Pakistan Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif on Thursday chose Lt Gen Asim Munir as the new Army chief to replace incumbent General Qamar Javed Bajwa.
Lt Gen Zubair Hayat appointed as Chairman of Joint Chief of Staff Committee.
'After his warm and affectionate farewell speech, the Chief of Staff of the formation asked me, "So, now you are off to Coorg to look after your coffee estates?"' For the last time, in Army uniform and much to his surprise, I replied, "Sir, I am not from Kodagu.".'
Prime Minister Narendra Modi conveyed to Chinese President Xi Jinping India's concerns on the "unresolved" issues along Line of Actual Control (LAC) in eastern Ladakh during a conversation on the sidelines of the BRICS summit, Foreign Secretary Vinay Mohan Kwatra said on Thursday.
The last contact between India and China was the military talks at the Corps Commander level in October this year.
'Given the past practice in the Pakistan army, this delay is most unusual,' notes Rana Banerji, who headed the Pakistan desk at the Research and Analysis Wing, India's external intelligence agency.
With several Indians still stuck in strife-torn Ukraine, the government is pushing out videos on various platforms, including social media, on how to remain safe in a war zone.
"Based on this consensus, the process of disengagement is almost complete. Our efforts will be to take the matter beyond disengagement; but for that, we will have to wait a little longer," he added.
'China will do everything to hamper our ability to be a competitor.' 'China wants every country in the region to be subservient and we are the biggest stumbling block.'
The Israel Defence Forces (IDF) intensified its campaign in Lebanon with targeted airstrikes on Hezbollah strongholds in Beirut, hitting key weapons depots and terror infrastructure overnight, according to a report by Times of Israel.
'Please get them back into mainstream. This one life is the most beautiful gift from God, live it well with your family and remain happy'
Sources said India will not lower its guard and will maintain the current state of very high-level of combat readiness in eastern Ladakh till there are visible changes in the ground situation.
The talks are being held with an aim of resolving the ongoing standoff in eastern Ladakh and reaching an agreement on the last remaining friction point in the Hot Springs area which had emerged post April-May 2020 aggression shown by Chinese troops along the Line of Actual Control (LAC) in Ladakh.
'The visit of the honourable PM with the workable strategy towards conflict resolution will help greatly.' 'But visiting the state without concrete proposals may not bring the desired outcome at this stage.'
Pakistan may want to undertake a 'false flag' operation in J&K to divert attention from the situation in Balochistan and Khyber Pakhtunkhwa but infiltrating one SSG battalion into J&K and having two SSG battalions waiting to follow suit means war, which Pakistan cannot afford in its current economic crisis, notes Lieutenant General Prakash Katoch (retd).
This was the first visit of Gen Parnaik to the forward areas in Ladakh region after taking over as the GOC Northern Command on January 1, according to a defence spokesman in Srinagar.
As the border standoff entered the sixth month, an early resolution to the row appeared dim with close to 100,000 Indian and Chinese troops remaining deployed in the high-altitude region and showing readiness for a long-haul. There is no official word on the talks yet but sources said the agenda was to finalise a roadmap for disengagement of troops from all the friction points.
Gen Singh also discussed with Mehbooba the security arrangements for the by-polls to Anantnag assembly constituency from where the chief minister is contesting, the spokesman said. The polling will take place on June 22.
At the talks, the Indian side insisted on complete disengagement of Chinese troops at the earliest and immediate restoration of status quo ante in all areas of eastern Ladakh prior to May 5 when the standoff began following a clash between the two armies in Pangong Tso, they said.
The army has gunned down two more intruding militants on the Line of Control in north Kashmir's Kupwara district.
The Indian Army on Friday strongly insisted on early disengagement of troops by China from all the friction points in eastern Ladakh at the eighth round of corps commander-level talks between the two sides that primarily focused on a roadmap for restoration of peace and tranquillity in the region, according to people familiar with the developments.
China on Wednesday said the latest round of the border talks with India was held in a "candid and pragmatic atmosphere" and the two sides had a "positive, constructive and in-depth discussion" on the resolution of the remaining issues along the Line of Actual Control in the Western Sector.
'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 search for survivors continues after several devastating landslides triggered by heavy rainfall hit the hills in Wayanad district.
Singh conveyed to Li that India wants to improve relations with China but it can happen only after peace and tranquillity are restored at the border, the sources said.
While interacting with jawans, the General highlighted that it was "the dawn of a new era of development, peace and prosperity in Kashmir" and applauded them for their high level of morale and contribution to peace building in Jammu and Kashmir.
India and China have agreed to soon hold the 10th round of Corps Commander-level talks to take forward the de-escalation process in eastern Ladakh, the Ministry of External Affairs (MEA) said on Thursday.
The sources said the ongoing engagement and dialogue at military and diplomatic levels have resulted in complete disengagement of troops at patrolling point 14, 15 and 17 A in eastern Ladakh.
'...they were shocked to learn that just 352 Indian soldiers had made 3 brigadiers, 2 colonels, 170 officers, 290 JCOs and 8,000 troops surrender to the Indian Army.'
Rana Banerji, who headed the Pakistan desk at the Research and Analysis Wing, India's external intelligence agency, on the latest changes among Pakistan's top generals.
'While my generation carries with it the memory of the Chinese perfidy of 1962, this generation will carry the memory of Chinese perfidy in Galwan.'
The Pakistan Army's top commanders have decided to throw their weight behind the Supreme Court in its standoff with the civilian government over the memo scandal and the revival of high-profile graft cases, according to a media report on Friday.
They said various Mandarin language courses are being run at the language schools at the Northern, Eastern and Central commands of the Army.
Overturning the decision of his predecessor Gen V K Singh, Army Chief Gen Bikram Singh has lifted the ban on promotion of Lt Gen Dalbir Singh Suhag clearing the way for his appointment as Eastern Army Commander.
Gen Bikram Singh, a veteran infantry officer, on Wednesday took over as the 25th chief of the Indian Army, succeeding Gen V K Singh whose 26-month tenure was mired in controversies. The 59-year-old Gen Bikram Singh will have a tenure of two years and three months in the top post
Pakistan will not take military action against the Haqqani network despite growing pressure from the United States, even as the country's top military commanders have agreed on the need to de-escalate the situation, according to media reports on Monday. These decisions were made at a special meeting of the Corps Commanders chaired by Pakistan Army chief General Ashfaq Parvez Kayani on Saturday. The commanders vowed to resist US demands for an offensive against the Haqqanis.
'We have to be equally vigilant in the central sector which is where Barahoti lies and also in the Joshimath area.'
'Putin will not be bound by any kind of deal he would sign with the US.'
'The Chinese are only about 160-170 km behind.' 'It will not take much time for them to bring their troops back, considering that they have better infrastructure -- and the weather is now favourable.' 'They can move in much faster as the terrain favours them.'
