India accuses Pakistan of attack in Kashmir region

[Big Foot]

http://www.cnn.com/2005/WORLD/asiapcf/01/18/india.pakistan.ap/index.html

NEW DELHI, India (AP) -- India on Tuesday accused Pakistani soldiers of firing mortar shells across the Line of Control in Kashmir in violation of a cease-fire aimed at ending six decades of enmity between the South Asian nuclear-armed rivals.

A senior army official said there were no casualties on the Indian side, and Indian troops had not retaliated.

"It certainly is a violation of the cease-fire. This is the first time this has happened. We have exercised full restraint," Maj. Gen. Deepak Summanwar told the private NDTV news channel. "Seven to eight rounds of mortars were fired. All our patrols ... have been alerted."

In Islamabad, Pakistan army spokesman Maj. Gen. Shaukat Sultan said he was not immediately aware of the incident.

The reports of firing came hours after another setback to relations as the two nations pursue peace. Islamabad accused New Delhi of deliberately scuttling talks on a disputed dam that India is building on its side of Kashmir, and appealed to the World Bank to help resolve the issue.

Pakistani Foreign Ministry spokesman Masood Khan said the dispute will cast a "bad light" on the peace dialogue.

For decades, India and Pakistan regularly fired at each other across the cease-fire line, killing soldiers and civilians. However, they agreed to a cease-fire in November 2003.

The peace that resulted has been the longest period of calm on the border since 1989, when a violent Islamic insurgency began in the Indian-controlled portion of Kashmir.

Indian military officials in Kashmir said Tuesday's firing may have been carried out to provide cover to a batch of Islamic militants crossing into the Indian side of Kashmir from the Pakistan-controlled part of the Himalayan region.

Rebels based in Pakistan routinely cross over to India to wage attacks as part of their campaign to carve out a separate homeland or merge the Indian-controlled area into Pakistan. Five such rebels were killed Monday night in the mountainous Achhar sector, said B.D. Sharma, inspector general of the Border Security Force.

India accuses Pakistan of allowing militants to train in camps on its territory and supporting attacks. Pakistan denies the allegations.

Nearly 66,000 people, mostly civilians, have died in the conflict.

Military officials in Jammu, the winter capital of Jammu-Kashmir state, said the firing was just north of Punch town, about 240 kilometers (150 miles) northwest of Jammu at the army's Durga Post.

India and Pakistan are currently holding regular talks on a series of disputes that have haunted their relations since 1947, when British colonialists left the subcontinent and the new Islamic nation of Pakistan was carved out of the Indian mainland.

They have since fought three wars, two of them over their rival claims over Kashmir.

In January 2004, then-Indian Prime Minister Atal Bihari Vajpayee and Pakistani President Pervez Musharraf set off a wide-ranging peace process aimed at resolving the Kashmir dispute, that has been pursued by India's new Congress party-led government.

 

[jmackenzie_15]

here we go again...
*hides*

 

[Big Foot]

Guess its only a matter of time before that region goes to war, over a mountainour area with, from what I can tell, very little value. Politics always makes things so difficult.

 

[Bruce Monkhouse]

Ah, poop,....I knew this was too good to last, when[IF] this area goes I think it will be peace one day and total war the next,ie civilians, diplomats and aid workers caught with no warnings to get out,........how much more sabre-rattling will each side do before one says" aww, screw it"

 

[jmackenzie_15]

I almost wish the two countries would either just cut it out and have peace or go at it and let it be done with. :-\

 

[Sheerin]

If they do go at it, I'm fairly certain that at first it will be a conventional war but if there is a stalemate or if one just completely destroys the other and pushes them back I wouldn't be surprised if the nukes get tossed into the mix.

We can only hope that whomever gets nuked doesn't respond in kind.

Of course this is an opinion of a neophyte so take it for what its worth

 

[Shec]

It is noteworthy that India did not return fire.  That restraint could be a glimmer of light

 

[Stefan Moxness]

I wonder though if the restraint on the part of Indians might incite perhaps more serious action on the part of the Pakistanis?  Hopefully not cause the last thing that's really needed right now in this world already full of people killing each other of stupid things is more people doing the same thing.  Let's pray nukes are a non-issue should this whole situation escalate.  How would the world (especially the US) respond to something like that? any ideas?

Stay safe.

 

[Cdn Blackshirt]

The sad part is that I'm willing to bet if Pakistani regulars did launch the attack, of all things it will over a dam being constructed in India on a river that eventually flows into Pakistan.



M.    ???

 

[Shec]

I wonder though if the restraint on the part of Indians might incite perhaps more serious action on the part of the Pakistanis?   Hopefully not cause the last thing that's really needed right now in this world already full of people killing each other of stupid things is more people doing the same thing.   Let's pray nukes are a non-issue should this whole situation escalate.   How would the world (especially the US) respond to something like that? any ideas?

Stay safe.

Here are links to the Federation of American Scientists assessment of each country's nuke capability:

http://www.fas.org/nuke/guide/pakistan/nuke/index.html

http://www.fas.org/nuke/guide/india/nuke/index.html

Its interesting to note that India has a no-first strike doctrine while Pakistan has no such policy commitment.   So notionally Pakistan would uncork the bottle first.  

In relation to other threads this seems to be a good reason to give India a seat on the UN Security Council.   In that case India and the other members could pressure Pakistan into taking a less aggressive stance, particularly if Jihadists gain influence over the Pakistani government

 

[FredDaHead]

Just to give a heads-up, Stratfor is reporting a similar event, as of 2245GMT.. Still nobody was injured and India didn't reply.

Looks like "someone" is trying to provoke "something."

 

[Big Foot]

Well, lets hope that these provocations ammount to nothing. Last thing we need is India and Pakistan going to war.