KASHMIR: Indian security forces yesterday killed one of three Muslim militants hiding in a mosque in the disputed state of Kashmir and arrested another after a fight lasting several hours. Rahul Bedi reports on the continuing tension and clashes between Indian and Pakistani soldiers in Kashmir.
Police in the state's summer capital, Srinagar, said they were conducting a house-to-house search at nearby Bomara Kunzar looking for the third militant from the Hizbul Mujahideen group. The HM is the largest of around a dozen Kashmiri insurgent groups fighting the 13-year-old civil war for a Muslim homeland, a conflict in which more than 35,000 people have died to date.
Officials said the three militants attacked a police patrol and, when challenged, ran into a nearby mosque and opened fire. Repeated appeals were made to the militants to surrender, bearing in mind the sanctity of the place.
In the ensuing firefight, the security forces claimed they took care not to damage the mosque. Two pistols and more than 430 rounds of ammunition were recovered, they said.
Meanwhile, Indian and Pakistani troops exchanged artillery fire along the line of control in northern Kashmir. Both countries have massed troops on their common border in a tense military standoff following the suicide attack on India's parliament for which Delhi holds Islamabad responsible.
Officials said the heavy shelling, the first in the area since the military build-up began, forced scores of locals to migrate to safer places.
The Pakistan-based militant group, Jaish-e-Mohammad (JeM or Army of Mohammad), which India blames for the assault on its national parliament, has threatened to intensify its strikes by attacking navy, air force and paramilitary bases.
A three-member JeM suicide squad made an abortive bid to storm the brigade headquarters at Kupwara in northern Kashmir, 40 miles from Srinagar on Tuesday night, provoking an exchange of fire in which two militants died.
Army officers said the heavily armed insurgents dressed in military fatigues drove a van up to the army camp, masquerading as security personnel. When challenged they opened fire and tried to enter the camp. Two JeM militants were killed in the exchange of fire while the third escaped.
Police fired tear gas yesterday to disperse more than 5,000 villagers protesting at the alleged murder of a civilian by the security forces at Thab village, 30 miles south of Srinagar. The demonstrators were demanding action against Indian border guards who, they allege, intentionally shot dead a shopkeeper after Muslim militants fired two rifle-launched grenades at their camp. Police, however, claimed the shopkeeper had died in crossfire during the militant attack but said they were hunting for the border guard after he fled his camp.
The Chinese Premier, Mr Zhu Rongji, is arriving in India on a six-day visit at the weekend. His visit comes at a time when China has promised unstinting support to Islamabad during two successive visits to Beijing by the Pakistani President, Gen Pervaiz Musharraf, over the past three weeks. With Gen Musharraf preparing a major policy address on militancy, the Indian Defence Minister, Mr George Fernandes, warned yesterday of "strong measures" if Islamabad failed to take action against Islamic fighters.
China and Pakistan are long-standing allies and Beijing provided Islamabad with nuclear weapon components and missiles to carry weapons of mass destruction. As a consequence news reports from Islamabad declaring that China had sent to Pakistan five shiploads of military equipment - reported to be fighter aircraft - have caused considerable concern in India.
A Pakistani military spokesman recently said China had promised Pakistan help in "any eventuality", a direct reference to military aid in case of a conflict with India. China has called upon India and Pakistan to resolve their differences through dialogue.