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  • China deploys fighter jets on border from Ladakh to Arunachal

    Leh: China has also been alerted after India deployed MiG-29 and Apache fighter, helicopters in Leh following violent clashes along the India-China border. China has also deployed a large number of fighter jets, aviation aircraft, and helicopters to its airbases Hotan, Nagyari, Shigatse, and Nayingchi adjoining Ladakh. The Chinese army has also increased its offensive operations and monitoring to prevent the Indian jawans ahead of Finger 4 at Pangang Soo Lake on Paigam Soe Lake.

    As reported by The Tribune, China has deployed fighter, jet bombers, and fighter helicopters at its airbases along the border with India at Hotan, Nagyari, Shigatse, and Nyingchi. The PLA has also increased its movement on the border of Arunachal. On the Pangang Soe Lake where the Chinese Army wants to replace the LAC, it has also deployed a large number of soldiers and weapons in Gogra Hot Spring.

    After this action by China, the risk for India’s Depsang, Murgo, Galvan, Hot Spring, Koool, Phookache, and Demchok has increased greatly. India has stepped up preparations to meet the challenge of China. It is reported that talks are taking place between the two armies today. Earlier, a similar meeting was held on 6 June.

    –Agencies

  • COVID-19 death toll rises to 84 in J&K

    PTI

    Srinagar: A 65-year-old COVID-19 positive patient has died in Jammu and Kashmir, taking the death toll due to the disease to 84 in the Union Territory, officials said on Monday.

    The patient, hailing from south Kashmir’s Pulwama district, was suffering from bilateral pneumonia, hypertension and diabetes. He died at the SMHS hospital here on Sunday night, the officials said.

    “His COVID-19 test results came positive on Monday morning,” they added.

    With this, the number of COVID-19-related fatalities has risen to 84 in the Union territory.

  • 6 Operational Commanders Among 106 Militants Killed This Year: Officials

    Srinagar: Six operational commanders of different militant groups active in Kashmir Valley have been killed this year, officials said on Monday.

    In all 106 militants have been so far this year and among those slain include six operational commanders of outfits like Hizbul-Mujahideen, the Lashkar-e-Taiba, Jaish-e-Mohammed and Ansaar Gazwatul Hind.

    “They include Riyaz Naikoo, Abdul Rehman alias Fauji Bhai, Zubair, Qari Yasir, Junaid Sehri, Burhan Koka, Haider and Tayab Walid,” a senior police officer told GNS.

    Addressing reporters here on Sunday last, Inspector General of Police, Kashmir Range, Vijay Kumar said the 106 militants were killed so far this year while “100 to 200 militants are still active”.

    After wiping out militancy in South Kashmir, our focus will shift towards North Kashmir, IGP added.(GNS)

  • Opening of liquor shops, highly concerning and condemnable: Rector Darul Uloom Raheemiyyah

    As per media reports, 67 shops have been granted permission to sell liquor.

    Rector Darul Uloom Raheemiyyah, Bandipora, expressed deep concerns. Majority of the residents of valley are in abhorrence with it, as in our religion, it has been absolutely prohibited (Haraam), rather considered as root of all evils (Umm-ul-khabaais). The ruling, as per Shariah, regarding it is same as that of Urine. Therefore, trying to make it more publicly accessible and available is as good as destroying the society.

    It’s quite astonishing, that on one hand, authorities destroy addictive/intoxicated crops and take pride by showing it in media and on other hand is permitting such an addictive deuced entity to be abundantly available in the market. Such a logic is beyond one’s understanding.

    We want to live our leftover life as per the environment of our belief and according to our faithful deeds. Want to eat and live on the sustenance what’s permissible.

    If government authorities can’t help us in such tough times although it’s their responsibility to safeguard the religious tenets, language and culture, religious permissible and non-permissible of the residents, at least they should not encourage evil and deuced entities in society and environment. Therefore news reports pertaining to allowing the sale of liquor in the valley at numerous places is highly concerning, condemnable and synonymous to destroying our society and social fabric.

  • OIC to hold emergency meeting on Jammu and Kashmir

    Meeting to bring together foreign ministers of Azerbaijan, Niger, Pakistan, Saudi Arabia and Turkey

    The Organization of Islamic Cooperation (OIC) Contact Group on Jammu and Kashmir will hold an emergency meeting via videoconference on Monday to discuss the latest situation in the disputed territory.

    OIC to hold emergency meeting on Jammu and Kashmir
    Organization of Islamic Cooperation (OIC) | Representational Picture

    The online meet will bring together the foreign ministers of the Jammu And Kashmir Contact Group member states: Azerbaijan, Niger, Pakistan Saudi Arabia and Turkey, the OIC said in a statement.

    “The meeting is part of a series of continuous Jammu And Kashmir Contact Group meetings to address the issue,” OIC Secretary General Dr. Yousef Al-Othaimeen was quoted as saying.

    The OIC, founded in 1967 and consists of 67 countries, is the collective voice of the Muslim world to ensure and safeguard their economic and political interests.

    Kashmir is held by India and Pakistan in parts but claimed by both in full. A small sliver of the region is also controlled by China.

    Since they were partitioned in 1947, the two countries have fought three wars — in 1948, 1965, and 1971. Two of them have been over Kashmir.

    Some Kashmiri groups in Jammu and Kashmir have been fighting against the Indian rule for independence or unification with neighboring Pakistan.

    According to several human rights organizations, thousands of people have been killed in the conflict since 1989.

    On Aug. 5, 2019 the Indian government revoked Article 370 and other related provisions from its Constitution, scrapping the country’s only Muslim-majority state with its autonomy. It was also split into two federally administered territories.

    Simultaneously, it locked the region down, detaining thousands of people, imposing movement restrictions and enforcing a communications blackout.

    –Agencies

  • India-China border tensions | Army deployed at LAC as stand-off continues

    The Modi government is very unhappy that the Chinese President Xi Jinping broke all the promises by not reining his favourite PLA western theatre commander Gen Zhao Zongqi, people aware of the development said.

    India has deployed its specialised high altitude warfare forces along the 3,488 km Line of Actual Control (LAC) to repel any transgression by the Chinese People’s Liberation Army (PLA) in either western, middle or eastern sectors.

    Top government sources confirmed that Indian Army has been directed to safeguard the LAC from any cross-border aggression by the PLA, which is showing hostile intent by amassing troops in a bid to cow down the Narendra Modi government.

    It is understood that specialised forces trained over the past decades for fighting on the northern front have been pushed up to the frontier to impose military costs if the red flag goes up. Unlike the PLA which moves in infantry combat vehicles and paved metalled roads to move, the Indian mountain troops are trained in guerrilla warfare and fighting in high altitude as shown by them in Kargil War.

    India,China,India Chief border
    The Indian mountain troops are trained in guerrilla warfare and fighting in high altitude.(Pic Courtesy: Indian Army)

    “The art of mountain fighting is the toughest as the cost of human casualties is 10 to each troop of the adversary sitting on a height. The troops from Uttarakhand, Ladakh, Gorkha, Arunachal and Sikkim have adapted to the rarefied heights over centuries and hence their capability of fighting is close quarter combats is without match. The artillery and the missiles have to have pin-pointed accuracy or else they miss the mountain target by miles,” said a former Indian Army chief.

    The other thing that works for the army is that the Tibetan plateau is flat on the Chinese side while the Indian side starts from K2 peak in Karakoram, to Nanda Devi in Uttarakhand, to Kanchenjung in Sikkim and Namche Barwa across Arunachal Pradesh border. “In mountains, it is not only difficult to capture territory but more difficult to hold it,” a China expert with South Block said.

    While India has noted with appreciation the voices coming out in its support from the Trump administration, including the President himself, the mood in Delhi is more like “atmanirbhar (self-reliant) Bharat” with no intent of asking anyone for military or diplomatic support. “I have my battalions lined up with armoured personnel carriers and artillery. India will not instigate or precipitate any skirmish but will reply to any transgression. The days of LAC nibbling are over. This is a battle of nerves and India is prepared to wait, come snow come sunshine,” said a senior minister.

    The Modi government is very unhappy that the Chinese President Xi Jinping broke all the “peace and tranquility” promises by not reining his favourite PLA western theatre commander Gen Zhao Zongqi, who is insistent on imposing 1960 eastern Ladakh map based on exaggerated territorial claims on India. This map where China claims territory upto Kongka La was unveiled by then Chinese premier Chou En lai.

    Incidentally, Chou En Lai, the premier during 1962 conflict, had close links with President Xi Jinping’s family and Foreign Minister Wang Yi’s wife is the daughter of secretary of the former premier. External Affairs Minister S Jaishankar father K Subrahmanyam was involved in India’s war effort as an officer in the Defence Ministry.

    It was only to set aside these historical baggage that Prime Minister Narendra Modi had initiated the Wuhan and Chennai understandings so that the two leaders could promote the bilateral relations post-Doklam. It is quite evident that President Xi had no such plans and has used tensions in East Ladakh to divert global attention from failure of China to alert the world about coronavirus. In the same way, another paramount leader used the 1962 conflict to deflect attention from the famine, due to failure of Great Leap Forward movement, in which millions of Chinese died.

    With inputs from HT Web Desk

    (Except for the headline, this story has not been edited by Kashmir Today staff and is published from a syndicated feed)

  • Petrol nears Rs 80 mark in Capital, diesel at new high after 16th price hike in a row

    PTI

    New Delhi: Petrol price on Monday was hiked by 33 paise per litre and diesel by 58 paise to take retail rates to record high as the oil companies increased prices for the 16th day in a row.

    In 16 days, petrol price has been hiked by Rs 8.3 per litre and diesel by Rs 9.46 – a record increase in rates of the fuel in any fortnight since pricing was deregulated in April 2002.

    Petrol price in Delhi was hiked to Rs 79.56 per litre from Rs 79.23 while diesel rates were increased to Rs 78.55 a litre from Rs 78.27, according to a price notification of state oil marketing companies.

    Rates have been increased across the country and vary from state to state depending on the incidence of local sales tax or value added tax (VAT).

    The increase in rates since June 7 is the highest in any fortnight. When petrol and diesel pricing was deregulated in April 2002, oil companies revised rates every fortnight in line with the cost. They switched to daily price revision in May 2017 to allow cost to reflect instantaneously in retail rates.

    According to pricing data, the maximum rates have increased in any fortnight was Rs 4-5 per litre.

    The 16th daily increase in rates, since oil companies on June 7 restarted revising prices in line with costs after ending an 82-day hiatus in rate revision, has taken diesel prices to fresh highs. Petrol price too is at a two-year high.

    Prior to the current rally, the peak diesel rates had touched was on October 16, 2018, when prices had climbed to Rs 75.69 per litre in Delhi. The highest-ever petrol price was on October 4, 2018, when rates soared to Rs 84 a litre in Delhi.

    When rates had peaked in October 2018, the government had cut excise duty on petrol and diesel by Rs 1.50 per litre each. State-owned oil companies were asked to absorb another Rs 1 a litre to help cut retail rates by Rs 2.50 a litre.

    Oil companies had quickly recouped the Re 1 and the government in July 2019 raised excise duty by Rs 2 a litre.

    Taxes make up for nearly two-third of the retail selling price. As much as Rs 50.69 per litre, or 64 per cent, in petrol price is due to taxes – Rs 32.98 is the central excise duty and Rs 17.71 is local sales tax or VAT.

    Over 63 per cent of the retail selling price of diesel is taxes. Out of the total tax incidence of Rs 49.43 per litre, Rs 31.83 is by way of central excise and Rs 17.60 is VAT.

    In Mumbai, petrol price has gone up from Rs Rs 86.04 per litre to Rs 86.36 on Monday. Diesel rates have increased to Rs 77.24 a litre from Rs 76.69 a litre, according to the price notification.

    The 82-day freeze in rates this year was imposed in mid-March soon after the government hiked excise duty on petrol and diesel to shore up additional finances.

    The government on March 14 hiked excise duty on petrol and diesel by Rs 3 per litre each and then again on May 5 by a record Rs 10 per litre in case of petrol and Rs 13 on diesel. The two hikes gave the government Rs 2 lakh crore in additional tax revenues.

    Oil PSUs Indian Oil Corp (IOC), Bharat Petroleum Corp Ltd (BPCL) and Hindustan Petroleum Corp Ltd (HPCL), instead of passing on the excise duty hikes to customers, adjusted them against the fall in the retail rates that was warranted because of fall in international oil prices to two decade low.

    International oil prices have since rebounded and oil firms are now adjusting retail rates in line with them.

  • Army jawan killed as Pakistani troops shell forward areas along LoC, IB in J-K

    PTI

    Jammu: An Army jawan was killed on Monday as Pakistani troops opened fire and lobbed mortar shells at forward areas along the Line of Control (LoC) and the International Border (IB) in Jammu and Kashmir, officials said.

    The heavy Pakistani firing and shelling were reported along the LoC in Poonch district’s Krishna Ghati sector and Rajouri’s Nowshera sector, and along the IB in Kathua district, the officials said.

    An Army jawan, guarding a forward post, was critically injured after being hit by cross-border shelling in Nowshera sector, they said, adding that he succumbed to his injuries later.

    He is the fourth Army personnel to be killed in Pakistani firing along the LoC in Rajouri and Poonch this month. Two soldiers were killed in Pakistani firing in Rajouri district on June 4 and 10, while another soldier fell to cross-border firing in Poonch on June 14.

    There has been a spurt in Pakistani shelling along the border in Jammu and Kashmir this year with over 2,027 cases of violation of a ceasefire agreement being reported till June 10.

    Earlier, a defence spokesman said, “At about 0330 hours today, Pak army initiated unprovoked ceasefire violation by firing of small arms and intense shelling with mortars along LoC in Krishnagati Sector in Poonch district,” a defense spokesman said.

    “Again at about 0530 hours Pak army initiated unprovoked ceasefire violation in Nowshera sector, district Rajouri,” he said.

    The Indian Army is retaliating befittingly, he said.

    Along the International Border, Pakistani Rangers engaged in heavy firing on forward posts and villages in the Karol Matrai area of Hiranagar sector in Kathua district, an official said.

    He said the unprovoked firing from Pakistan started around 1 am and the Border Security Force (BSF) gave a befitting retaliation.

    The exchange of fire between the two sides continued till 3.50 am, the official said.

  • PM must be mindful of implications of his words: Manmohan Singh on Ladakh face-off

    PTI

    New Delhi: In his first remarks on the Ladakh face-off, former prime minister Manmohan Singh on Monday said PM Narendra Modi must be mindful of the implications of his words and cannot allow China to use them as a vindication of its position.

    Noting that disinformation is no substitute for diplomacy or decisive leadership, Singh called upon the prime minister to ensure justice for soldiers who died defending India’s territorial integrity.

    “To do any less would be a historic betrayal of people’s faith,” he said in a statement.

    The Congress has been attacking the government on Prime Minister Modi’s remarks at an all-party meeting that no one has entered Indian territory or captured any military post while referring to the eastern Ladakh standoff.

    The government has, however, said that attempts are being made to give a “mischievous interpretation” to the prime minister’s remarks.

    Singh said this is a moment where we must stand together as a nation and be united in our response to this brazen threat.

    Twenty Indian soldiers, including a colonel, were killed in the violent face-off with Chinese troops on the night of June 15/16 in eastern Ladakh’s Galwan Valley.

    Noting that the country is standing at the historic cross-roads, Singh said the government’s decisions and actions will have serious bearings on how the future generations perceive us.

    “Those who lead us bear the weight of a solemn duty. And in our democracy that responsibility rests with the office of the prime minister,” he said.

    “The prime minister must always be mindful of the implications of his words and declarations on our nation’s security as also strategic and territorial interests,” he said.

    The Congress veteran said China is “brazenly and illegally” seeking to claim parts of Indian territory such as the Galwan Valley and the Pangong Tso Lake by committing multiple incursions from April 2020 till date.

    “We cannot and will not be cowed down by threats and intimidation nor permit a compromise with our territorial integrity.

    “The Prime Minister cannot allow them to use his words as a vindication of their position and must ensure that all organs of the Government work together to tackle this crisis and prevent it from escalating further,” he said.

    “We remind the Government that disinformation is no substitute for diplomacy or decisive leadership. The truth cannot be suppressed by having pliant allies spout comforting but false statements,” he said.

    Singh also said that the sacrifice of soldiers cannot be allowed to go in vain.

  • International Yoga Day celebrated across J-K and Ladakh

    PTI

    Jammu/Leh: The International Yoga Day was celebrated across Jammu and Kashmir, and Ladakh on Sunday, with Lt governors of the two UTs taking part in the special events at their residences and urging people to practice yoga at their homes during the COVID-19 pandemic.

    Personnel of the Central Armed Police Forces (CAPFs) also held yoga sessions inside their camps to mark the day.

    File Photo

    A Raj Bhavan spokesman in Jammu said Lt Governor Girish Chandra Murmu, along with his wife Smita Murmu, led the celebrations in J-K by practicing yoga at home as per the common yoga protocol issued by the Union Ministry of AYUSH, in consonance with the theme Yoga@Homeand Yoga with family .

    Murmu, in his message, encouraged the people to practice yoga from their homes during the challenging situation due to the COVID-19 pandemic.

    “Yoga maintains harmony between the body and mind of practitioners and is useful in managing lifestyle disorders, mental stress and wellbeing, especially improving respiratory health and immunity during this ongoing situation,” he said.

    The Lt governor advised the people to inculcate yoga in their daily routine as a way of life for a balanced, healthy and peaceful living.

    Principal Secretary to the lieutenant governor, Bipul Pathak, senior officers, security personnel, household and secretariat staff of the Raj Bhavan also participated in the yoga session while maintaining adequate social distancing, the spokesman said.

    Reports from Ladakh said the International Yoga Day was celebrated throughout the Union Territory.

    Lieutenant Governor of Ladakh R K Mathur observed the event at Raj Niwas in Leh where he performed several ‘yoga asanas’.

    Mathur, in his message, stressed on the importance of yoga and said it is the most valuable gift of our ancient tradition.

    He ascribed great physical, mental and spiritual benefits to the yoga practice and exhorted upon the people to inculcate the habit of practicing yoga in daily life.

    “Yoga enhances personal endurance and it can help in fighting pandemic like COVID-19,” Mathur said, adding that yoga can contribute towards social well-being and building peace.

    Besides the security forces, various political, government and non-government organizations also held a series of functions across the two UTs to mark the day, officials said.