APHC calls for strike on Modi's visit to India-held Kashmir.

APHC calls for strike on Modi's visit to India-held Kashmir.

All Parties Hurriyet Conference Chairman Mirwaiz
 Umar Farooq. — File photo

ISLAMABAD | APP | 02 July 2014 : :  Following Narendra Modi's visit to India-held Kashmir on Friday, All Parties Hurriyet Conference (APHC) has called on Kashmiris to observe a complete shutdown.

According to the Kashmir Media Service, APHC Chairman Mirwaiz Umar Farooq has said that issues surrounding Kashmir were not economic but political and no economic packages would serve until the dispute was resolved.

Future of one billion people was associated with the issue and it should be resolved as per the aspirations of the people, Farooq said.

The APHC Chairman alleged that India had turned Kashmir into a military garrison where human rights violations were taking place every now and then.

“This shutdown will be a protest against Narendra Modi's visit to Kashmir as Prime Minister. India claims to be the largest democracy in the world, but its democratic credentials become questionable when it comes to the present situation of Kashmir,” Farooq said adding that in this freedom struggle, tens of thousands of people have been martyred and thousands subjected to enforced disappearance.

“By observing shutdown on Modi's visit, the Kashmiris will reiterate the pledge that the sublime cause for which people have sacrificed their lives and property cannot be compromised with economical and financial grants,” Farooq maintained.

Meanwhile, the Jammu and Kashmir Peoples' Movement, a constituent of the All Parties Hurriyet Conference, has also extended their support for the strike call. ( Courtesy: Dawn )

More chaos as Kashmiris boycott India polls.

More chaos as Kashmiris boycott India polls.

SRINAGAR | The Nation | 07 May 2014 : :  A bomb blast near a polling booth in Kashmir injured a policeman today, amid further stone-throwing protests and a widespread boycott of India's general election in the mainly Muslim region.

Separatists have called on voters to shun the election in India's northernmost state of Jammu and Kashmir, holding staggered voting in its six parliamentary seats to allow 700,000 army troops and police to mount a mobile security operation.

That has failed to prevent a string of killings of village elders, blamed by police on militants seeking to intimidate voters. In the most serious incident, three insurgents and one army officer were killed in a clash on April 27.

The bomb exploded outside a polling station at a village in the Baramulla constituency, one of two voting today in northern Kashmir, injuring a police reservist, police said.

There were numerous reports of protesters throwing stones at police and election officials in the valley. A bomb was also thrown at a police station the Baramulla district, but no one was injured.

Only a quarter of voters have turned out in Jammu and Kashmir so far in the five-week election, in a show of passive resistance to rule from New Delhi and concern over a likely victory by Hindu nationalist Narendra Modi and his Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP).

Kashmir has been a source of strife since British India was divided into independent India and Pakistan in 1947, with many Kashmiris, and Pakistan, saying the region should have been part of Muslim Pakistan, not Hindu-majority India.

India and Pakistan have fought three wars since 1947, two of them over Kashmir. India says Pakistan supports the separatist militants. Pakistan denies this, saying it only offers moral support to the Kashmiri people.( Courtesy : The Nation )

Jammu: 3 terrorists killed in twin terror attack.

Jammu: 3 terrorists killed in twin terror attack.

Security personnel in Dayalachak (ANI Photo)

Jammu | Hindustan Times | 28 March 2014 : : Three terrorists dressed in army uniforms on Friday struck at two places in Kathua district of Jammu and Kashmir, killing a civilian and a soldier and injuring three others, not far from the spot where Lashkar-e-Taiba militants gunned down 10 security personnel last year.

A lesser-known militant outfit 'Al Shohada Brigade', believed to be a shadow outfit of Lashker-e-Taiba, claimed responsibility for the twin attacks.

A 'spokesperson' of the outfit called some news organisations in Srinagar and claimed the responsibility for the attack.

In the first attack at Dayalachak in Hiranagar, 60km from Jammu city, three terrorists stopped an SUV and asked the occupants to get down.

The passengers who survived the attack said the terrorists separated the driver and sprayed bullets over the rest of them, killing Ajit Ram, a Jammu resident. Three other passengers, followers of Radha Soami sect, on their way to Punjab after attending a religious function here, were injured in the firing. The body of driver was found in the evening.

The SUV, hijacked by the terrorists, was then intercepted 7km away near the camp of the army's 111 Rocket Regiment in Janglote area. In the first burst of fire, the terrorists killed a soldier, V Anthony, who was guarding the rear gate of the camp and injured another jawan.

In the gunfight that ensued and lasted about 12 hours, the three terrorists were killed.

"Three AK-47 rifles, three pistols and ammunitions were recovered from them. They were also carrying grenades and food items," said Jammu inspector general of police Rajesh Kumar.

The terrorists had probably crossed the nearby international border. Chief minister Omar Abdullah, expressing concern over infiltration, tweeted: "The ease with which militants exploited gaps in the fence to cross the international border is a matter of grave concern. The BSF needs to take a look at vulnerable areas and plug these gaps because these militants haven't given up and we can't let them succeed."

BJP's prime ministerial candidate Narendra Modi had addressed an election rally in Hiranagar on Wednesday. The state security agencies have warned of possible militant attacks during the elections.

In September last year, three Lashkar-e-Taiba terrorists stormed a police station and an army camp in Hiranagar, killing six soldiers, including a colonel and five others.( Courtesy : Hindustan Times )

Pakistan again violates ceasefire.

Pakistan again violates ceasefire.

"Pakistan troops used small arms and automatics to target
our positions in Mendhar sector of the LoC yesterday (Tuesday).
 Pakistan firing started at 2.30 p.m.," Captain S.N.
 Acharya, defence spokesman said.

JAMMU | 02 Oct 2013 :: Pakistani troops violated the ceasefire again by firing on Indian posts along the LoC in Poonch district, prompting Indian troops to retaliate. 

"Pakistani troops fired on Indian posts along LoC in Mendhar sector of Poonch districtyesterday", Defence Spokesman S N Acharya said today. 

Pakistani troops used small arms and automatic weapons to target positions in Mendhar around 2.30 PM yesterday, he said.

"Our troops retaliated with same calibre weapons and the exchange of firing continued upto 3.30 PM," he said, adding, "there was no loss or damage to our side in this firing".(Courtesy: The Economic Times)

Pakistan violates ceasefire again.

Pakistan violates ceasefire again.

Pakistan violates ceasefire again

IBN live | India | 15 Sep 2013 :: Pakistani troops on Sunday fired at Indian positions in Mendhar sector along the Line of Control (LoC) in Poonch district of Jammu and Kashmir, police said. "Around 6.30 am, Pakistani troops fired at Pilli and Noal posts in Dari Dabsi area of the LoC in Mendhar sector," police sources told IANS. The Pakistan army used automatics and light weapons and the Indian side retaliated the fire.

Till last reports came in, firing exchangebetween the two sides was still going on. On Friday, India's External Affairs Minister Salman Khurshid and Pakistan's adviser on foreign affairs and national security, Sartaj Aziz, agreed to a meeting of the prime ministers of the two countries in New York later this month. Aziz and Khurshid met in Bishkek, Kyrgyzstan, on the sidelines of the Shanghai Cooperation Organisation summit. The two leaders had agreed to respect the LoC ceasefire agreement. Just two days after the meet, Pakistan again violated the ceasefire. The bilateral ceasefire agreement was signed by the two neighbours in November 2003. It had brought normalcy in the lives of thousands of people living close to the border. India has been accusing Pakistan of unprovoked violation of the ceasefire agreement since the beginning of the year.(Courtesy:IBN live)

5 Hizbul Mujahideen militants killed in encounter with security forces.

5 Hizbul Mujahideen militants killed in encounter with security forces.

Jammu and Kashmir | 30 Aug 2013 :: Five militants - all believed to be Pakistan nationals - were killed in an encounter with police and Army in Kangan area of Ganderbal district in Kashmir valley on Friday.

Superintendent of Police (SP) Ganderbal Shahid Meraj Rather told The Hinduthat Hizbul Mujahideen's Assadullah group was wiped out when troops of Rashtriya Rifles 24th battalion and the police engaged the militants in a gunfight at Prang on Najwan ridge of forest, close to Srinagar-Leh highway, at 1.30 a.m. He said that the ambush had been laid after the security forces learned about the militants' possible passage across Sindh river through a source information.

“The encounter took place when the militants were crossing the river. All the five militants were killed. There was no collateral damage,” Mr. Rather said. Five AK rifles were also recovered.

Mr. Rather said that the militants killed in the encounter included a Pashtu speaking commander of Hizbul Mujahideen Assadullah who was believed to be from NWFP area of Pakistan. He was known to be operating in Kangan area for a long time.

Friday's encounter is rated as a major achievement for police and security forces in the valley as it is for the first time this year in the hinterland that five militants have been killed in a single operation.

Significantly, the number of police and armed forces personnel killed in the last eight months of the year is more than that in the corresponding period of any year during Omar Abdullah's rule.

Senior Army officials would be sharing more details in a news briefing later.(Courtesy:The Hindu)

Pakistan Army violates ceasefire again, fires indiscriminately along LoC in Pallanwala.

Pakistan Army violates ceasefire again, fires indiscriminately along LoC in Pallanwala.

JAMMU & KASHMIR | 30 Aug 2013 :: After a two-day lull, Pakistan Army again violated the ceasefire by targeting forward posts along the LoC in Jammu district, drawing retaliation from Indian forces.

"Pakistan Army opened indiscriminate and unprovoked firing on forward posts along the LoC in Pallanwala sub-sector in Jammu district around 11:30 pm hours on Thursday night", a senior Army officer said on Friday. Pakistan Army fired from small and automatic weapons on the forward posts along LoC.

Indian troops guarding the borderline used similar calibre weapons and strongly retaliated, triggering fierce exchanges, which continued till midnight on Thursday night, he said. There was no loss of life or injury to any one in the fresh firing.

There was no firing or ceasefire violation by Pakistan along the LoC from 3.15 pm on August 27 to 11.30 pm on August 29.

Pakistani troops had violated the ceasefire on August 27 by firing on Indian posts along LoC in Bhimber Gali sub-sector of Poonch district.

There has been almost daily firing and mortar shelling by Pakistani Army in the Poonch-Rajouri sector since August 6 with a total of over 30 ceasefire violations recorded this month.

Six jawans have been killed and 10 injured in ceasefire violations and firing by Pakistan troops on forward posts, civilian areas and patrolling parties along the Indo-Pak border in August.(Courtesy:IBN Live)

26 jawans killed along LoC by Pak in last 3 years.

26 jawans killed along LoC by Pak in last 3 years.

New Delhi | PTI | 26 Aug 2013 :: Twenty six Indian army personnel have been killed in attacks by the Pakistan Army along the Line of Control (LoC) in Jammu and Kashmir in the last three years, the Lok Sabha was told on Monday.

26 personnel have been killed from 2010 to August 19 this year in attacks by Pakistan Army attacks along the LoC, defence minister AK Antony said in a written reply to a query.

The question on the killing of five Indian soldiers in Poonch sector on August 6 was posed by 22 MPs cutting across party lines.

On the August 6 killings, the minister said a group of specialist troops of Pakistan Army crossed the Line of Control from Pakistan-occupied-Kashmir (PoK) side and attacked a patrol of Indian troops comprising one NCO and five other ranks.

"In the ensuing firefight, five of our brave soldiers were martyred and one soldier was injured," he said.(Courtesy:Hindustan Times)

India, Pakistan Accuse Each Other in Latest Kashmir Clash.

India, Pakistan Accuse Each Other in Latest Kashmir Clash.

Pakistani Kashmiris burn an Indian flag during an anti-Indian

rally in Muzaffarabad, capital of Pakistani Kashmir,

Thursday, Aug. 15, 2013. India's prime minister on Thursday

asked Pakistan to prevent Islamic militants from using its

territory as tensions rise between the longtime rivals following

the recent killing of five Indian soldiers in fighting along the

disputed Kashmir border. (AP Photo/M.D. Mughal)

ISLAMABAD | 16 Aug 2013 :: A Pakistani military official has accused Indian troops of firing across the disputed Kashmir border and wounding six civilians.

The official says the shooting took place on Thursday in the Kotli sector of Pakistan-held Kashmir, across the border from the Mendhar sector on the Indian side.

An Indian government official, Omar Abdullah, has said two civilians, including a porter working for the army, were wounded by Pakistani firing in Mendhar sector Thursday.

Pakistani and Indian military officials accused the other side of firing first. The officials spoke on condition of anonymity Friday in line with military policy.

Pakistan and India have traded accusations of firing across the Kashmir border over the last 10 days. Kashmir is divided between the two countries but claimed in its entirety by both.(Courtesy:Epoch)

Army Unearth Militant Hideout Near LoC In J&K, Seize Arms And Ammunitions.

By Ronny D'Costa

09|June|2013::A defense spokesman said today that a militant hideout located very near to the Line of Control (LoC) in Macchil sector of Jammu and Kashmir has been unearthed by the Army. He added that a huge quantity of arms and ammunition have been recovered from the hideout.

"Acting on a tip off, a cache of warlike stores, hidden 200 to 300 metres inside the LoC, was recovered by the Army in Machhil sector yesterday," the spokesman said.

The arms and ammunition were hidden in a "natural opening in the hollow of a tree trunk", he added.

The spokesman said that Army personnel recovered one AK-56 rifle with three magazines and 90 rounds, two pistols (Pakistan and Chinese make), two RPG shells and explosives packed in two cylindrical cases from the hideout.

On Friday, one Indian soldier was killed in n Mandi area of Poonch sector in Jammu and Kashmir when Pakistani troops opened fire violating ceasefire.

Earlier this year, two Indian soldiers were killed and their bodies were mutilated.