JAMMU: Security forces today busted a militant hideout in Doda district and seized a cache of arms and ammunition.

A joint operation was launched by Rashtriya Rifles and State police after a tip-off in Marg Bhart area of Doda district, a defence spokesman said.

As many as 55 detonators, one pistol, two country-made guns, two grenades, 205 rounds of AK series rifle, two HE-36 grenades were among the arms and ammunition seized in the raid. (PTI)

SRINAGAR : The State Government today directed cancelling of the land allotment to Steel Authority of India Limited (SAIL) at Lassipora Industrial Estate as the public sector company failed to start project work even after several years.
“Omar Abdullah directed for taking action for cancellation of land to SAIL at Lassipora as this Authority has failed to initiate its programme at the allotted land despite the lapse of so many years,” an official spokesman said.
Omar passed these directions at a meeting held to review the development of industries and handicrafts in the State.
The Chief Minister said the land allotted to SAIL should be re-allotted to the budding entrepreneurs of the State for launch of MSME Units.
Omar also directed the Industries Department to work out a strategy for establishing proposed Textile Park at a portion of HMT Factory land as it has stopped its operations here for a long time now.
He said the matter should be pursued on fast track so that action on setting up of a Textile Park for the local entrepreneurs is taken up as early as possible.
Omar assured the representatives of industries that the Government is keenly pursuing the policy of industrialisation in the State with focus on nurturing local entrepreneurs and generating employment for the youth. (AGENCIES)

NEW DELHI: Outgoing Army Chief General Bikram Singh will pay homage to the martyrs of the 1999 Kargil war at Drass in Ladkah tomorrow on the occasion of 15th anniversary of the limited conflict between India and Pakistan.

The Army Chief will visit the war memorial in Drass and pay homage to the martyrs of the war fought in 1999, Army officials said here.

The ‘Kargil Vijay Diwas’ is celebrated on 26 July every year to mark the exit of Pakistan Army regulars and terrorists from Indian territory and Indian Army bunkers captured by them in 1999.

On July 26, Defence Minister Arun Jaitley will lead the armed forces in paying homage to the martyrs at the Amar Jawan Jyoti at the India Gate complex here.

The war was fought under the NDA Government led by the then Prime Minister Atal Bihari Vajpayee.

The function was celebrated in a low key manner in the UPA regime and the celebrations in Ladakh were headed by local Army formation commanders. (AGENCIES)

POONCH : Goods worth over Rs 77 lakh were today traded across the Line of Control (LoC) at Chakan-Da-Bagh crossing point here, officials said.

As many as 24 trucks rolled out from the Trade Facilitation Centre (TFC) here to PoK, they said, adding, these trucks carried bags of bananas,tamarind and embroidery suit worth Rs 66,53,150.

From PoK, three trucks carrying bags of almonds giri, herbs and apple worth Rs 10,93,190 entered India, they said.

Officials from both sides monitored transportation of these goods twice during the day. (AGENCIES)

NEW DELHI: The Government today termed strengthening of coverage of Doordarshan to counter anti-India propaganda along border areas as “ongoing process” and said the national broadcaster has given “priority” to its expansion through various plans.

In a written reply to Rajya Sabha, Information and Broadcasting Minister Prakash Javadekar said that Prasar Bharti has approved a scheme in 11th Plan to further strengthen the television coverage in Jammu and Kashmir.

“Strengthening of TV coverage of Doordarshan (DD) to counter anti-India propaganda along border areas is an ongoing process. Doordarshan has been assigning priority to expansion of their coverage in border areas of the country in various expansion plans formulated from time to time,” Javadekar said to a question on details of measures taken by Government to complains (if any) regarding telecast of Pakistan TV in bordering areas.

He said special packages for expansion and improvement of Doordarshan services in J&Khave also been implemented in the past, and at present, Prasar Bharti has informed that 112 TV transmitters of varying power were functioning in the districts near the Pakistan border.

Javadekar said the Ministry of Home Affairs and Prasar Bharti have informed that the signals and coverage of Pakistan TV was available in the bordering districts of the country.

“However no complaints have been received during the last three years regarding telecast of Pakistan TV on bordering districts of the country,” he said while replying to a question on dates on which complaints were received by Government during last three years regarding telecast of Pakistan TV in India’s bordering districts.

Elaborating about Prasar Bharti’s approved scheme in 11th Plan to further strengthen TV coverage in J&K, Javadekar said it includes projects of establishment of five high power TV transmitters in J&K (Kashmir Region-1, Jammu Region-1, Ladakh Region-1 besides 2 high power transmitters at Rajouri)

“Above projects are expected to be completed in phases in about two years,” the minister said. (AGENCIES)

LONDON: British investigators have started examining the second black box from Malaysia Airlines flight MH17 which was shot down over Ukraine, the transport ministry said today.
The Air Accidents Investigation Branch (AAIB) in Farnborough, southwest of London, is looking at the flight data recorder, which records information from instruments on the plane.
Yesterday AAIB experts downloaded “valid data” from the first black box, the cockpit voice recorder, which should give them hours of the pilots’ conversations.
“They have started examining the Flight Data Recorder,” a Department for Transport spokesman told AFP today.
“The analysis of any data will be done by an international team led by the Dutch.”
The boxes – which are actually orange in colour – were delivered to Farnborough by the Dutch Safety Board (OVV), which is leading an international investigation into the crash in which 298 people died, 193 of them Dutch.
Pro-Russian rebels controlling the crash site handed the boxes over to Malaysian officials on Tuesday, following an international outcry over the treatment of the wreckage and the bodies of the victims.
The OVV said yesterday that the data from the cockpit voice recorder data “was successfully downloaded and contained valid data from the flight. The downloaded data have to be further analysed and investigated”.
If the second black box also contains “relevant information” then the data from both boxes will be combined, it said.
The OVV is coordinating investigation teams from eight different countries, including Russia.
Western governments say the evidence points to the Boeing 777 plane having been shot down with a missile by pro-Russian separatists. (AGENCIES)

SRINAGAR:  Over 70 personalities from different walks of life were honoured with the Jammu and Kashmir State Awards and Chief Minister’s Gold Medals for the years 2011 to 2014 at a ceremony here.
Governor N N Vohra presented the State Awards in different categories to 57 recipients, while Chief Minister Omar Abdullah awarded Gold Medals and Tabinda Gani Award for bravery to 14 children at the investiture ceremony organised at SKICC on the banks of Dal Lake.
Prominent among those who received the awards for bravery for the year 2012 included Abdul Latief, a resident of Thatharka village of Gool in Ramban district of Jammu region, for shooting dead a LeT militant, who along with his associates intruded into Latief’s house in 2005 and opened indiscriminate firing killing his brother.
Other awardees included Om Goswami and Ghulam Nabi Khayal (Literature), Deepali Wattal, Ghulam Nabi Bulbul and Triloke Koul (performing arts), Nazir Ahmad Mir and Manzoor Ahmed Naqashgir (Arts and Crafts), Ladakh Heart Foundation Society, Leh (Social Reforms and Empowerment), Madhav Lal, Tanveer Jehan, Rajinder Singh and Uttar Kumar Padha (Meritorious Public Service).
Renowned cardiologist S Jalal, who died in a militant attack last year also received the State Award for meritorious public service, while Ved Rahi received the Lifetime Achievement award.
Other recipients were Ujjwal Gupta and Adil Mohi-ud-Din (Outstanding Sportsperson), Ashok Jailkhani, Sanjit Khajuria, Bashir Manzar, Javid Malik, Sameer Arshad, Maneesh Chibber, Kashmir News Service, Mohinder Verma (Daily Excelsior),  Bashir Malik and Aurangzeb Naqshbandi (Outstanding Mediapersons).
The recipients of State Awards for the year 2013 are Vivek
Kumar for Bravery, Ghulam Nabi Firaq (Literature), Narsingh Dev Jamwal and Ali Mohammad (Performing Arts), Syed Amjad Ali (Excellence in Arts and Crafts), Parvez Rasool Zargar (Outstanding Sportsperson), Atal Dulloo, Showkat Ahmad Mir, Sushil Kumar Sharma and  Mohammad Saleem Wani (Meritorious Public Service), Sham Koul, Bashir Ahmad Sofi and S P Sharma (Outstanding Mediaperson).
The recipients of State Awards for the year 2014 are Ghulam Rasool Tak (Posthumously) and Akhil Singh (Posthumously) for Bravery, G N Gauhar (Literature), Rashid Haafiz and Suraj Singh (Performing Arts).
Majid Ahmad Mir for Excellence in Arts and Crafts, Dr Mohammad Ishaq Wani, Shahzada Bilal Ahmad, Dr Shakti Gupta and Dr Anil Gupta were conferred Meritorious Public Service awards, and Padma Sachdev received Lifetime Achievement award.
Other awardees were Atul Pangotra, Rashid Ahmad Choudhary, Rita Devi Zakariya Yaseen Bhat and Shubham Khajuria (Outstanding Sportsperson) and Vivek Sharma (Outstanding Mediaperson).
The Chief Minister’s Gold Medal for Honesty, Integrity and Meritorious Public Service was awarded to Suresh Kumar, Mohammad Sayeed Khan, Sudarshan Sharma, Zaffar Ahmed Bhat, Mushtaq Ahmed Mir, Dr Ghulam Hassan Shah for the year 2011 and Umang Narula, Farooq Ahmed Peer, Irfan Yaseen, Rashim Kashyap and Mushtaq Ahmad Lone for the year 2012.
Tabinda Gani State Award of Bravery for Children for the year 2012 were awarded to Mohammad Vasat, Muzamil Masood Ganie and Abdul Aziz Sofi. (AGENCIES)

SRINAGAR : Jammu and Kashmir Chief Minister Omar Abdullah today said “some people” will never find the time appropriate for withdrawal of Armed Forces Special Powers Act (AFSPA) from the state as they have a “liking” for these laws.
“It is an ongoing discussion with the Centre. First, it was with the UPA and now the NDA government. Some people will never find the time appropriate because they have so much liking and love for these laws,” Omar told reporters here.
The Chief Minister said, “Even if we silence 100 per cent of the guns here, they will still find excuses and say time is not appropriate.”
“I do not know what parameters they want for the appropriate time. If they let us know the parameters to determine the appropriate time, then we will try to achieve those parameters.
“But whenever we tell them that the time is appropriate, they say not this year but next year. And then the next year, they increase the goal post. I hope that their thinking changes and the process (of revocation of AFSPA) is started,” he said.
On a Shiv Sena MP allegedly force-feeding a Muslim employee in the New Maharashtra Sadan at New Delhi, Omar said it was “goondaism” (hooliganism).
“Either they knew he (the employee) was a Muslim and then it is more shameful. Even if they did not know, the goondaism by Members of Parliament is not a good thing. We should set an example by our behaviour after winning elections. And if we are setting this example to the people of the country, then I feel it is very shameful.
“I am ready to go to the extent that they did not know he was a Muslim, but even then the act cannot be overlooked because we do not expect such goondaism from an MP,” he said.
Asked about the upcoming Assembly polls in the state, the Chief Minister said he considers 1996 state elections as the “toughest” in the history of the state.
“No. Why?” he quipped when asked whether the upcoming polls are the toughest in the history of the state.
“There is a huge difference between the militancy of that time and the militancy now. Perhaps, this election may be politically difficult for some, but as regards to administration and security, I feel 1996 polls were most difficult for us,” he said. (AGENCIES)

NEW DELHI: With Assembly polls scheduled in Jammu and Kashmir later this year, infiltration attempts from across the border are expected to increase, a top security official today said.
“You would have seen that in the recent past a lot of infiltration attempts (in Jammu and Kashmir) have been thwarted but with the elections coming up later this year in that state you can only expect them to increase,” NSG chief J N Choudhury said at a security conference here.
The National Security Guard (NSG) Director General also warned that India stands to face the challenge of big terrorist attack like incidents.
“The same terrorist forces that attacked our Parliament in 2001, they can be expected to do so in the future. The objective seems to be very clear. They want to attack our self-confidence, they want to make it clear to the world that India is not the investment destination that everyone thinks it is.
“The threat from Pak-based terror outfits like the Lashkar-e-Toiba, Harkat-ul-Mujahideen or the Indian Mujahideen (IM), which primarily works out of Karachi in Pakistan, is very real,” the DG said at an event organised by the Federation of Indian Chambers of Commerce and Industry (FICCI).
He said the future terror attacks could be of the ‘black swan’ variety.
“Though the security forces had been very successful in last many years as they have picked up many operatives (terrorist agents)…But incidents will not be frequent but they will be of the black swan variety– an infrequent incident that has a huge impact on the nation.
“Responding to these threats is complex as they (terror masterminds) have a global footprint, their operations, financing etc. Are planned out of the country,” he said.
The ‘black cat’ commando’s chief said while the level of
violent incidents in the Left Wing Extremism (LWE) affected areas has gone down, the Maoists possess a “lethal capability” to launch a sensational attack against high-value targets.
“The Improvised Explosive Devices (IEDs) are their (Naxals) main weapon of choice to inflict casualties,” he said.
He also termed the functioning of the burgeoning number of terror and ultra outfits in the country akin to a “cottage industry”.
Choudhury said it is a challenge for security agencies to guard the ‘open’ Indian borders with Nepal and Bangladesh as the ‘jehadi’ threat looms large. (AGENCIES)