JAK LI plans hostel for war widows
SRINAGAR, July 21 — "The Jammu and Kashmir Light Infantry Centre here is on its way to set up a war widows hostel besides running a hostel for the children of men and officers of the regiment killed in action while on duty," Col R.K. Singh, Commandant of the centre, said.

Bandh in Doda, Kishtwar towns
JAMMU, July 21 — A complete bandh was observed in Doda and Kishtwar towns in protest against the massacre of 15 civilians belonging to one community yesterday.

Intruders hold key height: GoC-in-C
SRINAGAR, July 21 — Claiming that some 50 to 70 intruders still hold three positions along the LoC in Kargil, Lt-Gen H.M. Khanna, GOC-in-C of Northern Command said here today that all those who crossed the LoC were Pak army regulars.

9 killed, 16 hurt in valley
SRINAGAR, July 21 — At least nine persons were killed and 16 others injured in separate incidents of militancy across the Kashmir valley since yesterday.

JAK LI plans hostel for war widows
From Prabhjot Singh
Tribune News Service

SRINAGAR, July 21 — The Jammu and Kashmir Light Infantry Centre (JAK LI) here is on its way to set up a war widows hostel besides running a hostel for the children of men and officers of the regiment killed in action while on duty.

In an exclusive interview with the Tribune group of newspapers, Col R.K. Singh, Commandant of the centre, said the preliminary modalities for setting up the war widows hostel were being worked out.

"We have sent messages and sought information from widows of our men and officers who will be willing to stay in the hostel to be run here at the centre. Once we know how many are ready to come and stay in the hostel, we will make arrangements accordingly and start.

"The hostel is being planned for those widows of our gallant soldiers and officers who have nowhere to go after the death of their spouses. We shall try to provide them good accommodation and get them involved in some rehabilitation centre by using their talent in different areas," Colonel Singh said.

The centre is already running a hostel for the children of the men and officers of the regiment who made the supreme sacrifice in the previous years, including Operation Meghdoot in 1987 and in counter-insurgency operations.

At present, the centre has six boys in the hostel. Two other boys have got admission in boarding houses — one at Dagshai Public School while the other is now studying at Army School. The remaining six boys study in various schools in Srinagar and stay in the hostel at the centre.

"We have now sent messages to the families of all those men and officers who have recently been killed in action in the valley and elsewhere. If they are willing to send their children to the hostel, they would be most welcome to do so. We would acommodate them all," the commandant said.

The new centre building is coming up. It is expected to be completed by September or October. For the time being, the centre is using family quarters for running the hostel.

Colonel Singh said families of most soldiers and officers killed in action belonged to Rajouri, Poonch, Jammu and other areas.

"Once we start a permanent hostel, we would look forward to appointing a middl-aged active woman to be its full time warden. For the boys admitted to the hostel, we provide them each and everything, including uniform, books and shoes and socks besides meeting their mess and other requirements.

"We even organise tuitions for the deserving students and send them home during vacations. We also provide them coaching so as to prepare them to get admission in schools of their choice, including boarding houses," Colonel Singh added with a sense of pride.

Bandh in Doda, Kishtwar towns
Tribune News Service

JAMMU, July 21 — A complete bandh was observed in Doda and Kishtwar towns in protest against the massacre of 15 civilians belonging to one community yesterday. In Kishtwar shops remained closed since yesterday when the news regarding the killing of 15 civilians by the militants spread.

Most of the people in these two towns and in adjoining villages remained indoor. Additional security forces were sent to Lahota village where the carnage had taken place. The security forces were asked to set up camps and carry out round-the-clock patrolling not only in Lahota but in adjoining villages, including Chiral, Cheera, Kahota and Natwal.

The Director-General of Police, Mr Gurbachan Jagat, visited the site of the carnage and issued instructions to the police to establish pickets in the sensitive belts. He assured the people of Lahota and adjoining villages that there was no need to get panicky because adequate security would be arranged for ensuring safety of their lives and property.

Mr Jagat discussed the situation with senior police officers, including the SSP, Doda, Mr Muneer Khan. The Director-General of Police was informed that because of paucity of security forces many areas remained without proper security cover.

Experts have already informed the state government that they needed 10 to 12 additional battalions of security forces for Doda district. About 300 to 400 Pakistan-trained militants and foreign mercenaries have reportedly sneaked into Doda district and parts of adjoining Udhampur district during the past three months. The strength of the security forces has been reduced by 50 per cent after six battalions of the Rashtriya Rifles were withdrawn from Doda district.

From Jammu, additional companies of the CRPF were being sent to Doda district and those battalions of the Rashtriya Rifles that had been sent to the border were being sent back to Doda district.

Intruders hold key height: GoC-in-C
Tribune News Service

SRINAGAR, July 21 — Claiming that some 50 to 70 intruders still hold three positions along the LoC in Kargil, Lt-Gen H.M. Khanna, GOC-in-C of Northern Command said here today that all those who crossed the LoC were Pak army regulars.

"They want to salvage some pride and that is why are still holding three places, one of them an important position", Lt-Gen Khanna said at a press conference here this morning.

He said that any decision on a strategy to push back the remaining intruders would be taken at a meeting of the Directors General of Military Operations of the two countries and expressed the hope that "they (Pak intruders) will see reason and pull back as agreed upon by the DGMOs" or "we will have to push them back".

Replying to questions, Lt-Gen Khanna did not rule out a "re-escalation" in such incidents. He said that two to three per cent of the area occupied by the intruders was yet to retrieved.

"I have it from intercepts from top leaders of the Mujahideen that Al-Badr and Lashkar-e-Toiba are unnecessarily making noises on operations in Kargil", Lt-Gen Khanna said. He added that there was only token participation by militants in the Kargil intrusion.

Stating that "Operation Vijay" was carried out to fight" extension of the proxy war, he held that the Kargil intrusion was an attempt to "rejuvenate dying embers of militancy in Kashmir".

The Army commander clarified that no safe passage was given to the intruders neither was there any ceasefire. "Only time was given to the intruders to leave the territory". He said that steps were being taken to prevent future incursions.

Denying that there were any "initial failures" that led to the intrusion, Lt-Gen Khanna said those responsible for the situation were on the other side of the LoC. He, however, admitted that there were unexpected reasons for the intrusion and investigations into the whole affair were being carried out.

He said, success in Operation Vijay has been achieved by the determination of all ranks and by the leadership at junior level officers, who led from the front".

9 killed, 16 hurt in valley
Tribune News Service

SRINAGAR, July 21 — At least nine persons were killed and 16 others injured in separate incidents of militancy across the Kashmir valley since yesterday.

Two militants, according to a police spokesman, were killed in a fierce encounter between the militants and the special operations group of the Jammu and Kashmir police at Batamaloo here yesterday. They have been identified as Mushtaq Ahmad Dar and Riyaz Ali. Another militant, Bilal Ahmad Dar, was apprehended by the Police while the house of Ali Mohammad Bhat, in which the militants were hiding, was gutted in the exchange of fire.

The police said the special operations group and the CRPF cordoned off Tengapora locality of Batamaloo here yesterday on a tip-off about the presence of suspected militants in the area. The hiding militants opened fire on the search party that was retaliated, and in the ensuing encounter two militants were killed. There were no reports of the recovery of any arms and ammuniction from the place.

Two persons were killed and sixteen others, including two security force jawans, were injured when militants hurled a grenade when they were on patrol duty at Auqaf Market in Baramula town today. Unconfirmed reports said four persons died in the explosion.

Militants shot dead two persons at Harwan on the outskirts of the city yesterday when they intruded into the house of Ghulam Qadir Canai. Fayaz Ahmed Hajam and Abdul Rasheed Bhat died on the spot, the police said.

The police today recovered bodies of two surrendered militants from Chowkibal forests in North Kashmir district of Kupwara. They have been identified as Bashir Ahmad and Abdul Rasheed. The body of Ghulam Mohiuddin Mir in Baramula district was also recovered. He had been kidnapped by suspected militants along with two others two days ago.