Jammu & State Assembly to commence its budget session from February 28; Cross-LoC bus service resumed; Army questions the relevance of United Nations Military Observer Group in India and Pakistan (UNMOGIP) on LoC; BSF sets up board to ensure no tunnel on
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    • JANUARY 28 - FEBRUARY 3

    Reports noted that the budget session of the Jammu & Kashmir legislature is set to commence by the end of next month, as the Governor NN Vohra on January 28 summoned both houses of the legislature from February 28. 1

    In another development, according to reports, amid emotionally charged atmosphere, 138 people on January 28 exchanged sides as the cross-LoC bus service between divided parts of J&K resumed at Chakan-da-Bagh, Poonch, after a fortnight-long suspension due to Indo-Pak skirmishes. 2

    According to reports, Indian Army on January 30 said that the relevance of the UN Military Observer Group on the LoC in Jammu and Kashmir is questionable in the aftermath of the 1972 Simla agreement. Army spokesperson Colonel J Dahiya said
    this in a statement while reacting to a media report which suggested that Pakistan Army had filed complaints with the UNMOGIP that Indian Army troops had beheaded Pakistani soldiers on many occasions in the last 15 years. UNMOGIP observers have been stationed at the ceasefire line between India and Pakistan in Jammu and Kashmir since 1949 and supervise the ceasefire between the two neighbours. 3

    According to reports, after detection of a 400-mt tunnel at the Indo-Pak border, BSF has set up a high-level board for meticulous scanning of the international boundary to rule out existence of such underground passages. 4

    In other developments, reports noted that the Union Ministry of Home Affairs (MHA) has asked the Jammu and Kashmir Government to go for a detailed review of the security of separatist leaders in Kashmir. The Government has also been asked to offer security to the separatist leaders who have denied the cover so far. While most of the separatist leaders have been provided with lower-rung security cover, some of the important have been given the Z-security in 2004 after they started a dialogue with the Government of India over Kashmir issue. According to MHA official the review of security would be based on threat perception assessment. 5

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