According to The Daily Telegraph, Britons, mostly of Pakistani origin, are said to have arrived in Pakistan recently and ``are receiving military training in the camps run by Islamic militant groups involved in the guerrilla war inside the Indian-controlled sector.''

The paper quotes a spokesman for Lashkar-e-Toiba Abdullah Muntazir as saying: ``We have Muslim volunteers from all over the world coming to join the jihad.'' He is reported to have told the paper that his organisation had set up 2,200 camps in Pakistan ``for fresh recruits who are ready to join fighting across the line of control (LoC).''

Muntazir added that although most of the fighters came from Punjab and the North-West Frontier Province, ``a large number of our fighters have come from the Afghan province of Nuristan.''

According to Jason Burke, writing in TheIndependent, the Lahore headquarters of Harkat-al-Mujahideen houses the volunteers awaiting transport to the Line of Control. Burke writes: ``When I was there two months ago a man called Abu Bakr -- the group's local organiser -- said I had missed meeting a group of German recruits by only a few hours. He said six British nationals of Pakistani origin were also fighting the Indians with his organisation.''

According to Burke, ``There are recruits from almost every country with a substantial Muslim population, from Canada to Chechnya.'' Many of the fighters, he said, are mercenary:``The going rate for a three-month tour of duty in Kashmir is between œ 1,000 and 3,000.''

According to Burke's report the Lashkar-e-Toiba -- based in Muridke, near Lahore -- supplies the largest number of fighters and ``is known to have strong links with Pakistan's Inter-Services Intelligence (ISI).''

The Telegraph said: ``At least four other Pakistani-backed militant groups are mobilising Islamic warriors to takepart in the fighting.''

It said that 14 groups formed into an alliance, calling itself the United Jihad Council and with its headquarters in Muzaffarabad, claimed to have launched fresh attacks against Indian forces and said they were still in control of strategic positions they had captured. Syed Shahabuddin, chairman of the council, told the paper: ``They have not allowed the Indians to advance even an inch in Kargil sector despite artillery fire and aerial bombings.''

The paper said that according to militant sources, ``the Muslim fighters are equipped with sophisticated weapons, including shoulder-held surface-to-air missiles and infra-red guided missiles.'' It said that although the groups are silent on the sources of their arms, it is believed they received them from Pakistan.

Sarfarosh exempted from entertainment taxNEW DELHI: The Delhi Government today exempted the film Sarfarosh, based on the Inter-Services Intelligence involvement in insurgency, from entertainmenttax.

The film, based on a story of arms smuggling from across the border, has been exempted from tax for three months in Delhi with immediate effect, an official release said.