SRINAGAR, 30 July 2006 — The Indian Army last evening said that the confirmation about Pakistan Army major being killed as an intruder in Gurez sector in north Kashmir needed to be further verified. The army statement last evening has deepened the mystery whether or not the slain intruder had actually been a Pakistan army officer. “The information about a major of Pakistan Army having been shot in Gurez Operation was the initial information based on electronic inputs, which needs to be confirmed,” Indian Army spokesman Lt. Col V.K. Batra told The Arab News here.
“This possible identification of the terrorist killed was given to the police for lodging FIR,” Batra added. It must be recalled that on July 26 three intruders were killed on the Indian side of the Line of Control (LoC) and the defense authorities had on Friday claimed that one of the slain intruders had been identified as Maj. Mohammad Hyder Turkey alias Abu Bilal, a resident of Gujranwala in Pakistan’s Punjab.
The spokesman had claimed that the major was part of the three-member militant group which had crossed the LoC in Gurez sector on July 26 and were on way to the valley when the Indian Army challenged them. The spokesman yesterday said that Turkey was a serving major and belonged to the 9th Balloch battalion of the Pakistan Army.
On Friday, Islamabad scorned Batra’s allegations. “It is absurd and a concocted story aimed at tarnishing the image of Pakistan,” said Pakistan Army spokesman Maj. Gen. Shaukat Sultan. He said India had not used the hot line, which links the two countries’ military officials, to discuss the issue.
In the meantime, the army confirmed the death of the fourth intruder in July 26 Gurez encounter. Batra identified the slain intruder as Usman Mushtaq alias Abu Hajira. Meanwhile, four army troopers were wounded in a militant ambush on a convoy on the strategic Srinagar-Jammu highway yesterday morning.
Police said a convoy of the army was attacked on the Srinagar-Jammu national highway at Chersoo village, 35 km from here by militants who hurled a grenade and later fired from automatic rifles wounding four troopers.
Two of the injured troopers are stated to be in a serious condition. The injured have been evacuated for treatment to Srinagar even as traffic on the highway remained disrupted. Security forces cordoned off the attack site for searches in the area.
The convoy was on its way to Jammu from here this morning. The militant attack came at a time when President A.P.J. Abdul Kalam was on a two-day visit to the state and a general shutdown called by separatist hard-line leader Syed Ali Shah Geelani marred life for the second consecutive day across the valley yesterday. Kalam left for New Delhi this afternoon after his two day visit.
India and Pakistan have observed a cease-fire along their disputed border since November 2003. Both sides maintain border posts all along the Line of Control - the de facto border that splits the Himalayan territory of Kashmir.
