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Border firing, propaganda increases on eve of Clinton's visit

Josy Joseph in New Delhi

Firing across the Indo-Pakistan in Kashmir intensified on the eve of US President Bill Clinton's visit and Pakistan stepped up its propaganda.

There has been heavy shelling all over the LoC by Pakistan, Indian army sources said. According to them, several civilian buildings in the Uri sector have been damaged in shelling in the last few days. Indian army officials admitted they were responding "adequately".

And in a statement issued last evening in Washington, the Pakistan embassy termed Kashmir a nuclear flashpoint.

Defence Minister George Fernandes on Friday told CNN that he is in possession of intelligence inputs showing that the Pakistan army has cancelled Id leave for soldiers posted along LoC. The Indian army, which is on high alert, has also imposed some restrictions on leave for soldiers posted along the LoC.

He said that there was considerable activity by the Pakistan army on the northern sector, including digging of bunkers, and other construction activity.

"It needs no emphasis that the situation along the 740-km LoC and the 110-km Siachen glacier is very tense," Fernandes said.

The firing from across Uri began on Thursday night and continued for hours. In the last few days, there have been several civilian casualties, which has heightened tension along the LoC, army sources said.

As the tension mounted along LoC the Pakistan embassy in Washington issued a statement, 'Embassy of Pakistan Backgrounder on Kashmir for President Clinton's Visit to South Asia', where it called Kashmir a "disputed territory" at "nuclear flashpoint".

The statement claims, "Neither the United States nor the United Nations recognizes Indian sovereignty over Kashmir. They consider it a disputed territory.

"Pakistan contends that Kashmir was stolen from Pakistan in an unfair 1947 treaty, concluded as the two nations gained independence from British Colonial rule. Pakistan maintains that Kashmir's status must be resolved by plebiscite under United Nations supervision."

The Pak embassy said that in 1947, "Britain gave the princely states of British India, including Kashmir, an option to join either India or Pakistan. State governments made their decisions based on geography, demography, and proximity to India and Pakistan. Kashmir faced a unique situation, with a Hindu maharaja ruling a population made up of over 75 per cent Muslims.

"In an effort to alter Kashmir's demographic makeup, the Hindu maharaja relocated thousands of Hindus from other Indian states into Kashmir to ensure that Kashmir favours Indian rule."

Main of Pakistan's claims in this respect are known:

"