Indian soldier killed in cross-border firing from Pakistan

(RTTNews) – On Monday, an Indian soldier was killed in a firing across the border from Pakistan, the AFP quoted lieutenant colonel Anil Kumar Mathur, a spokesman for the Indian army, as saying.”It was not clear whether the fire was opened by militants trying to sneak into Kashmir or Pakistani troops,” Mathur said.However, viewing the action as a serious violation of a ceasefire, Indian army authorities lodged a strong protest with their Pakistani counterparts. The unprovoked heavy fire started at around 8 a.m. local time on a forward Indian post along the Line of Control in Poonch sector of the Indian border state of Jammu and Kashmir, according to the army officer.He said that Indian troops took up positions, but observed restraint after the fatal shooting of the Gorkha Rifles soldier, who was manning the forward post at the time of firing. The second ceasefire violation along the Indo-Pak border in less than a fortnight comes just ahead of Foreign Secretary-level talks between the two nations in the Pakistani capital of Islamabad to review the fourth round of the composite dialogue process. (RTT news)

Darjeeling safe for tourists: WB

The West Bengal government, which had advised tourists against visiting Darjeeling in the wake of the agitation there by the Gorkha Janmukti Morcha a month ago, on Monday said visitors were now free to go to the hill station once again. “The situation in the hills has improved. The GJM is not going for bandhs now. Tourists can now go there,” Municipal Affairs Minister Ashok Bhattacharya told newsmen. Elected to the Assembly from Siliguri in Darjeeling district, Bhattacharya said Chief Minister Buddhadeb Bhattacharjee had invited GJM for discussions in response to a letter from them. GJM, a breakaway of the Gorkha National Liberation Front (GNLF), has been agitating since the beginning of this year for a separate Gorkhaland. (TOI)

Buddha to begin talks with Morcha

Kolkata, May 19 Chief Minister Buddhadeb Bhattacharjee has agreed to start a dialogue with the Gorkha Janmukti Morcha (JNM), which has put forth its demand of a separate state of Gorkhaland carved out from the hill district of Darjeeling.
“The Morcha leaders have written to the chief minister requesting him to spare some time for talks and the CM has agreed to it,” said Ashok Bhattacharya, Minister for Urban Development.
Bhattacharya, who hails from Siliguri in Darjeeling district, added, “We will have to keep in our mind the interests of all sections concerned while talking about it. And we hope this problem will solved amicably very fast.”
This comes after Chief Minister Bhattacharjee had said that he is ready for talks provided that the Morcha come forward with a request for the same.
The ministry, which had earlier discouraged tourists from travelling to Darjeeling in the wake of brewing tension there, has, meanwhile, withdrawn the warning.
Bhattacharya today said the situation in the hill district is conducive for tourism.
“Earlier, the hills were plagued with problems like bandhs, dharnas and different agitations and tourists used to have a harrowing time there. But now the situation has changed for the better and people can visit Darjeeling once again,” the minister said.
He also said that the Morcha had cancelled its programme of gheraoing the Writers’ Buildings and other agitational programmes in Darjeeling. (Expressindia)