News Analysis India

Tag: Pakistan

  • Pakistani intruder arrested along International Border in JK’s Samba

    By PTI
    JAMMU: A 40-year-old Pakistani intruder was arrested by the BSF along the International Border (IB) in Samba district of Jammu and Kashmir early Sunday, officials said here.

    Raja Hamid, a Pakistani national, was taken into custody by Border Security Force (BSF) personnel at Chak Dulma outpost near Ghagwal around 2.30 am, they said.

    The officials said the man was being questioned to ascertain his motive behind crossing the border and entering Indian territory.

    Pakistani intruder arrested along International Border, in Samba on Sunday. (Photo | ANI)”During night hours, the alert BSF troops observed suspicious movement of one Pakistani national who crossed IB but was nabbed ahead of the fencing by the troops,” a BSF spokesperson said in a brief statement.

    On March 16 and February 8, two Pakistani intruders were shot dead by BSF personnel in Ramgarh and Chak Faquira sectors of Samba after they ignored repeated warnings while trying to sneak into the Indian side.

  • Pakistani intruder shot dead by BSF on Jammu border

    By ANI
    SAMBA (Jammu and Kashmir): An intruder from Pakistan was shot dead by the Border Security Force on the international border in the Ramgarh area of Jammu’s Samba district.

    According to top sources in BSF, the incident took place on Tuesday at about 3:55 pm and the intruder was found moving aggressively towards wild growth (sarkanda) while approaching the border fence from the direction of Pakistan’s village Lehri Kalan.

    Sources said the intruder “repeatedly ignored warnings by the BSF, he was shot dead near Malluchak post of the BSF in Ramgarh sub-sector”.

    The BSF personnel recovered Rs 200 in Pakistani currency ( 1 fifty rupee note, 3 twenty rupee notes and 9 ten-rupee notes).

    It is suspected that Pakistani national was not mentally sound.

    His body has been handed over to Ramgarh Police Station for a post mortem.

    The incident comes weeks after both India and Pakistan announced a ceasefire along the Line of Control (LoC) on February 25, after a meeting of the Directors General of Military Operations of the two countries. 

  • Farooq Abdullah pitches for thaw in Indo-Pak relations

    By PTI
    JAMMU: National Conference president Farooq Abdullah on Sunday said the people of Jammu and Kashmir are praying that the recent agreement between India and Pakistan on ceasefire holds as it will bring them some relief.

    Peace is in the larger interest of the region, he said.

    “Hostilities on borders bring only agonies and miseries to the dwellers, halt agriculture and economic activities, and impact the way of life of every segment of society,” Abdullah said while addressing NC workers in Udhampur.

    On February 25, India and Pakistan announced that they have agreed to strictly observe all agreements on ceasefire along the Line of Control (LoC) in Jammu and Kashmir and other sectors “in the interest of achieving mutually beneficial and sustainable peace along the borders”.

    Abdullah, Member of Parliament from Srinagar, said the people of Jammu and Kashmir are praying for the success of this measure as it will bring them some relief.

    Both the countries are spending a substantial portion of their budgets on defence procurement, thus compromising on the welfare of their poor populations, he said.

    Peace is in the larger interest of the region, especially as the people of the two countries have been yearning for good relations, he added.

    Invoking the words of former prime minister Atal Bihari Vajpayee that “you can change your friends but not your neighbours”, Abdullah said either the two countries can grow their friendship and prosper, or continue the enmity but then there will be no prosperity.

    According to a joint statement issued by India and Pakistan on February 25, the two sides reiterated that the existing mechanisms of hotline contact and border flag meetings will be utilised to resolve any unforeseen situation or misunderstanding.

    On the revocation of Article 370 of the Constitution, Abdullah said it is not just a Kashmir-centric issue and much more important for the regions of Jammu and Ladakh.

    The former Jammu and Kashmir chief minister exhorted the NC cadre to reach out to people and work for their betterment.

    The strength of the National Conference comes from the people, who are the real fountainhead of power, which is not to rule but to serve the masses, irrespective of caste, creed, colour and religion, he said.

    Abdullah said people’s massive support for the NC despite numerous challenges reflects their deep faith in the party which has always cherished the pluralistic ethos that has been the force that binds regions and religions.

    “We have to maintain, sustain and promote this spirit for making Jammu and Kashmir a better place to live in,” he said.

  • Desire normal ties with Pakistan, all issues should be resolved bilaterally: MEA

    By PTI
    NEW DELHI: Days after Indian and Pakistani armies agreed to strictly observe all their ceasefire agreements, India on Friday maintained that it desires normal relations with all neighbours, including Pakistan, and asserted all issues between the two countries should be resolved bilaterally and peacefully.

    Following a hotline discussion between the Directors General of Military Operations (DGMOs) of India and Pakistan last month, the two sides agreed to strict observance of all agreements, understandings and ceasefire along the Line of Control (LoC) and all other sectors.

    Asked about the observance of the ceasefire agreement by both sides, Ministry of External (MEA) spokesperson Anurag Srivastava said, “I will direct you to the Ministry of Defence.”

    “India desires normal relations with all its neighbours, including Pakistan. We have consistently maintained that issues, if any, between India and Pakistan should be resolved bilaterally and peacefully. Our position on key issues remains unchanged,” he said.

    India and Pakistan signed a ceasefire agreement in 2003, but it has hardly been followed in letter and spirit over the past several years with more violations than an observance of the pact.

    Indian Army officials have asserted that there would be no let-up in their fight against terrorism or in troops deployment along the borders, following the new commitment that they described as a fresh attempt at peace in the region.

  • India, Pakistan agree for ‘strict observance’ of all LoC agreements

    Express News Service
    NEW DELHI: In a major development, India and Pakistan on Thursday jointly agreed to ‘strictly observance’ of all the agreements between the two countries.

    “Both sides agreed for strict observance of all agreements, understandings and cease firing along the Line of Control and all other sectors with effect from midnight 24/25 February 2021,” both countries stated in a jointly released statement. 

    In the interest of achieving mutually beneficial and sustainable peace along the borders, the two Director Generals of Military Operations (DGMOs) agreed to address each other’s core issues and concerns which have the propensity to disturb the peace and lead to violence.

    BIG BREAKINGPakistan and India have jointly agreed for strict observance of all agreements, understandings and cease firing along the Line of Control and all other sectors with effect from midnight 24/25 Feb 2021. +@NewIndianXpress @TheMornStandard
    — Mayank (@scribesoldier) February 25, 2021

    The DGMOs of India and Pakistan held discussions over the established mechanism of hotline contact. The two sides reviewed the situation along the Line of Control and all other sectors in a free, frank and cordial atmosphere.

    Mentioning the mechanism to be adopted in case of any unforeseen situation, “Both sides reiterated that existing mechanisms of hotline contact and border flag meetings will be utilised to resolve any unforeseen situation or misunderstanding.”

  • Pakistan violates ceasefire along IB in Jammu and Kashmir’s Kathua

    By PTI
    JAMMU: Pakistani Rangers opened fire at forward posts and villages along the International Border (IB) in Jammu and Kashmir’s Kathua district, officials said on Sunday.

    The firing from across the border targeting Border Outpost Bobiya area of Hiranagar sector started around 10:25 pm on Saturday ,drawing strong retaliation from the Border Security Force (BSF), the officials said.

    They said the cross-border firing between the two sides continued till 4:30 am but there was no report of any damage on the Indian side.

    The latest ceasefire violation by Pakistan broke several days of lull in the cross-border firing in the sector and forced the border residents to spend the night in underground bunkers, the officials said.

  • MHA denies permission to 600 Sikh pilgrims planning to visit Pakistan citing security, COVID concerns

    By PTI
    NEW DELHI: The Union Home Ministry Thursday denied permission to 600 Sikh pilgrims intending to visit gurdwaras in Pakistan citing the security and COVID-19 situation in that country, officials said.

    In a communication to the Shiromani Gurdwara Prabandhak Committee (SGPC), the home ministry said that the security situation in Pakistan continues to be adverse and there is a threat to Indian citizens in that country.

    Besides, the COVID-19 pandemic has affected five lakh people in Pakistan and 10,000 people lost their lives due to the disease.

    The health infrastructure in Pakistan is also not adequate, the ministry said.

    It also said that both passenger, as well as trade traffic between India and Pakistan, has stopped since March 2020 due to the pandemic.

    Citing these reasons, the home ministry conveyed to the SGPC that it has decided not to accord permission to the Jatha comprising 600 pilgrims which intended to cross over to Pakistan on Friday.

  • Pakistan asked to take action against perpetrators of atrocities on minorities: Government

    Besides Pakistan, Muraleedharan said there have been reports of violence and harassment against members of minority communities in Bangladesh and Afghanistan as well.

  • Terrorists plan to set up hideouts in Jammu to receive arms from Pakistan: DGP

    DGP Dilbag Singh said he was happy that the police arrested the terrorist on time and the plan was thwarted.

  • Alarm raised after some Kashmiri youths who travelled to Pakistan on valid visa infiltrate with terrorists

    By PTI
    SRINAGAR: Nearly 100 Kashmiri youths, who travelled to Pakistan on valid visas for short durations, have either not come back or have disappeared after their return in last three years, raising an alarm within security agencies which fear that they could be possible sleeper cells of terror groups operating from across the border.

    Alarm bells rang in April last year when a group of five terrorists were killed in jungles of the border area of Handwara in North Kashmir.

    One of them was a local who went to Pakistan in 2018 and had not returned since, various officials from security agencies said.

    Between April one to six of last year, youths hailing from Shopian, Kulgam and Anantnag districts of South Kashmir were seen as part of the infiltrating groups of terrorists and all of them had travelled to Pakistan on valid documents and never returned thereafter, they said.

    Security agencies, along with the immigration officials at Wagah border as well as at the New Delhi airport, have been collecting data of Kashmiri youths who travelled on valid visa for durations ranging more than seven days over the last three years, the officials said.

    The figures were astonishing and in some of the cases it was found that the youths never returned and in others they disappeared after their return, raising speculation that they could have become “sleeper cells”, waiting for instructions from the masters in Pakistan’s snooping agency, ISI, or handlers in terror groups located across the border.

    Kashmiri youths, who travelled to Pakistan even two years back, were called for questioning and a proper analysis of their activities after their return was being carried out by the security agencies, the officials said, adding some inconvenience was caused but precaution was always better than cure.

    Those questioned by the security agencies were asked a valid reason for their travel to Pakistan, the officials said, adding that the background history of all these people was checked and verified at the minutest level.

    While the security agencies believe that there was a six weeks’ training course for new terror recruits, intelligence inputs suggest that some of the youths were provided a quick module of fabrication of improvised explosive devices using easily available explosive material within a week’s time, they said.

    The recruitment of youths for various terror organisations is also being carried out discreetly and it is quite possible these youths could also be doubling as “recruiters” for brain-washing of vulnerable men in the militancy affected union territory.

    The missing youth are mainly from an average middle class and have been described as the new faces of terrorism in Kashmir.

    They could be waiting for delivery of arms and ammunition for all of them which has been substantially been choked due to heightened surveillance at the Line of Control, they said.