30 Pak army men killed
Troops move up in Batalik
Tribune News Service

NEW DELHI, June 15 — After securing heights in the Tololing region and further north of it, the Indian forces have also made substantial progress in the Batalik region, killing in the process 30 Pakistani army regulars in the last 24 hours of ‘Operation Vijay’ in the Kargil sector along the LoC in Jammu and Kashmir.

Major Manoj Talwar of Mahar Regiment was killed as the Indian soldiers carried out offensive manoeuvres in Batalik region, raising the Indian casualties to 104, with 242 wounded and eight missing. The casualty figure on the Pakistani Army regulars rose sharply yesterday with the killing of 30 of them to stand at 297. Approximately 36 Pakistani army regulars were also injured during the manoeuvres in Batalik.

As the efforts were under way to isolate the enemy positions, the reports said the Indian soldiers had progressed well beyond the strategic Point 5203, which was captured on Thursday last. The Indian troops were now carrying out operations towards the North and North-East of Point 5203. During the past 24 hours the Indian troops carried out the encircling manoeuvres in this region and effectively interdicted the enemy supply lines towards this area.

Reports said that seven Pakistani army personnel were killed in the firing undertaken in conjunction with the offensive manoeuvres executed by the Indian troops beyond Point 5203. It was during these operations that Major Manoj Talwar was killed while leading the troops from the front.

Indian troops killed another 23 Pakistani army regulars in the battle to capture the Tololing Hills on Saturday and Sunday. 36 Pakistani army regulars were also injured in the hand to hand combat in this region.

Reports said although the Indian Air Force today resumed air strikes, they were restricted in nature and that too just in the Mashkoh valley. The IAF also undertook other air missions in the region.

Sources said the IAF was now restricting its strikes as the Indian troops were progressing steadily and were very near the LoC and the pockets of the Pakistani infiltrators where they were strongly entrenched. Carrying out strikes in these regions could also endanger the Indian troops, a senior army officer said. The Indian troops were now moving in to encircle the infiltrators positions close to the LoC.

The prevailing ground positions of the Indian troops was such now that the air strikes have to be restricted, confirmed an IAF officer. He said the closer the Indian troops move to the LoC, the more difficult it would become to carry out air strikes. However the choice of weapons and the aircraft was being done with care to ensure that at no time the Indian planes cross the LoC, he said.

The IAF also carried out recce missions to identify the positions of Pakistani infiltrators, to help the Indian troops to effectively counter them.

Meanwhile, there were also reports that the Indian Army had adopted precautionary postures along the LoC in other parts of the country also. These precautionary postures were adopted specifically in regions of Rajasthan and Gujarat, which border with Pakistan. The precautionary postures had been adopted as contingent upon the moves across the border, on which a close watch was being kept.

The situation was not alarming, the Army spokesman, Col Bikram Singh, said. However, while refusing to give the details of where precautionary measures had been adopted, he added that adequate measures had been taken to thwart any misadventure of the enemy

The Army spokesman said the operations were being carried out in phases and there was no question of the infiltrators being able to occupy more heights. Pakistan was continuing artillery and mortar shelling all along the LoC specially in Kanzalwan, Keran, Poonch, Krishnaghati, Bhimbergalli and Naushera.

The Indian forces were giving a befitting reply and also trying to ensure that the supply routes of the infiltrators were blocked. For the purpose the Indian forces were also carrying out artillery and mortar strikes across the border on the administrative bases of the enemy. The Army spokesman, however clarified that the artillery and mortar strikes were being carried out only on the military targets and not on any civilian ones as was being done by Pakistan.

During the operations in Tololing, besides the arms and ammunition recovered yesterday, a universal machine gun, an AK series rifle, nine boxes of Pika ammunition, three boxes of hand grenades, 10,280 rounds of small arms ammunition and an identity card belonging to a Pakistani army havaldar was also recovered. The ID card was that of one Arfroze Gul of A Company, six Northern Light Infantry battalion of Pakistan army.

As per the number of papers recovered from various places during the operations, the Indian forces have identified that at least three of the Northern Light infantry battalions of the Pakistan army were operating in the region. They had been identified as the Three, Four and Six Northern Light Infantry battalions.

As per latest reports, at least 700 Pakistani infiltrators were still holed up at various heights in the Kargil sector. They were adequately being supported logistically and at least 2000 to 3000 porters had been employed to help out the infiltrators in various things, the Army spokesman said..

Pull forces back, Clinton tells Pak

WASHINGTON, June 15 (AFP) — US President Bill Clinton today urged Pakistan Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif to pull his forces from the Indian zone of the Line of Control, warning that the deployment would hold up any effort to end the fighting between the two nations.

"The President basically indicated he did not see how progress could be made on this issue until those forces are withdrawn," White House spokesman P.J. Crowley said following the 20-minute telephone call initiated by Mr Clinton. He refused to say how Mr Sharif responded to the request saying only: "I’ll just leave that to the Pakistan Government."

"Both sides need to show restraint because clearly there is a danger of escalation," Mr Crowley said. He did not detail what more Washington would do to defuse the crisis saying only: "We remain engaged with both governments."

Meanwhile, State Department spokesman James Rubin pointed out that the infiltrators on the Indian side of the LoC had come from Pakistan.

Meanwhile, reports from Washington said that the United States of America had expressed disappointment over the failure of Saturday’s Indo-Pakistan talks.

The White House spokesman stated categorically that Mr Clinton "made the point that this is an issue that has to be resolved bilaterally".

The White House spokesman indicated that Mr Clinton was also likely to call up Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif of Pakistan.

This is the second time that appreciation of the Indian stand has come from the level of the US President. Besides the US Secretary of State, Ms Madlene Albright, and important Congressional leaders have also appreciated India’s stand and not taken kindly to Pakistan’s posture.

Meanwhile, a report from Tokyo said that Japan too had expressed disappointment over the failure of Saturday’s talks.

The Kargil issue is likely to figure in the G-8 Summit at Cologne. US Deputy National Security Adviser, Mr James Steinberg, indicated this in Washington today and so did the Japanese Foreign Minister, Mash Iko Komura, in Tokyo.

Referring to the statement issued by the G-8 Foreign Minister’s meeting at Cologne on June 10, in which it was stated that the G-8 ministers were "deeply concerned about the continuing military confrontation in Kashmir, following the infiltration of militants across the LoC", the Japanese spokesman said that the G-8 document of June 10 had "simply described the situation, but it did not say who was responsible, nor who was to blame".

Significantly, two days after the G-8 Foreign Ministers’ statement, the German Foreign Minister Joschka Fischer, who belongs to the anti-nuclear Green Party, which has strong pacifist leanings, stated in Bonn that the G-8 would not play the role of a "mere spectator".

The US President’s categorical statement to Mr Vajpayee, therefore, has come timely. Pakistan’s effort to internationalise the Kashmir issue has so far been blunted primarily due to the proactive stand taken by Washington which has made it amply clear that Islamabad’s intrusion across the LoC has not been fair.

ISLAMABAD (AFP): Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif assured President Clinton in the phone conversation that Pakistan remained committed to the dialogue process with India, an official statement said.

Mr Sharif told Mr Clinton the confrontation in the Kargil area was "one aspect of the larger issue of Kashmir, which cannot be isolated from the need for a just and final settlement of the Kashmir dispute".

Troops encircle key area in Dras sector

SRINAGAR, June 15 (UNI) — Indian troops have encircled strategic Marpolov Top in Dras sector and snapped the supply line of Pakistani intruders after a fierce 24 hour-long hand to hand gun battle.

Bodies of Major R.S. Adhikari, Subedar Randhi Singh, L/N Rajinder Kumar Yadav and Grenadier Parveen Kumar were sent to Delhi from here today. These bodies were brought here from Kargil last evening in a helicopter.

Official sources told UNI that after dislodging Pakistani intruders from Tololing Top , troops launched a major offensive supported by artillery and mortars to gain control over another strategic Marpolov Top.

After fierce fighting for about 24 hours troops were able to encircle the entire top and snap the supply lines of Pakistani intruders.

Sources said it is a matter of time now before the troops take full control over the Marpolov Top.

The troops have also pushed back Pakistani intruders from one and half km after recapturing the Tololing. Our troops are now just half a km away from the line of control.

The residential quarters of Radio Kashmir Kargil were also damaged due to shelling. Sources said three shells fell in the vicinity of Radio Kashmir Kargil damaging the window panes. However, no one was injured.

Sources said Pakistani troops have been shelling Gurez, Kanzalwan, and Uri for the past few days. A majority of the residents of these villages have shifted to safer places.

At Gurez five houses and a mosque were damaged due to Pakistani shelling. No one was hurt.

Pakistani forces on 'higher alert'

ISLAMABAD, June 15 (DPA) — Pakistan Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif dropped a tour of a cyclone-hit area of his country today and returned to Islamabad as tensions with India over Kashmir mounted.

Press reports said the Pakistan armed forces went on higher alert after warnings by the governments of both countries that they were prepared for war if the other side did not give in to its demands.

Commanders of the Pakistan army discussed the worsening situation along the 720-kilometre long military Line of Control (LoC) in the disputed Himalayan state and "put in place the operational defensive measures to frustrate the ulterior Indian motives", the newspaper The News said.

Pakistani armed forces personnel on leave have been called back and men and equipment are being pre-positioned, according to the Pakistani reports.

The Pakistan Air Force has moved technical personnel from Peshawar to a base in the border province of Punjab in implementing a three-phase plan, the Frontier Post said.

"In Phase I, you disperse your planes, equipment, ammunition, personnel and communications network to dodge the enemy," the paper said quoting an unidentified military officer as saying.

Phase II means, "be ready for battle" and phase III is the declaration of war, according to the newspaper.

The state-controlled Pakistan television is arousing national fervour by broadcasting patriotic songs and old dramas on war themes.