Troops capture another ridge
From Girja Shankar Kaura
Tribune News Service

NEW DELHI, June 6 — After a day of rest, the IAF today resumed strikes in the Batalik and Dras subsectors of Kargil as the Indian troops managed to capture another ridge from the infiltrators from across the border.

Even as India was still to decide on dates on which it could receive the Pakistani Foreign Minister Sartaj Aziz in New Delhi to have talks with Pakistan, the IAF carried out air strikes early in the morning and then some hours later on targets specified by the Army. The air strikes had been suspended yesterday by the IAF as per the requirements of the Army, which had wanted its troops to advance and involve the infiltrators in close hand to hand combat in certain sectors.

An External Affairs ministry spokesman today ruled out the possibility of a war with Pakistan saying India did not share Pakistani Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif’s views in this regard. " This is not an assessment we share," the spokesman said while reacting Mr Sharif’s reported statement in Lahore yesterday, in which he had accused New Delhi of thwarting the peace talks and warned that the war between the two countries was possible.

The spokesman said India had become a victim of armed intrusion from Pakistan in Kargil which it was determined to vacate. " We continue to have different statements from different leaders in Pakistan," he added.

The bodies of three Pakistani Army regulars, who had been killed in the close combat in the Batalik region on Thursday were also handed over to the Pakistani authorities yesterday evening. A Major of the Indian Army handed over the bodies to the officer of a Pakistani Army at Kargil.

Pakistan had earlier been claiming that the bodies were not those of Pakistani Army regulars and was wanting them back. It had also claimed that no unit like the Northern Light Infantry existed in the Pakistan Army. However, the handing over the bodies, which took place at 6.38 p.m. yesterday, conclusively pointed to the involvement of the Pakistani Army in the current intrusion, a senior Army officer said.

The infiltrators were still putting up a strong resistance and were holding onto at least 12 more heights in the Batalik and Dras regions. Sources here said that it could still take another three to four weeks before the operation could be finally completed.

The air strikes were resumed with the purpose of flushing out the infiltrators, who sources disclosed were shifting their positions on the heights they were sitting on and as such were posing problems, the Indian troops launched heavy artillery and mortar shelling on enemy positions in Batalik and Dras.

India had achieved considerable success in the region and was making a steady progress forward, army spokesman, Brig Mohan Bhandari said. The supply routes to the infiltrators had been identified and majority of them had been blocked, Brigadier Bhandari said.

He described as a ‘tall story’ Pakistan Army’s claim that the three Pakistani soldiers had been killed by Indian troops on their side of LoC.

The casualties on the Indian side rose further today to stand at 59 killed, 217 injured and 14 missing. He said that fierce fighting was underway in the Batalik and Dras sectors.

Asked whether a big assault was being planned by the Indian troops in the Kargil sector which could lead to huge casualties, an official spokesman said it would not be right to speculate on what kind of operations were taking place.

"My guess is as good as yours", Brigadier Bhandari said when asked how much time it would take for the troops to push back the infiltrators to the Line of Control (LoC).

He said the mountainous terrain was so difficult that even pushing back the armed intruders a few yards every day mattered a lot. He at a previous briefing, had disclosed that the intruders who had infiltrated up to 7 km into the Indian territory had been shunted back about three and a half km at some places. There were no fresh incursions.

The Kargil sector has been off limits to journalists for the past two days. At today’s briefing, Brigadier Bhandari said it had now been decided to send media persons, duly escorted by the military, in an organised manner. This was in the interest of the safety of journalists and the security of the operations, he added.

Meanwhile the MEA spokesman said, that Pakistan could not accuse India of thwarting peace talks since the armed intrusion in Kargil had taken place from its side of the LoC.

He said Pakistan sought to dispel the impression that the visit of the Pakistani Foreign Minister was being indefinitely postponed. "We will get back to the Pakistani side very shortly," he repeated.

The Pakistani Foreign Minister had yesterday stated that his country was prepared to wait for a date that was convenient to the Indian side for him to visit New Delhi.

17 killed in J&K violence
Tribune News Service and PTI

SRINAGAR, June 6 — Seven Border Security Force (BSF) personnel including an Assistant Commandant were seriously injured as militants blew up their vehicle with a land-mine in Anantnag district of South Kashmir, an official spokesman said here today.

He said the incident took place near Idgah Salia in Aishmuqam, about 70 km from here, when a land-mine planted by militants on the road went off last night.

The vehicle which was part of a BSF patrol and which ran over the mine, was wrecked. Seven persons in the vehicle, including Assistant Commandant R.K.Singh of 23rd Battalion were seriously injured, the spokesman said.

He said the injured jawans were rushed to hospital where the condition of three of them was stated to be "critical".

Immediately after the blast, security forces sealed off the entire village to flush out militants who triggered of the land-mine with a remote control.

In other incidents of violence eleven people, including seven militants and an Army jawan, were killed and 7 others, four of them Army and Border Security Force personnel, were wounded in the Kashmir valley since last evening. Six persons, including a teenage girl were killed in the Jammu region.

The security forces arrested three militants, including a self-styled platoon commander of the Hizbul Mujahideen, while two militants laid down arms in the valley during the period, an official spokesman said here today.

Four militants were killed in an encounter with security forces at Kokernag in Anantnag district today.

In another encounter, four persons including a militant, an Army jawan and two members of a family were killed and four armymen wounded at village Mandina in Pulwama district today.

The spokesman said the encounter was initiated by a Hizbul Mujahideen militant hiding in a house in the village. Army troops laid a cordon around the house and asked the militant to surrender.

Instead, the militant hurled a grenade and followed up by firing from his AK assault rifle. The troops retaliated and in the ensuing encounter, the militant identified as Ali Mohammad Rather alias Shamim and an Army jawan were killed and four Armymen were wounded, the spokesman said.

He said the house owner in whose house the militant had taken shelter was killed along with his daughter in the shootout. He identified the deceased as Abdul Ahad Bhat and his daughter Wahida and said their house was destroyed in the encounter.