Jungle
on fire during operation SRINAGAR, Dec 27: In a major operation, security forces have eliminated at least 5 militants of Hizbul Mujahideen outfit in a forest cover at Theune, Kangan, while as two Army jawans have also got killed. In other militancy-related incidents since last evening in Kashmir valley, militants have hurled a hand grenade on a BSF picket at Nawakadal in the capital city and also fired upon the residence of a pro-Government activist in Tral area. Official sources told EXCELSIOR that, on the basis of a specific information, troops of 56 Mountain Brigade moved to Theune forest area in Kangan during last night and laid siege to a Gujjar bahak where, according to the tip-off, five to six militants of Hizbul Mujahideen had been hiding. In the forenoon today, contingents of Special Operations Group (SOG) Ganderbal and SOG Srinagar also rushed to the spot. As the troops zeroed in on the target bahak, militants directed on them heavy volume of automatic fire and left two Army jawans killed. In the 8-hour long encounter, at least 5 militants got killed. Sources said that the last militant of the group was gunned down at 1800 hours today and search operation was still continuing. The makeshift structure of the Bakerwals was completely destroyed. Heavy exchange of fire, stoked a fierce blaze in the dense forest area and spirals of thick smoke, coupled with fog and darkness in the evening, reduced the visibility to zero. Dead bodies of two Army jawans and five militants had been recovered by this evening while as search of the area was still in progress. Even as the identities of the militants killed were yet to be established, three to four of them were believed to be foreigners. Five AK-56 rifles, one wireless set and five grenades had been recovered from the site of encounter. Officials were expecting one more dead body of a militant as the specific information suggested the presence of half-a-dozen pro-Pakistan militants. The day-long encounter took place about 10 km ahead of Kangan in the forest area as the troops treaded a distance of 6 km to reach the spot. Brigade Commander, Commanding Officer of the battalion, headquartered at Wusan, SP Ganderbal and SP Operations Srinagar were present at the spot. Sources said according to the information, members of the freshly-inducted "Maqbool Group" of Hizbul Mujahideen had been eliminated in the operation. Meanwhile, militants this evening lobbed a hand grenade on a picket of BSF 60 Bn at Nawakadal in the capital city which missed the intended target and exploded on road without causing any damage. Reports available from Tral said that during last night, militants fired upon the residence of a mainstream political activist Ghulam Nabi Jan at Machhama. Police guard at the house retaliated the fire and there was no damage from either side. |
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Employees’
rally today JAMMU, Dec 27: With Government making no serious efforts of holding parleys with the agitating employees on their various demands, there is every likelihood that the Employees Joint Action Committee (EJAC) spearheading the present agitation will extend the strike. The announcement in this regard will most likely be made by the leaders of the EJAC in tomorrow’s rally which will be held near Coffee House here. Earlier the EJAC had extended the strike upto December 28. An EJAC spokesman while commenting on the authorities bid of making fresh offer of negotiations with the striking employees said that they have not received any official information from the authorities so far. However, he said the EJAC will respond positively in case such an offer is made by the Government. He maintained that EJAC is willing for a dialogue and does not want any confrontation but at the same time the Government has also to reciprocate in the like manner. Commenting on the demands of the employees the EJAC spokesman said that Government has unnecessarily made it a prestige point for itself as the issues can be solved and sorted out in case Government desires so. Meanwhile the EJAC is also trying to garner the support of various Municipality workers unions in its present struggle and one round of negotiations was held today in this regard. It may be recalled that the EJAC had given a call for three days strike on December 19 which was later extended firstly by two days and then for five more days. The EJAC among other things has been demanding payment of pay arrears, arrears of two DA installments in cash, enhancement of Medical Allowance, hike in daily wagers rate and transfer of G P Fund accounts to nationalised banks. The EJAC which met here today to review the situation, has also expressed its satisfaction over the overwhelming response to its strike call, a handout issued here today said. It also appealed the employees to make tomorrow’s rally a success in which the future course of action will be chalked out. The meeting also made a fervent appeal to the people of Jammu, leaders of different parties and prominent citizens to understand the problems of the employees and cooperate with them so that the Government is forced to settle the demands. The EJAC also maintained that so far no fresh offer for negotiations was received by it from the Government since last round of talks held with the team of officers led by Additional Chief Secretary Planning Mr Jaleel Ahmed Khan on December 18. Meanwhile, the bus services of the State Road Transport Corporation (SRTC) remained suspended on all Jammu region routes and out side State for the seventh consecutive day of the indefinite strike today call for which has been given by the Public Sector Employees Joint Action Committee (PSEJAC). BSF providing security
cover to Kathua farmers
KATHUA,Dec 27: Despite continuous firing by Pakistani troops, the farmers living in border areas of Kathua district were cultivating their lands with the assistance of Border Security Force (BSF) personnel, who apart from guarding the border have decided to provide security cover to the land tillers. The BSF has provided tractors and trolleys to the farmers and has adopted around 27 villages where troops were engaged in helping the farmers in cultivation. Till date hundreds of acres of land has been cultivated under BSF security cover The tractors were provided to the villagers free of cost by the Agriculture Department . This was made possible after DIG BSF took up the matter with the local administration. .BJP to counter ‘negative propaganda’ against Govt BANGALORE, Dec 27: Top BJP leaders are likely to draw strategies to refurbish the party’s image and counter the opposition’s "negative propaganda" against the Vajpayee Government at its two-day national executive meet here from January 2. Briefing reporters here today, the party general secretary, Venkaiah Naidu, said the meet would also discuss ways to improve the performance of the BJP-led coalition and ensure better coordination between the party and the Government. The meet, to be attended by Prime Minister A B Vajpayee and Home Minister L K Advani, would draw an action plan to highlight the Union Government’s achievements and "expose and defeat a negative campaign by our rivals", he said. Naidu said the setback suffered by the BJP in the recently held Assembly polls in Delhi, Rajasthan and Madhya Pradesh would be reviewed and an "overall strategy" drawn up for the Assembly elections in Karnataka, Andhra Pradesh, Goa and Sikkim, due in November next year. A mechanism based on the report of a core committee headed by Jana Krishnamurthy would be evolved for greater coordination between the party and the Government, he said. The BJP, he said, would keep in mind efforts being made to revive the Third Front while framing its future plans. Naidu said the Vajpayee Government had done a "commendable" job in a short span of its rule but its achievements had not been taken to the masses effectively. A nationwide campaign would be launched to educate the party workers about the Government’s performance and its limitations, he said. The meet would be attended by 75 members of the executive and 66 special invitees, besides leaders of the party in State Assemblies, he said. BJP Chief Ministers of Uttar Pradesh, Gujarat and Himachal Pradesh and Deputy Chief Minister of Maharashtra, and Union and State Ministers who were executive committee members would attend the meet, Naidu said. A public meeting would be addressed by Prime Minister Vajpayee and other BJP leaders here on January 4. The Prime Minister would be here from January one to four fulfilling party as well as official engagements, he added. Meanwhile, Naidu said the "third forces" including CPI, CPI-M, RJD, SP and JD, who, he said, were anti-Congress parties, had also realised "the folly" of coming closer to the Congress. "These forces made the BJP their enemy number one and tried to move closer to the Congress to have a share in power", he said. Naidu said there was a greater polarisation towards the Congress and the BJP now. Asked about BJP and Congress coming together on issues relating to Patents and Insurance, Naidu said "the Left and other third forces wanted to give issue-based support to the Congress. But the Congress has given issue-based support to BJP". "I will be happy to take the support of even CPI(ML) or Devegowda (former Prime Minister). Why should we say no when somebody supports us", he said. To a query, he ruled out changing the leadership of Uttar Pradesh Chief Minister Kalyan Singh. "The party’s view is very clear on this", he added. He said there was no reason to review the BJP’s alliance with the Lok Shakti in Karnataka. Denying that their relationship was "uneasy", he said "we take each other seriously". Naidu said to translate the national agenda into action, the Government had introduced the Bills on reservation for Women, Patent, Insurance, Lok Pal and creation of Uttaranchal, Vanachal and Chattisgarh, despite "unruly behaviour" by some party MPs. All these Bills would be passed in the budget session of Parliament, he said. The Government, he said, had approved repeal of the Urban Land Ceiling Act and had already prepared the agricultural policy. (PTI) Army seizes ration
meant for militants RAJOURI, Dec 27: Militants suffered a major set-back today when their ration supply for the coming winter was stopped by Army in Kot-Ranka area near here today . Informed sources told EXCEL-SIOR that Army during a routine check in thick forests of Jarhanwalli, about six kilometers from Kot Ranka area, traced a cave where the ration was dumped. It was established that the ration was kept at the disposal of some of the hiding militants for the coming winter days. During the thorough checking of the cave, Army seized 300 kilograms of rice, 200 kilograms of atta, 20 kilograms of sugar,15 packets of salt and 10 kilogram of rape-seed oil, the sources said. Besides, 13 kilograms of onion, six blankets, large quantity of medicines and pencil cells were recovered from the hide-out, the sources said. The sources didn’t rule out the possibility of some of the officials of Food and Supplies Department involved in the supply of ration to the militants, as some seized items bore the mark of Government ration supply. Efforts were being made to establish the link between the militants and some of the officials, the sources said. They said that today’s recovery has demoralised the militants as it would be difficult for them to remain without ration and to arrange the same,particularly during the forthcoming chilly winter. Centre envisages plan to deal with ISI activities CALCUTTA, Dec 27: The Centre has drawn up a comprehensive plan to deal with activities of Pakistan’s ISI and various insurgent groups in the country. The plan envisaged effective coordination among different Central and State intelligence agencies and exchange of information to pre-empt and counter such depredations, a spokesman of the Home Department told UNI. The spokesman said the Union Home Ministry had also decided to maintain close contact with the State Governments, particularly those states sharing borders with Pakistan, Bangladesh, Nepal and Myanmar. The Ministry had directed the subsidiary Intelligence Bureau to keep in touch with the state police on day-to-day basis to ensure better vigilance. He said a meeting with the Governments of those states having a common border with Bangladesh had already been held in Delhi and another with the officials of those states adjacent to Nepal would be held next week. "One of the main purposes of these meetings is to strengthen counter-intelligence operations in areas close to the International Border," the spokesman added. The spokesman said it was felt that strengthening of counter-intelligence would help the country reduce the nefarious activities to a great extent. Union Home Minister L K Advani had already announced in Parliament that his Government would soon publish a white paper on ISI activities in India. The spokesman said Mr Advani had directed the Home Ministry to hold coordination meetings between Central and State intelligence agencies at regular intervals to strengthen operations to foil the designs of the Pakistani Intelligence Agency. He said the State Government had received reports that the ISI had set up bases at Kathmandu in Nepal, Bangladesh and Myanmar and had been using West Bengal as a transit route and safe haven for its agents and members of militant groups operating in various parts of the country. "We have also received reports that the ISI has been using the border districts and the capital city of our state as transit and contact points to help various militant groups in North-Eastern states," he said. The West Bengal Government came to know about major ISI activities in the state following the arrest of ULFA vice-president Pradip Gogoi from the city and two youths from Delhi. The spokesman said the two youths arrested by Delhi Police for their involvement in bus stand blasts in the Capital hailed from Lalgola in West Bengal’s Murshidabad district. It was revealed during interrogation that they had received explosives training at an ISI camp in Rajshahi district of Bangladesh. The ISI had been recruiting youths from bordering districts and taking them to Rajshahi for training with the help of their agents and contacts in those areas. The West Bengal Government had been urging the Centre to form a co-ordinating body of Central and State intelligence agencies to formulate an action programme to frustrate ISI activities after it received reports of such activities in Cooch Behar, South Dinajpur and Murshidabad districts. "But the difficulty is that there is no parameter for determining ISI activities in the state since there is no manifestation of such activities here," he said. "We have been hearing that the ISI has been using Calcutta as a transit and contact point but we do not have any definite proof of such activities," he added. (UNI) Cop’s house
blasted RAJOURI, Dec 27: A major tragedy was averted when Police detected two live IEDs which were planted in old Bus Stand area of Rajouri town today. Police sources said that Sub-Inspector Bodh Raj, posted in Rajouri town, while on patrolling, noticed an envelope lying in the Bus Stand area in the early hours today. The Official suspected something explosive was concealed in the envelope. The envelope was brought to the Police Station and with the assistance of the Bomb Disposal Squad, the envelope was opened. On opening two IEDs were found concealed inside the envelope which were fitted by solar batteries,the sources said. They said that the highly explosive device was planted by the militants inside the Bus-Stand area where scores of buses were halting over-night. The entire area was later cordoned off and efforts were being made to apprehend the militants responsible for the act. Meanwhile, militants blasted a house belonging to a Police constable at village Thundi Mera , six kilometers from here late last night. The sources said that militants had planted the explosive device in the house of Krishan, S/o Dev Raj. Krishan is posted in State Police Department, the sources said, adding that the house was partially damaged due to the blast. No one was, however,arrested for the blast, the sources added. Controversy over appointment of Naval officer NEW DELHI, Dec 27: Defence Minister George Fernan-des, Naval Chief Admiral Vishnu Bhagwat and Solicitor General Soli Sorabjee are understood to have met the Prime Minister with regard to the continuing controversy of the appointment of Deputy Chief of Naval Staff (DCNS). Sources said the meeting took place yesterday at the Prime Minister’s house and the discussions were regarding the legal aspects of the case. The Defence Ministry is reported to have taken a serious view with regard to the Naval Chief’s contention that all senior appointments must be made on his recommendation and the Admiral’s decision to ignore the order of the Appointments Committee of the Cabinet (ACC) clearing the name of Vice Admiral Harinder Singh as DCNS. Admiral Bhagwat has appointed Vice Admiral Madanjit Singh as DCNS for the past ten months without Government confirmation and the Defence Minister has expressed the desire that issue should be settled within the Government.(UNI) BJP to counter anti-Govt propaganda AGRA, Dec 27: Railway Minister Nitish Kumar today announced that by March all passenger trains in the country numbering over 7,500, would have walkie talkie facilities for better communication between guards and drivers. Facilities for contact among guards, drivers and the nearest Railway station will also be provided in the trains, he said laying the foundation stone of the Agra Division of the Central Railway. The announcement comes after the November train tragedy in Punjab’s Khanna, in which over 250 people were killed. In due course, walkie talkie contact facilities will also be provided in goods trains, he said, adding ultra-sonic testing had been introduced to remove faults in maintenance of tracks which would be given top priority along with safety and cleanliness measures. Kumar said the Agra-Bandikui section of the Central Railway, which had been put under the bolt scheme for development with private funding, would now be provided with necessary funds by the Railways. In the first phase, Rs 10 crore have been sanctioned for the project, work on which will commence in January, Kumar said. He said Agra was one of the eight new divisions created out of the old ones and would comprise the Agra-Tundla, Agra-Bayana, Agra-Bandi-kui, Mathura-Alwar and Mathura-Izatnagar sections of four Railway zones. A total of Rs 13 crore will be spent on the development of the division, he said. B S Rawat, Lok Sabha MP from Agra, asked the Minister to introduce direct trains between Agra and Lucknow and Agra and Allahabad to meet the demand. Later, Kumar told reporters that 106 new passenger train bogies had been added to the Railways which were equivalent to about 20 new trains. About starting new trains, he said against 36 per cent availability, the demand was 400 per cent as compared to now. (PTI) 4 Rabri Ministers admit law and order problem in Bihar PATNA, Dec 27 : Four Ministers in the Rabri Devi Government have admitted that law and order in Bihar is in a bad shape saying that interferences by the judiciary, executive and legislature into one another’s domains have led to social chaos in the state. Addressing the 71st annual general meeting of the Bihar Chamber of Commerce( BCC) here yesterday, State Industries Minister Baidyanath Pandey, Commercial Taxes Minister Apendra Prasad Verma, Food and Civil Supplies Minister Purnamasi Ram and Minister of State for energy Shyam Razak said state police and judicial systems were responsible for the worsening law and order scenario in the state. The Ministers strongly criticised the social organisations for not filing Public Interest Litigations (PILs) against the worsening law and order, incidents of extortions, poor banking system, dismal infrastructure and non-cooperation of the financial institutions in the development of the state. Mr Pandey said that the judiciary, executive and legislative bodies interfered with each other and this had led to ‘’social chaos.’’ He, however, reiterated the State Government’s commitment to stepping up industrialisation of the state and announced suitable amendments to the industrial policy, 1995, to remove the bottlenecks coming in the way of industrial growth.(UNI) India rejects US papers on
Kashmir NEW DELHI Dec. 27 : In a significant move, India has rejected the US State Department papers which have sought to bring to the fore Washington’s pro-Pakistan stance vis-a-vis the Kashmir issue. A top Government source on Sunday made it abundantly clear that considering the "naked fact" that Jammu and Kashmir State "is an integral part of the Indian Union", there was no need for New Delhi to attach any importance to the US State Department papers, describing as "disputed territory all of the former princely State of Jammu and Kashmir". The source, while admitting that the Government had been displeased by the manner in which the United States sought to trigger unnecessary controversy and misunderstanding at a time when New Delhi was keen to pursue the dialogue process with Islamabad on bilateral issues, including Kashmir, said that the US State Department papers "just cannot change fact of history,namely,the irrevocable accession of Jammu and Kashmir to the Indian Union". If Washington were really sincere in the promotion of friendly relations between India and Pakistan, then it would have stated facts as they surfaced in the wake of Pakistani tribal invasion on Jammu and Kashmir in 1947, which resulted in the State’s accession to India under the Instrument of Accession, the source argued, stating that the 1972 Shimla Agreement between India and Pakistan rendered irrelevant the UN resolutions on Kashmir . The source asserted : "Even as the US State Department papers have made a pointed reference to Pakistan’s assertion of Kashmir’s right to self-determination through a plebiscite, India is determined not to permit interference by anyone in the internal matters of Jammu and Kashmir, which is and will be part and parcel of the Indian Union". The source regretted that even after the international community had taken due note of India’s perturbation over the ongoing "proxy war" by Pakistan in Jammu and Kashmir, the US State Department papers had made no reference to Pakistan’s sponsorship and support to terrorism in Kashmir. When asked to comment on reports that Washington strongly felt that the Pokhran nuclear tests had "seriously damaged" Indo-US relations, the source said that the US State Department policy papers had again sought to blame India in this regard. "India’s recent nuclear tests have nothing to with the relationship it has with the United States", the source explained, stating that New Delhi continued to be keen on further promoting relationship with Washington. The United States injected a disturbing element into the Indo-Pakistan dispute over Kashmir at a time when Russian Prime Minister, Mr Yevgeny Primakov’s official visit to Delhi paved the way for firming up Indo-Russian strategic partner ship.The US diplomatic staff in Delhi reportedly worked overtime, informing Washington almost after every 30 minutes about the significant official activities during the Russian Prime Minister’s stay in the capital. Although the concept of "strategic partnership" to which India and Russia have committed themselves is really undefined, its potential seems to be meaningful in terms of Indo-Russian friendship and cooperation in the coming years. Reduced to simple pragmatic terms, all that a strategic tie-up indicates is that the two countries do not take any steps in the political and military-cum-defence fields which may even remotely harm the interests of the other. In other words, when India and Russia formulate their strategic partnership early next year at the summit level, neither would subscribe to any agreement or treaty that may infringe on the sovereignty of the other nor help any other country in a way which harms the other’s interests. A specialist on defence matters told EXCELSIOR that a logical consequence of such a partnership would of course be a disinclination on Russia’s part to supply military hardware of any kind to Pakistan, and on India’s part to help China in a way which would harm Russia’s interests. Mr Primakov himself found it necessary to reassure India on the question of Moscow supplying arms to Pakistan. However, a strategic partnership has some extended connotations in the context of international relations, and when it is firmed up the two countries will begin to view their respective roles in the international arena in respect of regional peace and stability in a new perspective altogether. Under the circumstances, it was just as well that the idea of India-Russia-China strategic triangle was buried as quickly as it was born. The defence specialist opined that it was in the first place rather premature to talk of such a triangle when Sino-Russian and Sino-Indian bilateral relations are themselves not free of tensions, and secondly, the very thought of three large countries in the Greater Asian region coming together is apt to seem more as a ganging up against smaller countries in the region than as an institutionalised or informal mechanism for trilateral cooperation. |