The Tribune, Chandigarh, India

	‘Unidentified militant’ a Pak army regular His body, recovered from Nowshera, has been returned Ravi Krishnan Khajuria & Ranjit Thakur Tribune News Service Jammu, February 15 Close on the heels of brutally killing two Indian soldiers in Indian territory along the Line of Control (LoC) in Balnoi sector of Poonch district on January 8 this year, Pakistan army’s moves were exposed again. An “unidentified militant” in Pakistan army fatigues killed last evening along the LoC in Nowshera sub-sector of Rajouri district turned out to be a Pakistan army regular, Mohammed Iqlakh of 60 Punjab Unit. He along with another “militant” had entered 500 metres inside the Indian territory last evening and had critically injured an Indian Army soldier Major Singh. “However, following DGMO-level talks between Islamabad and New Delhi today, the Indian Army, in a goodwill gesture, returned the body of the slain soldier to Pakistan army officers from Laam area in Nowshera sub-sector this evening,” said a top Army officer, who declined to be named. The Pakistan army had said one of its troopers had “mistakenly” crossed the LoC and was missing. “We accepted the Pakistan army’s request and his body has been returned from a forward area of Nowshera sub-sector this evening around 5.55 pm,” said the officer. Though the Indian Army has once again exhibited its humane face, Pakistan to date has not returned head of the Indian soldier, who was beheaded in Balnoi area on January 8, he added. On the fateful day, Lance Naiks Sudhakar Singh and Hemraj Singh of 13 Rajputana Rifles were ambushed by Pakistani troops of 29 Baloch Regiment inside the Indian territory near Chatri and Atma posts in the Balnoi area. Though the bodies were badly mutilated, Hemraj’s body was found beheaded by the Pakistani troops. “Pakistani soldier Mohammed Ikhlaq along with another “militant” had opened fire on the Indian troops and the possibilities of them being on a reconnaissance could not be ruled out,” he said. Had he not been spotted and neutralised, he would have carried out his nefarious designs, said the officer. On Pakistan Army’s claim that the soldier “mistakenly” crossed the LoC, he said it could be accepted only in case of civilians, but not in case of troops. In July last year, 19-year-old Pakistani soldier Arif Ali of 25 Frontier Force had also crossed to this side of the LoC in Poonch district and was repatriated. At that time, conflicting reports had emanated. Some said he had crossed the LoC to meet his lady love from Kerni village in Poonch while some had said he was ill-treated by his officers. How about Naik Hemraj’s case? After DGMO-level talks today, the body of the slain ‘militant’ was handed over to the Pakistan Army personnel on Friday evening Indian Army awaits similar response from Pakistan in the case of Lance Naik Hemraj Singh
	Curfew foils Eidgah march Life comes to a halt, protests at several places Azhar Qadri Tribune News Service Srinagar, February 15 An unprecedented curfew was imposed in the Kashmir valley today to foil an anticipated protest march called by a separatist group. Hundreds of police and paramilitary personnel patrolled the streets and blocked roads around the region. The curfew, one of the strictest in the recent years, drowned Kashmir into silence on a rainy Friday as all civilian movement was restricted and concertina wires were laid on all crossroads to stop the movement of vehicles. Lal Chowk, a major commercial centre of the Srinagar, and its adjoining markets wore a deserted look as all shops and businesses were shut. Armoured police vehicles remained parked on the roadsides across the city. Heavy contingents of police and paramilitary personnel were patrolling the streets around the city and barricades had been laid at several places. The restrictions were severe in the downtown area of Srinagar city where narrow alleys give an advantage to protests to evade the police chase. Chief Minister Omar Abdullah defended the decision to impose curfew by saying there are people “determined to create trouble”. “Even these restrictions would not have been necessary if we didn't have among us those determined to create trouble out of this situation,” the Chief Minister said. Omar also said there would be “no restriction on people offering Friday prayers in their local mosques”, though a few residents told The Tribune they were barred from doing so and no congregational prayers were offered at Jamia Masjid, the region’s biggest mosque. The curfew was partially and sequentially relaxed for several hours in parts of the Kashmir valley over the past two days but was again imposed on Friday dawn to foil any attempt by the residents to march to Eidgah ground, located in the Downtown Srinagar, where hardline separatist leader Syed Ali Geelani had called for the people to assemble to offer funeral-in-absentia for Guru. A senior separatist leader from Geelani’s group said the shutdown has been extended till Sunday and future course of protests to demand the return of Guru’s body will be decided on Monday. Many residents in the city said they have never witnessed such a severe curfew in their lifetime. A resident of Aali Masjid locality, near the Eidgah ground said no civilian was being allowed to move outside the house and anyone venturing outside was being chased by policemen. Another Srinagar resident, who is a doctor, said this was the “most stringent curfew” he had ever seen. “People are literally caged in their homes. No morning bread. No milk. No Friday prayers,” he said. The state police spokesman said situation remained under control today while confirming that one protester was injured in the leg in Sumbal area of north Kashmir’s Bandipora when protests erupted in the area. The spokesman said a police post was also attacked by protesters at Taribal near Aloosa in Bandipora in which several policemen were injured. Sources said protesters had attempted to burn the post following which the police opened aerial fire. Protests had also erupted at Azad Gunj locality in north Kashmir’s Baramulla, at Handwara town, at Ajas in Bandipora, Muran in south Kashmir’s Pulwama, at Charar-i-Sharief in central Kashmir’s Budgam district and at Qaimoh in south Kashmir’s Kulgam district.
	Pak troops open fire on Indian posts Tribune News Service Jammu, February 15 In a fresh ceasefire violation, Pakistani troops last night fired at Indian posts along the LoC in the Balnoi sector of Poonch district without causing any harm. Intelligence sources said that Pakistani troops opened small and medium arms firing besides firing some mortars on at least 17 Indian posts on the borderline. “Around 8.05 pm, Pakistani troops opened small and medium arms firing at Indian posts - Chatri, Atma, 476, 475, 477, Dayal Top, Rocket, Dinker, UN 340, Dela, Sagar, Gayan, Anant Pir, Chapti, Rustam, Sangreela and Nani posts in Balnoi sector being manned by the KG Brigade,” said a source. The Indian troops gave an effective response to the Pakistani troops, sources said. Sources also said Pakistani troops kept firing till 10 pm and thereafter intermittent firing between the two sides lasted till 12 am. Officiating Defence PRO SN Acharya maintained that Pakistani troops resorted to small and medium arms firing besides firing a few mortars on a couple of posts in Balnoi area from 8 pm to 9.15 pm.
	Govt to promote Indian system of treatment in J-K Tribune News Service Jammu, February 15 Minister of State for Health Shabir Ahmad Khan today said the government was keen to promote the Indian system of treatment in the state. He said with this objective in mind five Indian System of Medicine (ISM) hospitals, 30 dispensaries at an amount of Rs 101 crore were being established in the state. The MoS Health was speaking today at a meeting of the ISM Department, convened to review the physical and financial status of the ongoing projects taken up under the National Rural Health Mission and the state plan for the upgrade of the ISM-related infrastructure in Jammu and Kashmir. The Health Minister told the department to encourage people to avail of this system of treatment. He said the government had set up ISM health centres at all state and district level hospitals, besides primary health centres, where free of cost medicines and other related facilities had been made available to needy patients. Director, ISM, Dr Abdul Kabir and Mission Director of the NRHM Dr Yashpaul Sharma attended the meeting. Khan emphasised upon the authorities concerned to ensure proper treatment facilities for people at the ISM hospitals, adding that it should be strictly ensured that patients got free of cost medicines and other health care facilities in these hospitals.
	State govt says no official ban on Internet, news channels Centre must have given directions, says Kashmir Div Commissioner Bismah Malik Tribune News Service Srinagar, February 15 After Chief Minister Omar Abdullah denied any “official ban” on newspapers in Kashmir, the state government today said there was no official ban on the Internet and television news channels, too, in the Valley. Kashmir Divisional Commissioner Asgar Samoon said the Internet service providers (ISPs) in the Valley might have been ordered by the Central government to reduce the bandwidth of the Internet or to altogether stop the provision of the services in the Valley. “All private telecom companies which are ISPs in the entire country are provided with the bandwidth by the Department of Telecommunications, Government of India. It might be their decision, not ours,” Samoon said. Minister of State (MoS) for Home Sajad Ahmad Kitchloo, too, denied the role of the state government in the termination of Internet services in the Valley. “We haven’t issued any orders to the ISPs in this regard. The state government and the administration has no role in this,” Kitchloo said. However, officials at the regional centres of ISPs said their heads were told by administrative officials on Friday night that the Internet services should be suspended in Kashmir from Saturday onwards. “The state authorities are in a denial mode. Almost all local centres of ISPs were directed to stop their services. Previously, the Department of Home used to issue orders to ISPs to either suspend the services or reduce the bandwidth speed so that subscribers could not upload or download certain content on social networking sites. This ban was in place during October 2012 under order number 811 due to the online release of an anti-Islamic film. However this time, we have been told to suspend the services, though no official order was issued,” an official of a local ISP regional centre said. For the past seven days, the Internet services provided by Airtel, Aircel, Reliance and Idea stand disrupted, which has angered thousands of subscribers of the Valley. “The sale of Internet packs, plug-to-surf devices, pre-paid and post-paid Internet connections of private ISPs has gone down considerably. We tried to get in touch with the regional heads of these ISPs. They said they had been directed to do so,” Bashir Ahmad Dar, chairman, STD/ISD/PCO Owners Association, said. However, later in the day, there were reports about the resumption of the Internet services of the BSNL and Vodafone on mobile phones in the Valley.
	Curfew restrictions fail to affect peace bus, cross-LoC trade Ishfaq Tantry Tribune News Service Srinagar, February 15 The protests and curfew restrictions, which are in place in Kashmir since February 9, have failed to dampen the intra-Kashmir confidence- building measures (CBMs). While the peace bus between Srinagar and Muzzaffarabad plied normally earlier this week, over 100 trucks laden with various items, including fruits, vegetables, almonds and dates, today crossed the Line of Control (LoC) in Uri sector through Kaman post. The normal life, including business and commercial activities, across the Kashmir valley have come to a standstill since Saturday last following the hanging of Parliament convict Afzal Guru. “The trade activity at the LoC in Uri was affected for two days on Tuesday and Wednesday due to restrictions in the Valley, but the trade went on smoothly on Thursday. Even today, trucks laden with goods crossed the LoC,” said Nazir Ahmad Baba, the custodian of LoC trade. Earlier on Monday, the peace bus between Srinagar and Muzaffarabad had plied normally for two days after the hanging of Afzal. The cross-LoC trade, one of the important confidence-building measures (CBMs) over Kashmir, takes place four days in a week from Tuesday to Friday. Baba said on Thursday 52 trucks from Pakistan-occupied Kashmir (PoK) laden with items, including oranges, dry dates and almonds, crossed the Kaman post at LoC and reached Salamabad Trade Facilitation Centre, whereas 54 trucks from the PoK reached Salamabad today. “From this side, on Thursday 48 trucks laden with fruits, including banana, tomatoes and other trade goods, crossed over the Kaman post to PoK,” Baba said, adding 51 trucks crossed the bridge to the other side today. “Though everything went on smoothly today, this week, however, the trade volume from this side has been low compared to last week owing to law and order situation and curfew in Kashmir,” Baba said. On the other hand, the cross-LoC trade point out that the prevailing situation in the Valley has to some extent affected their activities as far as the movement of trucks is concerned. “Definitely, the prevailing law and order situation has affected the trade volume as far as number of trucks reaching the Salamabad Trade Centre are concerned, but the trade has not stopped,” said a cross-LoC trader.
	ITBP rescues 20 trapped shepherds in Ladakh Tribune News Service Chandigarh, February 15 The Indo-Tibetan Border Police Force (ITBP) today rescued 20 shepherds, including seven women and five children, trapped for over a week in heavy snow at an altitude of about 16,000 feet in temperatures as low as minus 20 to minus 45 degrees Celsius near the Indo-China border in Ladakh. ITBP personnel from the Hanley and Zarsar posts of the 37th Battalion at Leh formed a rescue team comprising one officer and 18 other ranks after the sarpanch of Hanley village approached them. The shepherds, called ‘riboos’ in local parlance, along with about a thousand sheep, had lost contact with the village for over a week. The group got scattered around the Machhi Nala and the Zakle Nala along the Hanley-Zarsar route. Accumulation of about three-and-a-half feet of snow had made movement in this area very difficult, making the 20-km approach a herculean task. The ITPB rescue team, headed by Assistant Commandant PB Jha, was equipped with special rescue equipment, ready-to-eat meals, medicine and oxygen masks. On reaching the site, the ITBP personnel found about 200 dead sheep and the shepherds in a very bad condition — suffering from snow blindness, hypothermia, hypertension and cold injuries. Four of them —including two women, Samyang Dolma and Furbe Dolma, and an eight-year old kid Tenzin Eshey — are in a critical condition and were carried back to the ITBP posts on stretchers.
	IED blast damages police vehicle in Sopore Srinagar, February 15 Suspected militants triggered an Improvised Explosive Device (IED) in north Kashmir's Sopore town last night in which a police vehicle was damaged. A police spokesman in Srinagar said militants triggered an IED explosion at Ashpir near River Edge hotel at 11 pm last night in the jurisdiction of Sopore police station, damaging a police vehicle. “However, no one was injured in the blast," he said. The Sopore police has registered a case. No militant outfit has so far claimed responsibility for the blast. The blast took place at a time when Sopore continues to be under strict curfew since Saturday morning after the hanging of Afzal Guru. Sopore has remained by and large peaceful despite the fact that Guru's native village Jageer is barely few kilometres away from the volatile town. — TNS
	PDP to field Yashpal Sharma, Naeem Akthar for LC poll Dinesh Manhotra Tribune News Service Jammu, February 15 The Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) has decided to field veteran leader Yashpal Sharma of Poonch for a seat of the Legislative Council (LC) from Jammu province and its spokesman Naeem Akthar for a seat of Kashmir province. Sources said during a meeting of the political affairs committee (PAC) which was presided over by Mufti Mohammad Sayeed, the party had approved the names of Sharma and Akthar for the LC poll. Akthar, a bureaucrat-turned-politician, is an ideologue of the PDP and close aide of Mufti Sayeed. During the tenure of Mufti, he was Principal Secretary to the Chief Minister. After the formation of the Omar Abdullah-led government, Akthar took premature retirement and formally joined the PDP. The selection of Sharma as party candidate by Mufti is being considered as a move to strengthen the PDP in twin border districts of Poonch and Rajouri. As the PDP has been targeting these border districts of Jammu province for the Assembly elections of 2014, the party wants to utilise the influence of Sharma on Hindu voters. Sharma has an influence over PoK refugees from Jammu to Poonch. He has lost three successive Assembly elections by narrow margins. Sources in the PDP said the party leadership was convinced that Sharma’s selection would send a positive signal among Hindus of Poonch and Rajouri. The PAC meeting of the PDP was attended by Mehbooba Mufti, Moulvi Iftikar Hussain Ansari, Tariq Hamid Qarra, Sardar Rangil Singh, Trilok Singh Bajwa, Ved Mahajan, Altaf Bukhari and Naeem Akthar.
	Plea to cancel Yasin Malik’s passport dismissed Chandigarh, February 15 A petition filed in public interest for directions to the Union Ministry of Home for cancelling the passport of Jammu & Kashmir Liberation Front (JKLF) chairman Yasin Malik for his alleged anti-national activities has failed to find favour with the Punjab and Haryana High Court. The Division Bench refused to entertain the petition on jurisdictional grounds. The Bench also gave petitioner-cum-local lawyer Pradeep Sharma the liberty to move the court either in Jammu and Kashmir or Delhi on the issue. In his petition, Sharma submitted that the alleged activities of Malik and other separatist leaders of J&K were against the unity and integrity of the country. Describing himself to be a public-spirited person with no direct and indirect interest in the matter, the petitioner contended that the issue pertained to unity and integrity of the country. "The Ministry of Home Affairs should impose a blanket ban on the visit of Jammu and Kashmir's separatists leader to Pakistan, who by visiting Pakistan not only involve themselves into anti-India activities but also procure hawala money to run anti-India activities from within India, which has been endangering the unity and integrity of India for the past many years," the petitioner added. A thorough probe into the links between Yasin Malik and other separatists leaders was also sought. — TNS
	Flag Week of the Deaf launched Tribune News Service Jammu, February 15 Governor NN Vohra launched the All India Flag Week of the Deaf by contributing Rs 10,000 to the Flag Fund at a function held at Raj Bhawan here today. While interacting with a 15-member delegation comprising teachers and students of the J&K Samaj Kalyan Kendra, Jammu, who called upon him in connection with the launch of the week, he urged people to contribute for the funds for the welfare of physically challenged children. The Governor, who is the Chairman of the Shri Mata Vaishno Devi Shrine Board, announced an annual grant of Rs 2 lakh to the J&K Samaj Kalyan Kendra for its educational activities for the next three years from the shrine board. He emphasised the need for availing optimum benefit from various Central schemes for the welfare of physically challenged people. Vohra asked Navin K Choudhary, his Principal Secretary and chief executive officer of the Shri Mata Vaishno Devi Shrine Board, to arrange a visit of children and teachers of the J&K Samaj Kalyan Kendra to Shri Mata Vaishno Devi on the board’s expenses. Earlier, the children affixed a flag on the coat of the Governor to mark the commencement of the All India Flag Week of the Deaf. J&K Samaj Kalyan Kendra president Inderjeet Khajuria submitted a memorandum of demands to the Governor and thanked him for providing financial support to this school.
	Guv commends Sopori music academy Tribune News Service Jammu, February 15 Governor NN Vohra today lauded the contribution of the Sopori Academy of Music and Performing Arts in taking music to the masses and showcasing the state’s cultural heritage to people across the country and abroad. The Governor was speaking at the valedictory function of the ‘SaMaPa Aalap Festival 2013’, organised by the Sopori Academy of Music and Performing Arts at Jodhamal Public School here today. He said he had seen many performances in the past but today’s musical performance by Pandit Bhajan Sopori had been outstanding and very enchanting. He expressed happiness that schoolchildren had got the opportunity to listen to the renowned Santoor player. He said he had known Pandit Bhajan Sopori since he was inducted as a member of the Shri Mata Vaishno Devi Shrine Board, adding that the board had benefitted immensely from his views. The Governor said the board had been supporting the Sopori Academy of Music and Performing Arts in organising various music festivals. He said the board had decided that whenever the SaMaPa Aalap Festival is held in Jammu, the board will organise a musical concert at its spiritual growth centre at Katra for the benefit of pilgrims and people of Katra.