3 militants killed in Kashmir

SRINAGAR, Jan 3 (PTI) — Four persons, including three militants, were killed and seven injured, and five militants were arrested in Jammu and Kashmir since last evening.

An official spokesman said today, a Pakistani militant fell to the bullets of the security forces and a local militant was arrested in two separate operations at Gadool and Doniporain in Anantnag district yesterday night.

The security forces also killed two unidentified militants in an encounter at Mahore village in Udhampur district of the Jammu region last night, he said, adding that suspected militants gunned down a civilian Mohammad Ishtiyaq Bakerwal in the Kalakote area of Rajouri district today.

Seven persons sustained splinter injuries in a grenade explosion triggered by militants at Achabal in Anantnag district yesterday. The grenade was hurled by militants to target a security vehicle but it missed the mark and exploded on the road causing injuries to civilians.

The injured were rushed to hospital.

Two militants each were arrested by the security forces during combing operations at Aloosa-Potshahi in Baramula and Rajouri districts today.

The militants arrested from Rajouri included a self-styled tehsil commander of the banned Hizbul Mujahideen.

The security forces also smashed two militant hide-outs at Kichhama and Kundnar-Genar in frontier district of Kupwara and seized some arms and ammunition during search operations yesterday, the spokesman said .

He said the seizure include an AK assault rifle, four rockets, two remote control devices, a claymore mine, two IED battery chargers, and nine grenades.

Regionalism hits stir
Tribune News Service

JAMMU, Jan 3 — Regional divide has surfaced during the past 15 days strike launched by employees in Jammu in protest against the refusal of the Government to give one instalment of dearness allowance in cash and against the delay in regularising the services of daily-paid staff. While work in Government offices, including the civil secretariat, hospitals and public sector undertakings, has been hit in the Jammu region in the past 15 days, there has been no response from employees in the Kashmir valley.

In side reports said that employees in the Kashmir valley did not respond to the call for the general strike because they felt that those in Jammu had not supported them whenever they had gone on strike. Secondly, the employees in the Kashmir valley have left it to their counterparts in Jammu to fight it out with the Government as they knew whatever relief the state administration granted would be applicable to them also.

In the absence of the Chief Minister, Dr Farooq Abdullah, who had gone to London to celebrate Christmas and New Year eve with his family members, three senior ministers, Finance Minister, Mr Mohd Shafi, Roads and Bridges Minister, Mr Ghulam Mohiuddin Shah, and Industries Minister, Mr Bodh Raj Bali, held a meeting in Jammu to review the situation created by the employees' strike. The Ministerial team promised to look into the demands of the employees but made it clear that payment of one instalment of dearness allowance in cash was not possible in the light of the ongoing acute cash crisis. The Government has credited one instalment of dearness allowance to the Provident Fund account of the employees and the second instalment was to be given in cash. However, the public sector undertaking employees were left high and dry when their demand for the release of coal was not discussed by the ministerial team.

As a result of strike by the paramedical staff only emergency wings in hospitals and medical college are functional. The wards are deserted and people have to bank on medical aid from private clinics and nursing homes. Three ailing persons including a three month child have died in recent days owing to lack of timely medical aid.

Couple of ministers told The Tribune that the Centre was responsible for cash crises in the state. They said that it was unfortunate that the BJP-led Government at the Centre equated Jammu and Kashmir with any other state in the country when "we deserved a special treatment because of ongoing proxy war launched by Pakistan".