different things for different separatist leaders here.

Islamist leader Syed Ali Shah Geelani understands it well enough, officials believe, and that is why he has not shown enthusiasm, albeit cautious, expressed by his colleagues like Yasin Malik and Mirwaiz Umar Farooq for the proposed trade on the Srinagar-Muzaffarabad route.

“These are non-issues. Our struggle is for azadi,” he said. His response would sound ironical to many as it was the war cry of Muzaffarabad- chalo, led by him, that left at least 36 Kashmiris dead due to all-round unrest and protests it caused in Kashmir.

Fruit growers and distributors Union’s coordinator Ghulam Rasool Bhat said Kashmir had offered sacrifices and the trade was a result of it. He said, “Indian markets will always be the most important markets for us. But the opening of the route to Pakistan would serve us well when Jammu-Kashmir gets closed due to vagaries of weather.”

Majalata (Udhampur), September 27
Anger is brewing among residents of the Ramnagar area of Udhampur district following the failure of the authorities to expedite the ongoing work on the 27-km Roundomail-Ramnagar road which would benefit more than 60 villages of this belt. Construction of this road was a long-pending demand of the inhabitants of these 60 villages but people had lost all hopes due to the pace of the work on this project.

On the one hand, work on this track has been going on at a snail’s pace, on the other the executing agency has sublet the work to some petty contractors, violating the prescribed conditions of the Asian Development Bank (ADB).

“Due to political pressure, the construction agency has sublet this work to some small contractors who have been using low-quality material,” Arvind Kumar, a local resident, alleged.

Neither the construction work has been accelerated nor has compensation been given to the displaced families, whose houses, shops and business established were acquired by the authorities for widening to make this track as high-speed road.

With big fanfare, the then Chief Minister, Ghulam Nabi Azad, had laid the foundation stone of this project in February this year with a promise to complete this track in one year. “Six months have been passed, but only 10 per cent of work has been completed so far. There is remote chance of the completion of this project in stipulated time,” another resident rued.

Keeping in mind the forthcoming Assembly elections, political parties too have shown their concern over delay in this project. The Youth Congress has smelt a foul play in this project and urged Governor N.N. Vohra to constitute a committee to inquire into all aspects.

A meeting of Ramnagar unit of the Congress was convened under the chairmanship of R.S. Pathania, general secretary, Pradesh Youth Congress, wherein a unanimous resolution addressed to the Governor was drafted and signed by a number of Congress workers.

Jammu, September 27
Even as people are facing parking woes on the Jammu Municipal Corporation premises, there seems to be lack of coordination between mayor Kevinder Gupta and the JMC officials in finding a solution to the problem.

While the mayor stated that the corporation would renovate the existing parking slot within a month, the commissioner and the joint commissioner denied any such project was in the offing and said parking space would only be earmarked to various departments.

“The proposal for renovating the existing parking slot and to construct separate parking slots has been sent for approval to commissioner Parshotam Kumar Sharma. The tender has been passed and will cost around Rs 3 lakh. This project will be implemented within a month”, the mayor said.

On the other hand, joint commissioner J.S. Tondan said: “There is a proposal under which we will earmark space for parking to various departments, including the municipal corporation. A separate space will also be earmarked for vehicles of the general public, on which charges will be taken. The tender for the work is yet to be passed.”

According to an official source, at any point of time, the municipal parking slot has around 500 vehicles, among which, half of it belongs to municipal employees.

J&K Bank, Saddar Treasury and Oriental Insurance Company are also housed in the same complex.

“In order to reduce congestion, a parking slot for the staff of these three offices will be reallocated separately outside the compound of the municipal corporation building” the mayor said. The mayor said: “As such the present problem of parking will be overcome by allotting the present slot of space only to the corporation employees”.

Municipal employee Paras Ram Poonchi said: “There should be a separate parking slot for the vehicles of the corporators and for the use of general public. Neta Ji Subash Chander Bose Park can be utilised for the purpose and at Gumat, a separate parking can be constructed by the authorities concerned to overcome traffic jams.”

Jammu, September 27
Governor N.N. Vohra today visited the heritage monument - Mubarak Mandi here and reviewed the ongoing preservation work to restore its sheen and pristine glory.

After reviewing various development works in the complex, including Dogra Art Museum, basement, library and toshakhana, Vohra convened a high-level meeting of the executive body, Mubarak Mandi, Jammu Heritage Society.

Vohra deliberated upon various issues related with the conservation work of the historical complex and asked the officials concerned to speed up the pace of the work.

Regarding the shifting of remaining government offices from the complex, Vohra asked the departments to move out latest by November 7.

He said offices which had already moved out of the complex would hand over the possession to the heritage society by October 5. However, the office of the divisional commissioner would be shifted only after a new complex comes up.

Vohra also asked the officials to judiciously utilise the funds. The remaining funds of Rs 4.5 crore would be arranged from the 13th state finance commission funds.

“The money would be utilised for the development of museums to house artifacts and other valuable items of the Dogra era,” Vohra said.

Out of the Rs 4.37 crore sanctioned by the government, Rs 1 crore had been released so far, he said.

It may be mentioned here that the process of documentation of the entire complex had already been completed by INTACH.

Jammu, September 27
The Amarnath land agitation may have ended 27 days ago, but the industry in Jammu is still reeling under its “aftershocks”.

While a majority of industries are facing manpower crunch, a section of the industry has also been affected due to snapping of trade ties between the two regions of Jammu and Kashmir.

Chairman of the federation of industries Annil Suri said: “The shortage of skilled labour coupled with financial crisis in the aftermath of the agitation has hit the industry hard. Only 50 per cent of the labour force, which had returned to their native states during the agitation, has come back, while the skilled labour has taken up jobs at other industrial destinations”, he rued.

Suri said it would take another 15 days work to get back normal. “We can not achieve the pre-agitation production-level in the near future as our payments are held up and we have to get fresh raw material. We have urged the J&K Bank to facilitate soft loans to the unit holders so that they can resume their work”, he averred.

Kuldeep Jamwal of the Association of Industries, Industrial Growth Centre, Samba, said: “Most of our skilled labour, who comes from UP and Bihar, fled the state during the land row agitation, as they were finding it hard to survive amid shutdowns and curfews. Now, they are apprehensive to return to Jammu.”

He said though the state government claimed to cater to our requirements through Industrial Training Institutes (ITIs), the fact is that pass outs from these institutes lacked practical knowledge and were unable to handle a simple machine. “We simply can't rely on them”, he lamented.

Referring to the snapping of trade ties between the two regions, Jamwal said it had taken a heavy toll on a section of the industry, which heavily depended on the valley for supply of their products. “People in the valley are neither entertaining their bills nor allowing them to unload their goods”.

Meanwhile, president, Chamber of Commerce and Industry, Ram Sahai, said the industry in Jammu faced shortage of skilled labour. He said it would take at least a month for the situation to return to normal.

Jammu, September 27
The National Sikh Front Jammu and Kashmir has appealed to the people, particularly the refugees from the Pakistan-occupied Kashmir (PoK), to observe October 21 as Black Day.

The front leaders slammed the Indian government for starting trade from the Line of Control (LoC), which, they feel, in a way would recognise it as an international border.

Front leader Varinder Jeet Singh rued that PoK refugees had been clamouring for their dues and allowances against land and property they had left behind for the past 60 years.

However, the government ignored their requests on the premise that PoK was a part of India and would be acquired again.

Varinder recalled that the Jammu and Kashmir Assembly had passed a resolution that 24 Assembly seats be reserved for the PoK area.

According to him, this move would contradict the Parliamentary resolution, which had announced to restore PoK to the country.

He said opening of the cross-LoC trade would be an insult to the martyrs of PoK, while urging the people to wear black bands on their hands as a mark of protest.