POONCH: When only four days left for the first phase of polling in the two Lok Sabha seats in Jammu and Kashmir, Pakistani troops, intensified their firing along the Line of Actual Control (LAC), forcing the administration to shift a number of polling stations to safer places in Poonch and Rajouri sectors.
Highly placed official sources said that eight polling stations were shifted in Balakot and Havel areas of Poonch, district alone: Panjni Sohala, Baruti, Bagial Dara and Chalas, the sources said that these booths were moved to Places away from the reach of Pakistani bullets. Similar steps were taken in the Rajouri sector also, a senior official said.
Confirming an increase in the incidents of Pakistani firing on the Indian side, a defence spokesman said that this was a ploy to push in armed militants to disrupt the polls. The Indian Army was fully prepared to foil their attempts, Candidates may not form up at the polling stations in the border areas,” he added.
Meanwhile, Pakistan has intensified its anti-poll propaganda to dissuade people from participating in the polls.
Senior administrative officials said that the Inter-Services Intelligence (ISI) was using loudspeakers fitted atop mosques along the LAC for its anti-India propaganda. This was also confirmed by senior Army officers, who said that appeals for poll boycott were being made through mosques on the other side of the border five times a day.
Pointing out that these appeals were easily audible on the Indian side, Deputy Commissioner, Poonch, Mohammad Aslam Qureshi, said that the Pakistanis have even issued a: threat to Mir Poonch, who has beer: canvassing for the official Congress nominee, Manga tram Sharma, in the border areas of Poonch district.
Article extracted from this publication >>May 8, 1996
