The high point of the 19 Shastri months was the 22-day war that he fought against great odds and won in principle, even if military historians often call it a stalemate. Pakistan saw a great opportunity to conquer Kashmir and lost. It was the last time they had the relative strength militarily and diplomatically to take Kashmir. Shastri's resolve buried that dream forever, points out Shekhar Gupta.
A large population was forced out of their homes due to heavy shelling and firing.
A purported video of the incident showed a discussion between the two sides in which the paramilitary personnel claimed that they had lost their way.
'We need to be very vigilant as we are passing through some fraught times.'
'It is typical of China's strategic deception of making virtue out of necessity,' observes Rup Narayan Das.
'Had Haji Pir and/or Skardu been taken, the message would have gone out not just to General Asim Munir and his cohort in the Pakistan army but to the Pakistani people that every terrorist incident in India would lead to substantial loss of territory in PoK.'
Condemning the terrorists who seek to infiltrate across the Line of Control, the United States on Thursday called on all parties to reduce tensions along the LoC by returning to the 2003 ceasefire commitments.
Shelling and firing by Pakistani troops was "very heavy" in 2019, virtually making the 2003 India-Pakistan border truce "redundant", officials said.
'We have always maintained we are committed to addressing issues, if any, in a peaceful and bilateral manner'
There was no traditional exchange of sweets and pleasantries between the two sides along the International Border, the officials said, attributing it to the tense situation following the recent ceasefire violations by Pakistan Rangers that left a Border Security Force jawan dead.
Targeting forward posts and civilian areas along the Indo-Pak border, Pakistan has violated the ceasefire 96 times this year, the highest in the last eight years.
Senior army officers of India and Pakistan will meet in the Poonch sector of the Line of Control in the Jammu region on Friday.
'People's expectations were very high.' 'We felt both sides had understood each other.' 'But the removal of Article 370 triggered apprehensions within the Naga people.'
Naga insurgent group NSCN-IM has threatened to break its 27-year-old ceasefire agreement with the government and return to its "armed struggle" if its demands for a separate "national flag and constitution" are not met.
We have nothing to gain by raising our concerns internationally as our narrative has got entangled with several controversial concepts in the United Nations, asserts Ambassador T N Sreenivasan.
Congress leader Rahul Gandhi visited Poonch in Jammu and Kashmir, offering condolences to families affected by cross-border shelling and encouraging students who lost two classmates to the violence. During an hour-long visit, Gandhi met with students at the convent school that lost the twins, and visited families whose homes were damaged in the shelling.
Hitting out at Nawaz Sharif over the ceasefire violations, Jammu and Kashmir Chief Minister Omar Abdullah on Friday maintained that these incidents cannot be without the consent of the Pakistan prime minister.
General Officer Commanding (GoC) of the Army's Srinagar-based 15 Corps or Chinar Corps, Lt Gen D P Pandey, said there have been some infiltration attempts, but unlike previous years they have not been 'adequately supported' by ceasefire violations.
'We have to keep that in mind and have plan A B C D because the trust factor with Pakistan or China is very low.'
The BSF also said multiple infiltration bids by Pakistan along the International Border have been foiled in recent past.
Pakistani troops heavily shelled border hamlets and army posts along the LoC with mortar bombs for the eleventh consecutive day in two sectors of Jammu and Kashmir's Poonch district, which witnessed two fresh ceasefire violations from across the border on Wednesday.
Foreign Office spokesperson tweeted that India violated the ceasefire agreement in Tandar, Sabzkot, Khuiratta, Baron, Bagsar and Khanjar areas.
Shelling and firing by Pakistani troops was "very heavy" in 2018, virtually making the 2003 India-Pakistan border truce "redundant", said officials.
Pakistani troops again violated the ceasefire on the Line of Control in the Rajouri district of Jammu region on Saturday night.
General Bajwa, unlike many of his predecessors, believes the Pakistan army's long-term interests lie in reducing tensions with India, reports Ajai Shukla.
A defence spokesperson said the Indian Army retaliated 'effectively and strongly' to the ceasefire violation in Keran sector in Kupwara district this afternoon, with precision targeting of gun areas, terrorist launchpads and ammunition dump across the LoC.
The Centre is unlikely to announce an agreement over payment mechanism with Russia until a ceasefire is declared in the Ukraine war, said people in the know. An inter-ministerial group headed by the finance ministry has been meeting regularly for over a month to analyse and discuss payment mechanisms that can work under the current circumstances and ensure the trade between India and Russia is not disrupted. The US had recently said that there would be consequences for countries actively attempting to "circumvent or backfill" American sanctions against Russia.
Union Minister of State for Home Nityanand Rai said as many as 5,133 incidents of ceasefire violations were reported in 2020; 3,479 in 2019; and 2,140 in 2018.
The eastern Ladakh military standoff between India and China began in May 2020 and a deadly clash at the Galwan Valley in June that year resulted in a severe strain in ties between the two neighbours.
'The US calls on the LTTE to renounce terrorism and cease terrorist acts, including political assassination, and to comply with terms of the ceasefire agreement they signed,' state department spokesman Philip Reeker said.
The 16-year old ceasefire agreement between the Centre and the National Socialist Council of Nagaland - IM is on the brink of a complete breakdown.
A series of explosions rocked Lebanon and Beirut on Wednesday with the health ministry confirming nine deaths while news agencies put the toll at higher. The fresh round of blast came just a day after a deadly attack involving exploding pagers claimed the lives of at least 12 people.
The surrendered weapons included self-loading rifles, carbine, AK and INSAS rifles, light machine guns, pistols, M16 rifles, smoke gun/tear gas, sten gun and grenade launcher.
'The images of dead children and desperate, hungry people fleeing for safety, sometimes displaced for the second, third, or fourth time. We cannot look away in the face of these tragedies. We cannot allow ourselves to become numb to the suffering, and I will not be silent,' Harris said.
Former National Security Advisor (NSA) Shivshankar Menon has stated that the political dynamics between India and Pakistan have resulted in a "controlled level of hostility" that benefits the ruling elites in both nations. Speaking at the Kerala Literature Festival, Menon described Pakistan as a "brand new state" still grappling with its national identity. He argued that India's foreign policy towards Pakistan is influenced by its domestic politics, resulting in an uneasy equilibrium characterized by a "controlled level of hostility." Menon also questioned the concept of a multipolar world, stating that the current global order is merely "confused." He emphasized that the United States remains the world's true military hegemon, while other nations, including China, are regional powers. Menon further argued that there is no binding international order, leading to a state of "between orders." He highlighted the absence of definitive international agreements on crucial issues in recent decades.
In his first comments since the militaries of India and Pakistan jointly announced on Thursday that they have agreed to strictly observe all agreements on the ceasefire along the Line of Control (LoC) and other sectors, Khan said Pakistan remains ready to move forward to resolve 'all outstanding issues' with India through dialogue.
'Despite the existence of a ceasefire agreement between Pakistan and India, Pakistan Rangers did not stop their nefarious activities against India and carried on with their ill motives on IB in Jammu'
In violence-hit Manipur, the general buzz associated with elections and the related paraphernalia of posters, banners and rallies are missing but it is the presence of these brown boxes with pictures of guns that is symbolic of the strife-ridden society struggling to return to normalcy.
Chief of Army Staff General M M Naravane on Saturday did not rule out the possibility of Afghan-origin foreign terrorists attempting to infiltrate into Jammu and Kashmir once the situation stabilises in Afghanistan as he cited similar instances when the Taliban were in power in Kabul over two decades ago.
Pakistan on Monday summoned the Indian deputy high commissioner to protest "ceasefire violations" by the Border Security Force along the Line of Control, claiming that it resulted in the death of a civilian at Rawalakot in Pakistan Occupied Kashmir.
