Army to refrain from operations

By Our Special Correspondent

NEW DELHI, AUG. 11. The Army is unlikely to launch fresh operations against Kashmiri militants following the withdrawal of the ceasefire by the Hizbul Mujahideen and Thursday's bomb blast in Srinagar.

Highly-placed Government sources said the Army had been told to keep its powder dry but refrain from operations which could impede the possible revival of the peace dialogue with the militants, especially the Hizbul Mujahideen.

The Government is keen on engaging all the local Kashmir groups in talks, but will frontally take on the foreign- dominated Jehadi groups such as the Lashkar-e-Taiba and the Harkatul Mujahideen.

The security forces, however, will carry out routine counter- insurgency operations without making any exception for the Hizbul Mujahideen, they observed.

Strike affects life

Shujaat Bukhari writes from Srinagar:

While the media fraternity in Kashmir bid a tearful farewell to their colleague, Pradeep Bhatia, killed in Thursday's car bomb blast, a general strike called by the National Security Organisation (NSO), an alliance of pro-India militant outfits, affected normal life in the Valley today.

Though most shops and business establishments did not open in the morning, gunmen of the NSO headed by an MLC were seen enforcing the strike. (According to PTI, the NSO is headed by Javed Hussain Shah, one of the first counter-insurgents and now an MLC.) Police and NSO members were seen swooping down on auto-rickshaws, buses and other vehicles for violating the bandh call. Policemen were angry over the dastardly killing of their nine colleagues on Thursday.

Wreaths for Bhatia

Scores of Srinagar-based journalists paid homage to Pradeep Bhatia, photographer of The Hindustan Times, who was among the 14 killed and more than 30 injured. The body of Bhatia was brought from the Police Control Room to the Press Enclave on Residency Road, and journalists from all newspapers and agencies laid wreaths amid emotional scenes. The Director-General of Police, Mr. Gurbachan Jagat, the State Government's media consultant, Mr. Farooq Nazki, the Director Information, Mr. Kulbhushan Jandial, were among those who paid tributes.

Nine of the 30 injured were flown to Delhi in a BSF plane for specialised treatment as their condition was worsening.

Salahuddin threatens `major strikes'

By B. Muralidhar Reddy

ISLAMABAD, AUG. 11. The Hizbul Mujahideen chief, Syed Salahuddin, has claimed that his organisation would go for ``major strikes'' in the next few days to force the India to hold talks with Pakistan. In an interview to Jang, an Urdu daily, the Hizbul commander was quoted as saying: ``We will resort to heavy shelling in the next couple of days... as has not been done in the last 10 years. India would have to pay a heavy price for rejecting the ceasefire offer.''

Asserting that any dialogue with India on the Kashmir issue would not be acceptable without the involvement of Pakistan, Syed Salahuddin said his organisation decided to go for a ceasefire in response to requests from diplomats of several countries including the United States.

He claimed that diplomats of western countries urged the Hizbul to extend the deadline, but his organisation decided against it in view of the ``rigid stand of India''. He has been quoted as saying that India cannot now blame the Pakistani intelligence agency, Inter-Services Intelligence, for terrorist activities in Kashmir as India had admitted after the ceasefire announcement that 90 per cent of the attacks are carried out by the Hizbul cadres.

In response to a question on the nature of help the Pakistan Army could extend to those engaged in fighting in Kashmir, he has been quoted as saying: ``What help can the Pakistan Army give us? We have seen the results in the past. Had the Pakistan leadership taken timely action, the issue would have been resolved earlier.''

The United Jehadi Council, umbrella organisation of the Pakistan- based militant organisations, has also been quoted in the Urdu papers as saying that it has decided to launch joint strikes against Indian military installations and other institutions. Another Urdu daily, Ausaf, said a joint strategy was being evolved to carry out the strikes.

Sahara cup withdrawal flayed

Meanwhile, the Pakistan Information Minister, Mr. Javed Jabbar, has criticised India for its decision not to play in the Sahara cricket tournament and accused India of mixing sports with politics and the ``freedom struggle'' in Kashmir. ``The decision not to play the Sahara cup has exposed the deceitful policy in dealing with the recent unilateral offer of ceasefire,'' Mr. Jabbar said.

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