Kashmir.Watch

Category: World

  • India, Pak should talk: UN

    The Secretary-General”s spokesperson Stephane Dujarric was repeatedly asked by a Pakistani reporter whether the UN chief will talk to the leaders of India and Pakistan and offer his good offices during the current atmosphere of escalating tensions and with “Pakistan and India are now getting ready to go to war.”

    UN chief Ban Ki-moon’s spokesperson has underlined the need for India and Pakistan to resolve their differences through dialogue as he refused to comment on comparisons between Kashmir and the situation in Syria and war-like situation between the two Asian neighbours.
    The Secretary-General’s spokesperson Stephane Dujarric was repeatedly asked by a Pakistani reporter whether the UN chief will talk to the leaders of India and Pakistan and offer his good offices during the current atmosphere of escalating tensions and with “Pakistan and India are now getting ready to go to war.”

    The journalist also drew a comparison between the situation in Kashmir with that in war-torn Syria.
    “Without commenting on the comparison you make, obviously, I think you’ve seen what we’ve already said on the situation in Kashmir. I have nothing to add to what we’ve already said and what already stands,” he said.
    He stressed that the UN is aware of the situation in Kashmir and “our position on good offices and the current situation remains the same, and I would refer you to what we’ve been saying the last couple of weeks.”

    On head of UN Human Rights Commission Zeid Ra’ad Al-Hussein asking India and Pakistan to allow his team to visit the region and whether Ban will ask the two nations to “ratchet down the war rhetoric”, Dujarric said “in a recent statement, I think we’ve stated clearly our position on the situation between those two countries.”
    Ban’s office has repeatedly said that the UN Chief’s “good offices” are available on helping resolve the Kashmir dispute only if both India and Pakistan request for it.

  • ‘China in touch with India, Pak to bring down tensions’

    China today said it is in touch with India and Pakistan through different channels to bring down tensions, asking them to properly deal with their differences and work jointly to maintain peace and security in the region.
    “As for the tension between Pakistan and India, recently Chinese side has been in communication with both sides through different channels,” Chinese Foreign Ministry spokesman Geng Shuang told media briefing here.

    “We hope that Indian and Pakistan can enhance communication and properly deal with difference and work jointly to maintain peace and security of the region,” he said replying to questions whether the current tensions between New Delhi and Islamabad in the aftermath of Uri attack figured in the first anti-terrorism dialogue held between China and India here earlier this week.
    Asked at what level China is in touch with both countries, Geng said China maintains frequent engagement at different levels with both India and Pakistan.
    A foreign ministry press release here last night said China “attaches importance” to Pakistan’s stand on Kashmir but hoped that New Delhi and Islamabad resolve the issue through dialogue and consultation to “safeguard” peace and stability in the region.

    Liu “emphasised that China pays attention to the recent situation in Kashmir and attaches importance to Pakistan’s relevant position”, the statement said.
    “China believes that Kashmir issue is an issue left over from history and should be resolved by relevant parties through dialogue and consultation.”

  • 14 Indian soldiers killed, one captured alive in retaliatory action: Pakistan media

    Defence analyst Major-General (Retd) Ijaz Awan said that his own sources confirmed the number of Indian soldiers killed in retaliatory Pakistani firing, reported Geo News

    At least 14 Indian soldiers were killed while one was captured alive in retaliatory action by Pakistani forces along the Line of control (LoC) in Jammu and Kashmir, a media report said today.
    “My independent sources have told me that at least 14 Indian soldiers have been killed…8 casualties in one sector and 6 in the other. There are also reports that bodies of eight Indian soldiers are lying across the LoC in Tatta Pani sector,” said senior journalist and host of Geo News programme ‘Capital Talk’ Hamid Mir.

    Defence analyst Major-General (Retd) Ijaz Awan said that his own sources confirmed the number of Indian soldiers killed in retaliatory Pakistani firing, reported Geo News.
    “Yes, this information is correct. Bodies are lying across Tatta Pani. I have spoken to eyewitnesses, who have confirmed that the bodies were not picked up as of this evening,” said Awan, according to the report.
    Dawn News reported that an Indian soldier by the name Chandu Babulal Chohan was taken into custody by Pakistani forces.

    However, there is as yet no official confirmation of this claim, said the report.
    Pakistan army, in a statement, said that an exchange of fire between Pakistani and Indian LoC troops began at 2:30am and continued till 8:00am in the Bhimber, Hotspring, Kel and Lipa sectors in Azad Jammu and Kashmir.
    “Pakistani troops befittingly responded to Indian unprovoked firing on the LoC.”
    Shortly after the exchange of fire, Indian Ministry of External Affairs and Ministry of Defence held a joint press conference in New Delhi in which DGMO Lt Gen Ranbir Singh said that surgical strikes were conducted by the Indian army on “terror launch pads along the LoC”.
    The strikes will not continue, he said.
    However, Pakistan rubbished the claim, saying that India was lying to “fool its own people”.

  • Obama defends his decision not to use term Islamic terrorism

    US President Barack Obama has defended his decision not to use the term ‘Islamic terrorism’, saying it is a “sort of manufactured” issue and there is no religious rationale to associate Islam with those who have “perverted and distorted” it as an excuse for their barbarism.
    “The truth of the matter is, is that this is an issue that has been sort of manufactured, because there is no doubt that where we see terrorist organiasations like Al Qaida or ISIL, they have perverted and distorted and tried to claim the mantle of Islam for an excuse for basically barbarism and death,” Obama said at a military town hall in Virginia.
    “These are people who kill children, kill Muslims, take sex slaves. There’s no religious rationale that would justify in any way any of the things that they do,” he said.
    Obama said he has been careful to make sure he does not lump these “murderers” into the billion Muslims that exist around the world, including in this country, who are peaceful, who are responsible, who in this country are troops and police officers and firefighters and teachers and neighbours and friends.
    “What I learned from listening to some of these Muslim families both in the United States and overseas is that when you start calling these organisations ‘Islamic terrorists’, the way it’s heard, the way it’s received by our friends and allies around the world is that somehow Islam is terroristic.
    “That then makes them feel as if they’re under attack.
    In some cases, it makes it harder for us to get their cooperation in fighting terrorism,” Obama said in response to a question.
    “If somebody uses the phrase ‘Islamic terrorism’ that it’s a huge deal? No There’s no doubt that these folks think that — and claim that they’re speaking for Islam. But I don’t want to validate what they do.”
    Obama said even some people “aspiring” to be president should refrain from such language. He said religious tests for immigration were a “slippery slope.”
    “The dangers where we get loose in this language, particularly when a president or people aspiring to become president get loose with this language, you can see in some of the language that we use — in talking about Muslim-Americans here, and the notion that somehow we’d start having religious tests in who can come in the country, and who’s investigated, and whether the Bill of Rights applies to them in the same way,” he said. (PTI)

  • ‘Notion of Surgical Strike… Is Fabrication of Truth,’ Pakistan Responds

    Srinagar: Pakistan on Thursday denied Indian claims of surgical strikes along the Line of Control (LoC) in “Azad” Jammu and Kashmir.

    “There has been no surgical strike by India, instead there had been cross border fire initiated and conducted by India which is existential phenomenon,” the military’s media wing ISPR said.

    The statement added, “As per rules of engagement same was strongly and befittingly responded by Pakistani troops.”

    “The notion of surgical strike linked to alleged militant bases is an illusion being deliberately generated by Indian to create false effects. This quest by Indian establishment to create media hype by re branding cross border fire as surgical strike is fabrication of truth. Pakistan has made it clear that if there is a surgical strike on Pakistani soil, same will be strongly responded,” the statement said.

    Earlier today, India’s defence ministry military claimed it carried out “surgical strikes” along the de facto border with Pakistan in AJK to thwart a series of attacks being planned against major cities.

    “Some militant teams had positioned themselves at launch pads along the Line of Control,” Lieutenant General Ranbir Singh, the army’s director-general of military operations, said in reference to the unofficial border in divided Kashmir.

    “The Indian army conducted surgical strikes last night at these launch pads. Significant casualties have been caused to these terrorists and those who are trying to support them,” he told reporters in New Delhi, adding that he had called his Pakistani counterpart to inform him of the operation.

    Two Pakistan Army soldiers were killed on Thursday as Indian forces resorted to unprovoked firing along the LoC in Bhimber, Kel and Lipa sectors, ISPR claimed.

    The exchange of fire took place in the Bhimber, Hot Spring, Kel and Lipa sectors, and lasted about six hours early on Thursday, the Pakistani military’s press wing said in a statement. Pakistani troops mounted a fitting response to unprovoked Indian firing.

    India on Thursday announced that air links between Pakistan and India, which including direct flights between the two countries will be decided by Prime Minister Narendra Modi.

  • India brands cross border fire as surgical strikes: Pakistan

    Srinagar: Pakistan on Thursday dismissed the Indian claims of any surgical strikes across  the LoC.

    “The notion of surgical strike linked to alleged terrorists bases is an illusion being deliberately generated by India to create false effects,” reports quoting Pakistan military statement said.

    “This quest by Indian establishment to create media hype by rebranding cross border fire as surgical strike is fabrication of truth. Pakistan has made it clear that if there is a surgical strike on Pakistani soil, same will be strongly responded.”

    Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif strongly condemned the incident, according to Radio Pakistan. “Our intent for a peaceful neighbourhood should not be mistaken as our weakness,” the Pak PM said.

  • Kashmir never was, can never be integral part of India: Lodhi

    Pakistan has described Indian External Affairs Minister Sushma Swaraj’s address to the UN as a “litany of falsehoods” and “a travesty of facts and history”.
    Pakistan’s Permanent Representative to the UN, Maleeha Lodhi, said Jammu and Kashmir “never was and can never be an integral part of India”, reiterating her country’s claim over the state after Sushma Swaraj suggested to Pakistan to abandon the dream of capturing the territory.

    Lodhi, in Pakistan’s Right of Reply, cast doubts on the September 18 attack in Uri that has spiked tensions between the two neighbours.
    She said the attack “has all the hallmarks of an operation designed to divert attention from India’s atrocities in occupied Jammu and Kashmir”.
    Lodhi was referring to the ongoing unrest in Jammu and Kashmir that has left 88 people dead in clashes between unarmed people and government forces, triggered by the July 8 killing of a militant commander.

    The envoy termed the deaths in the Kashmir Valley as “worst form of state terrorism, a war crime, that India has continued to perpetrate…in Jammu and Kashmir for the past many decades”.
    Lodhi strongly countered the allegations “designed principally to deflect global attention from the brutalities…against innocent and unarmed Kashmiri children, women and men”.
    “Jammu and Kashmir never was and can never be an integral part of India. It is a disputed territory, the final status of which has yet to be determined in accordance with several resolutions of the UN Security Council.”
    She also rebutted Sushma Swaraj’s remarks that India had laid no pre-conditions for peace talks with Pakistan.
    “India suspended talks more than a year ago, and has refused to resume them despite repeated offers from Pakistan and advice from the international community.”
    In response to Swaraj’s reference to Pakistani national Bahadur Ali who was arrested in Kashmir, Lodhi said the recently captured “Indian spy, an intelligence officer,” Kulbhushan Yadav, has “confessed” to India’s support to terrorist and subversive activities particularly in Balochistan and Federally Administered Tribal Areas.
    “Indeed, it was Kulbhushan, who was financing, arming and supporting individuals and entities listed under the UN sanctions regime,” Lodhi said.
    She said India’s “policy of interference” in Pakistan, especially its attempt to destabilise Balochistan, are now on record.
    “The message that Kashmir is an integral part of India should be loud and clear,” India today told Pakistan, calling it a “dysfunctional state” that commits atrocities on its own people and preaches about tolerance, democracy and human rights.
    Responding to Pakistan’s Right of Reply (RoR), India also asked Pakistan if it can clarify how terror safe havens continue to flourish on its soil despite getting billions of dollars in anti-terrorism aid.
    First Secretary in the Indian Mission to the UN, Eenam Gambhir, in India’s Right of Reply to Lodhi’s remarks, said that it appears that the Pakistani envoy “did not hear clearly what our Minister of External Affairs stated during her address earlier today”.
    Quoting Swaraj that Jammu and Kashmir is an integral part of India, and will always continue to do so, Gambhir said “we hope that the message is loud and clear”.
    In a second RoR, a Pakistani representative reiterated that Kashmir remains an internationally-recognised disputed territory.
    Gambhir responded by saying that Pakistan has yet again “chosen to stay silent” on the tough questions. (PTI)

  • ‘Pak using international aid to finance terrorism’

    Upping the ante against Pakistan, India has said it is a “terrorist state” which for years with complete impunity has been using billions of dollars from international aid to train, finance and support terror groups as militant proxies.
    Describing Pakistan as the “true epicentre” of global terror, India also said Islamabad’s trust in the methods of terror are so “deep” that it does not hesitate in using them on its own people in Balochistan, Sindh, Khyber Pakhtunkhwa and the tribal areas.

    In its Right of Reply in response to a statement by Pakistan at the 33rd session of the Human Rights Council, India said, “the latest terrorist attack in Uri, where 18 Indian soldiers lost their life and over 20 injured, only underlines that the infrastructure of terrorism in Pakistan remains active.”
    “The recovery of GPS, grenades with Pakistani markings, communication matrix sheets and equipments and other stores made in Pakistan, and patterns of infiltration and attacks, is clear evidence of involvement of terror organisations based in Pakistan or territory under its control,” it said yesterday.
    India also asserted that it awaits “credible action” by Pakistan to bring all those involved in the 2008 Mumbai attack and the Pathankot attack to justice.

    Regretting Pakistan’s continued “misuse of the Council to make tendentious references about internal matters pertaining to Jammu and Kashmir,” India said Islamabad’s “misinformation campaign backed by fabricated facts and figures, on this issue only reflects the desperation that has seeped into their narrative.”
    “Pakistan’s continued support for terror groups operating in Jammu and Kashmir is the main challenge to protecting the human rights of our citizens in the state.” (PTI)

  • Pakistan fighting a serious campaign against violent extremism: US

    Following External Affairs Minister Sushma Swaraj’s speech at the United Nations General Assembly session wherein she asked the world to act against countries harbouring terrorists, the US has said that Pakistan needs to target all terror groups, including those that target neighbouring countries.
    “Our focus with Pakistan is to enhance their capability, as I just said, to deal with a terrorist threat on their soil,” US State Department Deputy spokesperson Mark Toner said in his daily press briefing here on Monday.
    “They’re fighting a serious and sustained campaign against violent extremism,” he said.
    “We do believe that they’re making progress, that they’re taking steps to counter terrorist violence, but at the same time we’ve been very clear that they need to target all militant groups, including those that target Pakistan’s neighbours, and close all safe havens.”
    These comments come after the September 18 cross-border attack on an Indian Army camp at Uri in Jammu and Kashmir that claimed the lives of 18 soldiers.
    Toner called for normalisation of India-Pakistan relations saying that there was “no zero-sum game” in the region.
    “I think our longstanding position is that we believe India and Pakistan really stand to benefit from the normalisation of relations between them and practical cooperation between them, and we encourage both India and Pakistan to pursue and engage in direct dialogue that is aimed at reducing tensions,” he said.
    In response to a question of Russia carrying out its first ever joint military exercise with Pakistan close on the heels of the India-US “Yudh Abhyas” drill in Uttarakhand in India, Toner said: “Well, if the insinuation is that there’s some kind of tit-for-tat or Great Game being played out here, that’s not at all the case. Look, we’ve long said with regard to Pakistan, with regard to India, with regard to the region, there’s no zero-sum game here.”
    Stating that the US was pursuing “very close relations with India”, he said that Washington has “a deep and broad bilateral and multilateral relationship” with New Delhi.
    “They (India) are the world’s largest democracy and we share, I think, a very similar vision of the world,” Toner said.
    “And we obviously have very close trade and economic ties with India, and also that extends to security cooperation.” (IANS)

  • Violating Indus Water Treaty will be Act of War: Pakistan

    Pakistan will approach the UN and the International Court of Justice if India suspends the 56-year-old Indus Water Treaty, the country’s top diplomat Sartaj Aziz said today, insisting the revocation of the treaty can be taken as an “Act of War”.

    “The international law states that India cannot unilaterally separate itself from the treaty,” Aziz, Advisor to Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif on Foreign Affairs, said while briefing the National Assembly on the issue.

    He said unilateral revocation of the treaty can pose a threat to Pakistan and its economy. He said that if India violates the treaty Pakistan can approach the International Court of Justice.
    “This Indian act can be taken as breach of international peace and hence giving Pakistan a good reason to approach the UN Security Council,” Aziz said.

    He said Pakistan is considering to draw attention of the international community on the dangers of such an action if it is considered seriously.

    “Between the two countries, this act of revocation can be taken as an act of war,” he said.
    Prime Minister Narendra Modi yesterday chaired a review meeting of 56-year-old Indus Water Treaty during which it was decided that India will “exploit to the maximum” the water of Pakistan-controlled rivers, including Jhelum, as per the water sharing pact. (PTI)