SRINAGAR, India, 26 November 2006 — Six soldiers and a policeman were killed in attacks in Kashmir yesterday.
Police said troops of 62 Rashtriya Rifles surrounded Neldoora village in Pulwama district early yesterday following information that militants were hiding in the village.
As the troops began house-to-house searches, they came under heavy fire from militants hiding in a house, a senior police officer here said. The militants also used hand grenades to attack the raiding party. In the heavy exchange of fire, three soldiers and an officer were killed. One militant was also killed.
In another gunbattle, two soldiers and a policeman were killed in Rampura village, 70 km north of Srinagar. The number of rebel casualties was not known
Separately, the Indian Army said 20 militants surrendered to authorities in Kashmir’s northern Baramulla district yesterday.
An army statement said the separatist fighters were disillusioned as a result of discrimination against them as well as being fed false propaganda. “Today all these young men are returning home with a bitter taste or deceit at the hands of Pakistan Army,” the statement said. India accuses neighboring Pakistan of giving material support to the separatists. Pakistan denies that but says it gives them moral support.
Meanwhile, militants warned yesterday of “dire consequences” if the government goes ahead with a plan to lease land at its showpiece ski resort to outside investors.
The warning by the pro-Pakistan Lashkar-e-Taiba and Hizbul Mujahedeen groups came as a one-day strike called by separatist political hard-line leader Syed Ali Shah Geelani crippled life in Indian Kashmir.
“We warn outsiders of dire consequences if they (outside investors) enter into any lease agreement with the government,” Lashkar spokesman Abdullah Gaznavi said.
“India wants to settle outsiders here so that Kashmiris are turned into a minority and their land is occupied forever,” Gaznavi said.
A similar warning was issued by Hizbul Mujahedeen against outside investment in the ski resort region, a focus of Kashmir’s efforts to draw tourists to the state racked by a bloody 17-year insurgency against New Delhi’s rule. State authorities have been seeking to promote the ski resort as a top Asian ski destination.
The warnings came even though the state government has said it will re-examine the plan to lease land to private investors from outside as well as inside the state, an assurance given in the face of mounting local opposition.
The Lashkar spokesman did not specify what action militants might take if the government proceeded with the plan aimed at bolstering infrastructure at Gulmarg, 50 km northwest of Srinagar, the summer capital of Indian Kashmir.
But Indian authorities have blamed Lashkar and Hizbul for numerous deadly attacks in Indian Kashmir and elsewhere.
Under both the Indian and the state’s own constitution, people from outside Kashmir are barred from owning land in the region. However, there are no restrictions on leasing out land.
The strike closed most shops, businesses and schools in Srinagar yesterday and people reached by telephone said it also hit life in other parts of the state. Few workers turned up at government offices, officials said.
“This order is aimed at strengthening the occupation of Kashmir,” said Geelani, leader of the hard-line wing of the separatist alliance Hurriyat. “We must stand up against it,” he said.
The government said Thursday it would put the plan on hold. “The people in the state are worried about the plan,” said Tourism Minister Dilawar Mir. “We (the Cabinet) will re-examine the order,” which was passed by the state Cabinet two weeks ago. Residents of Gulmarg have been staging protests against the plan since it was approved.
— Additional input from agencies
