KASHMIR and IDPs

By K.N. Pandita

Interception of satellite mobile messages by security forces in Karen had revealed a group of 30 to 40 Pakistani jihadi infiltrators speaking in Pashto, the language spoken by the Pashtuns of Khyber Pukhtunkhwa in the NWFP.

Serious discourse in official and non-official political circles in India ensued about the fallout following US’ withdrawal from Afghanistan in 2014.

Both Samba and Kathua jihadi attacks of 22 September and the Karen infiltration were claimed by Pak-based jihadi organization al-Badr with operatives in Kashmir and other parts of the country. Continue Reading…

report of a study tour, from 01 to 26 JULY 2013 – Published on Belgian Association for Solidarity with Jammu and Kashmir BASJAK, by Paul  BEERSMANS, September 2013 (the study – 25 pdf pages – was for the Human Rights Council, 24th session, Geneva, 09-27 september 2013).

… 3. CONCLUSIONS:

Following conclusions can be drawn, based on the experiences of previous and the present study tour to the Indian J&K State, focused on the Kashmir Valley and Ladakh.  For the latest study tour to Jammu Province, see the report of January-February 2013 ‘J&K: TOLERANCE AND MUTUAL UNDERSTANDING’ on our website BASJAK.org. Comments are welcome, to be sent here:    Continue Reading…

By K.N. Pandita

For the past two months, there has been unprecedented tension and volatility along the Line of Control. It has extended to the International Border as well. There have been more than 170 ceasefire violations this year alone. Civilians and soldiers along the border and close to the LoC are living in perpetual shadow of a new tension, one that shows no signs of abating. This year we have seen a large number of attempts by the Jihadis to infiltrate into our side. This is despite our army and border security personnel inflicting heavy casualties on them. Undoubtedly there is a method behind this madness of Pakistan. Exacerbating tension along the LoC and IB with India can be explained variously.  Continue Reading…

By K.N. Pandita

Early this week, national newspapers published a small story about the Special Operation Group nabbing a Kashmiri cloth merchant at Jammu Railway Station carrying fake Indian currency worth 7 lakh rupees transmitted through hawala. The Daily Excelsior came out with an editorial “Tighten the noose” in which it threw some subtle hints but no elucidation about tantalizing backdrop story of faking Indian currency.   Continue Reading…

By K.N. Pandita

Reports about infiltration by a sizeable group of Pakistani terrorist outfit supported by her regulars in Keran sector are coming in. While the media has reported occupation of Shala Bhatu village, 1.3 kilometers away from the line of fence on Indian side on the LoC by the infiltrators three weeks ago, army brass has denied the story of occupation but confirmed infiltration. For quite some time, intelligence sources have been speaking about jihadi concentration along LoC on PoK side. Along with that, the number of infiltration bids and the covering fire provided by Pakistani troops in various sectors have shown an increase in comparison to the previous year.   Continue Reading…

By K.N. Pandita

Prime Minister Mian Nawaz Sharif of Pakistan drove to Prime Minister Manmohan Singh’s hotel, New York Palace in midtown Manhattan, for a meeting that had previously run the whole gamut of suspense and uncertainty. Not deterred by Pakistan’s belligerence at LoC and IB, and also resisting the pressures from BJP-led opposition to call off the talks, the Prime Minister demonstrated his mature statesmanship, and keeping a steady course, met with his Pakistani counterpart for about an hour. Evidently, he had weighed the pros and cons in the background of the statements of Mian Nawaz Sharif before and after the National Assembly elections in Pakistan. Prime Minister Singh must have meditated over Mian Nawaz Sharif’s earlier trysts with Pakistan’s military-dominated domestic politics. In the text book of international diplomacy, the pulse is to be felt, vibration recorded.   Continue Reading…