Skirmishes along India-Pakistan border as Pakistani troops cross border

NEW DELHI: After shattering the almost five-year-old border ceasefire six to seven times in the last three months, the Pakistani [COLOR=blue ! important][FONT=Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif][COLOR=blue ! important][FONT=Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif]army[/FONT][/FONT][/COLOR][/COLOR] has now begun to act aggressively along the Line of Control in J&K. ( Watch )

A Rajput battalion soldier was feared killed in an unusual incident on Monday when 10 to 15 Pakistani soldiers crossed the LoC in Kaiyan Bowl at Nowgam sector in Baramulla district and threatened an Indian [COLOR=blue ! important][FONT=Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif][COLOR=blue ! important][FONT=Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif]surveillance[/FONT][/FONT][/COLOR][/COLOR] detachment of five soldiers, keeping a watch in the area, at around 3.30 pm.

"Shouting at our soldiers to vacate the area, they asked them to summon the officer commanding the Indian post. Amid the altercation, a Pakistani soldier suddenly opened fired at one of our observation posts, hitting a soldier there," said an officer. "The soldier fell down from the post and may be dead since he fell into a deep nullah. Both sides are exchanging intermittent fire in the area since then," he added.

When reports last came in, the Indian side had asked Pakistani troops to hold their fire and agree to a flag meeting at the battalion commander-level to extricate the soldier's body.

This comes soon after Pakistani troops indulged in heavy cross-border firing during an infiltration bid in the Krishnaghati sector of J&K on Saturday. Similar incidents have been reported from Bimbergalli, Gurez, Mendhar, Tangdhar and other sectors in the last two-three months, indicating that Pakistan army could well be back to its old strategy of providing "covering fire" to militants.

The ceasefire, along the 198-km international border in J&K, the 778-km LoC and the 110-km Actual Ground Position Line in the Siachen-Saltoro Ridge region, has by and large held since it came into force in November 2003.

But in recent times, it has come under strain. On May 13 and 19, Pakistani soldiers opened heavy cross-border at Tangdhar and Mendhar sectors, which left an Indian soldier dead. Then, on July 17, three incidents of cross-border firing by Pakistani troops were reported in Bimbergalli and Gurez sectors.

The LoC is turning "hot" at a time when the Indian security forces are already dealing with a major spike in infiltration and violence levels in J&K, with militants keen to disrupt the forthcoming J&K assembly elections. While intelligence estimates show there are already around 1,200 militants active in J&K, hundreds more are being trained.

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NEW DELHI: A TV report says that [COLOR=blue ! important][FONT=Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif][COLOR=blue ! important][FONT=Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif]Pakistan[/FONT][/FONT][/COLOR][/COLOR] has blamed India for the exchange of fire along the LoC in Nowgam sector of Jammu and Kashmir, resulting in the death of an India sepoy and four Pakistani soldiers.

According to Times Now , the allegation was made by the Pakistani side in a flag meeting held on Tuesday between the two sides, which was called to ease the tension. ( Watch )

Indian and Pakistani troops on Tuesday halted a 16-hour exchange of fire along the Line of Control (LoC) leading to recovery of the body of a soldier from Rajput Regiment.

The body of sepoy Mahesh, who was hit by a bullet from the Pakistani side which started the firing at 1530 hrs on Monday in the Nowgam sector, was found from a ditch, defence sources said.

Four Pakistani soldiers were also reportedly killed in the retaliatory fire by Indian forces.

With the firing, which violated the November 2003 ceasefire accord, stopping on Tuesday morning, local commanders of Indian and Pakistani armies held a 30-minute flag meeting in Teetwal sector.

The Directors General of [COLOR=blue ! important][FONT=Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif][COLOR=blue ! important][FONT=Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif]Military[/FONT][/FONT][/COLOR][/COLOR] Operations (DGMOs) of the two countries had spoken on the hotline on Monday to usher in calm along the LoC.

A defence spokesman in Srinagar said that firing across the LoC lasted for 16 hours.

Pakistani troops had crossed the LoC on Monday afternoon and asked the Indian troops to vacate an observation post at Khayan area of Nowgam sector.

This led to a war of words between the two sides and a Pakistani trooper fired at the Indian observation post indiscriminately leading to the death of the Indian soldier who belonged to 22 Rajput Regiment.

Faced with the hail of bullets from the Pakistani troops, Indian forces retaliated the fire. The exchange continued throughout the night.

On the casualties on the Pakistani side, the spokesman said, "We have not seen them (the bodies)."

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NEW DELHI: A TV report says that the Indian [COLOR=blue ! important][FONT=Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif][COLOR=blue ! important][FONT=Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif]Air [/FONT][COLOR=blue ! important][FONT=Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif]Force[/FONT][/COLOR][/FONT][/COLOR][/COLOR] has confirmed that the Pakistani Air Force warplanes had violated Indian airspace on at least three occasions in May and June. The Indian Air Force has now got itself into operational readiness after a pattern of air space violation was seen. ( Watch )

According to Times Now , three intrusions were reported in Pathankot sector. After these intrusions, the Director General of [COLOR=blue ! important][FONT=Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif][COLOR=blue ! important][FONT=Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif]Military[/FONT][/FONT][/COLOR][/COLOR] Operations (DGMO) of the Indian Army - General Sekhon - spoke with his Pakistan counterpart - Major General Ahmed Pasha.

However, the warplanes did not penetrated deep into the Indian airspace. The Air force is ensuring operational readiness in four key places in the Western Air Command.

Fali Major, Air Chief, confirming to the reports of airspace violation said, "As usual our operational readiness is in place. They man three or four places in western air command which stretches from Kashmir to Rajasthan. This has been the norm throughout. But, we have not taken extra precautions because we know how these intrusions took place, and why they happened.”

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[COLOR=blue ! important][FONT=Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif][COLOR=blue ! important][FONT=Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif]NEW [/FONT][COLOR=blue ! important][FONT=Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif]DELHI[/FONT][/COLOR][/FONT][/COLOR][/COLOR]: Another ceasefire violation along Line of Control (LoC) has been reported on Wednesday.

Pakistani forces reportedly opened fire on Indian troops at the Nahariya post in Kupwara sector, along the Line of Control (LoC) of Jammu and Kashmir.

Nahariya post is close to Nowgam sector where firing took place two days back.

On Monday, Pakistani troops had opened fire on Indian positions in Nowgam sector of Kupwara district along LoC in Jammu and Kashmir. An Army jawan also lost his life in that violence.

This is the seventh ceasefire violation that took place at the LoC in the past three weeks, after the last firing ended only Tuesday.

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NEW DELHI: With as many as 19 violations of the Line of Control (LoC) recorded since January this year, India on Tuesday told Pakistan to respect the 2003 ceasefire agreement between the two countries.

"The increase in ceasefire violations and firings across the LoC is a matter of concern to India," Defence Minister A K Antony said in a statement, a day after Army troops repulsed a Pakistani incursion in the Nowgam sector of northern Kashmir which left one Indian soldier dead.

Attributing the large number of violations with attempts to infiltrate militants, Antony said the situation along the 742-km LoC is being constantly reviewed.

"Keeping in view the increased attempts to infiltrate, the counter-infiltration grid in the State has been suitably strengthened by our troops to check such incidents."

The Defence Minister told Islamabad that it should strictly adhere to the existing mechanism for dealing with violations by holding local flag meetings and Director General of Military Operations (DGMO)-level talks.

The minister's strong statement came as India and Pakistan held battalion-level flag meeting at the intrusion site. New Delhi also lodged a protest when DGMO Lt Gen A S Sekhon got in touch with his Pakistani counterpart through the hotline.

While maintaining that India is keeping "adequate restraint" to prevent escalation of tensions, Antony asserted that India is fully prepared to deal with any such instances "firmly."

Most of the 19 ceasefire violations have taken place in Poonch and Rajouri areas of Jammu. There have also been violations in Uri, Kupwara, Tanghdar, Machail and Gurez sectors. Army sources said that most of these violations were in June and July

The firing from both sides continued overnight. Though the Indian statement did not give any figure of casualties on the Pakistani side, well-informed ministry officials said that four Pakistani soldiers were killed with one body found on the Indian side of LoC.

The body of Sepoy Mahesh from the 22 Rajput Regiment, who was hit by a Pakistani bullet, was found from a ditch, defence sources said. The body will be flown back to his hometown Rewari in Haryana for cremation with military honours.

With the firing ceasing at 5 am, the two sides held a local flag meeting.

Pak blames India for ‘unprovoked firing’

Meanwhile, Pakistan has blamed India for retorting to unprovoked firing along the LoC. Pakistani military spokesman Major General Athar Abbas said the firing began when Indian soldiers tried to set up a forward post and he rejected as "fictitious and unfounded" Indian claims that Pakistani troops crossed into the Indian side. "We have material evidence to suggest that the Indian soldiers had crossed the LoC," he said.

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taillesskangaru said:

Kashmir, Palestine, Taiwan, Korea... It never ends does it?

Seriously, these guys been fighting for 50 - 60 years. You would've thought they would take the hint by now.

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I really hope nothing stupid comes out of this...

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