Jammu & Kashmir: Timeline (Terrorist Activities) -2011

Amidst reports that the separatists and their sympathisers were preparing for another bout of street protests in the summer of 2011, there is little likelihood of the thinning of Security Forces in the State, Government sources said, IANS reported on January 2. "There is no question of taking any chances at this stage; we will have to go by security considerations and not by the political thinking of the groups," said an unnamed senior officer who attended a meeting of the Union Home Ministry in New Delhi. "This year is going to be very crucial. The summer of 2010 and the attacks by militants on the Security Forces have reinforced our perception that Pakistan and its protégés in Jammu and Kashmir are bent upon continuing with creating trouble across the State," the officer added. "We don't want a reversal of the situation," the officer further said. Read less...

Army on January 1 arrested a Pakistani national, suspected to be a guide of the militants, on the Line of Control (LoC) at MSD Post near Kanga forward area of Balakote in the Mendhar sector of Poonch District, reported Daily Excelsior. The arrestee, identified as Mohammad Sageer, son of Sad Mohammad, a resident of Kajral Majral in Pakistan. Reports said the suspected guide was arrested soon after the Army foiled an infiltration attempt by a group of five to six militants at Kanga in the Balakote are of Doda District in the night of December 31. However, no recoveries were made from the Pakistani national. Read less...

The State is preparing for a crowd control system. "We are going to shift to non-lethal means," Director General of Police Kuldeep Khoda told Police officers at a meeting in Jammu last week. "The non-lethal weapons would be an asset,” he added. The Police and paramilitary forces will be dealing with possible street protests, while the Army will be taking on militants in the hinterland. According to an unnamed senior Government official, "In the given situation, Security Forces are required in substantive numbers and any reduction will have serious repercussions." There had been a reduction of 30,000 troops in Jammu and Kashmir in 2009. Read less...

A total of 7,031 civilians and Security Force personnel have lost their lives due to violence in Jammu and Kashmir (J&K) in the last 10 years, reported Daily Excelsior, reported on January 3. "4,812 civilians and 2,219 Security Force personnel have lost their lives since 2001 to August 2010 in Jammu and Kashmir," the Union Home Ministry said in reply to a Right to Information (RTI) query. Many areas of J&K have witnessed several incidents of violence in terms of stone pelting, violent protests, encounters with armed terrorists and terror attacks in the recent past resulting in death of and injuries to civilians and security men. "Law and order is a State subject and measures are taken by the Jammu and Kashmir Government to maintain peace and public order," the Home Ministry said. Read less...

Chief spokesman of Hurriyat Conference Prof. Abdul Gani Bhat on January 2 said that “our own people” killed Mirwaiz Mohammad Farooq, Abdul Gani Lone, and academicians like Abdul Ahad Wani has created a flutter in Kashmir, reports The Hindu. Professor Bhat, at a seminar organised by the Jammu and Kashmir Liberation Front (JKLF) in Srinagar to pay tributes to one of its ideologues, Professor Wani, had said: “Lone sahib, Mirwaiz [Mohammad] Farooq, and Professor Wani were not killed by the Army or the police. They were targeted by our own people. The story is a long one, but we have to tell the truth.” He added, “If you want to free the people of Kashmir from sentimentalism bordering on insanity, you have to speak the truth. Here I am letting it out. The present movement against India was started by us killing our intellectuals.” Mirwaiz Mohammad Farooq, father of the Hurriyat Conference's current chairman, Mirwaiz Umar Farooq, was killed by “unidentified gunmen” on May 21, 1990. Lone was killed on the same day in 2002 during the anniversary of the late Mirwaiz. Wani was killed on December 31, 1993, by unidentified assailants. Read less...

Nearly half a dozen women harbourers of the militants have surfaced in Doda District following sustained questioning of arrested Hizb-ul-Mujahideen ‘divisional commanders’ Ghulam Nabi Sheikh alias Javaid Qureshi and Jameel Ahmed alias Nissar Qureshi, reports Daily Excelsior, reported on January 3. More than 30 Over Ground Workers (OGWs) have also figured in the interrogation of the two militants, who were arrested in December in Dehradun (Uttaranchal) and Kangra (Himachal Pradesh) respectively and now have been shifted to Doda. Read less...

A joint team of Territorial Army and Police neutralised a hideout of the militants in Keri forest area of Kalakote in Rajouri District and recovered one Chinese pistol with one magazine and seven rounds, 121 AK rounds, one binocular and other items. Read less...

Army personnel foiled an infiltration attempt at the Line of Control (LoC) in Krishna Ghati sector in Poonch District. The militants trying to intrude into this side opened firing on Army posts. The firing was joined by Pakistani troops, who committed ceasefire violation, in a bid to give cover to the infiltrators. However, effective retaliatory firing by the troops from this side thwarted the plot of intruders to sneak in. Read less...

Director General of Police (DGP) Kuldeep Khoda said on January 3 that five out of 10 Districts of Jammu region were completely free of militancy while in other Districts the militancy has sharply declined even as he announced that five special battalions of Police will be ready during next two months to meet the law and order situation and take up the challenge posed by stone throwers in future, reports Daily Excelsior. ‘‘Jammu, Kathua, Samba, Reasi and Udhampur Districts are totally free of militancy in Jammu region. On infiltration, the police chief said 48 infiltration attempts were reported last as year as compared to 100 during 2009 recording a drop of 52 per cent. After the largest ever single year drop in militancy related incidents percentage wise in 2007 when 1092 incidents were reported as compared to 1667 in 2006, the number came down to 708 in 2008, 499 in 2009 and 488 in 2010. in 2009, 232 militants including several top commanders were killed. The civilian killings came down from 90 in 2008 to 71 in 2009 and 47 in 2010.Security forces also suffered lowest ever losses in 21 years. Twenty brave policemen laid down their lives last year while fighting militants. Read less...

Troops of Rashtriya Rifles on January 3 continued massive search operations in Bhimdassa and its surrounding areas of Kheori Kund and Bhatpora in Ramban District of Jammu and Kashmir to track down Lashkar-e-Toiba (LeT) militant Abu Moosa and his associates involved in the killing of two jawans of Territorial Army (TA). Read less...

An unidentified youth was shot dead during an ambush by Army troops in Kupwara, officials said on January 5, reports Daily Excelsior. "Troops of 18 Rashtriya Rifles had laid an ambush in the forest area of Warnav in Lolab, 120 kms from here, last night [January 4]. They noticed some suspicious movement and opened fire, resulting in the death of the youth," said Deputy Inspector General of Police, North Kashmir, Muneer Ahmad Khan. He said the Army reported the matter to police and efforts were being made to identify the deceased youth. "We called residents from nearby villages but no one has identified the deceased so far," Khan added. The officer said investigations are going on to ascertain the reasons for the presence of the youth in the area at the time of the incident which took place at 9:30pm. Read less...

Accusing separatists of adopting double standards on dialogue for the resolution of Jammu and Kashmir issue, Chief Minister Omar Abdullah asked them to hold talks with the Centre's interlocutors, saying the panel is not bound by redlines, reported Daily Excelsior. "I am surprised that the separatists can talk to Parliamentarians, who have taken oath of Indian constitution and treat Kashmir as an integral part of the country. What is the harm in talking to the interlocutors, who have no boundaries or redlines," Omar said. Omar said the separatists should hold talks with the three interlocutors appointed by the Centre as their recommendations go to Prime Minister Manmohan Singh. "I want to tell (hard line Hurriyat Conference leader Syed Ali Shah) Geelani that these double standards (on dialogue) will not work," he said. The Centre appointed veteran journalist Dileep Padgaonkar, academician Radha Kumar and former Information Commissioner M M Ansari as interlocutors for Jammu and Kashmir in October 2010, following the summer unrest in the Valley, to interact with all sections of the state for finding a lasting solution to Kashmir issue. Read less...

The Security Forces (SFs) recovered a powerful 10 kilograms Improvised Explosive Device (IED) and five grenades besides other arms and ammunition during a search operation at Koteranka in Rajouri District on January 7, reported Daily Excelsior. Recoveries included one AK-56 rifle with two magazines and 150 rounds, one Kenwood radio set, five Chinese grenades, five detonators and one blanket. Read less...

A woman Over Ground Worker (OGW) of the Hizb-ul-Mujahideen (HM), identified as Yasmeena Banoo, was arrested by Police along arms and ammunition at village Sirwal in the Marmat area of Doda District. One Chinese pistol along with two magazines and 10 rounds were recovered from Yasmeena, a close associate of arrested HM ‘divisional commander’ Ghulam Nabi Sheikh alias Javaid Qureshi. Police has prepared a list of a total of 26 OGWs, mostly in Marmat area, who had been helping Qureshi and other HM militants in Doda District. The list was prepared on the basis of questioning of Qureshi. Read less...

Security Forces (SFs) of 37 Rashtriya Rifles Troops and Special Operation Group busted a militant hide-out on January 8 and recovered some ammunition and explosives in Poonch District, reports The Hindu. According to reports, 37 Rashtriya Rifles troops and Special Operation Group of the Police raided the hide-out in Chatral-Mendhar, 160 Kilometer from Jammu. The recoveries from the hide-out yielded 5 Kilograms of RDX, one Improvised Explosive Device (IED), one Chinese grenade, 45 rounds of AK ammunition, one wireless set, one pouch (made in Pakistan) and one gas cylinder, the SF source said. Read less...

Police arrested three persons and seized a huge cache of arms and ammunition, including an anti-tank mine which they were planning to supply to militants, in Uri area of Baramulla District on January 10, reports Daily Excelsior. Acting on a specific information, Police stopped a vehicle at Uri and recovered the anti-tank mine, one AK rifle and 34 grenades. Three persons — two hailing from Baramulla and one from Uri — were arrested. Read less...

Accusing the Centre of pushing the youth in Jammu and Kashmir to wall, the All Party Hurriyat Conference-Geelani (APHC-G) chairman Syed Ali Shah Geelani on January 10 advised the youth against taking up arms and called for peaceful means to take the ongoing "freedom struggle" to its logical conclusion, according to Daily Excelsior. "New Delhi has unleashed State terror to force the youth to take up arms…It is a conspiracy against our peaceful struggle and therefore the youth should restraint from taking any such step which will provide a handle to India to malign our movement," Geelani said. He said many a youth had come to meet him and complained that there was no scope for peaceful struggle. "They were disappointed with peaceful ways and want to pick up guns but I advised them against it," the APHC-G chairman said. Geelani is under house arrest for the past 127 days. Read less...

Geelani has also called for a state-wide shutdown on January 15 against the ‘arrests of youth and human rights violations’, adds Times of India. "I urge people to observe a complete bandh on Jan 15," Geelani said. Read less...

Security Forces (SFs) on January 11 arrested two Over Ground Workers (OGWs) of Hizb-ul-Mujahideen (HM), including an employee of PHE Department in Ramban District, reports Daily Excelsior. The SFs launched a search operation in Zanfara area of Gool and arrested the two OGWs, identified as Tarik, 27, son of Nazirdeen, a resident of Botas, who was working with PHE and Hasandin, 18, a student, son of Abdul Hameed, who was resident of Zanfara in Asthanmarg. As reported earlier, the SFs had arrested an OGW in Gool area of Ramban on January 10. Sources said the OGWs were being questioned to ascertain the hideouts of Abu Moosa, who was instrumental in the killing of two Territorial Army personnel at Bhimdassa in Gool on January 1. Read less...

A militant was killed as the Security Forces (SFs) foiled an infiltration bid by the militants in the Keri sector of Rajouri District on January 13, reports Daily Excelsior. Read less...

Another consignment of arms and ammunition was seized in Khet area of Sabjian in the Poonch District. Recoveries include one AK-74 rifle, two magazines, two Chinese grenades, eight hand grenades, 65 AK rounds, 27 used rounds, one antenna, one pouch, two detonators with wire, one battery charger and a medicines kit. Read less...

Another infiltration attempt was foiled by Army on the Line of Control (LoC) at Shahpur in the Kerni area of Poonch District in the night of January 12. Official sources said Pakistan Army started firing from their forward positions at 11.30pm opposite Shahpur in a bid to give cover to a group of five to six militants trying to infiltrate into Indian territory from Pakistan occupied Kashmir (PoK). The Indian troops retaliated and neutralized the intruders. Sources said a heavy exchange of firing from both sides continued till 6am on January 13. An Army trooper was injured in firing by Pakistan Army. A couple of infiltrators were also reported to have been injured in retaliatory firing by the Indian troops but they managed to escape back. This is the second cease-fire violation by Pakistani troops IN 2011. Earlier on January 2, Pakistan troops had violated the cease-fire by firing on Indian posts in Poonch sector. Read less...

Police arrested four persons, including two Kashmiri youths and two Bengali boys, for their suspected militant connections and recovered INR 1.5 lakh fake currency from their possession, which they had smuggled from Pakistan. Another accused in the racket, who had received INR 12 lakh worth fake currency recently from the same suspects, was absconding. The fake currency was being smuggled by the racketeers from Pakistan through Bangladesh-West Bengal border and then pumped into Jammu and Kashmir for use of militants and over ground workers (OGWs), Police said. Read less...

SFs detected and later defused an improvised explosive device (IED) kept under a culvert at Mankote on Jammu-Poonch road via Mendhar in Poonch District. Some local militants of Hizb-ul-Mujahideen (HM) were reported to have planted the IED on the road. Read less...

Three alleged Over Ground Workers (OGWs) of militants were arrested in Ganderbal District, Police said on January 13. The three arrested persons, identified as Gulzar Ahmad Khatana, Mohammad Shafi Banya and Abdul Khaliq, were arrested for providing logistic support and SIM cards to Mushtaq Ahmad Khan, a top militant, who is involved in 25 civilian killings in the area. One mobile phone and a few SIM cards were recovered from their possession. Another, OGW, identified as Mohammad Ashraf, was arrested by SFs from Gagarsola in Ramban District. He is the fourth OGW to be arrested in Gool area of Ramban after the killing of two Territorial Army troopers by the militants on January 1. Read less...

Chief Minister Omar Abdullah on January 13 said the unrests that rocked the Kashmir valley every summer for the past three years will not be allowed to be repeated in 2011 and any attempt to disturb peace will be defeated. "We will not allow the repeat of events that unfolded over past three summers on one pretext or the other. We will defeat the people who have started preparations for creating unrest in (coming) summer," Omar said while addressing the newly inducted Police personnel. Read less...

Director General of Police Kuldeep Khoda said that in 2010 the State recorded the lowest ever militancy-related incidents in the last 21 years. "In 2010, all-time low militancy-related incidents were recorded. Other parameters of militancy are also on decline," Khoda said. He said as a result of the "law and order experience" during the 2010 summer unrest, the training of Police personnel has been changed and stress has been laid on riot control techniques and use of non-lethal weapons. "Special training has been provided to them in use of personnel riot control gear and non-lethal weapons and the aim is to protect the lives of civilians while maintaining law and order," he said. Read less...

Army chief General V. K. Singh, later in the day, said although he was unaware of the Ministry of Home Affairs plan to reduce paramilitary presence in J&K, he was sure any such step would be taken after discussions in the Unified Command Head Quarters operating in the State. Singh said care will have to be taken to ensure that "extra pressure" is not put on the "already-stretched" Army, and only forces which are "dispensable" are removed from J&K. "As for the Army, we are deployed on the borders and the hinterland as per the threat perception. Though we have been able to check infiltration to a large extent, we do not feel we have to cut down our forces at this point in time," said General Singh. Read less...

Police on January 14 arrested one person from Baramulla District and recovered fake Indian currency notes (FICN) from him, Daily Excelsior reported. During search, 21 FICN of 1000 denomination and 42 FICN of 500 denomination, amounting to INR 42,000 were recovered from his possession. The arrestee was identified as Ghulam Mohammad a resident of Dharpora in Kupwara District. Read less...

The Hizb-ul-Mujahideen (HM) ‘chief’ Syed Salahuddin has said frequent strikes and shutdowns diluted the summer agitation in Kashmir. The HM ‘chief’, who is based in Pakistan-occupied Kashmir (PoK), was now preparing a new plan to create trouble in J&K. Talking to a local news agency on telephone, Salahuddin said the 'summer movement' was based on wrong strategy and emotions. "I gave good advice to my friends but they did not listen to me. They now regret it. No nation can remain dependent on constant strikes. So we have to sit and carve out a result-oriented programme," he said. As a first step, he asked the separatist leaders to join hands and put forth a common agenda before the people of Kashmir. "The separatist leaders should unite on the basis of 1993 constitution of Hurriyat Conference," HM ‘chief’ said. Read less...

The Union Home Secretary G. K. Pillai on January 14 said that Union Government is panning to reduce the presence of paramilitary forces in populated areas of Jammu and Kashmir (J&K) by 25 percent over the next 12 months as a confidence-building measure (CBM), reports Times of India. "As a CBM in J&K, the strength of the security forces would come down by 25%. We would like to reduce it as soon as possible depending on the ground situation," Pillai said. Pillai`s announcements are part of the Government’s eight-point agenda, cleared by the Cabinet Committee on Security in September 2010 to improve the overall situation in J&K. As per the agenda, the Government will periodically review the deployment of security forces in the Kashmir Valley, especially Srinagar, with particular attention to reducing the number of bunkers and checkpoints, and notification of areas declared as disturbed. 16 bunkers of paramilitary forces have been removed from Srinagar since September. Read less...

General Officer Commanding-in-Chief, Northern Command, Lieutenant General K. T. Parnaik has said that time was not right to go for 25 per cent reduction in troops in Jammu and Kashmir, reported Daily Excelsior .Responding to the statement of Union Home Secretary G. K. Pillai regarding troops reduction, the Army Commander on January 15 said, "I don't think it is right time to go for troops reduction in J&K. Relocation of troops always exists in the forces and depends upon the requirement and is dynamic process. It may be somebody's opinion or perception but we think there is no scope for reduction of troops at this moment." Replying to another question, the Army Commander said, "I will not comment anything about cut in para-military forces or police in J&K as it was not in his domain. If they feel like going for the cut, they can. Being Army Commander, I can only say any thing about the Army troops", he added. While referring to the Armed Forces Special Powers Act in Jammu and Kashmir, General Parnaik said Army was working under pressing and adverse situation in Jammu and Kashmir. For performing under such difficult situation, the Armed Forces Special Powers Act was very essential. Read less...

Police arrested a top ‘commander’ of Hizb-ul-Mujahideen (HM) from the city centre at Lal Chowk in Srinagar. An unnamed senior Police official said following a tip-off that HM ‘commander’ Parvaiz Ahmed War, a resident of Warpora, in Sopore Baramulla District, was roaming in Srinagar city, Police laid a siege to arrest him. "We arrested him near Regal Chowk late on Saturday evening [January 15]. We recovered a pistol, a magazine and four rounds from his possession," the official said, adding, "He was active since 2000. In the same year, he had crossed the Line of Control for the arms training and returned to operate in Sopore and Bandipora Districts of north Kashmir. He said the input about the militant ‘commander’ had been received by the Counter Intelligence Kashmir (CIK), a special wing of Police. Read less...

security agencies have sounded a 'high-alert' in Kashmir following intelligence inputs that militants may mark their presence on the eve of Republic Day [January 26]. Read less...

The Security Forces on January 16 recovered a consignment of explosive devices and ammunition from village Gadyog under the jurisdiction of Budhal Police Station in Rajouri District on January 16, reported Daily Excelsior. Recoveries included two improvised explosive devices (IEDs), 437 AK rounds, five UBGL grenades, one hand grenade, two AK magazines, three detonators and one pouch. In January 2011, troops of Rashtriya Rifles (14 Sector) have recovered 46 kilograms of RDX in three separate search operations in Rajouri District. Read less...

Continuing its crackdown on the Facebook users, who instigate violence in Kashmir, Police on January 17 arrested a class 12th student for being involved in the online protests, reports Daily Excelsior. The arrestee was identified as Irshad Ahmed Bhat, a resident of Nigeen area of Srinagar. "He had opened a page titled as Kalkharab (short- tempered) and had been loading material that could instigate youth for violence. He had been on the run for last many months," an unnamed Police official said, adding the pictures of protests were being uploaded on his page almost everyday. He said the detained youth is under Police custody in the Police Station Maharaj Gunj. "His interrogation is on. We want to know whether he is affiliated to any militant organization. We may come to know about why he had opened such a seditious page on the social networking site," the official said. Police had earlier also arrested many youth who were involved in uploading material that could instigate violence. Read less...

Inspector General (IG) of Central Reserve Police Force (CRPF), Jammu Sector, Dinesh Kumar, on January 17 said that no directions have been received from the Force Headquarters (Delhi) or the Union Home Ministry regarding pull out of CRPF battalions from Jammu and Kashmir (J&K) State. Talking to the Daily Excelsior the IG said, "We have received no such directions regarding pull out of the CRPF battalions from any part so far. Some officials at the Home Ministry must have issued statement regarding cut in para-military forces in the J&K State but we have also learnt it from media. No any direction has been received by us from the Force headquarters or the Home Ministry", he maintained. "I would rather say that nothing of the sort was heard regarding forces cut in the State. We personally feel that some more forces would be needed in view of the challenges being posed here", the IG added. When asked about any earlier move regarding pull out of some companies or battalions, the IG said about 40 per cent of the total CRPF force (nearly 80 Battalions), have been deployed in J&K out of the total 216 in the country. Some time back, there was demand of 10 battalions of the Force in Naxal [Left Wing Extremism] hit States including Jharkhand and Chhattisgarh. It was then proposed to withdraw some battalions from here. Thereafter, the decision was reviewed and no such proposal came here. Read less...

Police arrested a dismissed Police Constable for his alleged links with Hizb-ul-Mujahideen (HM) ‘divisional commander’ Javaid Qureshi, who was arrested in December month from Dehradun in Uttaranchal. Davinder Kumar alias DK was wanted in nine criminal cases, including a case pertaining to supply of arms and ammunition and other logistic support to Qureshi. During his posting as in-charge Operations Picket Sarak in Marmat area of District during 2001 to 2003, DK had helped Qureshi and he used to sell AK round for INR 20 and INSAS round for INR five to the militants, thus, earning a huge amounts. He had also received INR 50,000 from militants for providing them a gun and INR 25,000 for a pistol. Read less...

Security Forces neutralised a hideout of the militants in the Thanole forests area of Reasi District on January 18 and recovered a consignment of explosives and ammunition, reports Daily Excelsior. Recoveries made from the hideout included two kilograms of RDX, one improvised explosive device (IED), 150 AK rounds, five RPF rounds and 10 cells. Read less...

Chief Minister Omar Abdullah on January 19 rubbished the perception that stone-pelters on Srinagar streets in 2010 summer were well-to-do, educated youth, saying a Government survey had proved they were jobless men from poor and mostly illiterate families, reported Times of India. ''We took a sample size — about 200-odd — of those injured and looked at their backgrounds,'' he said, adding, about 70 percent of them had uneducated mothers and about 60 per cent or more were from families where both father and the mother were uneducated. Omar said most protesters hadn't reached high school. ''This meant that an overwhelming majority (of protesters) came from families with no support system. Then they had no real hope for the future themselves. He, however, conceded that there might have been some educated youth involved as well with some economic opportunities as an incentive. The stone-throwers weren't driven by alienation alone and the unrest had no correlation to militancy, he said. ''In spite of the four-month agitation, militancy figures vis-a-vis 2009 are roughly the same. There is a marginal increase or decrease in some categories that we access, but there is no spurt in militancy,'' he argued. On troops cut he said that the State Government is ready to put in more than 5,000 locally-recruited Policemen, trained as commandos, to tackle possible separatist protests like the ones seen in 2010, and fill the void that will be created when the Centre pulls out paramilitary forces from the Valley and parts of Jammu. In fact, nearly 40,000 personnel (both from Army and paramilitary) had been relocated from populated areas in the State in 2009 when there was a period of calm. They all had to move in again after street violence erupted in 2010. Removal of bunkers, revoking the operation of Disturbed Areas Act from some urban areas and recruitment of local youths in State Police, paramilitary forces and Army are some of the other measures that are at different stages of implementation. Asked about his Government’s stand on the Armed Forces Special Powers Act (AFSPA), Omar said "it is not a mere political cry for my Government. It is a reflection of the sentiments of people who want to get rid of the laws that were imposed two decades back when the situation was abnormal", adds Daily Excelsior. Favouring amendments AFSPA or its removal from some areas of the State, Omar said, "As the semblance of normalcy was visible on the ground we have already starting reducing the number of boots on the ground. Dismantling of some bunkers from city and adjoining areas was the first step in the process and we hope to continue until we reach a level where the visible presence is greatly reduced at least.” Read less...

Interlocutors on Jammu and Kashmir expressed confidence that the Army will soon be on same page (of the Union Home Ministry and State Government) on the question of troops withdrawal in the State paving the way for reduction of Security Forces in the Kashmir valley. The Interlocutors, who had decided not to meet them uninvited, have written to them inviting their documents or suggestions or publicly stated views in writing to become the part of a political solution to the problem. Read less...

Police arrested a woman militant and a Police Constable for their ‘close links’ with arrested Hizb-ul-Mujahideen (HM) ‘divisional commander’ Ghulam Nabi Sheikh alias Javaid Qureshi in two separate search operations conducted at Jammu and Doda, reports Daily Excelsior. The woman militant, identified as Kulsooma Begum Wife of one Tariq Ahmed Sheikh, a resident of Labbar in the Marmat area of Doda District, was arrested from the premises of Government Medical College (GMC) in Jammu where she had come for treatment after remaining in hibernation for past more than a month. Kulsooma is the second woman to be arrested by Police in Doda for her links with Qureshi, who was arrested at Dehradun in Uttaranchal in December 2010. Read less...

The Police Constable Satish Kumar alias Doctor was arrested from Doda for supplying arms and ammunition to the militants especially Javaid Qureshi. However, it was yet to be ascertained whether he had provided weapons and ammunition of Police to the militants or only carried out their supplies. Read less...

A female cadre of the militant outfit Hizb-ul-Mujahideen (HM) was arrested by the Police in Doda District of Jammu on January 21, according to Daily Excelsior. The militant, identified as Ruksana Begum along with an accomplice Farooq Ahmed were arrested from the District Hospital in Doda while they were about to extort 50,000 INR as `terror fund’ from a Block Development Officer (BDO).Two more members of the outfit, who were extorting money from Government officials, contractors and other influential persons, are currently absconding. Read less...

An infiltrator was killed while two others managed to escape to Pakistan after a heavy exchange of firing on the International Border (IB) in Paragwal sector of Akhnoor tehsil (revenue unit) in Jammu District in wee hours of January 21. Read less...

Defence Minister A. K. Antony categorically ruled out any further troop cut in Jammu and Kashmir on the ground that Defence Ministry had already reduced nearly 30,000 troops in the State. "Already a number of Army personnel were reduced in Jammu and Kashmir. The current issue is now reduction of para-military forces. Do not mix up both the issues. We had already reduced nearly 30,000 Army personnel (in Jammu and Kashmir). At this moment, there is no proposal before us (to reduce the number further)’’, Antony added. "It’s a national security (issue) and there are people studying the security situation on the ground in Jammu and Kashmir’’, the Defence Minister added further. Recently, Home Secretary G K Pillai had stated that the Centre was considering a proposal to reduce 25 per cent troops in Jammu and Kashmir. The Army Generals have also opposed any troop cut in Jammu and Kashmir. Read less...

The team of Interlocutors, appointed by the Government in October 2010 to find a political settlement to Kashmir, said most of the people they met were not concerned about implementation of the United Nations (UN) resolutions and division of the State along ethnic or religious lines but felt people's empowerment can address the vexed issue. "As regards a permanent, political settlement in Jammu and Kashmir, a small but vocal section of opinion harped on UN resolutions, plebiscite and self-determination resulting in independence for the state as it existed before August 1947. By and large, however, most people we spoke to did not refer to that option," chief Interlocutor Dileep Padgaonkar said. Padgaonkar along with former Information Commissioner M. M. Ansari was addressing a press conference at the end of their fourth visit to the State which began early this week. Read less...

Militants in the night of January 22 fired upon Harni Police Post and an Army patrol at Achhad in the Mendhar area of Poonch District, reports Daily Excelsior. Police and Army personnel retaliated after which the militants escaped. No casualties were reported on either side. Read less...

A close associate of All Party Hurriyat Conference-Geelani (APHC-G) chairman Syed Ali Shah Geelani was arrested in connection with an alleged Hawala (illegal money transfer) racket. "Ghulam Mohammad Bhat, who has been a financier of disruptive activities, has been arrested," Inspector General of Police (Kashmir) S M Sahai said, adding, INR 21 lakh were recovered from Bhat's possession at the time of his arrest from his Hyderpora residence on January 22. Bhat was injured in a scuffle between Police and his family who tried to resist his arrest. Two other persons -- one hailing from Kupwara and another from Sopore in Baramulla District -- have also been arrested in connection with the case. Read less...

Security Forces (SFs) recovered one pistol, 538 AK rounds and two RPGs from village Saqrawat in Rajouri District on January 23. Read less...

SFs arrested a woman Over Ground Worker of Hizb-ul-Mujahideen (HM) in Zabafara village area of Ramban District. The arrestee, identified as Shamima Begum (30), is the wife of top HM militant Ghulam Qadir Malik Read less...

The three hawala (illegal money transfer) conduits, including Ghulam Mohammad Bhat, a close associate of All Party Hurriyat Conference-Geelani (APHC-G) chairman Syed Ali Shah Geelani, who were arrested on January 23 by Srinagar Police and Delhi Police's special cell from Srinagar along with INR 21 lakh made a revelation that this money was being sent to Jammu & Kashmir via Delhi by the Inter Services Intelligence (ISI), Pakistan’s external intelligence agency, for stone-pelters, to deliberately create unrest in the valley. The money is being routed to J&K from Pakistan through a Delhi-based hawala dealer, who is yet to be arrested. During interrogation in Delhi, the three hawala operatives disclosed that the money is delivered to several leaders in J&K to further give it to local politicians to stage violent protests and create law and order problems. Also, terrorist organizations are being delivered money through a Delhi-based hawala dealer. The accused also disclosed that money is being sent every two months through hawala. "As per their disclosure, approximately INR 20 lakh is sent every month, over one crore every year. This money is given to conduits here in Delhi by the Delhi-based dealer and then it goes to Jammu & Kashmir," said an unnamed official. Read less...

Inspector General of Border Security Force (BSF), Kashmir frontier, Baljit Singh said that troops guarding the Line of Control (LoC) remained on high alert to foil any infiltration attempt by militants waiting near the border. About the exact number of militants operating in the Kashmir valley, he said nothing can be said for sure. But there could be around 250 to 300, he said adding nobody has done exact head count. Read less...

Panic gripped Sopore Township in Baramulla District following a brief exchange of fire between two militants and Police in the evening of January 24, officials said, according to Daily Excelsior. The shootout took place as two militants passing through Chanikhan area of the town, came across a Police patrol. The militants started firing indiscriminately, which was retaliated by the Police but none was injured in the incident. Read less...

Police arrested a woman courier, Nighat Siddiqui (45), who was carrying INR 3 lakh for Lashkar-e-Toiba (LeT) militants, from the Eidgah area of Srinagar city. She was also carrying one leaf of LeT letter head at the time of the arrest. Read less...

A close associate of All Party Hurriyat Conference-Geelani (APHC-G) Chairman Syed Ali Shah Geelani arrested in connection with an alleged Hawala (illegal money transfer) racket was remanded in the custody of Delhi Police for 10 days on January 26, reports Daily Excelsior. Ghulam Mohammed Bhat, against whom five cases, including running a Hawala racket, are already under investigation, was arrested on January 22 from a hospital in Srinagar, where he was allegedly feigning illness, Police sources said. INR 21 lakh was recovered from Bhat’s possession at the time of his arrest. Bhat was earlier arrested in 2008 in Udhampur District while returning to the Valley along with INR 55 lakh alleged Hawala money concealed in a gas cylinder. Read less...

Chief Minister Omar Abdullah called for utilizing present conducive atmosphere of dialogue in a positive manner to address political issues of Jammu and Kashmir politically. "The institution of Interlocutors created by the Union Government to initiate interaction with all shades of opinion should be utilized earnestly to find out solution to the issues", he said and appealed the separatists to rise to the occasion and play their role in bringing about peace and tranquillity in the State. "I hope that you will become the part of dialogue and contribute for better future of the State)”, he told the separatists. Read less...

Army Chief General V K Singh describing the prevailing security situation in Jammu and Kashmir said though the scenario has improved, there was no question of withdrawing Army troops from there, reports Daily Excelsior. "The day the 42 terror camps on the other side are wound up and Pakistan stops its proxy war that would be the time to withdraw. At the moment, we don’t think there is a need for troop reductions," the Army chief said in an interview with Headlines Today on January 27. "There should be reduction in Central Paramilitary Forces to reduce the visibility factor," he added. Pointing out that it was impossible for terror camps to function without the support of elements in Pakistan, Singh said it was in India’s diplomatic interest that a dialogue process with Pakistan was kept active. "If fundamentalists gain power in Pakistan, it is bad for both countries," he further said. On the achievements of the Army in the State, Singh said, "Militarily, we have achieved a great deal. Rural areas didn’t erupt" during the stone-pelting protests in the urban areas.” Read less...

Pakistan Rangers on January 27 fired upon a bullet proof vehicle of the Border Security Force (BSF) at forward village of Khwara in Samba sector, reports Daily Excelsior. The firing was immediately retaliated by the BSF troopers. There were no casualties on the BSF side during the firing though a couple of bullets directly hit the vehicle. Read less...

Police arrested a self-styled ‘financial commander’ and coordinator of HM, identified as Ali Mohammad Naik, on Sathoora road near Tral in Pulwama District. He said INR one lakh hawala (illegal money transfer) money, a Chinese grenade, a stamp of HM and some receipts of distributed money were recovered from his possession at the time of the arrest. Naik was coordinating different assignments of different modules of the outfit as well as providing financial and logistic support to the cadres for the past two years. He was arrested following a tip off that he was distributing money to sympathizers of HM in Tral area. Read less...

Police detained three teenaged boys, who wanted to join militancy, in Kulgam District but let them off after counseling in view of their young age. "Police rescued three boys from joining militancy in village Kujar of Yaripora area of Kulgam District and after counseling, handed them over to their parents," an unnamed Police spokesman said. The boys -- identified as Adil Hussain Baba, Adil Ahmad Dar and Asif Ahmad Ganaie -- are students of ninth and 10th classes. They had approached a former militant for joining militancy but the militant, who had surrendered, refused to help them, the spokesman added Read less...

Police on January 27 recovered a consignment of arms and ammunition from Rattu Pani and Pallni areas of Marmat in Doda District on the disclosures of arrested Hizb-ul-Mujahideen (HM) ‘divisional commander’ Jameel Ahmed alias Naseer Qureshi, Daily Excelsior reported. Recoveries included four wireless sets, one Chinese pistol with two magazines and 13 rounds, three bayonets of AK rifles and one Chinese grenade. Read less...

All Party Hurriyat Conference-Geelani (APHC-G) chairman Syed Ali Shah Geelani on January 30 said a political solution was the only way out to resolve the Kashmir problem. "A political solution is the only way out for resolving the Kashmir problem," Geelani said in a statement. Pressing for release of political prisoners, he said "their imprisonment cannot lead to resolution of the Kashmir problem." He also demanded revocation of the Armed Forces Special Powers Act (AFSPA) and the Public Safety Act alleging 85 per cent of the people were jailed under these provisions. Read less...

The militancy affected people from Jammu region have decided to stand united and formed new body under the banner "Tehreek-e-Insaf Jammu Province" and elected its office bearers. Read less...

The Task Forces constituted to assess special developmental needs of Jammu and Ladakh regions, are going to submit their interim reports to the Union Home Ministry by middle of February, reports Daily Excelsior. However, submission of final report will take time and recommendations will be implemented during 12th five-year plan. Sources said that as the three months time-frame given by the Union Home Ministry is expiring on January 31 (today), the heads of the Task Forces for Jammu and Ladakh regions respectively have decided to submit interim reports by middle of February keeping in view the time to be required for preparation of the final reports. While Task Force on Jammu headed by Planning Commission of India member, Abhijit Sen paid first visit to the region on November 16, 2010 after holding introductory meetings at Delhi, the second Task Force headed by another Planning Commission of India member, Narendra Yadav held detailed interaction with cross sections of society in Leh and Kargil Districts during its three day visit from November 13 to November 15, 2010. Read less...

The Jammu & Kashmir Government has abandoned the INR 740 crore integrated watershed development project after the World Bank sought a disclaimer from the Union Government that the aid plan would not recognize India's territorial claim over the State. "We have given up on aid for the project. We had approached the Union Government in 2009 for a disclaimer undertaking to be given to the World Bank. The Central leadership had promised us that it would ask the World Bank to drop the clause, but there was no progress. So we decided to give up the project,'' Jammu & Kashmir forest minister Mian Altaf Ahmad told Times of India Read less...

Three Lashkar-e-Toiba (LeT) militants, including a Pakistani, in the night of January 31 shot dead two sisters, Arifa and Akhtar, daughters of Ghulam Nabi Dar, after dragging them out of their house at Muslim Peer in Sopore town of Baramulla District, reported Daily Excelsior. According to preliminary investigations, the militants barged into the house and forcibly took the girls, aged between 16 to 18 years. Superintendent of Police (SP, Sopore) Altaf Ahmad said, "The girls were later shot dead by the militants near the Ziarat (shrine) Rahim Sahib. One of them was shot in the left eye," adding, their bodies were found near their house. It could not be immediately ascertained why the militants had targeted the sisters. The SP said the local militants involved in the killing were, identified as Wasim Ganaie and Muzaffar Naikoo, both ‘A’ category militants carrying head money. Read less...