India, Militants Clash on Status of Kashmir War
NEW DELHI — India and the Muslim militants battling for control of northern Kashmir gave starkly conflicting signals Saturday about the situation on the ground and the prospects for a truce.
Indian Prime Minister Atal Behari Vajpayee said his forces had dislodged Muslim militant “infiltrators†from most of the areas they occupied and that “remaining pockets†would also be cleared.
“The enemy’s intrusion and aggression in Kargil has now been decisively turned back . . . most pockets have already been cleared,†Vajpayee said in an address to army commanders.
“A turning point has come,†the Press Trust of India quoted Vajpayee as saying.
But some of the guerrillas fighting Indian rule in Kashmir disputed India’s claims of success in its offensive to reclaim strategic heights, and others denied reports that they had agreed to an appeal from Pakistan to withdraw.
India launched an air and ground offensive in May to drive out forces it says include Pakistani regular soldiers holed up in the icy mountains of Kashmir’s Kargil sector.
One of the Muslim militant groups facing the Indian offensives admitted Saturday that it got backup support from the Pakistani army, including covering fire, but denied the military was involved in fighting in India.
“They are in constant communication with us and assist us whenever we need them by shelling Indian positions that target our posts in the hills,†Umer Inqalabi, operational commander of Moujahedeen Al-Badar, said by telephone from the northern town of Skardu.
The Pakistani government says it gives only moral and political support to the guerrillas and describes them as Kashmiri freedom fighters.
Asked if the Pakistani army crossed the Line of Control (LOC) dividing Indian and Pakistani Kashmir, Inqalabi said the military was at pains to avoid doing so.
Ahmad Hamza, a member of the central council of Al-Badar, said “all Indian claims about capture of territory are baseless.â€
He said an Indian army official’s statement Friday that Indian troops had recaptured most of the area in the Batalik sub-sector were false.
Sign up for Essential California
The most important California stories and recommendations in your inbox every morning.
You may occasionally receive promotional content from the Los Angeles Times.
