Muzaffarabad Sep 21 : The United Jihad Council, an alliance of Kashmiri militant groups, on Tuesday dismissed India’s claim of killing eight alleged infiltrators in Uri sector as a “pack of lies” aimed at “diverting the world attention from the worst-ever atrocities unleashed by India on Kashmiris.”
“It’s a fabricated story to hoodwink and mislead Indian population on the one hand and the international community on the other, amid unrelenting repression in the held territory,” said Syed Sadaqat Hussain, the spokesperson of the UJC. The alliance brings together over a dozen militant groups fighting Indian rule in Kashmir.
Earlier in the day, a senior Indian army officer claimed that his soldiers had shot dead at least eight members of a group of intruders trying to cross into the Indian territory around Uri.
Indian army’s 12-Brigade headquarters, where 18 soldiers were killed in Sunday’s attack, is also based in Uri.
The UJC spokesman questioned the veracity of Indian claim on the basis of “logic”
“Already a heavily militarised area Uri has seen increased military concentration after Sunday’s attack. In the presence of such a tight security apparatus, how can anyone infiltrate from across the Line of Control,” he said.
Terming it a fake encounter, the UJC spokesman said Indian army’s history was “replete with such fake encounters.”
“In fact, all those alleged intruders were innocent Kashmiri detainees facing unlawful incarceration in different prisons and interrogation centres. They were brought there and gunned down to compensate the indignity and embarrassment Indian troops earned on Sunday,” he added.
Meanwhile, rejecting Indian claims of ceasefire violation in Uri sector on Tuesday, official sources said there had not been any firing from the Pakistani side of the restive Line of Control (LoC).
“There is no truth in Indian allegations… There was no fire from the Pakistani side,” the sources told this reporter.
However, sources confirmed that both sides were on alert and strengthening their positions.
“Obviously we cannot take their (India’s) threat lightly… Our troops are fully prepared to thwart any misadventure,” the sources said.
Residents along the LoC were somehow worried, fearing that a further flare in tensions could push them back to the pre-2003 nightmarish conditions, when cross border skirmishes and subsequent civilian casualties were order of the day.
However, the wave of fear notwithstanding, there was no change in their routine.
Shops in Chakothi bazaar, which is overlooked by Indian gun positions on lofty mountains across the divide, were open on Tuesday and so were the educational institutions in the whole area along the
LoC.
Even the cross-LoC bus service ferried passengers across the divide through Chakothi-Uri crossing point in the same area on Monday.
In Neelum valley that straddles the unmarked dividing line towards the northeast of Muzaffarabad, situation was also calm.
“There are no unusual scenes in our area… Even the traffic is also plying normally,” said Abdul Hafeez, a resident of Neelum valley.
Neelum valley had also suffered the worst losses in Indian shelling prior to the 2003 ceasefire...