A rchive Date
[ 16-12-2002 ]
Category
[ International Relations ]
sub-Categoy
[ India ]
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[http://cnews.canoe.ca/CNEWS/World/2002/12/14/7316-ap.html
Missile found at militant hideout in Kashmir
By MUJTABA ALI AHMAD
Sat, December 14, 2002
SRINAGAR, India (AP) - Indian soldiers discovered a Pakistani surface-to-air missile at a suspected militant hideout on the Indian side of divided Kashmir - the first such find in 13 years, the military said Saturday.
The heat-seeking missile was found Friday in the border district of Kupwara, the Indian army said in a statement. The area is near the ceasefire line that divides the disputed Himalayan territory of Kashmir between India and Pakistan.
"The missile has clear Pakistani army markings, which is evidence of the clear involvement of Pakistan in supporting militancy in Kashmir," the statement said.
India has long accused Islamabad of proving arms and training to Islamic militants fighting India's rule. Pakistan says it only gives ideological support to the rebels - whom it considered "freedom fighters" - and not weapons.
Pakistani military officials dismissed India's claim.
"India is again levelling baseless allegations against us just to divert the attention of the international community from the real problem, but we are sure the world community is aware of these tactics," Pakistan military spokesman Gen. Rashid Quereshi said in Islamabad.
The 15-kilogram missile, with a 10-kilogram warhead, was wrapped in plastic and buried in the Mallarpur Forest, a senior Indian officer said on condition of anonymity. It could be used to attack aircraft, he said, adding that it was labelled "ANZA MK 1."
Other ammunition and weapons were also found at the site, the officer said.
According to British military journal Jane's Defence Weekly, the Anza Mark 1 missile is manufactured in Pakistan. It has a maximum range of 4.2 kilometres and a speed of 500 metres per second.
The missile was uncovered near the village of Dhrugmulla, possibly ahead of an operation by Islamic guerrillas sneaking into Kashmir through the mountains, another Indian officer said.
Since 1989, rebels have been fighting for either a merger with Islamic Pakistan or independence for Kashmir, the only Muslim-majority state in predominantly Hindu India.
The two nuclear-armed South Asian rivals have fought two wars over Kashmir since gaining independence from Britain in 1947.
Also Saturday in Kashmir, a paramilitary group killed three men identified as members of the Pakistan-based Lashkar-e-Tayyaba militant group, group commander Ramesh Kumar said.
The three men began firing at security forces from a bus that was stopped at Verinag, about 100 kilometres south of Srinagar, the summer capital of the state. They were killed in the ensuing gunbattle, Kumar said.
 World Fact Book (CIA)]
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