Militant killed in J&K
SRINAGAR, May 16 — A foreign militant was killed and three others, including two nationals of Bangladesh, were arrested as the security forces smashed some militant hideouts in Jammu and Kashmir since last evening.

BJP to contest all J&K seats
JAMMU, May 16 — The Bharatiya Janata Party general secretary, Mr Narinder Modi, has said Mrs Sonia Gandhi's candidature for the office of Prime Minister is a serious threat to national security.

NC leaders call for adequate security
JAMMU, May 16 — Jammu National Conference leaders have said they will "keep away" from the Lok Sabha poll if adequate security is not given to the party leaders.

Panel on vocational guidance set up
SRINAGAR, May 16 — The Jammu and Kashmir Government has decided to constitute a state-level vocational guidance committee to identify job-oriented courses for the youths.

Bunty NC students' wing president
JAMMU, May 16 — Mr Surinder Singh Bunty, a youth leader, has been appointed the president of the local students wing of the National Conference NC.

Militant killed in J&K

SRINAGAR, May 16 (PTI) — A foreign militant was killed and three others, including two nationals of Bangladesh, were arrested as the security forces smashed some militant hideouts in Jammu and Kashmir since last evening.

An official spokesman said a Pakistani militant, Abu Hasham of the Jamiat-Ul-Mujahideen, was killed in an encounter with the security forces at Pranoo-Bharat in Doda district today.

An AK assault rifle, 100 cartridges and two hand grenades were recovered from the scene.

He said a militant was arrested and a Pakistani-made grenade and a Chinese grenade seized from a hideout at Parimpora in Srinagar.

The security forces recovered 1 kg of explosive, a remote control device, a box containing AK ammunition, two hand grenades and a large quantity of rations and utensils during search operations at Gur-Hajan and Kimsargali in Baramulla district yesterday.

The railway police apprehended two Bangladeshi nationals near Jammu railway station where they were roaming about under suspicious circumstances. They hailed from Dhaka.

Militants clashed with the Special Operations Group of the local police and the security forces after attacking their pickets at Panj-Dara in the Dachhan area of Doda and Devar in the Lolab area of Kupwara last night. However, no one was hurt in the shootouts.

BJP to contest all J&K seats
From Our Correspondent

JAMMU, May 16 — The Bharatiya Janata Party general secretary, Mr Narinder Modi, has said Mrs Sonia Gandhi's candidature for the office of Prime Minister is a serious threat to national security.

Addressing a Press conference here today, Mr Modi, who is on a two-day visit to Jammu, said his party had never raised the issue of the Congress President's foreign origin but the people of the country had themselves understood that it was a sensitive issue.

Mr Modi said if Mrs Sonia Gandhi was made the Prime Minister, she would have direct access to top-secret information on defence and other matters.

Mr Modi said he was hopeful that the vigilant electorate would not vote her to power.

Mr Modi said his party would not make Mrs Sonia Gandhi's background a poll issue and would leave the matter to be decided by the people of the country.

The BJP, he said, would contest all seats in Jammu and Kashmir. It would not enter into a poll alliance with the ruling National Conference. "We are two different parties with different ideologies."

Making a scathing attack on the Farooq Abdullah-led National Conference government, he asked the Chief Minister to issue a White Paper on the use of funds released by the Centre in favour of the state from time to time. He denied the charge that the BJP-led government at the Centre was responsible for the financial crisis in the state. "We have vital proof about the misuse of central funds in the state and we want the Chief Minister to make it clear where the money has gone," he added.

Gulmarg set for facelift
From Kavita Bhargava

THE world famous tourist resort of Gulmarg in the Kashmir valley, which was brought on the map of international winter sports last year when the Jammu and Kashmir Government hosted the first National Winter Games there, will have many more attractions for tourists under the new master plan for integrated development of the resort.

The master plan, ordered by Chief Minister Farooq Abdullah last year in September, will meet the developmental requirements of the resort for the next three decades. The plan envisages a new golf course, shopping complex, bus stand, car parking facilities, a modern hospital with central heating and other modern facilities.

Not only this, the state government has also announced a 50 per cent concession for popular gandola cable car ride for students on production of their identity cards. The Chief Minister has also ordered the exploring of possibilities for realignment of phase-I of the gandola project so that the work could be started shortly. This cable car project has so far fetched the state government an income of Rs 65 lakh and is increasingly becoming quite popular. The government is also contemplating extending the gandola service up to Alpather.

Mr Parvez Dewan, Commissioner-cum-Secretary Tourism, J&K Government, says the state government is keen on promoting tourism in the Kashmir valley, especially in the tourists resorts like Pahalgam and Gulmarg. There is full occupancy in hotels at both these resorts at present which shows that these are again becoming popular with tourists.

During the past decade of turmoil, Gulmarg has remained unaffected by any violence and in the first week of April this year Bollywood heart-throb — Aamir Khan — and Manisha Koirala were in Gulmarg shooting for "Mann" — a film produced by Ashok Thakeria and directed by Inder Kumar of "Raja", "Beta" and "Dil" fame. Mr Dewan adds many more shooting schedules are on the anvil later this year at Gulmarg and other places.

Under this master plan, the golf courses at Gulmarg and Pahalgam would be renovated. Besides, the facilities for learning skiing would also be upgraded. Similarly, winter sports would further be developed at Gulmarg, which is about 3.5 km long and 1 km wide bowl-shaped meadow just 56 km from Srinagar. Its undulating expanse is grassy slopes for most part, with a small scattering of houses.

A ski-mountaineering course was organised at Gulmarg by the University of Kashmir. The course, the first of its kind, has been included in the syllabi of adventure sports in the valley.

The state government has already constituted the Gulmarg Development Authority for the harmonious development of the area.

NC leaders call for adequate security

JAMMU, May 16 (PTI) — Jammu National Conference (NC) leaders have said they will "keep away" from the Lok Sabha poll if adequate security is not given to the party leaders.

"If there is failure of security and continued attacks on us from militants, we will prefer to keep away from the election process," said the leaders during a provincial-level meeting at Sher-i-Kashmir Bhavan yesterday.

The leaders were here to attend a meeting to finalise the strategy for the Lok Sabha and panchayat elections in the state.

State Industry and Commerce Minister Bodh Raj Bali said the NC had lost three top leaders, including an MLA, Mr Abdul Ahad Kar, since the opening of the darbar offices in Srinagar.

"To demoralise our rank and file well before the parliamentary elections, militants have resorted to killing our top leaders," Mr Bali told PTI here.

He said militants first gunned down Ghulam Hasan Mir, president of the Pulwama district unit of the NC, on May 6. They then killed youth NC leader Ashraf Ali Beg on Friday last and a day later Mr Abdul Kar.

Militants had gunned down 13 former MLAs in the Kashmir valley since January, 1990. Most of them belonged to the NC, the party leaders said.

Panel on vocational guidance set up

SRINAGAR, May 16 (PTI) — The Jammu and Kashmir Government has decided to constitute a state-level vocational guidance committee to identify job-oriented courses for the youths.

These courses would be in tune with the prevalent market trends and youths would be given training in Industrial Training Institutes (ITI) and polytechnics, according to J.A. Khan, Secretary Planning and Development.

For this purpose, these institutions were being strengthened and modernised in a phased manner, he said.

He listed a number of steps being taken by the government to improve the existing self-employment schemes. The steps being taken in this regard include modernisation of employment exchanges. Career guidance corners are also being set up in all the employment exchanges.

A comprehensive coaching programme has also been organised for different categories of candidates to prepare them for various competitive and vocational job opportunities, Mr Khan said.

In order to provide placement services to the youths in public and private sectors, several measures are being taken in coordination with employers federations, he said, adding that as many as 300 engineers from the state have been interviewed by the Indian Oil Corporation recently.

Bunty NC students' wing president
From Our Correspondent

JAMMU, May 16 — Mr Surinder Singh Bunty, a youth leader, has been appointed the president of the local students wing of the National Conference NC.

This was announced by the National Conference provincial President, Mr Harbans Singh, at a function organised by the Progressive Students Forum here yesterday. The function was organised by the forum to facilitate Mr Bunty, who was recently awarded the National Youth award by the Union Ministry of Human Resources Development. The award was given to him by the Prime Minister, Mr Atal Behari Vajpayee, in Lucknow recently.

Speaking on the occasion, Mr Harbans Singh said in view of the proxy war waged by Pakistan in Kashmir, the people of the state, especially the youth, had an important role to play. Exhorting the youth to play role in nation building, he said their participation and interest in politics would go a long way in strengthening the roots of democracy in the country.

Prof V.K. Kapoor, NSS State Coordinator, also spoke on the occasion.

In his address, Mr Bunty said he would fight evils like corruption, dowry, etc. He urged the students to fight all such evils, including the copying menace.