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Kashmir : Jehad Council announces unilateral ceasefire, security forces unlikely to suspend operatio

	October 15, 2007

Home Ministry officials in New Delhi have said that security forces in Jammu and Kashmir are unlikely to suspend operations against terror groups despite the announcement of a three-day unilateral ceasefire by Pakistan-based terrorist groups.



A spokesperson for the Muzaffarabad-based United Jihad Council, chaired by Hizb ul-Mujahideen chief Mohammad Yusuf Shah, on Oct. 8 ordered terror groups to cease operations in Jammu and Kashmir from October 12 to 14, to mark Eid-ul-Fitr.



Sources in the Home Ministry said the government was unlike¬ly to declare a reciprocal ceasefire unless the terror groups outside the UJC umbrella also demonstrated a willingness to halt strikes against civilians and Indian forces.



“We’re considering the options,” a senior official said, “but do not wish to repeat past mistakes.” In December 2000 India responded to an eight-day Hizb ceasefire, terminating offensive operations for five months, but it led to a sharp rise in civil¬ian fatalities.



Major groups outside the UJC, such as the Lashkar-e-Taiba, have not responded to the announcement. Some politicians in Jammu and Kashmir had voiced support for UJC declaration, saying it will help to move the peace process forward.



People’s Democratic Party president Mehbooba Mufti said the ceasefire would “allow the people of Jammu and Kashmir to breathe freely.” Communist Party of India (Marxist) leader M.Y. Tarigami asked “all parties to work towards ending violence permanently.”

Mirwaiz Umar Farooq, who heads the secessionist All Parties Hurriyat Conference, called on New Delhi to make an “appropriate response so that the ground is prepared for a permanent two-way ceasefire in Jammu and Kashmir.”





Two terrorists shot dead in Srinagar encounter



Two fidayeen who had launched a suicide attack on a CRPF camp in a hotel along the Dal Lake in Srinagar were killed on October 12 after a night long encounter with the security forces. The two suicide attackers had sneaked into the CRPF camp after hurling grenades. After a quick retaliation by CRPF personnel, they got holed up in the parking area next to the camp. Director General of Police Kuldip Khoda said the police and the CRPF quickly surrounded the area and there was an exchange of fire with the terrorists. The two Pakistani militants identified as Abu Hashim and Abu Zahid were killed in the mopping up operation on Friday morning.



Last week’s attack in Srinagar was the first carried out by LeT after its last fidayeen attack on Oct. 4, 2006.



There are reports that terrorists are also making plans to blow up the rail tracks being made to put Jammu and Kashmir on the railway map.





Submit report on sex scandal : High Court tells CBI



The Jammu and Kashmir High Court on Oct. 8 asked the Central Bureau of Investigation to submit a report on the evidence on record relating to the sex scandal, which rocked the State last year, in a local court within six weeks.



It also directed the agency to reinvestigate two cases registered at the Magam and Mahraj Gunj police stations.



A Division Bench, comprising Justices Hakim Imtiaz Hussain and Bashir Ahmad Kirmani, delivering the judgment, observed that the interrogation of certain persons was not over, and expressed surprise at the way the investigations were conducted. The Bench said the agency did not interrogate some persons evidently involved in the sex racket. It directed the CBI to place all records before Chief Judicial Magistrate Srinagar within six weeks.



“Taking cognizance of the offences as may appear to be made out, whatever action against them, under appropriate provisions of the law, should be taken,” said the Bench, naming Transport Minister Hakim Mohammad Yasin, Congress MLA Yogesh Sawhney, People’s Democratic Party MLA Ghulam Hassan Khan, DIG Niyaz Mehmood, SSPs Ashkoor Wani and Sheikh Mehmood and two others. It ordered speedy and focussed investigations into the charges against Director General of Prisons Rajinder Tickoo, former J&K Bank chairman, M.Y. Khan, and one Zahoor Ahmad.



The Bench directed that action be taken against the hotels and guest houses, where girls were molested, under the Prevention of Immoral Trafficking Act. People’s Democratic Party president Mehbooba Mufti has suspended party MLA Ghulam Hassan Khan. His name figured in the list of accused.