4 troops among 9 killed in Kashmir gunfight
SRINAGAR, Nov 9: Five suspected militants and four Indian soldiers were killed in a long gunbattle in occupied Kashmir, officials said on Friday. The militants and soldiers, including an army officer, were killed near the town of Patan, north of Srinagar, a police spokesman said.
He said the fighting had started on Tuesday evening when Indian troops were attacked by a group of militants.
“The attack sparked a gunbattle that lasted until Friday,” the spokesman said, adding that around a dozen private homes were destroyed during the fighting and six soldiers were injured.
Meanwhile, Indian troops have surrounded a hotel where at least two suspected militants barricaded themselves after attacking a police post, officials said. Residents reported gunfire throughout the night and Friday.
Police said at least two policemen had been hurt in the incident.—AFP
letter to Editor
Cut from the same clothIndia and Pakistan, both cut from the same cloth, have rich culture, heritage, custom and tradition. Both the governments of India and Pakistan, to further their peace process, should develop a good cultural relationship with each other. Imagine staging ‘Bharatanatyam’, a South Indian dance performance in Karachi and Sufi music concert in Chennai.
The Indian and Pakistan political leaders should aim at making both these countries a combined superpower so that the West shall not throw its weight around in our countries to achieve their ends.
K.PRADEEP
Chennai
Friday, November 9, 2007
The News
Younis brings Pakistan back from the dead
By Khalid Hussain
MOHALI, India: It was the sort of match that gives a player the chance to become a national hero and Younis Khan made the most of it.
It seemed that the fireworks that lit up the Punjab Cricket Stadium here on Thursday night were there to celebrate that achievement. Younis brought back Pakistan from the dead with a memorable 117 and together with Misbah-ul-Haq (49) and Shahid Afridi (29 not out) gave his countrymen at least something to cheer about.
The Mardan-born batsman dedicated his third ODI ton, and the first against India, to his late coach Bob Woolmer and also believed that his innings and more importantly Pakistan’s series-levelling triumph would send a wave of happiness back home where a week of emergency rule has created quite a havoc.
“It is an important innings for me, perhaps the most memorable of my (ODI) career,” Younis told reporters after the second one-dayer against India. “I dedicate it to Woolmer. He was a good coach who worked hard on us and we all miss him.”
He added, “I believe this win will also make the entire Pakistani nation happy because of the way we won this match and that it came against India.”
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India bars Kashmiris from performing Hajj
HELD SRINAGAR: Indian authorities said on Thursday they had barred 300 Kashmiri Muslims from making this year's annual Hajj pilgrimage to Saudi Arabia because they allegedly had ties to rebels.
"Some 300 would-be pilgrims have failed to clear the CID (Criminal Investigation Department) investigations," Indian Kashmir's Hajj Minister Peerzada Mohammed Sayeed told reporters. All Indian Muslims intending to perform Hajj, one of the five pillars of Islam and a duty for all Muslims with the financial and physical means, are vetted by the country's security agencies.
A senior police officer told AFP that those who were barred - including separatist politicians - were found to have links to rebels. Security officials argue that Indian Kashmiris may use the annual event, which is expected to take place in December, to link up with their Pakistani contacts.
By Khalid Hussain
MOHALI, India: It was the sort of match that gives a player the chance to become a national hero and Younis Khan made the most of it.
It seemed that the fireworks that lit up the Punjab Cricket Stadium here on Thursday night were there to celebrate that achievement. Younis brought back Pakistan from the dead with a memorable 117 and together with Misbah-ul-Haq (49) and Shahid Afridi (29 not out) gave his countrymen at least something to cheer about.
The Mardan-born batsman dedicated his third ODI ton, and the first against India, to his late coach Bob Woolmer and also believed that his innings and more importantly Pakistan’s series-levelling triumph would send a wave of happiness back home where a week of emergency rule has created quite a havoc.
“It is an important innings for me, perhaps the most memorable of my (ODI) career,” Younis told reporters after the second one-dayer against India. “I dedicate it to Woolmer. He was a good coach who worked hard on us and we all miss him.”
He added, “I believe this win will also make the entire Pakistani nation happy because of the way we won this match and that it came against India.”
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India bars Kashmiris from performing Hajj
HELD SRINAGAR: Indian authorities said on Thursday they had barred 300 Kashmiri Muslims from making this year's annual Hajj pilgrimage to Saudi Arabia because they allegedly had ties to rebels.
"Some 300 would-be pilgrims have failed to clear the CID (Criminal Investigation Department) investigations," Indian Kashmir's Hajj Minister Peerzada Mohammed Sayeed told reporters. All Indian Muslims intending to perform Hajj, one of the five pillars of Islam and a duty for all Muslims with the financial and physical means, are vetted by the country's security agencies.
A senior police officer told AFP that those who were barred - including separatist politicians - were found to have links to rebels. Security officials argue that Indian Kashmiris may use the annual event, which is expected to take place in December, to link up with their Pakistani contacts.
DAWN
India plans to tap Chenab water
By Jawed Naqvi
JAMMU, Nov 8: The chief minister of occupied Kashmir has asked for a plan to tap the water of River Chenab in the parched region of Jammu, and Pakistani officials said the proposal reported on Thursday in a local newspaper here could trigger a fresh round of controversy between the two countries.
The Jammu-based pro-government Early Times said Chief Minister Ghulam Nabi Azad was contemplating tapping water at Reasi from the river that was assigned to Pakistan by the Indus Water Treaty of 1960.
The idea is to “cope with the scarcity of drinking water in Jammu city and its peripheral areas” and supply Chenab water “to the city through gravity.”To this end Mr Azad on Thursday “called for a project report for the purpose which he said would be taken up with (New Delhi) for funding.
He expressed concern over the shortage of water in the state’s winter capital and asked the concerned officers to prepare a futuristic project for augmentation of water supply,” the newspaper said.
Mr Azad, the report said, passed these instructions during a high level meeting convened here to review development works in Jammu city. A suggestion to tap the Chenab water at Reasi was put forward in the meeting upon which the Chief Minister told the concerned officers to prepare a project report.“It was suggested that since the supply of water through naturally available gradient from Reasi was feasible, filtration plants could be constructed en-route to provide safe potable water to people in the city,” the newspaper said.
State polls in Jammu and Kashmir are due shortly and Mr Azad’s Congress party is pitted in Jammu against the national chauvinist Bharatiya Janata Party. Some see the search for water as poll-related rhetoric.
The proposal appears to be unrelated to a running dispute on India’s plans to construct the Baglihar Dam over the Chenab River in Jammu region. The dam is being built on two 450-megawatt phases.
Pakistan says, the dam in Chandrakot in southern Doda district violates the 1960 Indus Water Treaty on river water sharing, one of the nuclear rivals’ most enduring agreements.
Islamabad fears the dam could interfere with the flow of water from the Chenab River and deprive it of vital irrigation in Pakistan’s wheat-growing Punjab province. New Delhi says the fears are groundless.
The World Bank-negotiated accord bars India from interfering with the flow of the three rivers feeding Pakistan — Indus, Chenab and Jhelum — but allows it to generate electricity from them.
The first phase of the Baglihar Dam was due to be completed in 2004 but has been delayed by the dispute. “If the report is true, there would be concern in Pakistan,” a Pakistani diplomat said, commenting on the lead story in Early Times.
By Jawed Naqvi
JAMMU, Nov 8: The chief minister of occupied Kashmir has asked for a plan to tap the water of River Chenab in the parched region of Jammu, and Pakistani officials said the proposal reported on Thursday in a local newspaper here could trigger a fresh round of controversy between the two countries.
The Jammu-based pro-government Early Times said Chief Minister Ghulam Nabi Azad was contemplating tapping water at Reasi from the river that was assigned to Pakistan by the Indus Water Treaty of 1960.
The idea is to “cope with the scarcity of drinking water in Jammu city and its peripheral areas” and supply Chenab water “to the city through gravity.”To this end Mr Azad on Thursday “called for a project report for the purpose which he said would be taken up with (New Delhi) for funding.
He expressed concern over the shortage of water in the state’s winter capital and asked the concerned officers to prepare a futuristic project for augmentation of water supply,” the newspaper said.
Mr Azad, the report said, passed these instructions during a high level meeting convened here to review development works in Jammu city. A suggestion to tap the Chenab water at Reasi was put forward in the meeting upon which the Chief Minister told the concerned officers to prepare a project report.“It was suggested that since the supply of water through naturally available gradient from Reasi was feasible, filtration plants could be constructed en-route to provide safe potable water to people in the city,” the newspaper said.
State polls in Jammu and Kashmir are due shortly and Mr Azad’s Congress party is pitted in Jammu against the national chauvinist Bharatiya Janata Party. Some see the search for water as poll-related rhetoric.
The proposal appears to be unrelated to a running dispute on India’s plans to construct the Baglihar Dam over the Chenab River in Jammu region. The dam is being built on two 450-megawatt phases.
Pakistan says, the dam in Chandrakot in southern Doda district violates the 1960 Indus Water Treaty on river water sharing, one of the nuclear rivals’ most enduring agreements.
Islamabad fears the dam could interfere with the flow of water from the Chenab River and deprive it of vital irrigation in Pakistan’s wheat-growing Punjab province. New Delhi says the fears are groundless.
The World Bank-negotiated accord bars India from interfering with the flow of the three rivers feeding Pakistan — Indus, Chenab and Jhelum — but allows it to generate electricity from them.
The first phase of the Baglihar Dam was due to be completed in 2004 but has been delayed by the dispute. “If the report is true, there would be concern in Pakistan,” a Pakistani diplomat said, commenting on the lead story in Early Times.
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