DATE=7/31/2000
TYPE=CORRESPONDENT REPORT
TITLE=INDIA - KASHMIR (L-O) UPDATE
NUMBER=2-264979
BYLINE=JIM TEEPLE
DATELINE=NEW DELHI
CONTENT=
VOICED AT:
///// UPS CASUALTY NUMBERS. /////
INTRO: Separatist militants in Indian-administered
Kashmir have attacked an Army camp, killing
six soldiers and wounding seven others. The incident
comes just days after one leading separatist group and
the Indian army declared a cease-fire. V-O-A's Jim
Teeple reports from New Delhi.
TEXT: The Pakistan-based militant group, Lakshar-e-
Toiba claimed responsibility for the attack which took
place late Sunday on an army transit camp at Bandipora
- about 70-kilometers from Srinigar, the summer
capital of India's Jammu and Kashmir state.
A spokesman for the group says the attack was in
retaliation for a cease-fire declared last week by
another militant group Hezbul-Mujahadeen - the largest
such group fighting Indian forces in Kashmir.
The cease-fire declared last week by Hezbul-Mujahadeen
caught both Indian security forces and political
leaders in New Delhi by surprise. Indian army
commanders in Kashmir quickly agreed to match the
cease-fire offer and army officials say since then
there has been no fighting between their forces and
militants belonging to Hezbul-Mujahadeen.
Commodore Uday Bhaskar is an active duty Indian Navy
officer and the Deputy Director of the Institute for
Defense Studies and Analysis in New Delhi. Commodore
Bhaskar, who closely follows the Kashmir question,
says other militant groups might actually increase
their attacks because of the cease-fire.
// BHASKAR ACT //
It is a very tangled picture. It is embedded in
layers of history and competing interests.
There are many militant-cum terrorist groups
that are operating. The offer made by Hizbul-
Mujahadeen to have a cease-fire for three-months
is something that has caused a fair amount of
consternation and dismay among a large number of
militant groups.
// END ACT //
// OPT // An estimated 30-thousand people have died
over the past decade in separatist violence in
Kashmir. Tensions over the region also brought India
and Pakistan to the brink of war last year after armed
guerrillas crossed into Indian Kashmir from Pakistan
to occupy strategic mountain peaks in the Kargil
region of the state. The fighters only withdrew after
Pakistan asked them to. Pakistan's request followed
intense U-S pressure on then Prime Minister Nawaz
Sharif. // END OPT //
There are conflicting reports about whether Hizbul
Mujahadeen plans to send negotiators to talk with
Indian officials about joining talks aimed at
achieving a lasting peaceful solution in Kashmir.
Hizbul commanders say no talks can take place unless
India agrees to allow Pakistan to join the discussions
- something Indian officials have ruled out.
India has agreed to hold talks with separatist
political leaders in Kashmir and in recent days senior
Indian officials say the talks can take place without
any pre-conditions. (SIGNED)
NEB/JT/RAE
31-Jul-2000 10:28 AM EDT (31-Jul-2000 1428 UTC)
NNNN
Source: Voice of America
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