‘A grandmother, a new bunker lead to India-Pakistan clashes’
An Indian Border Security Force (BSF) soldier patrols near the fenced border with Pakistan in Suchetgarh, southwest of Jammu, Jan 11, 2013. — Photo by Reuters
NEW DELHI: A grandmother who slipped across one of the world’s most guarded frontiers and a new border post being built in response could have been the catalysts for the worst flare-up between the armies of India and Pakistan since 2003, a newspaper report and a resident said.
At least four soldiers, two from each side, have been killed in clashes since last Sunday in disputed Kashmir, where the nuclear-armed states are separated by a Line of Control (LoC) set up in 1948.
Taken together, it is the worst violation of a nine-year ceasefire along the 740 kilometre zig-zag line across the mountainous Himalayan region, although exchanges of gun and mortar fire are commonplace. Both armies are said to maintain snipers and special assault teams close to the line.
“It still is an eyeball-to-eyeball confrontation. On some days, people can’t step out of the post. If you come out for water, there is firing,” said Gurmeet Kanwal, a retired Indian army brigadier who has commanded troops on the line.
The two countries have fought three wars since they gained independence from colonial Britain in 1947, two of them over Kashmir, a region they both claim. On at least two other occasions, they have come close to war.
While the two countries share a formal international border to the south, all the way down to the Arabian Sea, the Kashmir ceasefire line is where the armies are on a knife-edge.
Strung out on remote outposts in snow-capped mountains and over deep valleys, in some places the soldiers are as little as 50 metres apart.
In other areas, there is a strip of land between the actual line and a barbed wire fence constructed by India.
The fighting can be controlled but merciless. Every violation of the ceasefire by one side is replied in kind by the other. If a soldier is killed on one side, almost certainly one will be killed on the other within days.
The roots of this week’s clashes could be traced to Reshma Bi, a 70-year-old woman who slipped across from Charonda village in India-administered Kashmir’s Uri district to the Pakistani side in September, to join her sons and grandchildren, India’s The Hindu newspaper reported.
Indian authorities, worried about the vulnerability of the LoC, began building a new bunker near the frontier to house additional troops, Reyaz Ahmad, a resident of Charonda, told Reuters. He said it happened soon after Reshma Bi’s flight, but could not say if the two incidents were related.
Subsequently, Pakistani troops began making announcements by loudspeaker asking the Indians not to proceed with the construction.
“There were announcements from the Pakistani side for several days to stop the work,” Ahmad said in a telephone conversation.
While the Pakistani position was that any construction within 500 metres of the LoC was prohibited under the terms of the ceasefire agreement, India proceeded on the grounds that the bunker was facing the village and not the LoC, and so should not be a problem.
“We can build defences on our side of the LoC. They are doing the same thing that they did when we were trying to construct the fence,” said a defence official in New Delhi who asked not to be named due to the sensitivity of the issue.
Tit-for-tat
Soon after the loudspeaker warnings, firing erupted in the area in October in which India said three villagers were killed, blaming the deaths on Pakistan.
Since then tensions have been running high and, last Sunday, a Pakistani soldier was killed in what Islamabad said was a cross-border raid mounted by the Indians. The Indian army denied any of its troops breached the control line, but said there had been an exchange of fire.
Two days later, further south along the LoC in the Mendhar district, two Indian soldiers were reported killed in a thick forest after what Indian officials said was a deep incursion into their territory by Pakistani forces.
Indian Brigadier Jayant K. Tiwari, the local commanding officer, said the head of one of the bodies had been “badly severed”.
On Thursday, hostilities erupted again in another part of the ceasefire line, and this time Pakistan said one of its soldiers had been killed.
“It is a live LoC. It’s not marked by boundary pillars. So this is par for the course,” said Kanwal, the retired Indian officer.
In Pakistan, a retired general who has also served on the LoC, said the fighting would not escalate.
“There will be talks on the hotline between the two sides. They will resolve this,” the retired general said.
“It is not something in the scheme of HQ (headquarters), it is a lower level skirmish.”
Nevertheless, clashes have been rising along the LoC in Kashmir since the November 2008 attacks in Mumbai by militants from Pakistan, which led to a deep chill in ties between the two countries.
Last year, there were 117 violations of the ceasefire, nearly double the previous year’s 61 incidents and up from 57 in 2010, according to Indian government figures.
Most have taken place in the southern stretch of the LoC, which India says is the most-used route for infiltration of militants from Pakistan into its side of Kashmir.
“There’s been an increase in ceasefire violations. There been an increase in infiltration attempts. That is a fact. And that is something that we are dealing with, both ourselves and with the Pakistani authorities,” Shivshankar Menon, India’s national security adviser, told reporters on Thursday.
Pakistan denies it is helping push militants across and Foreign Minister Hina Rabbani Khar said this week that her country was committed to the ceasefire in Kashmir.
With tensions rising in recent days, villagers on the Pakistani side have also reported an increase in military activity.
“I’ve seen big movements of army in small and big vehicles since yesterday,” said Naveed Chaudhry in the Kotli district of Pakistani-administered Kashmir. “It is unusual and we are worried what is going to happen.”
But away from the frontline, top officials in the two countries have sought to contain the fallout from the clashes on the Kashmir frontline.
“Pakistan has its hands full with a full-blown insurgency inside its borders. It doesn’t suit Pakistani interests at all to raise the temperature along the LoC,” said Senator Mushahid Hussain, who is also a member of parliament’s committee on national security.
A top Indian national security official also said the trouble at the frontier would be contained and would not drag down the fragile relationship.
“This is not the first time this has happened and not the sum total of our relations. It is Pakistan we are dealing with, give them some time,” said the official, who asked not to be named.
India should wisely choose diplomatic options to solve this present crisis with Pakistan. It should never resort to a war as it would drag its tottering economy further down. I see here many of my country men prefer diplomatic solution than being jingoistic as they used to be in the past. It is a good sign from Indian perspective. We have better things to do. We need to urgently catch up with China. Pakistan will become a normal nation when all their citizens feel that they need to grow, grow fast and grow richer. Until then let us pray for peace. Kumar
Kumar Sb, I so wish you were right. Just cast a sight on your nations leading news sites and you will see that the jingoism of the past is very much alive and kicking.
Pakistan wants UN resolution as it will benefit them.. this theory is out rightly rejected by India.. so, progress can not be made if you keep asking for UN resolution, old rhetoric will not work. solution to this problem can not be found by making it a core problem as this un-ncecesarily increase expectations of general public on either side and the pressure which gets built up will not enable both sides to arrive at a more logical and peaceful solution (read win-win arrangement).. so, 60+ years have passed and till date we are at the same place and the problem passes on generation after generation.. duniya kahan se kahan pahunch gayi, par hum wahin atke hua hain.. its good to love ur nation but just think what we r teaching to our kids.. love or hatred.. this problem is not created by our generation, ur generation paying the prices of mistakes done by our previous generation.. choice is on us.. pass this problem to next generation or solve it thru peaceful means..
It is so amazing that 1% of powerful people like Politicians and so called owner of religious principles are ruling 99% of people who are just trying to live. No one cares of people, they are interested in land, money and sweet hearts. Only way to have these things, is to confuse & divide people. Unfortunately, there is no end to the greed and these 1% people will continue to rule the world as usual.
A full-scale war is a remote possibility b/w two nuclear rivals. Since both Indian and Pakistan blame each other for LoC voilations, why not both countries allow third part like UN to find which country is at fault at different occastions as proposed by Pakistan this time.
If Pakistan wants to be a failed State let them carry on.
It is a matter of time,
Judging from the comments, it is clear that more Indians read Dawn than Pakistanis
You are right Yawar – reason 1. Internet penetration in India , both as a percentage and in actual numbers are higher than Pakistan. 2. People reading English Newspaper are higher in India than Pakistan.
Hardly surprising. Have you ever been to an indian news website. Nothing but Bollywood and jingoistic nationalistic sensationalism. No wonder they all flock here.
I just cannot imagine how much progress in economy and employment and people’s good it will be – if India and Pakistan were close friends. Sad that is not the case. Trade will boom. China and US will be wiped out and we together will be the economic powerhouse of the world. Hope that happens sometime in future when a sensible set of people rule both sides.
I am patriotic Indian, feel painful when a Indian soldier dies, but I wont be happy if any Pakistani civilian or Pakistani soldier dies of war. Panchi, Nadiya, Pawan ke jhonkey, koi sarhad na inhe roke, socho tumne aur maine kya paya insaan hoke….(Song from LOC Kargil Movie..)
Guys sort it out peacefully, blood is blood, wheather it is Indian or Pakistani soldier, one family dies without death.. Please do understand.
Well written Sir, yet we know so little how governments and politicians operate in any country. India and Pakistan really need to sort out their differences in a mature fashion. It will bring lot of benefits to both countries. Factions on both countries alway seem to derail efforts, it is a sad situation.India being the larger country should make a bold move which Pakistan cannot refuse, that perhaps could change things. A bold move needs to be made. The Pakistanis should get those who were involved in the Mumbai attacks and India should settle water issues, Kashmir etc. Confrontation or playing the cat and mouse game will just waste more money on armament time which is of the essence.
Wonder why is it important to use “Nuclear Armed ” in any article from Pakistani writers.
If India want to develop, they should help implementation of UN resolution on Kashmir. If not they will be bogged down in a bigger mess in future.
This is an old rhetoric by Pakistan.
No country in the world is interested in your arguments now. Other nations will be worried if Pakistan expands its territory even by an inch. I guess you know the reasons
Read history to get you answer, world is never interested in justice for someone else but justice will be done – eventually. Yes, Pakistan and India can be good neighbors and can achieve a great deal in the future but Indian injustice, atrocities and oppression can not carry on for ever – history tells us that.
yeah but first let the kashmiri pandits settle there and hav equal population against muslims and then invite UN for voting…all issues will be solved
Bigger mess in FUTURE ?!!
let me first of all state that i am neither in favour of pakistani politics nore indian politics.
the main reason these counrties still cant progress ( as much as they could have ) is that they heavly invest in the defence department.
ONLY solution is to solve kashmir issue .
why cant pakistan and india both give up there terrory and let the UN organise elections so that kashmiri people can chose there own leaders rather than someone sitting in delhi or islamabad doing tht.
peace love and respect to you all
Yes Jelebi,,, I agree with your comment. The reality is that the UN resolution is still sitting in files and India not is ready to implement it. It demands the referendum to decide the fate of Kashmir, if they want to join Pakistan or India. The fact is India will never sit in peace and will never develop until it agrees to UN resolution which was passed on the request of Indian government of that time. This war will continue and may turn into a nuclear war one day because the patience is decreasing due to Indian wrong stance of calling Kashmir its territory and violating UN resolution.
those dislike are probably from indians because pakistanis know that elections in kashmir would be in favour of pakistan
Mr or Ms. Jalebi,
What’s the fighting for for the last 60+ years..??
Let Kashmiris decide, what they want with their State, their lives and their future.
India or Pakistan should stop throwing away their funds on Defence and do something better for their people. But, powerful army and corrupt politicians will not allow this to happen. Who is sufferring, people….!!!
Just demolish the LOC, let people come and go, give them some freedom and relaxation. Hold a plebisite then and U will know the results. Pls. give them a chance to travel, no visas, no identity checks. Once these people have seen, visited and experienced the situation and living conditions of both the sides, they will decide their own future., stay with India, Pakistan or have their own state. This has been a criminal waste of time, money and human lives by India and Pakistan.
Pakistan is a failed state, India is totally against muslims, so I believe their ultimate choice will be to saty neutral and establish their own independent State. May God help them.
Iqbal Hussain (USA)
Pakistan is open to this idea so ow you decide who is at fault?
cool down both sides!
live with peace harmony.0.001 percent people want any clash and we, being two sensible nations, should always keep our hands joined together to resolve all disputes to become prosperous nations of the world and just chill,chill just chill.
Let the people of Kashmir decide their own fate. Either Pakistan or India has no right to impose their will.
Pardon me for putting a totally different comment here….
Even if Kashmir people decide to be on Pakistan side, can Pakistan afford it???
Can Pakistan provide them enough food/education/facilities/infrastructure?
you should have told that before muslims killed and kicked hindu pandits out.. Its too late for you to say that now.. Good luck, You ll never get kashmir.. period..
Same goes with Baluchistan too!
Cool Monk, how does Baluchistan come into the same caregory? Is there any UN resolution on Baluchistan declaring it disputed territory? Please explain yourself.
Dear Friend.
The days of such arguments are over. The last thing the world needs now is another unstable country bordering Pakistan. I guess you know what I mean here.
And the Pakistani think tank feels kashmiri want to be with pakistan … lol I think they need to rethink. Please do something for economy, who many years will US feed.
I am from Sargodha, Pakistan and what i understand is both sides portray totally different picture of what is going on.To talk of war between two nuclear armed nations is sheer madness.Why not involve United Nations and let them conduct an inquiry and decide who is at fault and even if Pakistan is at found at fault, at-least we will know the truth and then may be we can move on. Other wise things can escalate in a spiral chain of events.Lets hope sanity prevails.
in kargil who was at the fault? i think u people gave bravery awards to them
Lets just build a wall like the one in Berlin only one much higher and impregnable. The two nation theory clearly postulated and laid it down as the foundation of Pakistan that these two countries are designed to stay separate. Clearly, the peace overtures are just that, overtures and will not lead to anything meaningful. So lets just agree to disagree and go our separate ways. At least young men wont lose their lives pointlessly and 4 month old babies wont be condemned to lives without fathers.
People always ridiculed me when I said India and Pakistan will have a peaceful coexistence forever. They claimed my “Aman Ki Asha” will never work with the Pakistan. But still I believe, truth and non violence are more powerful than violence and falsehood, because that is the true nature of our soul. My sincere request to all my brothers and sisters in both India and Pakistan is that strive for peace and prosperity not for violence and destruction, work for the soul not for the ego.
Dear Sameer, very well said people belonging to both countries should strive harder for peace , love and harmony .
both countries must be friendly ………. fighting gives nothing it can cause colossal damage to both of the countries ………….. if i would be the president first i would like to make friendly both of the countries
Pakistan should be aware. no one wants war. neither india nor pakistan. pakistan should remember that they have lost all 3 wars against India.
then how come we have still big chunk of kashmir on our side.. winning and loosing is a part of game of war.. but the truth is kashmir does not belong to india….
Keep telling yourself that son…
Therefore losing the fourth one will continue the trend.
It will be a shame for India if they were to loose a war. You have 10 times more soldiers and artillery than Pakistan. Still we trouble you and give you goosebumps.
rather than ,………………….fighting with us…….pakistan should improve it’s inner conditions.
India is spending money on Education ,Science & Commerce.
why dont you also put emphasis on your economy as we are doing rather than messing with us.
If India is spending money on Education, Science & Commerce then our leaders are busy in making money through corruption.
Cant intellectuals and mature politicians on both sides sit down and solve Kashmir issue once and for all ? Citizens on both sides should pressurize governments to keep vested interests in control.
Instead of fighting over Kashmir we should be fighting against poverty, corruption, illiteracy and religious fundamentalism.
Pakistan has already taken over half of Kashmir, called Azad Kashmir. Let the other half remain with India. Also, There are five main rivers that originate in Kashmir and go into Pakistan. India should never lose its control of this asset of fresh water. Never.
“intellectuals and mature politicians on both sides”….ummmm I dont know about India, but this doesnt exist on Pakistan!
asim bhai…yaha bhi halat kuch aise hi hai..!!
You have over-simplified the problem. So the solution also appears simple to you. It is not, my friend. A fellow Indian.
Lets build two Great(er) walls of India n Pakistan. No contact from either side. Lets face away from each other for next 50 years. Cause we hate each other so much. Do not think love has a chance. No contact no nothing after all its the two nation theory.
Extend that to hundred years.
Also no watching of movies, shows, celebrities. Hmmmm……I dont think its a possibility…then why so much hate? That’s so because politicians can have something to talk about and diverting peoples attention from main issues, and armies can have their biggest pies from national exchequer.
So, true..
that is an excellent idea, that is also what we want, at the same time, please take out all your terrorist RAW agents out of pakistan, who r killing women and children on daily basis in karachi, lahore, islamabad, pishawar and supporting the terror in balochistan, thanks, a Karachi, true Pakistani citizen, PAKISTAN ZINDABAD
Then can we hope the terrorism from Paksitan will stop too?
India will never go for a third party mediation or investigation of the incident. Her case is weak like the claim of Indian Held Kashmir. In Kashmir India did not implement UN resolutions as she dreaded defeat in a fair plebiscite. Same here, Indian claim is false hence refusing UN mediation, yet again
Both side need to cool down.
daadi nay ladwaya dono countries ko…