SRINAGAR, India — India accused Pakistani troops on Wednesday of firing guns and mortars on at least 50 Indian border posts in disputed Kashmir, calling it the most serious cease-fire violation between the neighbors in a decade.
The attacks began Tuesday night in southern Kashmir after India’s home minister visited the region to review security, Border Security Force spokesman Vinod Yadav said. Indian troops returned fire, but one Indian guard was killed and six were injured by a shell fired at the Arnia post in the Jammu region, he said.
At least 100 civilians were being moved from Arnia and Ramgarh near the frontier, police officer Rajesh Kumar said. Hundreds more were sheltering overnight in government camps away from gunfire, which had injured 12 civilians in recent days, officials said.
“These people usually go back to their homes in the day as the firing incidents mainly occur during the night,” said civil administrator Shantmanu, who uses one name.
While nearly 200 smaller violations of the 2003 cease-fire agreement have been reported this year, Yadav called the latest skirmishes the most serious in a decade. In most cases, India and Pakistan accuse each other of initiating the fighting.
India also regularly accuses Pakistan of supporting Kashmiri rebels who have been fighting on the Indian side since 1989 for independence or a merger with Pakistan. An estimated 68,000 people have been killed in the conflict, though most resistance is shown through street protests.
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Amazing how that followed this:
"Despite issues, India, China set to sign defense pact" by Annie Gowen | Washington Post, October 23, 2013
NEW DELHI — Six months after a military standoff on their disputed border, the leaders of China and India are expected to sign a defense cooperation agreement Wednesday to limit the risk of further confrontations.
But analysts say it will be difficult for Premier Li Keqiang and Prime Minister Manmohan Singh of India to make much progress on other key issues, such as the current trade imbalance and concerns over Pakistan and regional security.
‘‘The old dilemmas that bedevil India with respect to China are still intact,’’ said Ashley J. Tellis, an India specialist with the Carnegie Endowment for International Peace in Washington. ‘‘I don’t think either side is in a position right now to get to the heart of the matter.’’
Singh’s swing through Russia and China this week, along with last month’s meeting with President Obama at the White House, is a farewell tour for the prime minister, who at 81 is seen as frail and ineffectual by his domestic critics as his second term wanes.
I don't remember seeing much reporting on that and I just finished an India sweep.
India’s parliamentary elections are slated for the spring, and he is facing criticism from the opposition that he is being too soft on China.
Singh, a quiet economist, was the architect of many of the measures that propelled India’s economy forward over the past two decades. But as the country’s growth has slowed and the government has become mired in corruption scandals, his popularity has plummeted.
‘‘I think for Singh, this trip to Beijing is his legacy lap,’’ Tellis said. ‘‘There is a certain quality of nostalgia that is wrapped into this visit.’’
Stopping in Russia on Monday, Singh met with President Vladimir Putin — but a hoped-for agreement to build two more reactors for the Russian-backed nuclear power plant in the southern Indian state of Tamil Nadu never materialized, bogged down in liability concerns.
I thought the U.S. was doing it for them.
That leaves China.
In April, soldiers from China’s People’s Liberation Army set up a campsite not far from an Indian military base in the mountainous region of Ladakh in a disputed part of Kashmir.
Indian forces took up positions, resulting in a standoff that lasted for three weeks before the Chinese soldiers retreated.
First I've seen of it.
‘‘The relationship has been quite frosty this year because of the incursion that happened in Ladakh in April,’’ said Brahma Chellaney, a professor of strategic studies at the Center for Policy Research in New Delhi. ‘‘I don’t think the relationship is sustainable. Unless the Chinese are willing to pursue a more balanced relationship, this turbulence will persist and intensify.’’
The new agreement aims to avoid conflicts by setting up communication hot lines for senior officers and establishing stricter rules for troop behavior along the border, including a prohibition against ‘‘tailing’’ — when a patrol from one country tails another after an encounter.
The two nuclear-armed powers have other longstanding political differences, including disputes over natural resources and China’s growing alliance with Pakistan.
Still, the nations have increasingly strong economic ties....
India would like to export more of its pharmaceutical products and information technology to China, but so far China’s appetite is for raw materials such as iron ore, resulting in a trade deficit of about $30 billion....
Maybe an Indian pill will go down $moother, although given the level of corruption in India I doubt it.
Chinese leaders have pledged more openness on the trade front, and they would like to be more involved in building needed infrastructure projects in India, according to Ye Hailin, a South Asian studies expert at the Chinese Academy of Social Sciences, a government think tank.
That's coercion.
But the Chinese government is awaiting the results of the spring election....
That's coercion.
But the Chinese government is awaiting the results of the spring election....
Tensions continue to flare between the countries over the more than 2,000 miles of disputed border that stretch from the Indian-controlled territory of Kashmir in the north to the eastern Indian state of Arunachal Pradesh, which China calls South Tibet.
China angered India this month when it gave ‘‘stapled’’ visas — visas issued on a separate piece of paper, rather than on a passport itself — to two archers from Arunachal Pradesh trying to get into China for a shooting competition.
In recent years, China had been giving these controversial stapled visas to Indian residents from areas it believes are in dispute, such as Kashmir and Arunachal Pradesh.
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"Indian troops kill Pakistani soldier in Kashmir" by Munir Ahmed | Associated Press, February 16, 2013
ISLAMABAD — Indian troops shot and killed a Pakistani soldier who crossed the makeshift border separating Indian- and Pakistani-held Kashmir, officials said Friday, in a development that threatened to upset the delicate cease-fire in a region claimed by both countries.
And who benefits?
And who benefits?
The shooting in Kashmir evoked similar episodes in January, in which three Pakistani soldiers and two Indian soldiers were killed. The deaths have ratcheted up tensions in an area where the two countries have long battled for dominance.
A Pakistani military official initially told reporters in a text message Friday that the soldier was reported killed on Thursday night after he accidentally crossed the line of control that separates the Pakistani — and the Indian-held sides of Kashmir, but gave no details. The official spoke on condition of anonymity in keeping with protocol.
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"5 soldiers, 2 militants killed in Indian Kashmir" by Dar Yasin | Associated Press, March 14, 2013
SRINAGAR, India — Two militants carrying guns and grenades attacked a group of paramilitary soldiers on the outskirts of the capital of Indian-controlled Kashmir on Wednesday morning, leaving five soldiers and both militants dead and 10 other people wounded, police said. It was the bloodiest militant attack in the capital in years.
The two militants mixed with a group of boys playing cricket near a school compound for the children of police officials before lobbing grenades at the paramilitary troops, said a senior police officer.
No students or teachers were at the school because of ongoing strikes in the wake of the February execution of a Kashmiri militant.
Later Wednesday, paramilitary soldiers shot and killed a civilian who they said was part of a group of protesters throwing stones at vehicles taking the injured to a hospital.
Local residents, however, said he was not protesting or throwing rocks at the troops.
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"Indian forces kill 4 villagers at rally protest" by Aijaz Hussain | Associated Press, July 19, 2013
SRINAGAR, India — Government forces in the Indian portion of Kashmir on Thursday fatally shot four villagers and wounded 25 others who were protesting the alleged desecration of the Muslim holy book by border guards, police said.
They are responsible for the majority of deaths, too. That's why Kashmiris want them out.
The violence — which came during the Muslim holy month of Ramadan — could spark protests in the disputed Himalayan region, with separatist groups that reject India’s sovereignty over the region calling for three days of strikes and protest beginning Friday.
They are responsible for the majority of deaths, too. That's why Kashmiris want them out.
The violence — which came during the Muslim holy month of Ramadan — could spark protests in the disputed Himalayan region, with separatist groups that reject India’s sovereignty over the region calling for three days of strikes and protest beginning Friday.
The protesters accused the Indian Border Security Force soldiers of entering a religious seminary Wednesday night looking for Kashmiri militants in Dharam, a village 140 miles south of Srinagar, the main city in Indian Kashmir.
The head of the seminary, Qari Shabir, said the border guards tore pages of several copies of the Koran after beating a school caretaker.
As thousands of villagers marched to the seminary on Thursday to protest the alleged desecration of the Korans, government forces opened fire to stop them, wounding several, Shabir said.
Thousands of people from other areas joined the protests. They resumed the march, with government forces again firing at protesters, he said.
I'm waiting for U.S. criticism.
I'm waiting for U.S. criticism.
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"5 soldiers killed in Kashmir attack" Associated Press, June 25, 2013
SRINAGAR, India — Five soldiers were killed and seven others wounded Monday in an attack by suspected rebels on an army convoy in Indian-controlled Kashmir on the eve of a visit by Prime Minister Manmohan Singh.
The attack came even though government forces had intensified their patrols ahead of Singh’s visit to prevent protests and attacks by rebels fighting against Indian rule.
I'm smelling a false flag.
I'm smelling a false flag.
Singh’s two-day visit, which starts Tuesday, also follows a weekend attack in which militants shot and killed two police officers in Kashmir’s main city of Srinagar.
Police detained scores of separatist activists, frisked residents, and searched cars as part of security measures....
Singh will inaugurate part of a rail line that connects southern and northern Kashmir, and meet officials to review development projects.
When the Chinese do that in Tibet it is a problem.
When the Chinese do that in Tibet it is a problem.
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"India asks Pakistan to rein in Islamist militants" by Ashok Sharma | Associated Press, August 16, 2013
NEW DELHI — India’s prime minister asked Pakistan on Thursday to prevent Islamist militants from using its territory as tensions rise between the longtime rivals following the recent killing of five Indian soldiers in fighting along the disputed Kashmir border.
Islamist militants = covert intelligence agency operations
Islamist militants = covert intelligence agency operations
India believes that Islamabad is not doing enough to rein in militants. It says the Pakistani military has nurtured them to fight a covert war over Kashmir, though Pakistan denies the claim.
Prime Minister Manmohan Singh said that for relations with Pakistan to improve, it is essential that Islamabad prevent the use of its territory for any activity against India.
Singh made the comment in a speech marking the anniversary of India’s 1947 independence from Britain. He is under pressure from India’s political opposition to adopt a tougher policy toward Pakistan.
Who helped them get that?
Who helped them get that?
The killing of five Indian soldiers last week, which New Delhi blamed on Pakistani troops, could threaten recent overtures aimed at resuming peace talks between the nuclear-armed rivals. The dialogue was interrupted after earlier fighting between Indian and Pakistani soldiers on the Kashmir border in January.
A Pakistani military official had accused Indian troops of shelling the Battal sector of Pakistan-held Kashmir on Tuesday, killing one civilian and seriously wounding another. India denied the charge, saying Pakistani troops initiated the firing.
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"Pakistan, India break cease-fire, clash in Kashmir" by Annie Gowen | Washington Post, September 13, 2013
SRINAGAR, India — After a decade of relative quiet, Indian and Pakistani troops are shelling each other with vigor again along their disputed border, raising tension between the nuclear-armed nations and forcing hundreds of villagers to flee.
Many fear there is worse to come. As the American military withdraws from Afghanistan, some Pakistan-based militants who had been fighting there have pledged to turn their attention to the Kashmir border region — and their old foe, India. Already, there are signs that militant activity is on the rise in this area, with graffiti appearing saying ‘‘Welcome Taliban.’’
In recent days, the disputed border that separates much of the Indian-controlled state of Jammu and Kashmir from Pakistan has turned into a virtual war zone.
A month of cease-fire violations by both sides has resulted in the deaths of at least 11 soldiers and two Pakistani civilians and the wounding of several residents.
‘‘We can’t sleep at night,’’ said one village head, Lal Din, 38. ‘‘Whenever we hear gunshots and mortars we huddle together in the corners of our shacks. We are helpless to do anything to prevent it.’’
The two sides have fought for more than six decades over this hilly and verdant land, which has been at the heart of two of the countries’ three wars.
While few people see the current skirmishes as exploding into a full-scale conflict, the fear of further deterioration is widespread.
‘‘In three or four months, the people fighting in Afghanistan or Pakistan could come here,’’ said Sheikh Younis, 42, who runs a mobile phone shop in a mall in downtown Srinagar, not far from the lotus-fringed lake where tourists take rides in colorful boats. ‘‘People are very concerned about it. What’s going to happen after 2014?’’
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"Pakistani prisoner attacked in India" Associated Press, May 04, 2013
SRINAGAR, India — A Pakistani prisoner in India was in a coma Friday after being beaten by another inmate, officials said, a day after a convicted Indian spy died after being bludgeoned with a brick by fellow inmates at a Pakistani prison.
Pakistan’s Foreign Ministry called the Kashmir jail attack an obvious retaliation for the killing of the Indian prisoner. Indian officials said they would investigate the attack and had issued an advisory to strengthen security for Pakistani prisoners in Indian jails.
K. Rajendra, the director general of prisons in Indian-held Kashmir, said the prisoner, Sanaullah Ranjay, had slipped into a coma and would be sent by air ambulance to a bigger hospital in the city of Chandigarh in the nearby state of Punjab.
Ranjay was imprisoned in 1999 and was sentenced to life in prison in 2009 for being a Pakistani militant operating in Indian Kashmir.
The attacker was identified as Vinod Kumar, a court-martialed Indian soldier who is also serving a life term for murder.
Two jail officials have been suspended from their jobs, Kumar said.
Indian Home Minister Sushil Kumar Shinde said an investigation has been ordered into the attack.
The dead Indian prisoner, Sarabjit Singh, had been held in a prison in Lahore, Pakistan, for more than 20 years. He was arrested in 1990 after bombings killed 14 people in Lahore and Faisalabad.
Indian officials said Singh’s death had hurt relations between the nuclear-armed neighbors, which have fought three major wars since they achieved independence from Britain in 1947.
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Related: A Stampede of Indian Items
Also see: Moving Between India and Pakistan
Gotta go through Kashmir first.
