3 soldiers injured; IGP says Walid was among 12 wanted commanders

Srinagar, July 17:  A top Jash-e-Mohammad militant commander known to be an IED expert was among three militants killed in the gunfight with a joint team of police, army and CRPF in Kulgam district on Friday, Director General of Police Dilbag Singh said.

The top police officer also said that the militant commander had escaped previously from four encounters, leaving behind a MO4 American rifle in one instance.

While three militants were killed, as many army soldiers were injured in the gunfight at Nagnad Chimmer area of the Kulgam district, the DGP told GNS.

“The operation was launched in the wee hours this morning on a credible input by Kulgam Police along with local Army (9 RR) and CRPF units,” he said.

He said that three army soldiers injured during the encounter were evacuated to army hospital.

“The killed (militants) are from Jaish-e-Mohammed and reportedly include a top (militant) commander known to be an IED expert. (He) was responsible for a large number of attacks including many IED attempts against security forces in the recent past,” he said, adding, “He was reportedly able to escape from 3/4 encounters, leaving behind an MO 4 American rifle in one case.”

Inspector general of Police Vijay Kumar told a presser here that top commander among the list of 12 most wanted militants.

Identifying him as a Pakistani national Walid, he said that militate was an IED expert.

“As per Police records, Walid was involved in several militant attacks including civilian atrocities. He was involved in the killing of four civilians in Kulgam. He was also involved in luring innocent youth to join militant ranks.”

Earlier when the joint team encircled the suspected spot, the hiding militants fired upon them. The fire was retaliated by the joint team, triggering off an encounter.

“On a specific input generated by Kulgam Police regarding presence of (militants) in village Nagnad-Chimmer area of Kulgam, a joint cordon and search operation was launched by JKP, 9RR and 18Bn CRPF in the said area,” a police spokesperson said.

During the search operation as the presence of militant got ascertained they were given opportunity to surrender. However they fired indiscriminately upon the joint search party, which was retaliated leading to an encounter, he said.

The identification of the other slain militants was being ascertained, he said.

Meanwhile, bodies of the killed militants has been sent to Handwara for their last rites and it was done after conducting medico-legal formalities including collection of their DNA, officials said.

>Over 2 lakh houses to be built over the next few years

>Roll out of Excise Policy 2020-21 approved

> Special dispensation approved for regulating construction in ‘Strategic Areas’

Precious Kashmir News

SRINAGAR, JULY 17:  The Administrative Council (AC), which met here under the chairmanship of Lieutenant Governor, G C Murmu, accorded sanction to the proposal of Housing & Urban Development Department for adoption and notification of J&K Housing, Affordable Housing, Slum Redevelopment and Rehabilitation and Township Policy, 2020.

The policy envisages seven models of housing, ranging from in-situ slum redevelopment to integrated township, to cater to the need of every section of society.

The new policy aims at promoting public-private-partnerships for affordable housing and slum rehabilitation projects and provides platform for operation and maintenance of integrated/ special townships in a cooperative manner. It further proposes minimum relocation of existing slum dwellers so as to maintain sanctity of existing economic and social linkages developed over a period of time in these informal settlements.

Additionally, the policy also includes provisions for fast track approvals of housing in Economically Weaker Section (EWS) and Low Income Group (LIG) categories. Besides, it provides for their incentivization in the form of exemptions from building permit fee, land use conversion and external development charges.

The policy also aims to provide Rental Housing in which EWS families will be given dwelling unit on license basis for occupation and use for a particular period on making initial deposit and monthly charges.

The policy has been approved under the broader vision of meeting the growing requirement for affordable housing, slum redevelopment and rehabilitation and rental housing, for which an initial target has been set for construction of 1 Lac dwelling units over the next 5 years.

Roll out of Excise Policy 2020-21 approved

The Administrative Council (AC)also approved the roll out of Excise Policy for the year 2020-21 and implementation of policy measures to improve transparency and objectivity related to renewal, cancellation, transfer of licenses and penalties.

The new policy aims to rationalize the number of taxes, duties and other levies to optimize revenues for common good, and bring about greater social consciousness about the harmful effects of consumption of liquor and alcoholic beverages.

The policy envisages checking bootlegging of Bottled in Origin (BiO) brands from neighbouring states, besides providing choice of brands and a level playing field to those in the business.

Under this year’s policy, the Department has specified fixed number of licenses/ licensed zones for Ex-servicemen, specially-abled persons, SC/ST/OBC and people belonging to economically weaker sections as per the criteria to be notified separately.

Further, the License Fee structure has also been revisited in the Draft Policy. A fixed component of ‘Annual License Fee’ has also been introduced, whereas, the existing per bottle license fee has been revised on higher side as ‘Additional License Fee’.

The Excise Policy for the year 2019-20 was extended till June, 2020 in the wake of COVID-19 pandemic and now stands expired.

Special dispensation approved for regulating construction in ‘Strategic Areas’

The Administrative Council (AC)  also gave its nod to the proposal of amending the Control of Building Operations Act, 1988 and the J&K Development Act, 1970 to provide for special dispensation for carrying out construction activities in Strategic Areas.

The amendments proposed by Housing & Urban Development Department will pave way for notifying certain areas as “strategic areas” in terms of the requirement of armed forces and in such areas, the regulation of construction activity shall be through a special dispensation. The move is aimed at simplifying the procedures and shall facilitate time bound development of infrastructure of strategic importance.

The approval has been granted keeping in view the strategic importance of certain locations and reconciling their security needs with developmental aspirations.

Stamp duty on fresh loans waived; surcharge on fixed charge for power waived; amnesty scheme/filing of GST returns extended;  Interest subvention proposal being prepared

Precious Kashmir News
Srinagar, July 17: To tackle the slowdown of economy due to COVID-19 pandemic, the Administrative Council (AC) which met here under the chairmanship of Lieutenant Governor, G C Murmu, in a focused policy intervention aimed to address concerns amongst various stake holders, approved a relief package to revive the economy.

Earlier, the Union Government rolled out a 20 lakh crore package under the umbrella of ‘Atmanirbhar Bharat Abhiyan’, sharply focusing MSMEs, priority sectors and vulnerable segments. However, the Jammu and Kashmir Government felt a need to consider similar hand holding measures for sectors/borrowers not covered under the Central Government package.

In order to clear the backlog of sales tax/VAT arrears under the relief package, the Amnesty scheme has been extended upto 31st, October, 2020. Whereas, the date of filing of re-imbursement claims (GST returns/claims) for the period from January to March, 2020 has been extended to 15th October, 2020 and for the period April to June, 2020 to 15th November, 2020.

In a normal course, the Industrial units claiming GST re-imbursement on supply of goods during inter-state movement were required to get the relevant electronic way bills stamped and verified by the consignee. However, considering the issues due to COVID-19 pandemic, self attestation of claimants has been enabled and scanned copies of such documents verified by the consignee and attested by the claimants with a post dated cheque shall be accepted for re-imbursement for a  period of 6 months.

To enable smooth transition out of the pandemic driven economic shock, under the relief package, the surcharge leviable on the fixed charges of all the industrial/commercial establishments in J&K for the period 31st March, 2020 to 31st October, 2020 shall be borne by the government.

Stamp duty on fresh lending under the GoI’s/ J&K Government’s package shall also be waived off under the relief package so that the cost of lending is reduced.

Moreover, the Administrative Council directed Finance Department to come up with a proposal for interest subvention for currently operating establishments, in consultation with Industries & Commerce Department. Industries Department was also directed to implement the policy of preference for local manufacturers in procurement through an appropriate mechanism.

Leh, July 17:  Asserting that not even an inch of Indian land can be taken by any world power in the world, Defence Minister Rajnath Singh on Friday said that befitting reply will be given to anyone, who tries to hurt the self-respect of the country.

“The talks are underway… whatever progress has happened so far, the issue (border dispute between India and China) should be resolved. But to what extent it can be resolved, I cannot guarantee. I can assure you, not one inch of our land can be taken by any power in the world,” Mr Singh said while addressing troops of Army and the Indo-Tibetan Border Police at Lukung post near Pangong Lake in the Union Territory of Ladakh.

“If solution can be found by talks, there is nothing better,” he added.

The Defence Minister said India is the only country in the world that has given the message of peace to the whole world. “We have never invaded any country nor have we occupied the land of any other country. India has given the message of Vasudhaiva Kutumbakam (The World is One Family),” he said.

Advocating for peace, he said India has never wanted unrest and has never tried to hurt the self-respect of any other country.

However, he said if anyone tries to hurt the self-respect of India it will not be tolerated in any case and a befitting reply would be given.

The Defence Minister said that the whole nation was proud of India Army. “Recently what happened between troops of India and China at PP14… Our soldiers have sacrificed their lives for the nation for that 130 crore Indians are indebted to them. We all are pained by their sacrifices,” he said.

Singh said that he is proud to be among the company of the Indian soldiers. “I am happy to meet you all but also saddened because of loss of lives recently at LAC. I pay my tributes to them,” he added.

Lauding Narendra Modi, he said the Indian leadership is strong as it has a Prime Minister who takes prompt decisions.

The Defence Minister also paid tribute to the martyrdom of the soldiers in the Kargil war. “If we are standing in Ladakh today, then on this day, I also pay tribute to the brave soldiers who guarded the borders of India with their lives in the Kargil war,” he added.

Singh, who arrived in Ladakh along with Chief of Defence Staff General Bipin Rawat and Army Chief General MM Naravane in the morning, interacted with Indian Army and ITBP personnel at Lukung.

Meanwhile, the Defence Minister also witnessed troops of the Armed Forces carried out para dropping exercise at Stakna forward post this morning. The Defence minister also witnessed scoping weapons.

Asks troops to plug infiltration, clean militancy from Kashmir

Abid Bashir

Srinagar, July 17:  All the security agencies are doing a commendable job in Kashmir especially on the anti-militancy front and the synergy maintained by the different security agencies deserves all applauds but it’s high time to use all technical support to plug infiltration completely and to clean Kashmir from the remaining militants by continue to zero collateral damage mantra during anti-militancy operations, Defence Minister Rajnath Singh told top army, police and other officers from the security grid of Kashmir in a high level security review meeting in Srinagar.

The meeting, according to KNO was attended by the Chief of Defence Staff General Bipin Rawat, army chief MM Narvane, GoC 15 Corps Lieutenant General B S Raju, DGP Dilbagh Singh, CRPF special DG Zulfikar Hassan. J&K LG G C Murmu, Chief Secretary B V R Subramanyam besides a galaxy of officers from the civil administration also attended the meeting.

A top security officer said that the Defence Minister hailed the efforts put in by the security agencies including army, police and the CRPF on the anti-militancy front and praised all the agencies for maintaining synergy and conducting clean operations against militants.

“The Defence Minister asked the security top brass to continue anti-militancy operations at the same pace and ensure all the remaining militants are killed and at the same time infiltration is plugged on all routes in J&K,” the officer revealed.

He said the Defence Minister directed the troops to use all modern means including latest technical support to plug infiltration and ensure no militant manages to sneak in to “Indian territory.” “He also asked the security officials to involve youth in developmental activities of the UT and provide a helping hand to the people in the challenging times of Covid-19,” the official said, adding that Singh also stressed on cleaning remaining militants from Kashmir soil and making the “region an abode of peace and tranquility for which it was known earlier.”

Earlier, at the Army’s Srinagar-based 15 Corps headquarters, the Defence Minister was given a power-point presentation on the infiltration status and the progress made on the anti-militancy front. The 15 Corps commander Lt Gen B S Raju and DGP Dilbag Singh briefed the Defence Minister on the prevailing security scenario in J&K, especially Kashmir. Sources privy to the meeting said that Singh was also apprised about the killing of top commanders of various outfits including Hizbul Muajhideen, Jaish-e-Muhammad and Lashkar-e-Toiba.

In a statement Defence Spokesman in Srinagar, Colonel Rajesh Kalia said that  the Defence Minister was briefed in detail about the situation on the Line of Control, in the hinterland and successful anti-militancy operations. “The Defence Minister stated that the country was proud of the valour and patriotic spirit of the soldiers.

He urged all to continue to work hard to ensure security both on the Line of Control and in the hinterland,” the defence spokesman said, adding that the Defence Minister also impressed upon the commanders to maintain strict vigil along the Line of Control and remain prepared to give a befitting reply to “any misadventure by the adversary.”

Srinagar, Jul 17 : A top Army commander on Friday said that there are credible inputs that suggest that militants are planning to target Amarnath yatra on Srinagar-Jammu National Highway.

However, Brigadier VS Thakur, Commander, 2 Sector said that security forces are fully prepared to foil any attempt by militants to disrupt the annual pilgrimage, which will commence from July 21.

“We have received inputs that militants are planning to target Amarnath Yatra somewhere on the stretch of national highway. This stretch is a bit sensitive. We are all prepared to foil the militant designs and to ensure smooth conduct of the pilgrimage,” Brigadier Thakur told reporters during a press conference in south Kashmir district of Kulgam.

He said there are around 100 active militants in south Kashmir of which about 25 to 30 are foreigners. “Also, there are reports that few individuals are missing and since Pakistan continues to push in militants into this side, the number (of active militants) could be on the higher side,” he added.

This year’s 42-day-long Amarnath yatra was scheduled to begin on June 23 but the duration of the annual pilgrimage was cut-down to only 14 days between July 21 and August 3 following outbreak of COVID-19 pandemic.

M S Nazki  

Poonch, July 17: Three members of a family were killed in alleged ceasefire violation by Pakistan along the Line of Control in Poonch district of Jammu on Friday evening.

Official sources told GNS a shell landed on the house of one Mohammad Rafiq in Karmara village adjacent to LoC in which the 58-year-old owner, his wife Rafia Bi (50) and son Irfan (15) died on the spot. One person was also injured and he has been hospitalized, they said.

SSP Poonch Ramesh Angral confirmed to GNS the killing of the trio.

“At about 2120 hours, Pakistan initiated unprovoked ceasefire violation by firing with Small Arms & shelling with Mortars along LoC in Gulpur sector.  Army retaliated,” an army official said.

New Delhi, July 17 : Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Friday pitched for United Nations reform in the contemporary world and said that India firmly believes that the path to achieve sustainable peace and prosperity is through multilateralism.

In his maiden address to the high-level segment of the United Nations’ Economic and Social Council (ECOSOC) since India was elected as a non-permanent member of the United Nations Security Council (UNSC) in June this year, the Prime Minister said, “As children of planet Earth, we must join hands to address our common challenges and achieve our common goals. However, multilateralism needs to represent the reality of the contemporary world.”

He also stated that only reformed multilateralism with a reformed United Nations at its center can meet the aspirations of humanity.

Further, he added that “While celebrating 75 years of the United Nations, let us pledge to reform the global multilateral system. To enhance its relevance, to improve its effectiveness, and to make it the basis of a new type of human-centric globalisation.”

On Covid-19 pandemic, he said that the United Nations was originally born from the furies of the Second World War. “Today, the fury of the pandemic provides the context for its rebirth and reform. Let us not lose this chance.”

PM Modi further said that India will play its role in full support in carrying forward the UN agenda.

“India has been elected to the United Nations Security Council at this very important time. With our deep commitment to maintaining global harmony, to improving socio-economic equity and to preserving nature’s balance, India will play its role in full support of the UN agenda,” he said.

PM Modi also reiterated India’s active support to the UN’s Development work and ECOSOC.

During his address, he said, “The first president of ECOSOC was an Indian. India also contributed to shaping the ECOSOC agenda.”

During his 14-minute address, the Prime Minister also said, “Be it earthquakes, cyclones, Ebola crisis or any other natural or man-made crisis, India has responded with speed and solidarity. In our joint fight against COVID, we have extended medical and other assistance to over 150 countries.”

He went on to mention India’s initiative to set up the International Solar Alliance and the Coalition for Disaster Resilience Infrastructure.