<!--QuoteBegin-->QUOTE<!--QuoteEBegin--><b>Biggest jihadi push since Kargil</b>
Rahul Datta/ New Delhi
Gurez, a hilly district sandwiched between Drass and Machhal sectors in Kashmir, hit the headlines when about 15 terrorists managed to breach Indian defences and sneaked in from across the Line of Control (LoC). The heavily armed ultras engaged the troops for more than four days before they were accounted for in a massive operation, which ended on Sunday.
This daring excursion was the first one in Gurez in the last few years as this rugged terrain area is located at a height of more than 14,000 feet and is covered by dense forests and snow. The fact that the ultras were exploring new infiltration routes through inhospitable terrain was definitely a cause of concern for the security forces and they are redrawing their strategy to tackle the new challenge posed by Pakistan-backed militants.
After lying low in the winter months with heavy snow blocking the mountain passes, more than 2,000 ultras lodged in 53 camps in Pakistan Occupied Kashmir (POK) have literally opened up the 750-km long Line of Control (LoC) in the last one month.
The ultras, many of whom are local Kashmiris, had undergone training and with foreign mercenaries were now making an all-out effort to cross over into India with the first fortnight of this month witnessing 13 bids and 48 killings.
Another alarming feature of the recent infiltration bids was that the militants were heavily armed and coming in batches as large as 15 or 20. The reason behind this tactic was that the big groups would disperse into smaller groups once they entered India making it difficult for security forces to track them down. Moreover, they were not willing to compromise their local contact which is a departure from the past practice of travelling light and picking up the weapons from their contacts after sneaking into the state.
While admitting that infiltration bids have increased, Army chief General JJ Singh on Tuesday said that the situation was well under control and claimed that levels of violence had dipped by more than 30 percent as compared to last year.
<b>Speaking to reporters on the occasion of the second anniversary of newsmagazine Force, the Army chief denied that the recent spurt in infiltration was akin to a similar scenario in Kargil in 1999. </b>
<b>He said the Kargil episode was not a classic case of infiltration. It was a well-planned operation as the intruders had entrenched themselves in unoccupied areas and taken ad hoc positions. </b>
The Army chief also said the Director General of Military Operations (DGMO) of India expressed his concern to his Pakistani counterpart on Tuesday about the increasing infiltration bids when the two DGMOs talked on the hotline in their regular Tuesday contact.
<b>When asked about the role of the Pakistani army in abetting infiltrations, General Singh said it would be unfair to blame the Pakistan army without ascertaining the facts. He also said the Pakistan army would have taken steps to check infiltrations if they were aware of it, adding the ceasefire on the LoC and confidence building measures had improved the atmosphere</b>. <!--emo&:o--><img src='style_emoticons/<#EMO_DIR#>/ohmy.gif' border='0' style='vertical-align:middle' alt='ohmy.gif' /><!--endemo-->
He, however, <b>said the terrorist infrastructure still existed in POK and some other parts of Pakistan and the army had reports that there were at least 53 camps still functioning there with 2,000 terrorists lodged in them</b>.
It may be mentioned here that in the first six months, there were more than 33 infiltration bids and the army had accounted for more than 105 terrorists. The operational commanders did not rule out a more concerted effort by the so-called jihadis to increase the tempo of their bids to get in and raise the levels of violence in the mainland Kashmir.
They also admitted that the entire Northern Command stretching from the plains of Jammu-Pathankot to the rugged mountainous terrain of Gurez had become active as far as terrorist activities were concerned.
Moreover, the terrorists were now trying new routes and the recent intrusion in the Gurez sector was one such example. Gurez is located at a height of more than 14,000 feet and is heavily forested and covered by snow and this area had rarely seen infiltrations in the last decade.
The terrorists, numbering about 15, had managed to breach the anti-infiltration fence along the LoC and come at least 15 to 17 kilometres inside Indian territory before being spotted by a local on July 10. <!--QuoteEnd--><!--QuoteEEnd-->
Now they don't want to blame Paki army. I hope they have not started sending Rakhi to their brother across border. <!--emo&:thumbdown--><img src='style_emoticons/<#EMO_DIR#>/thumbsdownsmileyanim.gif' border='0' style='vertical-align:middle' alt='thumbsdownsmileyanim.gif' /><!--endemo-->
Pioneer 7/19/2005
<!--QuoteBegin-->QUOTE<!--QuoteEBegin--><b>Pak gave fire cover </b>
Mohit Kandhari/ Jammu
The Indian Army has not violated the ceasefire agreement which was reached between India and Pakistan in November 2003, a defence spokesperson said here on Tuesday evening. However, a high alert has been sounded across the 750-km stretch of Line of Control in Jammu and Kashmir to thwart increased attempts by militants to infiltrate into Indian territory.
<b>"There was heavy exchange of fire between militants and the Indian Army in the Mendhar sector in Poonch district when a group of militants made an unsuccessful attempt to infiltrate,"</b> he clarified.
<b>Pakistani Rangers are said to have provided covering fire.</b> The attack was repulsed and one Faqir Hussain was taken into custody by the army. On thorough investigations, it was found that he was an innocent villager living near village Dhunun in Mendhar. "We handed him over to the Pakistani authorities in the afternoon," the defence spokesperson told The Pioneer.
Meanwhile, a high alert has been sounded along the border areas, which have witnessed a steep rise in infiltration in the past one week. Senior Army functionaries in the Northern command have confirmed that militants, equipped with arms and ammunition, have started infiltrating into Jammu and Kashmir from one end of the LoC in Uri to the other end in Akhnoor. During the last six months more than 400 militants have been killed in various parts of the state and on the border.
Eyewitness accounts have revealed that though more than 20 infiltrators were killed in Poonch sector, about 100 rebels had managed to sneak into the state from across Panjni, Loren, Saujia, Lohara, Nowshera and Sunderbani in Poonch Rajouri belts during the past one month.
A senior police officer said that a number of places on the border, dotted by rivers and ravines have not been fenced. These very gaps have been used by the infiltrators. <!--QuoteEnd--><!--QuoteEEnd-->
It was not Paki Army but ghost were firing. Indian Army Chief is sleeping.
<!--QuoteBegin-->QUOTE<!--QuoteEBegin--><b>Five killed in Srinagar suicide bombing</b>
(Updated at 1010 PST)
Five persons, including three army personnel, were killed and 11 others injured when Hizbul Mujahideen terrorists targeted a security forces motorcade by blowing up an explosive-laden vehicle near Sher-e-Kashmir Cricket Stadium Park<!--QuoteEnd--><!--QuoteEEnd-->
<!--QuoteBegin-Mudy+Jul 20 2005, 11:49 AM-->QUOTE(Mudy @ Jul 20 2005, 11:49 AM)<!--QuoteEBegin--><!--QuoteBegin--><div class='quotetop'>QUOTE<!--QuoteEBegin--><b>Five killed in Srinagar suicide bombing</b>
(Updated at 1010 PST)
Five persons, including three army personnel, were killed and 11 others injured when Hizbul Mujahideen terrorists targeted a security forces motorcade by blowing up an explosive-laden vehicle near Sher-e-Kashmir Cricket Stadium Park<!--QuoteEnd--><!--QuoteEEnd--><!--QuoteEnd--></div><!--QuoteEEnd-->
No doubt done by one of the "rebels" <!--emo&:furious--><img src='style_emoticons/<#EMO_DIR#>/furious.gif' border='0' style='vertical-align:middle' alt='furious.gif' /><!--endemo-->
"....about 100 rebels had managed to sneak into the state from across Panjni, Loren, Saujia, Lohara, Nowshera and Sunderbani in Poonch Rajouri belts during the past one month." (article 1 up)
<!--QuoteBegin-Mudy+Jul 18 2005, 12:37 PM-->QUOTE(Mudy @ Jul 18 2005, 12:37 PM)<!--QuoteEBegin--> Thrissur, July 18: Union Home Minister Shivraj Patil today said terrorist activities in Jammu and Kashmir had declined by more than 60 per cent and by 40 to 50 per cent in the North-East.
<!--QuoteEnd--><!--QuoteEEnd-->
The Srinigar episode just hours after Patil's statement show's how much Patil has grasp of the ground realities. No doubt he couldn't even get elected in his home state. For a home minister whose own home's burgled, what else can one expect.
From PTI:
<!--QuoteBegin-->QUOTE<!--QuoteEBegin-->Tunnel to Leh
Drass (PTI): The Centre has sanctioned Rs 600 crore for the construction of a tunnel at Zojila pass along the Srinagar-Leh national highway to keep the 434-km arterial road open round the year. Snowfall blocks the road link for six to seven months every year
<b>Kashmiri militants warn against return of Pandits</b><!--QuoteBegin-->QUOTE<!--QuoteEBegin-->Trying to put a dampener on the Hurriyat's efforts to bring Kashmiri Pandits back to the Valley, four Pakistan-based militant groups on Friday warned the migrants against doing so as they had "deserted" the majority community "during the hour of crisis".
Accusing the Pandits of helping then J&K Governor Jagmohan "implement his heinous plans" by migrating in the 1990s, they said, <b>"we impose a ban on the return of Kashmiri Pandit migrants to the Valley."</b>
"Exchanging garlands with leaders of the moderate faction of the Hurriyat Conference cannot absolve them. The childish assurances handed out by the Hurriyat will not protect them," a joint spokesman for Al-Nasireen, Al-Arifeen, Save Kashmir Movement and Fazandan-e-Millat said in a faxed statement.
<!--QuoteEnd--><!--QuoteEEnd-->
Minister of State for Home Affairs, Sri Prakash Jaiswal, today proposed a minorities commission for Jammu and Kashmir, which would focus on rehabilitating displaced Kashmiri Hindus.
He further said that efforts would also be made to issue identity cards to the minorities including displaced Kashmiri Hindus.
<b>"We will try to provide I-cards. We will ask the State Government to work towards bringing the minority commission in existence soon. There is nothing hidden and it will be held openly. There is no hidden agreement," Jaiswal said after meeting representatives of the Kashmiri Hindus and members of the National Minorities Commission in New Delhi.</b>
The meeting came two days after a historic meet between Hurriyat leaders and the displaced Hindus for the first time in 16 years after "Pandits", were forced to flee the bitterly disputed territory amidst violence by Islamic rebels.
<b>According to the National Human Rights Commission, about 300,000 Pandits have been forced to leave Kashmir because of the rebellion</b>.
<b>While some Kashmiri Hindus have made their way to Delhi and other parts of the country, about 200,000 Pandits who left their homes are still languishing in Jammu</b>.
Jaiswal also welcomed the Hurriyat's initiative to hold talks with Pandits.
"The more the Hurriyat holds discussions with the Kashmiri Hindus and other such minority groups, the more it would help to reach conclusions. There should be more meeting between Hurriyat and Kashmiri Hindus, including the immigrants. It will help in ameliorating the situation in Kashmir," Jaiswal said.
Pandits have been living in dingy refugee camps or in shanties in northern Indian cities, after they fled the bloody rebellion in the picturesque valley. Pandits have accused the Centre of neglecting their development and demand centrally administered zones in Kashmir for their community. (ANI)
<!--QuoteEnd--><!--QuoteEEnd-->
It shows how the Paki pigs cleansed the Pandits out of J-K through killings, beatings, rapes, and lynchings.
Each and every clueless Arundhati Roy wannabe should me made to see this movie.
<!--emo&:furious--><img src='style_emoticons/<#EMO_DIR#>/furious.gif' border='0' style='vertical-align:middle' alt='furious.gif' /><!--endemo-->
Bloodshed in Jammu - five throats slit, one axed to death (Update)
Jammu : Unleashing a wave of terror in Jammu and Kashmir's Rajouri district, militants axed to death a woman and slit the throats of five men after segregating Hindus and Muslims in the village.
Both the incidents in separate villages in Rajouri district, about 200 km north of Jammu, took place Thursday night.
In what is being seen as the first major killing of Hindus in the last two years, five men in the age group of 40-60 were brutally killed when militants allegedly barged into their homes in Deb village in Rajouri.
Though initial reports said the five were gunned down, it later came to light that their throats were slit after the militants segregated Hindu and Muslim populations.
No group has claimed responsibility for the incident in the hilly village in the heavily forested area where a large number of militants operate.
Deputy Inspector General of Police Rajouri-Poonch range V.K. Singh said a police team had already left for the spot to investigate the incident.
Police have sounded an alert and asked pilgrims on their way to the cave shrine in Amarnath to stay with their convoys.
In the other incident late Thursday, a young woman, Shamima Akhtar, was axed to death in Jangloo village in Rajouri.
Police said the motive behind the killing of Shamima Akhtar, who was in her 20s, was not known as the village can be reached only after a trek of a few hours.
A police team has been dispatched to investigate the incident.
On Thursday militants had killed two women and a child in Sakora village in Jammu's Udhampur district.
Seems like they are now trying to slowly eliminate Jammu Hindus as well from the state, next they will target Ladakh Buddhists, Jammu and Ladakh should be separated from Kashmir and made into separate Union territories as soon as possible.
07-29-2005, 06:50 PM (This post was last modified: 07-29-2005, 11:23 PM by Bharatvarsh.)
Terrorists attack Srinagar, eight injured
Srinagar, July. 29 (PTI): Militants carried out an attack in the busy Budshah chowk area here triggering a heavy exchange of fire with security forces in which eight people, including four mediapersons, were injured. A police vehicle was on fire after it was hit by a grenade thrown by militants, official sources said.
The injured mediapersons were two TV cameramen and two press photographers.
Giving details of the attack, the sources said militants lobbed a grenade and fired indiscriminately targeting security personnel camping in a building located in the heart of the city at around 5 pm.
The security forces retaliated and in the exchange of fire four pedestrians were injured.
Militants have taken shelter in a hotel building and effort were on to flush them out, the sources said.
Two militant outfits Al Mansoorian and Jamiat-ul Mujahideen, in separate statements to a local news agency, have claimed the responsibility for the attack.
Besides the cameramen and the press photo journalists, the other injured were one Shaukat, son of a Congress worker, two security personnel and a women, who were rushed to a hospital here.
The driver of the police vehicle, which came under fire after a bullet hit its petrol tank, escaped unhurt, the sources said.
The whole area was immediately cordoned off and intermittent firing between the militants and security forces was still on.
Panic gripped the Budshah chowk and adjacent Lal chowk area after the incident as shopkeepers abandoning their shops and rushed alongside pedestrians to safety, the sources said.
<!--QuoteBegin-Shambhu+Jul 25 2005, 05:00 PM-->QUOTE(Shambhu @ Jul 25 2005, 05:00 PM)<!--QuoteEBegin--> Each and every clueless Arundhati Roy wannabe should me made to see this movie.
<!--emo&:furious--><img src='style_emoticons/<#EMO_DIR#>/furious.gif' border='0' style='vertical-align:middle' alt='furious.gif' /><!--endemo--> <!--QuoteEnd--><!--QuoteEEnd-->
Check this A Roy with Yasin Malik
You think A Roy is clueless? There's saying, you can't wake someone who's pretending to be asleep.
G.Subramaniam are Jammu Hindus still outbreeding the Muslims of the state, because I read somwhere that the non-muslim population of the state is falling, so is Hindu (and Buddhist) population falling or increasing in Jammu and Kashmir according to the last census.
<!--QuoteBegin-Viren+Jul 29 2005, 08:18 PM-->QUOTE(Viren @ Jul 29 2005, 08:18 PM)<!--QuoteEBegin--> <!--QuoteBegin-Shambhu+Jul 25 2005, 05:00 PM--><div class='quotetop'>QUOTE(Shambhu @ Jul 25 2005, 05:00 PM)<!--QuoteEBegin--> Each and every clueless Arundhati Roy wannabe should me made to see this movie.
<!--emo&:furious--><img src='style_emoticons/<#EMO_DIR#>/furious.gif' border='0' style='vertical-align:middle' alt='furious.gif' /><!--endemo--> <!--QuoteEnd--><!--QuoteEEnd-->
Check this A Roy with Yasin Malik
You think A Roy is clueless? There's saying, you can't wake someone who's pretending to be asleep. <!--QuoteEnd--></div><!--QuoteEEnd-->
No, I was saying A Roy wannabees are clueless and will follow anyone they think is "hip and progressive"...
Roy herself is a helper of murderers..who has shown time and again that she does not mind innocent people getting killed as long as she gets some $$$ from books and fame amongst her braindead followers..
<b>J&K encounter ends, two terrorists shot dead </b><!--QuoteBegin-->QUOTE<!--QuoteEBegin-->Two security personnel were killed and 18 others, including seven mediapersons, were injured when terrorists hurled a grenade and opened fire at a BSF armoured vehicle triggering an exchange of fire on Friday.<!--QuoteEnd--><!--QuoteEEnd-->
<!--QuoteBegin-->QUOTE<!--QuoteEBegin-->http://www.indianexpress.com/full_story.php?content_id=75468
<b>On LoC, biggest Op since Kargil: 15 Jaish men are shot, hunt still on </b>
SHISHIR GUPTA
Posted online: Monday, August 01, 2005 at 0251 hours IST
The Shina-speaking Gurezis, ethnically linked to Gilgit in Pakistanâs Northern Areas, thought that the 2003 Indo-Pak ceasefire on the Line of Control (LoC) had broken down when artillery guns boomed and lit up the night sky last fortnight. But this was no cross-LoC firing: it signalled the last phase of the Indian Armyâs operation against Jaish-e-Mohammed (JeM) cadres infiltrating this sector.
Operation Makalwain was no Kargil though Mushkoh Valley, from where Pakistanis first intruded in 1999, lies adjacent to Gurez. But it was perhaps one of the biggest operations since the mountain conflict: an entire Indian Army brigade (around 3,000 men) was involved in neutralising a large group of militants.
Troop-ferrying helicopters and artillery guns were used to illuminate the jungles and treacherous terrain in Tilel valley, west of Baraub. Until today, the Armyâs 109 Brigade had recovered 15 bodies of JeM militants with AK-47, AK-56 rifles, grenades and communication sets. The search is still on because the group was estimated to be 25-members strong.
The fence in the Gurez sector lies 10-15 km from the LoC, along the Kishenganga river that is fed by a string of mountain streams, including Makalwain and Burzil. As some of these streams originate from Pakistan occupied Kashmir (PoK), they are natural ingress routes for militants to infiltrate across the LoC.
In Gurez sector, Baraub-Chakwali-Kaobal Gali, Gujran, Satinar, Burzil Nullah and Nowshera Nar are known infiltration routes that go through high mountain passes between 12,000-18,000 feet. This was the area where the Indian Army had gunned down 18 militants in September 2003.
The Indian Express, the first to reach the area of operations, learnt that on July 10, a Bakarwal (shepherd) informed the Baraub-based 20 Punjab about a group of 10-12 infiltrators who had crossed the LoC and were headed towards Makalwain Nullah.
According to Brigadier U M Rajavelu, in-charge of the 109 Brigade, the Commanding Officer of 20 Punjab, Rajan Jamwal, gave the task of tracking down the militants to his commando platoon led by Lt Manish Pandey while Major M K Kesar and Major Vishal Singh were told to station themselves across the Makalwain: at Domel forest atop a sheer mountain and Bari.
The group of militants possibly entered the area from Mushkoh Valley via Kaobal Gali, taking advantage of the fact that the fencing between Chakwali and Kaobal Gali had been destroyed by heavy snow this year.
At 2.30 pm on July 10, Lt Pandey spotted the militants and started trailing themâthey were beyond weapon range. At 10 pm that night, Major Kesar tried to cross the turbulent Makalwain Nullah but his scouts were swept away by the strong current and had to be rescued with the help of ropes.
Next day at 4.30 am, Major Kesar spotted the militants at Domel forests. At 1.30 pm, Lt Pandey fired at the group and saw a number of them drop dead. Later at 6 pm, helicopters ferried troops to the area: 11 Sikh, Dogra Scouts and 3 Rajput joined the battle. Brigadier Rajavelu and Colonel Jamwal also moved in.
Between midnight and 7 am on July 12, the troops killed three militants but could recover only two bodies. At that time, a militant radio intercept from across the LoC spoke of 12 of their colleagues attaining ââshahadad (martyrdom).ââ By this time, Major Kesar had managed to cross the Makalwain through a makeshift bridge (now called Kesar Bridge) and all three platoons closed in at Point 3395 where the militants were holed up.
On July 13 afternoon, Pandeyâs platoon came under fire from a holed-up militant who refused to surrender. It took more than 24 hours and an automatic grenade launcher from Major Vishal to silence the militant.
According to Brigadier Rajvelu, the militants tried to go back towards the LoC on July 13-14. The Army used artillery with illumination rounds and more troops moved into the theatre to push them back.
On July 14 and 15, the Army recovered nine bodies from Makalwain but the radio intercept from across spoke of ââsolah halaq ho gaye hain (16 have been killed). From July 16 to 21, the troops found six more bodies, taking the toll to 15. A search is still on between Angai Pahad (near Pt 3395) and Kinari Glacier.
While Operation Makalwain is over, the 109 Brigadeâs work has not ended: they have to immediately repair the fence to ensure that more infiltrators donât slip in.
(Tomorrow: LoC fence gets new alignment to stop infiltration)<!--QuoteEnd--><!--QuoteEEnd-->
LD KASHMIR
Five ultras among nine killed in Jammu and Kashmir
SRINAGAR, AUG 7 (PTI)
Nine persons, including five ultras and a woman, were killed and five others injured in separate incidents in Jammu and Kashmir, where militants made an abortive bid to set off an explosionntnag and set ablaze 13,000 wooden scants in Doda since last night.
In first such incident in Udhampur district, residents of Thatharaka hamlet overpowered a militant and beat him to death after a group of ultras decended on the village and opened fire killing a villager and injured another, a police spokesman said today.
He said the militants forcibly intruded into the house of Abdul Qayoom in the village last night and shot him dead while another villager Abdul Latief was injured in the shooting.
However, the people gathered there and overpowered one of the militants while they were fleeing after committing the murder. The villagers beat him up severely causing his death, he said.
He said security forces shot dead an unidentified militant at Hokarsar in the jursidiction of police station Parimpora on the outskirts of Srinagar city this morning. An AK rifle with some ammunition was seized from him.
A Hizbul Mujahideen militant, Abdul Rehman Khan was killed in an encounter at village Kudara in Baramulla district last night, the spokesman said adding Akhtar Hussain, a civilian, was also killed when he was caught in the exchange of fire.
He said security forces killed two unidentified militants at Vilgam in Kupwara district yesterday. Two AK rifles and some ammunition were recovered from the killed ultras.
The spokesman said a woman Saira Begum, working as a cook, was killed and three persons, including her four-year old son were injured in a grenade explosion at girls Gujjar hostel in Doda district last evening. The cause of the blast is being ascertained. Body of an unidentified person was recovered by police from Khurnar in Poonch district this afternoon, the spokesman said.
He said militants shot at and injured a student Sheikh Nazir of largam when a group of students and their teachers, returning from excursion, resisted militants near Arwani in Bijbehara area of Anantnag district last evening.
The militants had stopped and forcibly intruded into the excursion bus returning from Kokernag to Shopian. The teachers and the students resisted, upon which they opened fire causing bullet injuries to Nazir who was later hospitalized, he said.
He said militants forced their entry into forest depot at Bamani Kanthroo in Atholi area of Doda district last night, harassed the labourers and forced them to leave the depot.
Before fleeing, the ultras set ablaze the depot causing damage to about 13,000 wooden scants, the spokesman said.
He said police recovered a live hand grenade from Anantnag district town, 55 kms from here, this afternoon which was later defused foiling ultras plan to set off an explosion.
Militants also fired upon a search party at Dogripora in Pulwama district today, but there was no immediate report of any casualty, the spokesman said adding the village was under tight security cordon and further details are awaited.
Security forces apprehended four suspected militants from sopore town of Baramulla district and seized four hand grenades from them, the spokesman said.
08-07-2005, 09:20 PM (This post was last modified: 08-07-2005, 09:20 PM by Bharatvarsh.)
Two militants, civilian killed in gunbattle in Pulwama
SRINAGAR, AUG 7 (PTI)
Two militants and a civilian were killed in a gunbattle in Pulwama district of Jammu and Kashmir this evening.
Acting on a specific information, police assisted by security forces laid a cordon around Dogripora village in Pulwama district this afternoon to flush out hiding militants, Deputy Inspector General of Police, South Kashmir, Sheikh Owais Ahmad told PTI.
He said a search party came under fire and in the ensuing gunbattle which lasted several hours two unidentified militants were killed.
A civilian who was caught in the crossfire also lost his life, the official said.
A huge cache of arms and ammunition were recovered from the slain militants, whose identity is being ascertained.
