Pak enrolling youths from Gilgit, Baltistan
Tribune News Service

JAMMU, May 14 — Pakistan is said to have enrolled many youths of Gilgit and Baltistan for arms training camps set up in the northern areas of Pakistan.

Reports available here said that two major arms training camps had been functioning in Gilgit a main recruitment centre for Gilgit Scouts. According to these recent reports, the Pakistani armed attack on Indian border villages and pickets in the Kargil sector had been carried out by men of Gilgit Scouts, who are part of Pakistani Army.

Men of Gilgit Scouts were aided by militants from Gilgit, Baltistan who are said to have infiltrated into the Kargil sector from three routes including the area across Batalik which witnessed fierce encounter between the two sides during past five days causing large scale damage to civilian property and to the ammunition depot of the Indian Army.

Men of Gilgit Scouts and those of Baltis and Pakhtoon origin were given training in handling of artillery guns and other sophisticated weapons. Due to sustained training men of Gilgit Scouts could kick up a major border row forcing Indian authorities to rush additional forces, weapons ammunition to six border villages in the Kargil sector.

Since the situation in Kargil sector remained relatively calm with no major armed duels the troops and the paramilitary forces have been directed to launch combing operations in Kargil sector adjoining areas up to 11500 feet high Zojilla Pass to prevent infiltrators from entering into the Kashmir valley.

Official sources said that the aim of the Pakistan troops in Kargil sector was to capture a couple of Indian posts, snap supply line from Srinagar to Ladakh and push into the valley large groups of foreign mercenaries. The sources said that except for carving out an infiltration route for over 100 militants the Pakistani troops failed to capture any Indian post and snap the road link between Kargil and Leh. Between Sunday and Tuesday three Indian posts were said to have been on the verge of falling into the hands of Pakistani Troops but retaliatory shelling by the Indian soldiers forced the Pakistani invaders to retreat.

A official spokesman, however, confirmed that Pakistani troops and foreign mercenaries had succeeded in sneaking into the Kargil area from across Batalik and Drass during the past one week under cover of Pakistani artillery fire.

The spokesman said that militants trained by Pakistani soldiers infiltrated the Kargil sector and Indian troops had fanned out into villages adjoining Kargil to arrest or eliminate the infiltrators. He said suitable measures had been taken to foil Pakistan's attempt at capturing Indian positions. He said no Indian post had fallen to the Pakistan attack although Pakistan had resorted to heavy artillery fire since Sunday in which an Army ammunition dump caught fire. Today too Pakistani troops indulged in sporadic shelling in which four civilians were injured. He said there was no cause for any alarm.