Three Pakistani smugglers, carrying 24 kg of heroin worth Rs 120 crore in the international market, were shot dead by the Border Security Force on the Indo-Pak border as they were trying to sneak into Indian territory, BSF officials said in Attari on Saturday.
As per the agreement reached by the two sides, India and China will withdraw the forward deployment in a phased and coordinated manner, the defence minister said.
An army jawan was killed and two of his colleagues were injured when militants triggered an IED explosion targeting a patrol team along the LoC in Akhnoor area of Jammu district, a senior army official said on Monday.
The Indian troops guarding the nearly 3,500-km Line of Actual Control (LAC) maintained an assertive approach in sync with the broader national security doctrine and procured a variety of military platforms and weapons to enhance their combat capabilities.
India displayed its military might and vibrant cultural heritage on Rajpath on Wednesday with the grandest flypast with 75 aircraft to mark the 'Azadi ka Amrut Mahotsav' celebrations being the highlight of the 73rd Republic Day Parade, which was drastically scaled down in view of the Covid pandemic.
Top commanders of the Indian Army on Monday carried out a comprehensive review of the country's security challenges, including in eastern Ladakh and other sensitive areas along the Line of Actual Control (LAC) with China, on the opening day of a four-day conference, people familiar with the developments said.
Soldiers of the People's Liberation Army tried to enter the Indian side in two areas--Finger Four and Finger Five-- twice.
Outgoing Army Chief Gen Bikram Singh on Thursday said that India had given a befitting reply to Pakistan after the beheading of an Indian soldier by Pakistani troops in 2013 along the Line of Control even as he did not rule out the possibility of skirmishes on the western front in future.
The official told the reporters during a conference call on Friday, ahead of the next week's 2+2 India-US Ministerial in New Delhi, that the Trump administration was providing support to India through defence sales, joint military exercises and information sharing.
Four Pakistani rangers were killed in Border Security Force's strong retaliation after a jawan of the force lost his life in heavy firing from the other side on a patrol on Wednesday along the International Border in Jammu and Kashmir's Samba district.
His attack on the government came a day after Defence Minister Rajnath Singh assured Parliament that India has not conceded anything in the sustained talks with China and it will not allow even an inch of its territory to be taken away by anyone.
It said India will continue to take 'robust and decisive' steps to ensure its national security.
In a surprise move, Pakistan's powerful intelligence chief Lieutenant General Faiz Hameed on Saturday dashed to Kabul, amidst the Taliban struggling to finalise and install an inclusive government in Afghanistan that would be acceptable to the international community.
'The Khalistanis get bulk of the money from abroad.' 'Where did Amritpal's Mercedes come from, which costs well over Rs 60 lakhs?' 'Where does his fleet of vehicles come from?' 'Local Punjabis can certainly not contribute this kind of money.'
The exercise is taking place at a time India and China are locked in a nearly six-month-long bitter border standoff in eastern Ladakh that has significantly strained their ties.
External Affairs Minister S Jaishankar said on Wednesday China has given India 'five differing explanations' for deploying large forces at the Line of Actual Control (LAC), adding this violation of bilateral pacts has 'very significantly damaged' their relationship that is now at its 'most difficult phase' in the last 30-40 years.
'India has ramped up infrastructure on its side, so the Chinese military is finding Indian soldiers in locations where they are not used to seeing an Indian footprint,' points out Harsh V Pant.
The incident occurred in Churachandpur district close to the Myanmar border.
A group of shepherds were asked to vacate the land by troops of the PLA.
The Wuhan meetings signify an incremental shift in China's position on India as well as each country buying time for the next phase of bilateral relations, says Srikanth Kondapalli.
The Indian Army will continue to maintain its aggressive posturing in all disputed areas in eastern Ladakh and will not back off till status quo is maintained, sources said.
Ten days later, with the Indian Army in full control of the area where the incident took place, New Delhi has signalled a face-saver for Beijing.
The two sides have already held at least 12 rounds of talks between local commanders and three rounds of talks between major general-rank officials but no positive outcome came out from the discussions, they said.
The Army, in its statement, has vowed to give a befitting reply to Pakistan "in the same language".
The Supreme Court on Thursday asked the Centre to apprise an 83-year-old mother quarterly about the steps taken to trace her son, Captain Sanjit Bhattacharjee, who has been missing in action and is said to be lodged in a jail in Pakistan for over 25 years.
At least a couple of Chinese military helicopters were spotted flying close to the un-demarcated Sino-India border in the area after the fierce face-off on May 5 following which a fleet of Sukhoi-30 jets of the Indian Air Force too carried out sorties there, the sources said.
'When the adversary has tasted what you can do, he is going to be more experienced in countering how the Indians think.' 'He will go back, rework and come back.'
The talks took place over video call on Sunday. According to sources, talks were held for over two hours in a cordial and forward-looking manner.
The Indian Army has been matching up to the Chinese build up in both Pangong Tso lake and Galwan Valley, the two locations in Ladakh which have witnessed major reinforcement of troops in the last two weeks, sources said. There was very little chance of easing of tension anytime soon as both sides are aggressively holding onto their respective positions, they said.
We understand the electoral compulsions, the desperate need for the BJP to have at least 50 per cent of the Hindus vote for them in Uttar Pradesh in a few months. For that, you need polarisation, put your own Muslim compatriots on the 'other' side. This is how your domestic politics runs contrary to your national, strategic interest, warns Shekhar Gupta.
The army chief said that India needs to broaden its understanding of national security and must examine non-traditional threats like pandemics "de-novo" as they have the potential to inflict severe damage on the country. "We need to act and prepare ourselves accordingly."
At least 12 companies of Central Armed Police Forces (CAPF) reached West Bengal on Saturday morning as the state prepares to go to elections, officials said.
The sources said the military brass is considering deploying Indian Navy's MiG-29K fighter jets in a couple of air bases in the northern sector as part of efforts to bring in tri-services synergy in dealing with national security challenges.
Out of 18, four personnel were critically injured but they are responding to treatment and are stable now, people familiar with the matter said.
The boat was probably washed away due to rising water level in River Ravi in Pathankot sector, the BSF said.
'The threat of ceding space to China in Afghanistan appears to be one factor propelling our government to get a bit more active now.'
'The Indian army is a professional army. They can handle such a situation'
This was the third BAT action in Poonch this year.
The slain intruders are believed to be members of a Border Action Team comprising Pakistan army jawans and trained terrorists, an army officer said on condition of anonymity.
'It is pure luck that we did not have any body bags, otherwise things could have been nasty.'
