Category: Union Territory

It is being seen as an expansion of its previously known territorial claims in the area.

China’s claims to the entire Galwan valley in Ladakh, attributed on Friday by a Chinese strategic expert to “historical rights” going back to the Qing Dynasty, are being seen as an expansion of previously known Beijing’s territorial claims in the area.

The claims mark a shift from the past, and suggest China now claims territory west of the Line of Actual Control (LAC) and possibly up to the confluence of the Galwan and Shyok rivers.

While most Chinese maps show almost all of the Galwan river within Chinese territory, the western edge of the river where it meets the Shyok was not shown as Chinese territory previously in earlier maps.

On Friday, a leading Chinese strategic expert on border affairs at the Chinese Academy of Social Sciences (CASS), an official think-tank, made the claim to the entire valley in an interview with State media, citing “multiple accounts from the Qing Dynasty” that showed “historical rights”.

“Multiple accounts from the Qing Dynasty [1644-1911] and Western literature have recorded that the Galwan valley was China’s territory. Based on the principle of ‘historic rights,’ China has jurisdiction over the valley area,” Zhang Yongpan, a research fellow of the Institute of Chinese Borderland Studies at CASS, told the Global Times.

He referred to India’s construction activity near the Shyok as reflecting an attempt “to break into Chinese land”. “In nearby Shyok river in west Galwan river, India built an airport, constructed bridges, roads and villages. For years, the country has been seeking to break into Chinese land,” he said.

This followed a statement on Tuesday made by People’s Liberation Army’s (PLA) Western Theatre Command spokesman Colonel Zhang Shuili that “China always owns sovereignty over the Galwan valley region”.

That was said a day after Monday’s clash in the area that claimed the lives of at least 20 Indian soldiers in the worst violence on the border since 1967.

MEA: untenable claims

Reacting to the PLA statement, India’s Ministry of External Affairs described the claims as “exaggerated and untenable”.

The LAC runs east of the Galwan-Shyok confluence, and Monday’s clash was thought to have taken place in the area between the confluence and the LAC, on India’s side of the line. While the LAC has never been demarcated and there are differing perceptions in at least a dozen spots along the LAC, this was not among them, according to officials, and had not seen incidents in the past.

M. Taylor Fravel, an expert on the Chinese military at MIT, told The Hindu earlier, “Chinese maps that I have seen show almost all of the Galwan river as lying within the territory China claims in the area. The one discrepancy would be the western tip of the Galwan river as it meets the Shyok. Here, the last few kilometres of the Galwan river are often depicted as lying beyond China’s border. How one defines the parameters of the valley itself might be different than the river, however.”

While there is some ambiguity on where the extremities of the valley may be defined, recent statements from China suggest their claim now goes beyond the current LAC.

The immediate trigger for the tensions that erupted last month in the Galwan area is thought to be a bridge and some feeder roads built by India east of the confluence of the rivers, but on India’s side of the LAC.

Opening of road

China’s moves may have been triggered by last year’s opening of the vital Darbuk-Shyok-Daulet Beg Oldie (DSDBO) road, which runs parallel to the LAC providing key all-weather access to the post at Daulet Beg Oldie, one of the northernmost points in Ladakh, observers have said. China may also be seeking access to areas closer to the confluence, from where it could neutralise the strategically important DSDBO road.

The report on Friday said the recent clash “has brought the past flashpoint Galwan valley into the spotlight.” It stated, “Chinese experts stressed China owns sovereignty over the area, and warned them not to be blind to history and mislead the public.” It added, “Whether judging from China’s historic rights to the land and the Line of Actual Control, established to create a demarcation line and to ease tensions between the nations after the 1962 war, there is no dispute over the valley’s sovereignty.”

Mr. Zhang of CASS said the valley, which was also a flashpoint in 1962, was of “strategic importance for both India and China.” “Maybe India thinks it could provide abundant water resources and is an important channel connecting China and South Asia,” he said. “India’s actions in the region also suggest that it intends to strengthen its control over Ladakh and Kashmir. India’s actions proved that it wants to enhance strength against Pakistan and China, and gain favourable geographical advantages”.

With inputs from The Hindu

PTI

Srinagar: Pakistani troops violated ceasefire along the Line of Control in Tangdhar sector of Jammu and Kashmir by firing mortar shells towards Indian positions on Friday, Army officials said.

“On 19 June 2020, in the evening hours, Pakistan initiated an unprovoked ceasefire violation (CFV) along the LoC in Tangdhar sector by firing mortars and other weapons,” the officials said.

They said the Indian Army gave a befitting response to the violations.

There were no reports of casualties in the incident.

Though India has initiated an enormous rescue operation , using all the ways ragging from national carrier, Air India, and its naval ships even all manpower to bring home overseas citizens .
However, 700 Kashmiris have been left on high and dry , their voices turned unheard and have facing the pressure-cooker situations. Their money is gone thus forced them to bear the brunt of pauperism and mendicancy which further appeals for them most ignominious syndrome.

At a time when Hundred of thousands of Indian could be repatriated by the time , with the human bazooka ethos but the stepmother’s treatment is evident when talking about Kashmiris stranded in UAE , from the pre pandemic and are still starving for their voices to be heard.

The bolt from the blue for these stranded people came when they found themselves into streets disposed from their jobs are now living the life if misery. No celebrity, no politician , no social organization ever heard their wailings.

These stranded people have approached Indian Embassy but borne no fruit “ We’ve approached the country’s Embassy many times but failed to win their attention, their tall promises turned out to be the torn water “ Wrote to Wilayat Times, a Stranded who is roaming under the scorching sun to be helped.

Hundreds of thousands of Kashmiri have registered with embassies for repatriation. Many of them have lost jobs. Others are simply unable to fly back any other way, with the airspace virtually closed.

Some need to come back to earn a living, or to help a sick relative. And as colleges and universities have shut across the globe, hundreds of thousands of young Kashmiris have been left stranded, far from home.

Their remaining money has gone with mounting psychological distress thus throwing their lives on stake , in an unknown land these people are feared least they will die before reaching home.

“Majority among us have gone out of job , our visas are cancelled besides many health questions and concerns are adding the petrol to our simmering situations, we’ve been caught between the wall and rock “ said another youth to Wilayat Times with shattered hopes.

Insofar, Indian government claimed to have launched “VBM” Vandha Bharat Mission With much fanfare but for these stranded people it is a flop-show , it claimed to provide four Flights but played the philander role with lofty expectation of people, now instead of daily basis, they flights can be hardly seen even now in months scheduled to pluck Indians out of places like Kerala, Assam and other States.

Moreover, this launched service is only meant for Kerala , which is now called as Vandha Kerala Mission by the People who didn’t avail this service.

The stranded even sought the attention of charity based air services , but they can’t make it to Kashmir , as their service for Kashmir is barred .

“We request the government of India and JK Administration to rescue us from our stranded places to make our ways to home, and arrange at least three flights in a week, so that everyone reaches home at the earliest.” Wrote a group of youths to Wilayat Times.

“We have approached for chattered flights, unfortunately they don’t get landing permission in Kashmir. When as 2 or 3 chattered flights took off for Kerala and other parts of Country but for Kashmir, the services are barred with unknown reasons “mailed another stranded man.

Now, the stranded have appealed , the Indian government to evacuate them from their stranded plights, , they also appealed to the charity based air services to rescue them at the earliest before, health and other s social scourge will make triumph over them.

“We request the government of India and JK Administration to rescue us from our stranded places to make our ways to home, and arrange at least three flights in a week , so that everyone reaches home at the earliest.” Wrote a group of youths to Wilayat Times

With inputs from Wilayat Times

New Delhi: Even as the Indian Air Force (IAF) moved its assets including fighter aircraft to forward bases and airfields in view of the ongoing dispute with China, its chief RKS Bhadauria was on a two-day hush-hush visit to the Leh and Srinagar airbases, which would be the most critical for any operations to be carried out by the force in the Eastern Ladakh area.
The visit assumes significance as it came soon after the top security brass of the country reviewed the situation and military options after the Chinese Army killed 20 Indian soldiers in a premeditated attack in the Galwan Valley area after making an attempt to unilaterally change the status of the Line of Actual Control (LAC).

“The Air Force chief was on a two-day visit where he checked the operational readiness of all the platforms that have been moved to the area in view of the Chinese aggression along the LAC in the Eastern Ladakh where more than 10,000 troops have been amassed by China,” government sources told ANI.

In the first leg of his visit, he was in Leh on June 17 and from there he went to the Srinagar airbase on June 18. Both these bases are closest to the Eastern Ladakh area and most suited to carry out any fighter aircraft operations in the mountainous terrain and also have a clear edge over the Chinese, the sources said.

When asked to confirm the visit by the Air Force chief to Leh and Srinagar, IAF spokesperson Wing Commander Indranil Nandy refused to say anything. “No comments,” he stated.

Meanwhile, the Air Force has moved its critical frontline assets including the Sukhoi-30MKI, Mirage 2000 and Jaguar fighter aircraft fleet to advanced positions where they can fly in at a very short notice to carry out operations.
For providing air support to the Indian Army troops in the eastern Ladakh sector, the American Apache attack helicopters have been deployed in the close vicinity of the areas where operations by the ground troops are taking place at the moment.

The Chinooks helicopters have also been deployed in and around the Leh airbase to provide the capability of rapid troops transportation and inter-valley troop transfer, in case such a situation emerges there. The Mi-17V5 medium-lift choppers are also playing an active role in the area in troops and material transportation there.

With multiple bases around the Ladakh and Tibet region including Leh, Srinagar, Avantipur, Bareilly, Adampur, Halwara (Ludhiana), Ambala and Sirsa, the Indian Air Force has an edge over their Chinese counterparts, who have to start fighter aircraft operations from Hotan and Gar Gunsa near Ladakh as they are at an altitude of 14,000 feet plus. The Indian Air Force has deployed its Su-30 combat aircraft soon after the Chinese choppers tried to violate Indian air space in Eastern Ladakh around the same time when their Army started arriving in large numbers along the LAC there.

With inputs from TOI

Srinagar: Doctors Association Kashmir (DAK) on Friday said more than 17 percent of Covid-19 positive cases in Kashmir valley are children.
“We have higher percentage of children with Covid infection than the global average,” said DAK President Dr Nisar ul Hassan.

“While children make up fewer than 2 percent of reported Covid-19 cases globally, in Kashmir valley 17.29 percent of Covid cases are in the age group of 0-19,” he said.

Dr Nisar said based on our analysis from the data of 989 lab confirmed cases of the novel coronavirus, 171 cases (17.29 percent) were under 19 years of age.

“Majority of the children who tested positive for the novel virus had history of contact with adults,” he said.

“Most of the children with Covid infection had no symptoms or had mild disease,” he added.
Dr Nisar said no Covid infected child became seriously ill.

“However, today we had the first infant death in the valley due to Covid infection. A 15-day-old infant who had underlying serious heart ailment died due to the novel virus,” he said.

Dr Nisar said research shows that children are less susceptible to the virus than adults.
“School closure and a comparatively lower rate of testing for the novel virus among children could contribute to the low number of reported cases among the group,” he said.

“It is also possible that due to some quirk of biology, children are less susceptible than adults,” he added.

Dr Nisar said studies on whether children are also less likely to spread the infection to others have shown mixed results.

“A French study found that a nine year old child who attended three different schools while showing symptoms of Covid-19 didn’t infect anyone,” he said.

“But a German study concluded that children could be as infectious as adults,” Dr Nisar said.
“In view of mixed results, we should wait for more research results before reopening schools and easing social distancing for children,” he said.

“Most children find it difficult to follow social distancing norms and given the large number of students in one classroom and crowded transport, schools can easily turn into infection clusters if children infect teachers or take the infection to the family and neighbourhood, even if they don’t get severe disease themselves,” said Dr Nisar said.

PTI

Srinagar: A 15-day-old baby was among three COVID-19 patients who died at a hospital here, taking the number of fatalities due to the novel coronavirus in the Union Territory to 75, officials said on Friday.

The baby is the youngest COVID-19 victim in the union territory, the officials said, adding all the deaths took place at SKIMS hospital in Soura area of the city here.

The baby from Bemina area had tested positive for the virus and was admitted to the hospital on Wednesday as a case of aortic stenosis with Congestive Cardiac Failure (CCF). The newborn died this morning.

They said a 79-year-old man from Nowshera area of Srinagar, who had tested positive for COVID-19, died at 11:15 pm on Thursday night.

The patient was admitted to the hospital on June 8 and was suffering from hypertension, hypothyroidism, with bilateral chest infiltrate.He had contact history with a positive patient, they said.

In another death at the hospital, an 80-year-old man from Sopore area of north Kashmir’s Baramulla district passed away at 9 am on Friday, the officials said.

They said the patient was admitted at the hospital on June 17 with hypertension and cardiac failure.

His sampling was done that day only and the report returned as positive the next day, they added.

Srinagar, June 19: Director General of Police (J&K) Dilbagh Singh on Friday said 50 Hibz militants alone among 102 were killed this year sofar in Jammu and Kashmir.

PTI

Jammu: Pakistani troops shelled forward areas along the Line of Control (LoC) in Jammu and Kashmir’s Rajouri district on Friday, drawing retaliation from the Indian Army, officials said.

“At around 1045 hours, Pakistani Army initiated unprovoked ceasefire violation by firing with small arms and resorting to intense shelling of mortars along the LoC in Nowshera sector of Rajouri district,” a defence spokesperson said.

“The Indian Army is retaliating befittingly,” the spokesperson said.

The firing and shelling was on till last reports came in.

PTI

Srinagar: Two more COVID-19 patients died at a hospital here, taking the number of fatalities due to the novel coronavirus in the Union Territory to 74, officials said on Friday.

Both the deaths took place at SKIMS hospital in Soura area of the city here, the officials said.

A 79-year-old man from Nowshera area of Srinagar, who had tested positive for COVID-19, died at 11:15 pm on Thursday night, the officials said.

They said the patient was admitted to the hospital on June 8 and was suffering from hypertension, hypothyroidism, with bilateral chest infiltrate.

He had contact history with a positive patient, they said.

In another death at the hospital, an 80-year-old man from Sopore area of north Kashmir’s Baramulla district passed away at 9 am in Friday, the officials said.

They said the patient suffering from hypertension and cardiac failure was admitted to the hospital on June 17.

His sampling was done that day only and the report returned as positive the next day, they added.

Slain include two who had taken refuge in a mosque at Meej, Pampore, IGP Kashmir says sanctity of mosque maintained, no firing, IED used, Only tear smoke shells used

Shopian: Eight militants were killed in two separate encounters in Southern districts of Pulwama and Shopian in the past 24 hours. The slain include two militants who had taken refuge inside a mosque in Meej area of Pampore in Pulwama district.

Earlier in the day yesterday, one unidentified militant was killed in an encounter that broke out in the village Bandpawa in Chitragam Tehsil of Shopian district.

Officials said that with the first light of the day, four more militants were killed taking the total number of slain militants in Bandpawa gunfight to five.

A security official told news agency—Kashmir News Observer (KNO), that as the operation progressed, amid heavy exchange of firing from both sides, four more militants were killed in the gunfight taking the total number of militants killed to five. “The bodies of five slain have been retrieved and their identity and affiliation is being ascertained,” the official said, adding that the arms and ammunition have been recovered from the slain militants.

Defence spokesman in Srinagar Colonel Rajesh Kalia, however, confirmed the killing of four militants stating that the Ops was on.

About the Meej encounter in Pampore area of Pulwama, Inspector General of Police Kashmir zone, Vijay Kumar said that “patience and professionalism worked.”

“No use of firing and IED. Used tear smoke shells only. Maintained sanctity of the mosque. Both militants hiding inside the mosque neutralized,” he said. With the killing of two more militants, the total number of slain militants in Meej gunfight has reached to three as of early morning yesterday, one unidentified militant was killed while two had entered into a local mosque.

In two separate encounters, the number of militants killed has reached to eight in the past 24 hours.

Defence spokesman in Srinagar Rajesh Kalia said that maintaining the sanctity of the mosque, two militants hiding inside the mosque have been killed. “Total three militants killed. It was a precise operation with no collateral damage ensured,” he said.

Pertinently, Inspector General of Police, Kashmir, Vijay Kumar recently said that militancy stands almost wiped out from South Kashmir and the police would now shift its focus on north Kashmir from next month.

This year so far, 102 militants including top commanders of Hizbul Mujahideen, Jaish-e-Muhammad and Lashkar-e-Taiba were killed that include Reyaz Naikoo, the chief operational commander of Hizbul, Bashir Koka of Lashkar and Abdur Rehman alias Fouji Bhai of Pakistan, who was an IED expert of Jaish.

Figures suggest that 72 militants including the five slain today, were killed alone since the outbreak of Covid-19 pandemic in Kashmir on March 20. In the past two weeks, 32 militants were killed in two southern districts of Shopian and Pulwama—(KNO)