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Kashmir car bomb blast: India demands Pakistan act against militants


Kahsmir blast

Indian soldiers examine the debris after an explosion in Lethpora in south Kashmir's Pulwama district on February 14, 2019 Reuters


The Pakistan-based Islamist militant group Jaish-e-Mohammad (JeM) claimed responsibility for the attack
A suicide bomber rammed a car into a bus carrying Indian paramilitary police in Kashmir on Thursday, killing 44 of them in the deadliest attack in decades on security forces in the disputed region, raising tensions with arch foe Pakistan.
The Pakistan-based Islamist militant group Jaish-e-Mohammad (JeM) claimed responsibility for the attack. The Indian government accused Pakistan of letting militant groups operate from its soil and called on it to take action.
Islamabad said it rejected the suggestion it was linked to the attack.
Kashmir is a Muslim-majority region at the heart of decades of hostility between India and Pakistan. The neighbors both rule parts of the region while claiming the entire territory as theirs.
The explosion targeting a convoy of the Central Reserve Police Force (CRPF) was heard from several miles away, according to witnesses. Mohammad Yunis, a journalist who reached the site minutes later, told Reuters he saw blood and body parts scattered along a 100-meter stretch of the main highway running through the Indian state of Jammu and Kashmir.
"We demand that Pakistan stop supporting terrorists and terror groups operating from their territory and dismantle the infrastructure operated by terrorist outfits to launch attacks in other countries," the Indian foreign ministry said in a statement, hours after the attack.
Pakistan's Ministry of Foreign Affairs called the attack a matter of "grave concern". But in a brief statement early on Friday it added, "We strongly reject any insinuation by elements in the Indian government and media circles that seek to link the attack to the State of Pakistan without investigations."
Islamabad has previously denied New Delhi's accusations that it gives material help to the militants fighting Indian rule in Muslim-majority Kashmir. It says it gives only moral and diplomatic support to the Kashmiri people in their struggle for self-determination.
The White House urged Pakistan in a statement "to end immediately the support and safe haven provided to all terrorist groups operating on its soil". It said the attack strengthens US resolve to step up counter-terrorism cooperation with India.
Television images showed a mangled car amid rubble and snow around the site. Reuters photos showed tens of policemen surveying damaged vehicles and one policeman was seen carrying a plastic cover with guns inside.
The death toll stood at 44, a senior police official said.
The Central Reserve Force Police is a paramilitary organization that is working with the Indian military to quell the 30-year insurgency in Kashmir.
"I strongly condemn this dastardly attack. The sacrifices of our brave security personnel shall not go in vain," Prime Minister Narendra Modi said in a tweet.
Indian forces have sporadically battled Islamist militants in mountainous Kashmir since an armed revolt in 1989 in which tens of thousands were killed, but car bombings are rare.
A video circulating on social media on Thursday purportedly featured the suicide bomber, and showed a young man holding a gun and threatening more attacks. Reuters was not able to independently verify the authenticity of the video.
The Indian foreign ministry accused the Pakistani government of giving the militant group Jaish a free run in Pakistan, saying it has allowed the group's leader, Masood Azhar, "to operate and expand his terror infrastructure in territories under the control of Pakistan and to carry out attacks in India and elsewhere with impunity".
The last major attack in Kashmir was in 2016 when militants raided an Indian army camp in Uri, killing 20 soldiers.
Tension with Pakistan rose after that incident when New Delhi said the attackers had come from Pakistan to stage the assault. Pakistan denied any involvement.
Modi under pressure
The attack could put Modi, who faces a general election due by May, under political pressure to act against the militants and Pakistan.
Randeep Singh Surjewala, a spokesman for the main opposition Congress party, accused Modi of compromising on security.
"Zero political action & Zero policy to tackle terror has led to an alarming security situation," Surjewala said in one of a series of tweets.
Kanwal Sibal, a former top diplomat, said a diplomatic response from India would not be enough.
"They will have to do something otherwise I think it will be very difficult for government to absorb this blow and be seen to be doing nothing," Sibal told Reuters.
The Jaish-e-Mohammad group is one of the most powerful militant groups operating in Kashmir. It was blamed for a 2001 attack on the Indian parliament that led to India deploying its military on the border with Pakistan.
In a statement carried by GNS news agency, a spokesman for the group said dozens of security force vehicles were destroyed in the attack.
Arun Jaitley, a senior minister in Modi's cabinet, said India would retaliate, tweeting that "terrorists will be given unforgettable lesson for their heinous act".
On Wednesday, an explosion at a school in Kashmir wounded a dozen students. The cause of the blast remains unclear.




Sorry for the inactivity by the way
Kira.
 
India hikes customs duty on Pakistani goods to 200%
Tribune Desk
  • Published at 10:38 pm February 18th, 2019
web-india-pakistan-trade

Pakistan allows only 138 items to be imported from India over the Attari-Wagah land route. Cargo trucks from either side ccannot move beyond their border zones AFP

Indian prime minister Narendra Modi threatened to give his neighbouring country 'a jaw breaking reply'
India has increased customs duty on all goods coming from Pakistan to 200% in response to a suicide bomb attack in Kashmir which left at least 44 people dead, according to several media outlets.
Tensions between New Delhi and Islamabad have risen sharply since a militant in the Indian-administered region rammed a car laden with explosives into a convoy of military vehicles in Pulwama, killing dozens of soldiers and leaving dozens more seriously injured.
“Central government is satisfied that the import duty leviable on all goods originating in or exported from the Islamic Republic of Pakistan...should be increased and that circumstances exist which render it necessary to take immediate action,” the government said in a notification.
he move is likely to hit Pakistan’s exports to India which were $381 million in the April-November period compared with $489 million in all of FY18. India’s major imports are fruits and nuts, gypsum, sulphur, finished leather, ores, mineral oils and cement.
The new tariff of 200% is higher than India’s average bound rate for agricultural products of 113.5% and that for non-farm goods of 34.6%. The MFN applied rates are 32.8% and 10.7%, respectively for farm and non-farm products.
India’s move is in accordance with its domestic Foreign Trade (Development And Regulation) Act that allows it to prohibit, restrict or regulate the import or export of goods. It also conform to the global trade norms which do not require any country to furnish any information the disclosure of which it considers contrary to its essential security interests and allow countries any action which they consider necessary for the protection of their essential security interests.
The Indian government has accused Pakistan of having a “direct hand” in the bombing, which was claimed by Islamist militant group Jaish-e-Mohammad (JeM), which is based in the country.
Indian prime minister Narendra Modi threatened to give his neighbouring country “a jaw breaking reply.”
His finance minister Arun Jaitley subsequently announced on Twitter that India had stripped “most favoured nation” (MFN) status from Pakistan and had raised basic customs duty on Pakistani goods “with immediate effect.”
Jaitley later told reporters: “The ministry of external affairs will initiate all possible steps, and I am here referring to all possible diplomatic steps, which have to be taken to ensure the complete isolation from the international community of Pakistan.”
The two main goods imported from Pakistan are fruits and cement, according to The Times of India. Prior to the new 200% tariff, customs duty on various fruits ranged between 30-50%, while the duty on cement was 7.5%, the newspaper reported.
Annual bilateral trade between the two countries is thought to be around $2bn (£1.55bn).
Following the attack, the White House urged Pakistan “to end immediately the support and safe haven provided to all terrorist groups operating on its soil.”
Kashmir is divided between India and Pakistan but has long been a disputed territory claimed fully by both countries. In recent years, younger Kashmiris have openly supported rebels advocating to break away from India.
Anti-Pakistan protests were held in Indian cities, including Mumbai, in the aftermath of the attack.




Kira.
 
Trump calls India-Pakistan standoff 'very dangerous'
AFP
  • Published at 11:24 am February 23rd, 2019
Donald Trump

File photo of US President Donald Trump Reuters

Tensions have soared between the nuclear-armed rivals since a suicide attack last week killed 41 soldiers on the Indian side of divided Kashmir, the deadliest attack in years
US President Donald Trump voiced alarm on Friday at the "very dangerous situation" between India and Pakistan, warning that New Delhi was considering "very strong" action after an attack in Kashmir.
"It's very dangerous situation between the two countries. We would like to see it stop," Trump said, adding that the United States was seeking talks with Pakistan.
"Right now there is a lot of problems between India and Pakistan because of what happened," he told reporters as he met a senior Chinese official in the Oval Office.
Tensions have soared between the nuclear-armed rivals since a suicide attack last week killed 41 soldiers on the Indian side of divided Kashmir, the deadliest attack in years.
"India is looking at something very strong. India just lost almost 50 people with an attack. So I can understand that also," Trump said.
India has been demanding action against militants from Pakistan, with Prime Minister Narendra Modi under pressure from his Hindu nationalist base to show firmness weeks before he is set to call elections.
The attack was claimed by Jaish-e-Mohammed, an Islamist extremist group based in Pakistan, although the suicide attacker came locally from Indian Kashmir.
Pakistan's military on Friday warned India against any "misadventure," saying it was capable of responding.
The United States in recent years has allied with India, seeing common interests with a fellow democracy that has been battling Islamist extremists.
The Trump administration last year cut off US $300 million in military aid to Pakistan, saying that Islamabad has not done enough to fight extremists at home or close safe havens for militants in neighbouring Afghanistan.
"Pakistan was taking very strong advantage of the United States under other presidents," Trump said. "I ended that payment because they weren't helping us in a way that they should have."
India and Pakistan have fought two of their three full-fledged wars over Kashmir since their partition at independence from Britain in 1947.



Kira.
 
Report: Heavy shelling, firing in 50 areas along India-Pakistan border
Tribune Desk
  • Published at 08:59 pm February 26th, 2019
PAKISTAN-INDIA-KASHMIR-LOC

Local residents remove things from a bunker in the border town of Chakothi in Pakistan-administered Kashmir, some 3 km from Line of Control on February 20, 2019 AFP

This comes hours after the Indian Air Force bombed a Jaish-e-Mohammed camp in Balakot
Pakistan reportedly fired mortar shells and small arms across the Line of Control (LoC) at more than 50 places in Jammu and Kashmir on Tuesday in a sharp escalation of ceasefire violations that have been underway for the last three consecutive days, Indian media reported. According to NDTV, the Indian army was retaliating strongly.
This comes hours after the Indian Air Force bombed a Jaish-e-Mohammed camp in Balakot, across the LoC, killing a "very large number of terrorists" according to the government officials.
The Pakistan Army used heavy weaponry, firing 120mm mortars targeting some 55 civilian hamlets and forward posts in Jammu, Rajouri and Poonch districts since 5:30pm local time, an army officer told news agency PTI.
There was no injury or loss of life in the ceasefire violations, the officer said, adding that Indian troops gave a "befitting reply" to the firing.
Pakistan had shelled forward posts in the state's Poonch, Mendhar and Nowshera sectors earlier in the day too, prompting a response from the Indian forces. No one was hurt on the Indian side.
The Pakistan army has resorted to firing and mortar shelling on forward posts and civilian areas along the Line of Control in Rajouri and Poonch districts on seven of the last eight days.
Amid rising tension between India and Pakistan following the Pulwama terror attack and increasing ceasefire violations, the people along the LoC and the international border in this region are living under constant fear, they said.


Kira.
 
India launches airstrike inside Pakistan; Islamabad denies militant camp hit
Reuters, New Delhi
  • Published at 11:42 am February 26th, 2019
Indian air force-fighter jet

In this photo taken on February 16, 2019, an Indian Air Force Mirage-2000 fighter aircraft drops bombs during fire power demonstration at the IAF's firing range field in Pokhran in the state of Rajasthan AFP

The airstrike near the town of Balakot, some 50 kilometres from the frontier was the deepest cross-border raid launched by India since the last of its three wars with Pakistan in 1971
India said its warplanes struck a militant training camp inside Pakistan on Tuesday, killing "a very large number" of fighters, raising risk of conflict between the nuclear armed neighbours, though Pakistan officials denied there had been any casualties.
The airstrike near the town of Balakot, some 50 kilometres from the frontier was the deepest cross-border raid launched by India since the last of its three wars with Pakistan in 1971.
Pakistan condemned the Indian action and said it would respond at a time and place of its choice.
The airstrikes, according to the Indian government, hit a training camp of Jaish-e-Mohammed (JeM), the group that claimed credit for a suicide car bomb attack killed at least 40 Indian paramilitary police in Kashmir on February 14. The action was ordered as India said it had intelligence that Jaish was planning more attacks.
"In the face of imminent danger, a pre-emptive strike became absolutely necessary," Foreign Secretary Vijay Gokhale told reporters.
"The existence of such training facilities, capable of training hundreds of jihadis could not have functioned without the knowledge of the Pakistani authorities," Gokhale said.
Pakistan denies harbouring JeM, a primarily anti-India group that forged ties with al Qaeda and has been on a UN terror list since 2001. In December 2001, Jaish fighters, along with members of another Pakistan-based militant group, Lashkar-e-Taiba, launched an attack on India's parliament, which almost led to a fourth war.
China, Pakistan's long-time ally, urged both countries to exercise restraint as tensions rose to the highest in years.
"We hope that India and Pakistan can exercise restraint, and take steps that are conducive to stabilising the regional situation and improving bilateral ties, rather than the opposite," Foreign Ministry spokesman Lu Kang told a daily news briefing in Beijing.
Gokhale said "a very large number" of militants were killed in the strikes by French-made Mirage 2000 jets on a Jaish training camp near Balakot, a town in Pakistan's Khyber Pakhtunkhwa province.
The commander of the camp was Maulana Yusuf Azhar, a brother-in-law of JeM leader Masood Azhar, Gokhale said.
A senior Indian government source said that 300 militants had been killed in the strikes and that the warplanes had ventured as far as 80 km inside Pakistan. But no evidence was immediately provided to back up the claims of militant casualties.
"I want to assure you our country is in safe hands," Prime Minister Narendra Modi told a cheering political rally in western India hours after the raid.
"I won't let the country down," said Modi, who faces a tight election in coming months.
There has been mounting impatience in India to avenge the Feb.14 attack, which was the most deadly seen in Kashmir during an insurgency that has last three decades, and as news of the raid broke, celebrations erupted across the country.
gn38828c-en-1551166329875.gif

No terror camps
Pakistan's top civilian and military leaders rejected India's comments that it had struck "terror camps" inside Pakistan, vowing to prove wrong India's claims and warning that it would retaliate against Indian aggression.
Pakistan's National Security Committee (NSC), comprising top officials including Prime Minister Imran Khan and army chief Qamar Javed Bajwa, said in a statement that it "strongly rejected Indian claim of targeting an alleged terrorist camp near Balakot and the claim of heavy casualties."
The statement said Khan would "engage with global leadership to expose irresponsible Indian policy". It also warned that "Pakistan shall respond at the time and place of its choosing" to Indian aggression.
Earlier the Pakistan military said its own warplanes had chased off the Indian aircraft before they could inflict any real harm. A spokesman said the Indian warplanes dropped their "payload" in a forested area, causing no casualties and no serious material damage.
"Indian aircraft intruded from Muzaffarabad sector," Pakistani military spokesman Major General Asif Ghafoor said on Twitter, referring to an area in the Pakistan-held part of Kashmir.
Ghafoor said the intruders faced a "timely and effective response from Pakistan Air Force", and "released payload in haste, while escaping, which fell near Balakot."
"No casualties or damage," he tweeted.

Maj Gen Asif Ghafoor

@OfficialDGISPR

https://twitter.com/OfficialDGISPR/status/1100251560985145346

Indian aircrafts’ intrusion across LOC in Muzafarabad Sector within AJ&K was 3-4 miles.Under forced hasty withdrawal aircrafts released payload which had free fall in open area. No infrastructure got hit, no casualties. Technical details and other important information to follow.

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10:29 AM - Feb 26, 2019
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Ghafoor also posted four pictures of the alleged site, purportedly showing a bomb crater in a forest area but no serious damage.
Pakistani villagers in the area where the Indian jets struck said they heard four loud bangs in the early hours of Tuesday but reported only one person was wounded.
"We saw fallen trees and one damaged house, and four craters where the bombs had fallen," said Mohammad Ajmal, a 25-year-old who visited the site.
Indian television networks reported the airstrikes took place at 3.30am and involved a dozen Mirage fighter planes backed up by Israeli-equipped Airborne Warning and Control Systems aircraft that patrolled on India's side of the border.
Balakot is about 50km from Line of Control (LoC), the ceasefire line that is the de facto border in Kashmir, a Himalayan region that has been the cause of two of the three wars India and Pakistan have fought since the end of British colonial rule in 1947.
Analysts have alleged Pakistani militants have their training camps in the area, although Pakistan has always denied the presence of any such camps.
Mohammed Iqbal, a resident of Mendhar, a long way further south on the Indian side of the LoC, told Reuters that he heard jets flying through the night.
Shelling across the LoC has occurred frequently over the past few years but airspace violations by jets are extremely rare.
Following another large attack on Indian security forces in Kashmir in 2016, India said its troops crossed the LoC to carry out a "surgical strike" on suspected militant camps in Pakistan Kashmir. Islamabad denied anything serious occurred.



Kira.
 
Pakistan says it shot down Indian jets, carried out airstrikes in Kashmir
Reuters
  • Published at 12:42 pm February 27th, 2019
WEB- Indo-Pak

Indian soldiers stand next to the wreckage of Indian Air Force's helicopter after it crashed in Budgam district in Kashmir February 27, 2019 REUTERS

One Indian pilot also has been captured
Pakistan shot down two Indian jets on Wednesday, a spokesman for the Pakistan armed forces said, a day after Indian warplanes struck inside Pakistan for the first time since a war in 1971, prompting leading powers to urge the nuclear armed rivals to show restraint.
Tensions have been elevated since a suicide car bombing by Pakistan-based militants in Indian-controlled Kashmir killed at least 40 Indian paramilitary police on February 14, but the risk of conflict rose dramatically on Tuesday when India launched an air strike on what it said was a militant training base.
The attack targeted the Jaish-e-Mohammed militant, the group that claimed credit for the suicide attack. But while India said a large number of JeM fighters had been killed, Pakistani officials said the Indian airstrike was a failure and inflicted no casualties.
Indian air force planes strayed into Pakistani airspace on Wednesday after Pakistan had carried out airstrikes in Indian-occupied Kashmir, said Major General Asif Ghafoor, a spokesman for the Pakistan armed forces.
“PAF shot down two Indian aircrafts inside Pakistani airspace,” he said in a tweet.

Maj Gen Asif Ghafoor

@OfficialDGISPR

https://twitter.com/OfficialDGISPR/status/1100641491679150080

In response to PAF strikes this morning as released by MoFA, IAF crossed LOC. PAF shot down two Indian aircrafts inside Pakistani airspace. One of the aircraft fell inside AJ&K while other fell inside IOK. One Indian pilot arrested by troops on ground while two in the area.

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One of the aircraft fell on India’s side of Kashmir, while the second came down in Pakistani-held territory, and its pilot was captured, he added.
A spokesman for India’s defense ministry was not immediately available for comment.
Police officials in Indian-occupied Kashmir said that two Indian pilots and a civilian had died after an Indian air force plane crashed in Kashmir, but did not confirm if the plane had been shot down by Pakistani forces.
Indian officials said three Pakistani jets had also entered Indian airspace, before being intercepted and forced turned back.
The Indian air force has ordered Kashmir’s main airport in Srinagar along with at least three others in neighbouring states to be closed because of the two incidents, an official said.
On Tuesday evening, Pakistan began shelling using heavy caliber weapons in 12 to 15 places along the de facto border in Kashmir, known as the Line of Control (LoC), a spokesman for the Indian defence forces said.
“The Indian Army retaliated for effect and our focused fire resulted in severe destruction to five posts and number of casualties,” the spokesman said.
Five Indian soldiers suffered minor wounds in the shelling that ended on Wednesday morning, he added.
“So far there are no (civilian) casualties but there is panic among people,” said Rahul Yadav, the deputy commissioner of the Poonch district where some of the shelling took place.
We have an evacuation plan in place and if need arises we will evacuate people to safer areas,” he said.
Local officials on the Pakistani side said at least four people had been killed and seven wounded, though it was unclear if the casualties were civilian or military.
India has also continued its crackdown on suspected militants operating in Kashmir, a mountainous region that both countries claim in full but rule in part.
On Wednesday, security forces killed two Jaish militants in a gun battle, Indian police said.
Heighted Security
Pakistan has promised to retaliate to Tuesday’s air strikes, and security across India has been tightened. The two countries have fought three wars since independence from British colonial rule in 1947 and went to the brink a fourth in 2002 after a Pakistani militant attack on India’s parliament.
In Mumbai, India’s financial capital, there was a visible increase in security levels for a city that has suffered numerous militant attacks in the past.
US Secretary of State Mike Pompeo spoke separately with the foreign ministers of India and Pakistan and urged them to avoid “further military activity” following Tuesday’s airstrike.
“I expressed to both ministers that we encourage India and Pakistan to exercise restraint, and avoid escalation at any cost,” Pompeo said in a statement on Wednesday.
“I also encouraged both ministers to prioritize direct communication and avoid further military activity,” he said.
Both China and the European Union have also called for restraint. On Wednesday New Zealand’s foreign minister Winston Peters also voiced concern over the escalation in tensions.



Kira.
 
India denies Pakistan has shot down its aircraft
Tribune Desk
  • Published at 03:23 pm February 27th, 2019
Mirage-2000-fighter

File photo of a Mirage 2000 fighter jet aircraftBigstock

Pakistan also claims it has arrested two Indian pilots
A day after New Delhi claimed its Air Force had struck a terror camp on Pakistani territory, reports that both India and Pakistan have shot down each others’ fighter jets have started to emerge.
Quoting Indian officials, PTI news agency reported that Pakistani jets have violated the Line of Control (LoC) and dropped bombs in Jammu and Kashmir.
Officials also told NDTV that all Indian pilots are accounted for, refuting Pakistani claims that it had arrested one pilot.
Earlier in the day, Pakistan claimed its jets had struck across the LoC from “Pakistani airspace,” and that it had shot down two Indian jets, reported Scroll.in.
Meanwhile, ANI reported that India had shot down a Pakistani jet. India has yet to provide an official comment on this.
Meanwhile, reports have emerged of a military aircraft crashing in Budgam, Kashmir, although initial accounts suggested this was due to technical reasons. Indian police at the site have confirmed they have found two bodies amid the debris, though more details regarding the incident have yet to be revealed.
Much of Northern India is on high alert, and civilian air traffic in the area has been completely halted.


Kira.
 
Kashmir Conflict: Day of drama over capture of Indian pilot in Pakistan territory
Agencies
  • Published at 11:15 pm February 28th, 2019
WEB- Pak-Indo-Abhi-nandan

Indian pilot Wing Commander Abhi Nandan captured by Pakistan is seen in this handout photo released Inter Service Public Relation (ISPR) on February 27, 2019 REUTERS

An Indian jet was shot down in Pakistan-administered Kashmir on Wednesday after a dogfight between Indian and Pakistani warplanes
With tit-for-tat air raids across their hair-trigger border pushing India and Pakistan closer to all-out conflict, growing international concern is being fuelled by fears that the rivals are running out of escape routes, analysts say.
An Indian jet was shot down in Pakistan-administered Kashmir on Wednesday after a dogfight between Indian and Pakistani warplanes, and the downed Indian fighter pilot was attacked by a mob and captured by Pakistan’s military.
While both sides have insisted they want to avoid escalation or war, the lack of direct government-to-government contact offers no clear way out of the crisis, and the United States – so often the peacebroker in past showdowns -- has shown no signs of taking up such a pivotal role this time, reports AFP.
Prime ministers Imran Khan of Pakistan and India’s Narendra Modi – who is on the verge of calling a general election – are under enormous domestic pressure to not be seen giving any ground.
Public opinion in India, already at a boiling point over a suicide attack in Kashmir that set off the hostilities, has been further inflamed by the capture of the downed Indian air force pilot, and video images showing him being slapped by a mob and interrogated.
‘Peace gesture’
Pakistan will return the captured pilot "as a peace gesture" to India, Pakistan's Prime Minister Imran Khan said yesterday, amid efforts by the United States to defuse a crisis between the two nuclear powers a day after both downed enemy jets, reports Reuters.
Khan said the pilot would be released today, even as his military reported that four Pakistani civilians had been killed by Indian firing across the disputed border in Kashmir.
"As a peace gesture we will be releasing him tomorrow," Khan told parliament.
Khan's decision came after several other countries offered diplomatic assistance to de-escalate the confrontation between the two countries, who in 2002 almost went to war for the fourth time since their independence from British colonial rule in 1947.
‘Stand like a rock’
Prime Minister Narendra Modi yesterday asked Indians to "stand as a wall," with anger boiling over due to Pakistan's capture of the Indian pilot, as a crisis escalates between the nuclear-armed rivals.
In his first remarks since India and Pakistan both claimed to have shot down each other's fighter planes near the disputed border of Kashmir, the prime minister urged his countrymen to unite "as the enemy seeks to destabilise India."
"In the face of their objective, every Indian should stand as a wall, as a rock," Modi said.
Downed pilot
The downed Indian fighter pilot, who was attacked by a mob and then paraded on video by Pakistan's army, has become a social media sensation and a hero in his homeland amidst the spiralling crisis.
With Pakistani villagers and soldiers filming his capture and captivity on Wednesday, in clips that have since gone viral on social media, the pilot identified by Islamabad as Indian Wing Commander Abhi Nandan has fast emerged as the human face of the dangerous flare-up between the arch-foes.
India has not confirmed the pilot's identity. Indian media have given his name as Abhinandan Varthaman.
The pilot and the Indian Air Force (IAF) are at the heart of the crisis between two countries, who have conducted air strikes on each other's territory in the last two days. The United States and China have appealed for restraint.
Aerial strikes
India and Pakistan both said they shot down each other's fighter jets on Wednesday, with Pakistan capturing an Indian pilot a day after Indian warplanes struck inside Pakistan for the first time since the 1971 Liberation War, prompting world powers to urge restraint.
Both countries have ordered air strikes over the last two days, the first time in history that two nuclear-armed powers have done so, while ground forces have exchanged fire in more than a dozen locations, reports Reuters.
Tensions have been running high since at least 40 Indian paramilitary police died in a February 14 suicide car bombing by Pakistan-based militants in Indian-controlled Kashmir, but the risk of conflict rose dramatically on Tuesday when India launched an air strike on what it said was a militant training base.
A senior Indian government source said 300 militants were killed in Tuesday's strike. Pakistan says no one died.
Ground fire
The aerial engagement followed overnight artillery fire by both sides. Pakistan used heavy-calibre weapons along the Line of Control, a spokesman for the Indian defence forces said on Wednesday.
"The Indian Army retaliated for effect and our focused fire resulted in severe destruction to five posts and a number of casualties," the spokesman said.
Five Indian soldiers suffered minor wounds in the shelling that ended on Wednesday morning, he added.
Officials on the Pakistani side said at least four people had been killed and seven wounded, including civilians, with thousands evacuated and schools closed in border areas.
Indian security forces killed two Jaish militants in a gun battle on Wednesday, police said.
Protests
By Wednesday evening, the two top trends on Twitter in India were about the pilot, with many Indians demanding his release under a #BringBackAbhinandan hashtag.
Protesters set ablaze Pakistan's national flag outside the country's embassy in New Delhi yesterday. Police detained some but others ran away, witnesses said.
Claiming to be supporters of Modi's Bharatiya Janata Party, the dozen men gathered outside the heavily guarded diplomatic mission and shouted "Down with Pakistan" before setting fire to the flag dipped in kerosene.
International concern
The White House urged "both sides to take immediate steps to de-escalate the situation."
US Secretary of State Mike Pompeo said in a statement he had spoken separately with the Indian and Pakistani foreign ministers and had urged them to "prioritize direct communication and avoid further military activity."
Pakistan's envoy to the United States Asad Majeed Khan said Islamabad would like to see the Trump administration play a more active role in easing the crisis.
The Chinese government's top diplomat, State Councillor Wang Yi, spoke by telephone with Pakistan's foreign minister and expressed "deep concern."
The United States, Britain and France proposed the United Nations Security Council blacklist Masood Azhar, the head of Pakistan-based Jaish-e-Mohammad, the group that claimed responsibility for the Feb. 14 attack. China is likely to oppose the move.



Kira.
 
Pakistani fighter jets violate Indian Kashmir airspace
Reuters
  • Published at 12:30 pm February 27th, 2019
web-pakistan-air force

File photo of Pakistani F-16 fighter jets Reuters

The incursion comes a day after Indian warplanes carried out an air strike in Pakistan on what New Delhi said was a militant training camp
Pakistani fighter jets violated airspace over Indian Kashmir on Wednesday but were forced back over the de facto border of the disputed territory, sources and local media said.
The incursion over the heavily militarized Line of Control (LoC) comes a day after Indian warplanes carried out an air strike in Pakistan on what New Delhi said was a militant training camp, in retaliation for a suicide bombing in Kashmir that killed 40 Indian troops on February 14.

India claims to have shot down a Pakistani F-16 jet
Tribune Desk
Published at 02:34 pm February 27th, 2019
web-File photo of F-16 fighter jets  <strong>Reuters</strong>

File photo of a F-16 fighter jet Bigstock


The incident took place in the Rajouri sector of Jammu region on Wednesday morning


Indian Army officials have claimed that a Pakistani Air Force F-16 fighter jet has been shot down by Indian Air defense forces.

The incident took place in the Rajouri sector of Jammu region on Wednesday morning, The Times of India reported, quoting Indian Army officials.

Earlier, Pakistan claimed it had shot down two Indian jets on Wednesday, a spokesman for the Pakistan armed forces said; a day after Indian warplanes struck inside Pakistan for the first time since a war in 1971. This has prompted leading powers to urge the nuclear armed rivals to exercise restraint.


Infographic: Jet downing raises India-Pakistan tensions
Tribune Desk
  • Published at 11:21 pm February 27th, 2019
Indian air force-fighter jet

In this photo taken on February 16, 2019, an Indian Air Force Mirage-2000 fighter aircraft drops bombs during fire power demonstration at the IAF's firing range field in Pokhran in the state of Rajasthan AFP

Pakistan and India say they have shot down each other’s warplanes in an escalating confrontation that is fuelling fears of a potentially catastrophic conflict between the nuclear-armed rivals
gn38866c-en-1551288000920.jpg



Kira.
 
India, Pakistan exchange heavy border fire
AFP
  • Published at 11:58 am March 3rd, 2019
Web_India-Pakistan-Border-Fire-AFP

Pakistani Kashmiris carry the coffin of a civilian, who was killed in a gunfight between Indian and Pakistan troops on the Line of Control (LoC), at a funeral ceremony on the outskirts of Muzaffarabad, the capital of Pakistan-administered Kashmir AFP

At least 12 civilians have been killed on either side of the frontier since the start of the week
Tensions between India and Pakistan raged Saturday as heavy firing by their armies killed at least seven people on either side of their fiercely disputed Kashmir border.
The nuclear-armed rivals fired mortars and artillery at each other despite the release of an Indian pilot who had been shot down by Pakistan but then sent back as a "goodwill gesture".
In a fearsome 24 hour spell, two soldiers and two civilians died on the Pakistan side, its military said. On the Indian side, a woman and her two children died after their house was pulverised by a mortar shell.
Indian army chief Bipin Rawat dashed to Udhampur in his country's sector of Kashmir on Saturday to review border security.
Across the region villagers huddled in makeshift bunkers while police ordered non-essential traffic off roads, an AFP reporter said.
At least 12 civilians have been killed on either side of the frontier since the start of the week.
The release of Wing Commander Abhinandan Varthaman to Indian authorities late Friday following 60 hours in Pakistani custody boosted hopes of a de-escalation.
But a furious backlash erupted in India over a video in which Abhinandan can be seen praising his captors and criticising Indian media.
Pilot returns
Abhinandan was shot down in his MiG fighter Wednesday as he chased Pakistani jets over disputed Kashmir. His capture had become the centrepiece of hostilities between the arch-rivals after a February 14 suicide bombing in Kashmir killed 40 Indian paramilitaries.
Abhinandan, who ejected to safety but was set upon by a crowd on the Pakistani side of the Kashmir ceasefire line, had a noticeable black eye when he returned and was immediately taken for a medical checkup before a debriefing by military and intelligence agencies.
Media reports said Abhinandan's return was held up because he was forced to make the video before being freed.
In the heavily edited video distributed by the Pakistani military just before his release, he praised the professionalism of the Pakistani army and criticised Indian media for creating war hysteria.
Omar Abdullah, a former chief minister of Jammu and Kashmir state, said the video tainted Pakistan's gesture to return the pilot so quickly.
"Sadly the image you paint for us is marred terribly by the video he's forced to record just before you sent him back," Abdullah said on Twitter.
"That high moral ground you had bequeathed to yourselves slipped at the end."
India's feverish social media also slammed the video, which was tweeted by the Pakistan government but later taken off its official account.
War rhetoric
There was no let-up in war rhetoric with Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi saying no-one could "dare threaten" a "new, fearless and decisive" India.
Modi also told an India Today media group conference the country needed the Rafale fighter jets it wants to buy from France. The deal has been embroiled in corruption allegations levelled by the opposition Congress party.
"If India had the procured the Rafale on time then the result of the recent skirmish with Pakistan could have been different," Modi said.
In a bid to defuse the tensions, Adel al-Jubeir, minister of state for foreign affairs for Saudi Arabia, a key Pakistan ally, was to arrive in Islamabad Sunday, underlining global concern over the showdown.
Saudi Arabia has offered to help to end the new hostilities.
"He is visiting us and and will also visit India. He is our friend and we have historical relations with them (Saudi Arabia)," Pakistan's Foreign Minister Shah Mehmood Qureshi told reporters.
Pakistan media praised the government for releasing the pilot but some social media users criticised the military video, calling it "cheap" and "unnecessary".
Abhinandan was captured a day after Indian planes bombed what New Delhi said was a militant camp in Pakistan, in retaliation for the Kashmir suicide bombing claimed by a Pakistan-based militant group.
Kashmir has been divided between the two countries since their independence and bitter split in 1947. It has been at the centre of two of their three wars since then.

Kira.
 
"Pakistan has shot down two Indian warplanes over the disputed territory of Kashmir, one day after New Delhi launched an airstrike against a jihadist militant camp in the country, an armed forces spokesperson said.
One plane went down on India's side of the territory, while the other was said to have crashed on Pakistan's side of the region.Two Indian Air Force pilots in the second plane were captured by Pakistani troops, Major General Asif Ghafoor said. "
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https://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/ar...s-Indian-jets-carries-airstrikes-Kashmir.html
 
Pakistan claims it chased away Indian Navy submarine
AFP, Karachi
  • Published at 04:41 pm March 5th, 2019
India-Pakistan-Submarine insight

A submarine, that Pakistan Navy claims to be a detected Indian submarine, is seen near Pakistani waters in the Arabian Sea in this still image taken from a video obtained by Reuters March 5, 2019Reuters

It was the first such incident since 2016, when Pakistan said it had 'pushed' an Indian submarine away from Pakistani waters
Pakistan has stopped an Indian submarine from entering its waters, the navy said Tuesday, as tensions continue to run high between the nuclear-armed foes.
The development came days after a rare aerial dogfight between India and Pakistan over the disputed territory of Kashmir ignited fears of an all-out conflict, with world powers rushing to urge restraint.
"The Pakistan navy stopped an Indian submarine from entering our territorial waters," a naval spokesman said in a statement.
He said "the Indian submarine was not targeted in line with the government's policy of maintaining peace."
It was the first such incident since 2016, when Pakistan said it had "pushed" an Indian submarine away from Pakistani waters.
The spokesman did not give further details, including when or where the submarine was detected. It was also not clear if they meant the 22km territorial waters limit or the broader 200 nautical mile 370km exclusive economic zone.
The navy also released what it said was video of the submarine, with the grainy black and white footage showing only what appeared to be a periscope above water. The timestamp on the video clip shows it began at 8:35pm on Monday.
There was no immediate comment from Indian officials.
In recent days the nuclear-armed Asian countries have come closer to conflict than in years, after a suicide bombing in Indian-administered Kashmir killed 40 Indian paramilitaries.
A militant group based in Pakistan claimed responsibility for the February 14 blast, and 12 days later Indian jets bombed what New Delhi called a terrorist training camp deep inside Pakistan.
Pakistan has denied any damage or casualties, and independent reporting has shown that the strikes hit a heavily forested area with little in the way of infrastructure nearby. Residents have said just one person was injured.
The next day Pakistani aircraft entered Indian airspace and the two nations' jets engaged in aerial dogfights, with at least one Indian aircraft shot down and its pilot captured by Pakistan.
The pilot was handed back to India last Friday in what Pakistani Prime Minister Imran Khan called a "peace gesture."
Both sides also claimed a second plane had been shot down, but they have disputed whose plane it was and what happened to the pilot.
Pakistani and Indian soldiers have continued to fire artillery and mortars over the Line of Control, the de-facto border dividing Kashmir, in the days since, killing several civilians on both sides.
Unverified reports in Indian media Monday said that a Pakistani military drone which strayed over the border had been shot down.
Kashmir has been divided between India and Pakistan since the end of British colonial rule in 1947. Both claim the Himalayan territory in full and have fought two wars over it.


Kira.
 
India claims shooting down Pakistani drone near Rajasthan border
AFP, New Delhi
  • Published at 04:16 pm March 5th, 2019
Pakistan-India-Drone-Shot down

Pakistani military personnel stand beside a drone on a transporter during a Pakistan Day military parade in Islamabad on Mar 23, 2017 AFP

It was the second attempt by Pakistan to send a drone inside India in the last six days after one was shot down on February 27
India's air force shot down on Monday a Pakistani military drone that strayed over its border, Indian media reported as tensions continued to run high between the two arch foes.
An Indian Sukhoi-30 fighter downed the unmanned aerial vehicle (UAV) with an air-to-air missile near Bikaner in the northern Indian state of Rajasthan not far from the Pakistani border, the reports citing unnamed sources said.
It was the second attempt by Pakistan to send a drone inside India in the last six days after one was shot down on February 27, the Press Trust of India (PTI) news agency reported.
There was no official comment from either side.
Last week the nuclear-armed Asian countries had their most serious standoff in years after a suicide bombing in Indian-administered Kashmir killed 40 Indian paramilitaries.
A militant group based in Pakistan claimed responsibility for the February 14 blast and 12 days later Indian jets bombed what New Delhi called a terrorist training camp deep inside Pakistan.
The next day Pakistani aircraft entered Indian airspace and the two nations' jets engaged in aerial dogfights, with at least one Indian aircraft shot down and its pilot captured by Pakistan.
The pilot was handed back to India last Friday in what Pakistani Prime Minister Imran Khan called a "peace gesture", easing tensions and soothing international alarm.
Both sides have continued to fire artillery and mortars over their de-facto border in Kashmir, the Line of Control (LoC), killing several civilians on both sides.
This continued on Monday, both countries said, but no new casualties were reported. Pakistan said a soldier killed on Saturday was "buried with full military honour for defending the motherland".
Indian forces have also arrested several hundred separatist leaders and activists in Kashmir, and engaged in deadly gun battles with militants in its part of the territory.
Kashmir has been a bone of contention between India and Pakistan since independence in 1947, with two of the countries' three wars fought over the Himalayan territory.
An armed insurgency there, which India accuses Pakistan of backing, something Islamabad denies, since the late 1980s has killed tens of thousands of people, mostly civilians.
"The Indian military has shown bravery and strength. Friends, I can't wait for too long. It is in my nature to settle each score," Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi said late Monday at a political rally.
"For how long will they keep killing innocents? It is our principle that we will get into their homes, to eliminate them," Modi, who is running for a second term in imminent elections, said in his home state of Gujarat.



Kira.
 
War cries across the border
Ziauddin Choudhury
  • Published at 12:03 am March 5th, 2019
India Pakistan

Things have changed in the last 50 years BIGSTOCK

Neither India nor Pakistan can afford another conflict
What started as a terror attack with a suicide bomb blast in Indian-held Kashmir a few weeks ago now seems to have pit two neighbours into a full-scale war. Blaming Pakistan for harbouring terrorist network Jaish-e-Mohammed (JEM) in its domain which claimed responsibility for the attack, India lost no time in retaliating against Pakistan with an aerial attack purportedly aimed to destroy JEM hideout in Pakistan territory (Balakot) and claimed success in destroying it.
For any sovereign country to have its air-space invaded by foreign military aircraft and dropping bombs in its territory, for whatever reason, would be an act of aggression.
Under normal circumstances, the first act of suicide attack would have been tackled from a law and order perspective and terrorists identified would have been pursued accordingly.
But these are not normal times, and the prime minister of India was in no mood to pursue that route, because he and his political party are in an election campaign.
He did not want to appear weak before his people. He said in a public statement that he had asked his military to take any action that they felt appropriate to deter the terror group.
So, Modi’s military took to sending a squadron of aircraft to have a “surgical” strike against the suspected militant hideout far inside Pakistan territory. The self-declared success of this campaign boosted a politically faltering Modi, and his image rose according to the Indian press.
He was portrayed a hero. His supporters crowed and declared imminent victory in the upcoming elections.
Unfortunately, this euphoria in Modi and his political supporters evaporated in 24 hours as a surprised Pakistan took a swift retaliatory action launching its own air attack inside Indian territory (Kashmir) and dropped its own bombs (purportedly on blank targets).
In an ensuing air battle between the air forces of two countries, reportedly, both sides lost two aircraft. But the one that drew most attention was where a downed Indian jet fell into Pakistan territory and its surviving pilot was captured by the Pakistan army.
This tit-for-tat air-strike, the capture of an Indian pilot, and hysteria of war that the episodes gave way to the worst memories being brought back of the three wars that the two countries have fought with each other since partition: Two over Kashmir and one over Bangladesh. Countless lives were lost, mostly of defense forces, but the mindset that led to these wars does not appear to have changed.
One had hoped that, with the passage of time and changes in people’s aspirations for a better relationship with neighbours, there would be also changes in the behaviour of the politicians.
The politicians should know better than military overlords that hostilities between neighbours do not favour either country.
Unlike military rulers who need to perpetuate their stranglehold over their countries through intimidation and fear, politicians normally act differently.
They demonstrate strength through their actions in crisis in a more mature away than by inciting passion and hysteria.
This is the first time in the history of belligerence between India and Pakistan that the first spark of a skirmish has been ignited by the former.
In all of the past three hostilities, the conflict was initiated by Pakistan.
Except for the first engagement in Kashmir in 1948 (which was limited to Kashmir), the two other conflicts were initiated when Pakistan was led by a military ruler.
It could be explained, in a way, that these wars were caused by a military junta to divert national attention from a domestic problem to an artificially created crisis.
But this time, with both Pakistan and India being ruled by democratically-elected governments, the blame cannot be allocated to a self-seeking army establishment to start another war.
George Orwell once said: “All the war-propaganda, all the screaming and lies and hatred, comes invariably from people who are not fighting.”
It could be that Modi may have an ulterior motive in indulging in war rhetoric to rally people to his party by railing against Pakistan.
But his rhetoric can have perverse repercussions on the other side of the border where a government is protected and nurtured by an entity that thrives on war-mongering.
A pin-prick by India can and will cause a much bigger perforation that will lead both nations to disaster.
It is now close to 50 years that Pakistan and India had their last battle.
That was a battle of yesteryears, fought on land mostly with conventional rifles, mortars, and tanks. The air battle was fought with aircraft that belong to museums now.
Both countries now have nuclear arsenal, with warheads that can go from 1,200 to 2,000 miles, causing massive destruction to property and lives. Both countries are sitting on piles of such nuclear weapons that can be launched in seconds.
Although, in one way, this is a balance of terror, it is sheer terror that cannot be ignored by either side. Politics apart, a war-cry to rally people to one’s support will not lead to any good for any country. For India, it will be bringing years of democratic growth and international standing as an economic powerhouse to an end.
For Pakistan, it will accelerate its descent into economic desolation, bringing untold suffering to its burgeoning population.
Neither country can afford a military confrontation.
Let good sense prevail and let the leaders of both countries enter dialogue to end the pernicious presence of militant and terror groups in their respective countries. Militancy and terror are curses for both countries -- the entire sub-continent, in fact.
Pakistan has suffered more than any other country from militancy and terror. Let India and Pakistan jointly launch a war against terror, not against one another.




What do you people think about the situation?
Kira.
 
Pakistan has broken its ceasefire with India along the Line of Control border for the second time in 24 hours.
On Saturday evening, initial reports state how Pakistan committed a ceasefire violation in the Poonch district of Jammu and Kashmir, along the border which separates the two territories, The Zee TV website reported the “unprovoked violation” took place in the Mankot area of the district, which saw Pakistani troops attack Indian soldiers with heavy fire and mortar shelling. The hotly disputed area has been identified by military experts as a potential trigger point for World War 3.
A Twitter post at 2.24pm BST read: "Ceasefire violation #PakistanArmy. #India retaliates with heavy fire! 1 enemy post destroyed 4-7 killed and several injured #Pakistan aslo reporting about loss of 2 armored Vehicles hit by #IndianArmy shells in retaliation."
It is the second attack on Indian troops in the area to have taken place in the last 24 hours.
On Friday, Pakistan shelled villages along the Line of Control, the border that separates the two warring nations’ controlled parts of the state of Jammu and Kashmir.
The break in ceasefire took place in Krishna Ghati sector, also situated in Poonch district at around 7.30am.
Indian Defence Ministry spokesman Lt. Col. Devender Anand said in a statement: "Around 7.30 am, Pakistan initiated the attack violating the ceasefire agreement.
"There was unprovoked attack launched by the Pakistani soldiers in Mankote and Krishna Ghati sectors."
The Indian Army retaliated effectively, he added.
A total of seven people, including three soldiers, have been killed in the district of Poonch since India carried out an air strike on a Jaish-e-Mohammed (JeM) terror camp in Pakistan's Balakot area on February 26.
Last Sunday, India was on high alert as it reportedly spotted a Pakistani drone along the Line of Control, amid heightened tensions between the warring nations over the Kashmir region.
It is the latest in a string of reports of Pakistani drones entering Indian airspace.
According to The Times of India, there have been more than 12 incidents with at least four of the machines being shot down.
Last week, Pakistan Prime Minister Imran Khan said he fears India has been gripped by ”war hysteria” that threatens to unleash further hostilities in the run-up to its neighbour’s national elections.
In the wake of the most serious conflict between the two countries in decades, Mr Khan told the Financial Times: “I’m still apprehensive before the elections, I feel that something could happen.”
The former cricket captain insisted Pakistan did not have any links to Daish-E-Mohammad, the terror group that launched a deadly attack on an Indian Parliamentary police convoy in the Kasmir region last month.
Instead, he cast Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi as the aggressor for launching a subsequent missile strike that brought the two countries closer to war.
Although he denied responsibility, Mr Khan said there is no place for terrorists in his “new Pakistan”.
He said: “We’re already cracking down on them, we’re already dismantling the whole set up.
“What is happening right now has never happened before in Pakistan.”
Pakistan and India came dangerously close to a full-loan war following the suicide bombing that killed more than 40 Indian Parliamentary police on February 14.
In response, New Delhi launched an air strike on an alleged terror training camp inside Pakistani territory, breaking its policy of strategic restraint.
Pakistan then responded tight air strikes on Indian military installations near the de facto border, shooting down and Indian warplane and capturing a pilot.
The pilot was quickly released, easing fears of possible escalating tensions.
But on March 2, Mr Modi wrote on Twitter: This is New India.
“We are fully capable of protecting our nation and giving a befitting reply to those who disturb the atmosphere of peace.”
india-pakistan-jpg-1107555.jpg

https://www.express.co.uk/news/world/1107555/india-pakistan-conflict-breaks-poonch-world-war-3
 
In last news had 2 airplane down,one mig-21 and one?
 

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