NEW DELHI: The Jammu and Kashmir governor, Girish Saxena, said on Nov 13 that though the overall situation was “serious”, the militants had been “contained at the ground level”. The militants are fighting for the secession of Kashmir from India. Saxena, who had another meeting with Prime Minister Chandra Shekhar, his second in two days, said there was some progress towards a political initiative in the state. The governor also had a detailed meeting with the principal secretary to the Prime Minister, BG Desh Sources said the new Janata Dal (S) government is giving the highest priority to tackling militancy in the sensitive border state.
The sources said the government favoured a political initiative in the state while at the same time keeping up the pressure on the proPakistan militants.
The army was on Noy 13 called out to assist paramilitary forces in flushing out militants from Sopore in North Kashmir, while two persons died of suffocation in a fire incident in Bijbehara on Nov 11.
In other incidents, 14 house and 10 electric poles were destroyed in a fire in Kamidajan, Pakherpora, in Badgam district early in the day, while a public school, situated in Narperistan, Pateh Kadal, in downtown spinagar was gutted in another incident Noy 13 that afternoon.
Soldiers and the paramilitary forces carried out housetohouse searches in Sopore to arrest the militants, who attacked several buildings, occupied by the paramilitary forces, Nov 11 that night.
Article extracted from this publication >> November 23, 1990
