| A regularly updated account of Pakistan-supported terrorism in Kashmir |
| Archives |
| The Continuing Human Toll of Terrorism in Kashmir |
| November 1998 |
| Sunday, November 15, 1998: Three civilians killed by terrorists in Doda, 13 civilians injured in violence in valley; Pakistani ISI agent killed in Jammu |
| Terrorists killed three civilians in Doda district of Jammu and Kashmir state. Two of the victims were killed by slitting their throats, while the third victim, a woman, was shot dead (Kashmir Times, Reuters). Her husband managed to escape. In Kashmir Valley, thirteen civilians were injured in explosions and shootings by terrorists (Kashmir Times). In Jammu, an ISI agent who had crossed over the border from Pakistan was stopped at a check point and shot dead by security forces, foiling a major plot to bomb crowded areas in the city. Four grenades were recovered from the ISI agent, who had documents identifying him as a resident of Karachi, Pakistan (Hindustan Times). |
| Saturday, November 14, 1998: Two more killed by terrorists in valley; renewed violence in Srinagar |
| Bodies of two civilian victims of terrorism were recovered in Baramulla and Kupwara districts in Kashmir valley (Kashmir Times). Renewed terrorist violence flared up in Srinagar claiming the lives of three security personnel, including a battalion commandant, Vinod Sharma( The Hindu ). Battles between security forces and terrorists also continued in Doda district. |
| Friday, November 13, 1998: Pakistan denies all; four more civilians killed by Pakistan-supported terrorists in Jammu and Kashmir |
|
Three civilians were killed by terrorists in Kashmir valley and one in Poonch district. At the same time, Pakistan denied, in the face of a mountain of evidence, all involvement in terrorism in India during the Indo-Pak session on terrorism today ( Kashmir Times , Hindustan Times, Times of India). While India cited a large amount of evidence of Pakistani support for terrorism, Pakistan countered by blaming a few explosions in Pakistan on India. Pakistan failed to acknowledge that its internal violence has a strong, causal correlation with the tremendous growth of violent Islamic groups in the country, a fact noted internationally. Pakistan also refused to hand over wanted terrorists to India, despite Interpol warrants against them. It is clear that Pakistan wants to brazenly continue with its full-fledged support to international terrorism while denying it all. This bulletin has counted 26 civilian deaths at the hands of Pakistan-supported terrorists in Jammu and Kashmir state for the first 12 days of this month alone.
Terrorists in the state resorted to taking civilian hostages during a battle with security forces (Tribune India). The civilians were ultimately rescued while the terrorists were killed in the battle. |
| Thursday, November 12, 1998: Terrorism key issue in today's India-Pakistan peace talks |
| Terrorism will be one of the key issues discussed in the ongoing India-Pakistan peace talks today (Times of India). Pakistani-supported terrorism has resulted in over 25,000 civilian deaths in the Indian state of Jammu and Kashmir during the last decade. During the month of November, 22 civilians have been killed by terrorists in the state. |
| Thursday, November 12, 1998: Suspect with link to massacre of Kashmiri Hindus arrested |
| A suspect with links to the April 18th massacre of 30 Kashmiri Hindus in Prankote region of Jammu and Kashmir state has been arrested and is being interrogated by Indian security forces ( Kashmir Times ). The victims of the massacre included women and children. The massacre led to renewed migration of Kashmiri Hindus from the region. About 300,000 Kashmiri Hindus, especially the Pandits, have left their ancestral homeland after being repeatedly targeted for such attacks by Islamic terrorists since 1990. This is one of the largest incidents of ethnic cleansing in recent times. |
| Thursday, November 12, 1998: Three LET terrorists killed; more deadly attacks on civilians and local leaders |
| Three terrorists belonging to the Lashkar-e-Toiba, an
Islamic terrorist group based near Lahore in Pakistan, were killed in
a fierce encounter with Indian security forces in Wanabal. All the terrorists
killed were Pakistani nationals (
Kashmir Times ). Two more civilians were killed by terrorists, one in
Kulgam region and another in the Karan Nagar area of Srinagar. Several civilians
have also been injured in the continuing battles between terrorists and
security forces, according to the same report. Terrorists attacked the house of another National Conference leader in the state. His security guards were able to repel the attack. |
| Wednesday, November 11, 1998: Local politician, civilian killed by terrorists |
|
Pakistan-supported terrorists barged into the house of a local politician and killed him in Sopore district of Kashmir valley and killed him. The politician belonged to the National Conference, a popular Kashmiri political party that has participated in elections held in the state since 1996. Many members of the National Conference have been targeted by the terrorists. The police also found the dead body of a civilian worker who had been kidnapped earlier from Qazigund area by terrorists( Kashmir Times ). In Doda district, two top Lashkar-e-Toiba terrorists were killed during a battle with Indian security forces.
|
| Tuesday, November 10, 1998: Execution of civilians by terrorists continues |
|
Pakistan-supported terrorists barged into houses in Qazigund and Doda areas in the state and executed two civilians( Kashmir Times ). In an encounter with Indian security forces in Srinagar, four terrorists including two Pakistanis were killed. Among the Indian security personnel injured in the encounter was a Kashmiri Pandit, Kaka ji Koul. One of the terrorists killed was the divisional commander of the Harkat-ul-Ansar.
|
| Monday, November 9, 1998: Terrorists continue elimination of opponents in Jammu and Kashmir |
|
Pakistan-supported terrorists continued their campaign of eliminating civilian dissent in Rajouri and Doda districts of Jammu and Kashmir. Three civilians, including a woman were dragged out of their houses and executed in rural areas ( Kashmir Times ).
|
| Sunday, November 8, 1998: Terrorists burn down houses of "migrant" Kashmiri Pandits |
|
Terrorists in the Badgam have burnt down several houses belonging to Kashmiri Pandits forced out of the region (Tribune India). Over 300,000 Kashmiri Pandits (Hindus) have been forced to abandon their ancestral homeland by Pakistan-supported terrorists and their local accomplices since the beginning of the militancy in the state. Their has been recent talk about the state and central governments initiating a plan for the Kashmiri Pandits to return to Kashmir valley. The burning of Pandit houses may be a brazen attempt to wreck these plans.
|
| Sunday, November 8, 1998: Pakistan-supported terrorism continues unabated during Indo-Pakistan peace talks |
|
A wave of violence by Pakistan-supported terrorists as well as Pakistani export of infiltrators, and now, high-tech terrorism devices, continues in the Indian state of Jammu and Kashmir even as the much awaited talks between the two countries get under way. Terrorism is indeed a major issue to be discussed in these talks and will be addressed in the coming week. Pakistan-supported terrorists continue their strategy of eliminating opponents and ex-militants. Two ex-militants were executed by terrorists in Pattan and Budgam areas of the state ( Kashmir Times ).
Top Indian officials have expressed concern about the recovery of remote-controlled planes capable of carrying a large quantity of explosives (Hindustan Times). The devices were found in forests in the Rajouri area, which borders Pakistani-controlled territory. This is apparently a new form of escalation by Pakistan in its "proxy war" against India. Such devices would be hard to defend against and have potential in use against VIP convoys and other targets. It is ironic that this escalation by Pakistan coincides with peace talks being held by the two nations. |
| Saturday, November 7, 1998: Pakistanis among LET, HM terrorists killed in encounters with Indian security forces |
|
Two Hizbul Mujahideen and two Lashkar-e-Toiba terrorists were killed in encounters with Indian security forces in the Doda district of Jammu and Kashmir state ( Kashmir Times ). Three of the killed terrorists have been identified as Pakistanis, including both members of the Lashkar-e-Toiba group. Hizbul Mujahideen is the militant wing of one of the key Islamic parties in Pakistan - the Jamait-e-Islam. The parent group of the Lashkar-e-Toiba, the Markaz Dawat-Ual Irshad, has reportedly been under consideration by the United States for addition to its list of international terrorist organizations, and has links to the Pakistani government (see November 3rd issue of this bulletin).
The Kashmir Times also reports that a large number of terrorists are waiting to cross over the Line of Control from the Pakistani side. Police recovered 12 kg of RDX explosives from a drain in the RS Pura area. The explosives had been smuggled by Pakistani infiltrators. Elimination of opponents by Pakistan-supported terrorists continued unabated in Kashmir Valley. Terrorists barged into different houses and executed three people. A house was set ablaze by one of the terrorist groups. |
| Friday, November 6, 1998: India, Pakistan to discuss terrorism next week; Sharif-Clinton December meeting set |
|
Peace talks between India and Pakistan will continue into next week (MSNBC News). One of the major items to be discussed will be terrorism, which has affected the Indian state of Jammu and Kashmir for nearly a decade. There is continued and growing evidence of a major role of Pakistan in Kashmiri terrorism.
Meanwhile, Pakistani PM Nawaz Sharif's meeting with Clinton has been set for early December in the US ( Kashmir Times, Times of India ). Terrorism, a major export of Pakistan, may be one of the issues discussed. |
| Thursday, November 5, 1998: Pakistan providing high-tech devices for terrorists in Kashmir |
| A new dimension has been added to the terror in Jammu and Kashmir state
of India. ISI, the Pakistani intelligence
agency which supports, maintains and sustains terrorism in the state,
has now supplied the terrorists with pilotless remote-controlled planes
capable of carrying 1.5 kg of explosives and hitting targets within a 2
km range. Two such devices were recovered from the forests of Rajouri district,
which is very close to the border with Pakistan(Rediff.com).
|
| Thursday, November 5, 1998: Elimination of civilian opponents by terrorists continues in Kashmir |
|
Pakistani-supported terrorists in the Indian state of Jammu and Kashmir continued their decade long tactic of eliminating civilian dissent. A group of terrorists barged into a house in Qazigund and shot dead a local civic leader. The town observed a protest against the senseless killing (Kashmir Times).
|
| Wednesday, November 4, 1998: Massive haul of explosives in Srinagar, violence continues in the state |
|
Reuters reported that the Indian Army recovered 285 kg of explosives from a terrorist hideout in Srinagar. An even larger haul was made last month when over 500 kg of explosives were recovered from a terrorist hideout in north Kashmir. Explosions aimed at civilian targets have been a regular weapon of choice of Pakistan-supported terrorists in the state for the last eight years. Meanwhile, 10 terrorists were among over a dozen people killed during violence in the state yesterday. Two civilians were killed in the crossfire during a shootout between Indian security forces and terrorists in Rajouri district (Kashmir Times). The shootout was initiated by the terrorists and followed a mine explosion set off by them in the area. In their continued campaign to eliminate dissent, Pakistani-supported terrorists dragged a civilian out of his house in Kishtwar town of Doda district and executed him. |
| Tuesday, November 3, 1998: US may declare Pakistani outfit with official ties as a 'terrorist group' |
|
The Times of India reported today that the United States may consider adding another Pakistani fundamentalist outfit, the Markaz Dawat-Ual Irshad, to its list of international terrorist organizations. Markaz Dawat-Ual Irshad is the parent organization of the Lashkar-e-Toiba, a group known to have been one of the most active in terrorism in Jammu and Kashmir state of India. The group is headquartered in Muridke, near Lahore, Pakistan. Lashkar-e-Toiba terrorists were recently involved in a fierce battle with the Indian Army in which eight of the terrorists were killed, including their local commander, Abu Lashkari of Lahore, Pakistan (see November 1st report of this bulletin).
The Times of India also reports contacts between the Markaz group and Pakistan Information Minister Mushaid Hussain, a close confidant of Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif, adding to the mountain of evidence of official Pakistani support of international terrorism. Harkat-ul-Ansar is currently the only Pakistani terrorist group on the official US list of international terrorist organizations. Both the Harkat-ul-Ansar and Lashkar-e-Toiba groups have recently threatened violence against the United States. There are numerous other terrorist groups based in Pakistan that are participating in violence in the Indian state of Jammu and Kashmir, and have been involved in ethnic cleansing of hundreds of thousands of Kashmiri Hindus from the state over the last eight years. |
| Tuesday, November 3, 1998: Terrorists in Kashmir don Indian Army uniforms and kill civilians: kill two birds with one stone? |
|
Pakistani-supported terrorists have been reported as moving around in Jammu and Kashmir state wearing Indian Army uniforms and continuing their violent campaign. Four civilians have been killed recently by disguised terrorists (Tribune India). This accomplishes two goals of the terrorists: continue their reign of terror, intimidation and subjugation of the civilian population of the state, and discredit the Indian Army's attempts to counter terrorist violence and protect the law-abiding residents of the state.
|
| Monday, November 2, 1998: Pakistan may be consumed by its own terrorist-fundamentalist forces: ex-PM Bhutto |
|
In a frank interview with Reuters, former Pakistani Prime Minister Benazir Bhutto revealed that she is concerned about threats of an Islamic takeover by fundamentalist militants being trained in Pakistan to fight with the Taliban and in Kashmir (The Hindu.) It is interesting that Ms. Bhutto has come to such an abrupt realization of this threat. As Prime Minister, Ms. Bhutto led Pakistan during several of the years during which the export of fundamentalist Islam, including sponsorship of terrorism in Kashmir, has been a major instrument of Pakistani foreign policy.
|
| Sunday, November 1, 1998: Lashkar-e-Toiba terrorists killed in battle with Indian Army |
|
In a major battle with the Indian Army, eight terrorists belonging to the Lashkar-e-Toiba (LET) group, were killed in the border Rajouri and Poonch districts of Jammu and Kashmir state (Kashmir Times). One of the terrorists killed was identified as Abu Lashkari of Lahore, Pakistan. It may be noted that the LET is headquartered in Muridke, near Lahore in Pakistan. Abu Lashkari was the local commander of LET and was wanted for killings of civilians in remote villages of Rajouri district over the last several years. The Indian army recovered Pakistani currency as well as a traveler's check issued by the Muslim Commercial Bank of Karachi from the dead terrorists. The fingerprints of Pakistan's sponsorship of terrorism in Jammu and Kashmir are crystal clear. |