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Time of India
11-05-2025
- Politics
- Time of India
Thaw in hostilities on India's terms, says BJP, dismisses claims of US pressure
NEW DELHI: on Saturday dismissed claims that the pause in hostilities between India and Pakistan was driven by US pressure , emphasising that the agreement was firmly on New Delhi's terms. Tired of too many ads? go ad free now Contrasting the current understanding with past instances where India lost strategic advantages, the party credited the govt for rewriting the narrative. Citing India's new ' war doctrine ' that any act of terror will be treated as an 'act of war' against India, a BJP neta said only the US and Israel had comparable doctrines, marking India's assertive global stance. The functionary also highlighted India's leverage over the , which remains unaffected by the current India-Pakistan border understanding. Notably, World Bank, once a guarantor, has distanced itself from the treaty, strengthening India's position. "India is a rising economic power , while Pakistan is a struggling state. Our focus is the welfare of 140 crore Indians, not wasting time on a delinquent jihadi state," the BJP neta said. BJP contrasted the current pause in hostilities with historical agreements where India ceded advantages. The 1949 ceasefire, based on the Karachi Agreement, followed US-brokered talks and UN monitoring. The 1965 war ended with the Tashkent Declaration, mediated by the Soviet Union and the US, forcing India to return hard-won territories. The 1971 war, despite Pakistan's surrender, led to the Simla Agreement under Moscow's and Washington's influence. India released 99,000 prisoners without securing strategic gains, such as Pakistan vacating POK or formalising borders. The Indian Peacekeeping Force (IPKF) operation in Sri Lanka (1987-1990) drained resources and ended in withdrawal, costing the life of former PM Rajiv Gandhi. Tired of too many ads? go ad free now Similarly, the 1999 Kargil war ceasefire, facilitated by the Clinton administration, saw India halt its offensive just as victory was in sight, missing a tactical opportunity. BJP said the current pause in hostilities reflected New Delhi's terms, prioritising national security and economic progress while maintaining strategic leverage. This approach, the party argued, ensured India's rise as a global power, unburdened by past concessions or external pressures.
Mint
04-05-2025
- Politics
- Mint
Pakistan violates ceasefire agreement with India for 10th day: Why does it continue to fire across the Line of Control?
Pakistani troops continued their pattern of unprovoked small arms firing across multiple sectors along the Line of Control (LoC) in Jammu and Kashmir, drawing a strong and effective response from the Indian Army, officials said on Sunday. This marks the 10th consecutive night of cross-border firing, occurring amid escalating tensions following the April 22 terror attack in Pahalgam, which killed 26 people, most of them tourists. According to officials, ceasefire violations were reported from eight locations across five districts of the Union Territory during the intervening night of Saturday and Sunday. Fortunately, no casualties have been reported so far. 'During the night of May 3 and 4, Pakistan Army posts resorted to unprovoked small arms fire across the LoC in areas opposite Kupwara, Baramulla, Poonch, Rajouri, Mendhar, Naushera, Sunderbani, and Akhnoor in J&K. Indian Army responded promptly and proportionately,' a defence spokesperson said. The ceasefire violations along the LoC and International Border (IB) have been very rare since India and Pakistan renewed the ceasefire agreement on February 25, 2021. India shares a total of 3,323 km of border with Pakistan, divided into three parts: the International Border (IB), approximately 2,400 km from Gujarat to the northern banks of the Chenab River in Akhnoor, Jammu; the Line of Control (LoC), 740 km long, running from parts of Jammu to parts of Leh; and the Actual Ground Position Line (AGPL), 110 km long, dividing the Siachen region from NJ 9842 to Indira Col in the north. The LoC, serving as the de facto border, stretches for approximately 740 kilometres, from Sangam in Kashmir to Point NJ-9842 near the Siachen Glacier. In Jammu, the LoC transitions into what India considers the International Border (IB), as India has no territorial claims on Pakistani Punjab. The Ceasefire Line between India and Pakistan was initially established under the Karachi Agreement of 1949, following the 1948–49 war. It was later renamed the Line of Control (LoC) after the Simla Agreement in 1972. Though not recognised as an international boundary, the LoC functions as a military control line between the two countries. However, cross-border firing and the infiltration of Pakistan-backed terrorists, particularly since the onset of the Kashmir insurgency in 1989, along with attacks by Pakistani Border Action Teams (BATs), have rendered the ceasefire 'agreement' effectively meaningless. Periods like the 1990s and the span between 2016 and 2021 saw over a thousand violations annually, with the 1990s often described by Indian Army veterans as a 'free for all' along the Line of Control. In 2021, both militaries found mutual incentive to curb hostilities and reaffirmed the 2003 ceasefire understanding, originally established ahead of the India-Pakistan Composite Dialogue. Despite the broader breakdown in diplomatic and economic ties since 2019, the military channel remains the only active line of bilateral communication, giving both nations a reason to maintain the current ceasefire arrangement. According to (Retd) IFS officer Anil Trigunayat, former Ambassador to Jordan, Libya and Malta, ceasefire violations are mostly cover fires to enable the entry of terrorists, and to provoke India to retaliate. 'Mostly it does to facilitate the entry of terrorists across the border by providing fire cover. Secondly it wishes to provoke India to retaliate and use grey zone warfare to accuse India of violation to garner international sympathy and domestic support as it goes through tremendous financial and socio-economic stress," the former Ambassador told Livemint. Over the past four years, Pakistan's economy has steadily declined, while the military's dominant hold over the country is increasingly being challenged by insurgent groups such as the Tehreek-e-Taliban Pakistan (TTP), Balochistan Liberation Army (BLA), and Balochistan Liberation Front (BLF). Following the Taliban's return to power in Afghanistan, the TTP significantly escalated its operations, leading to a 73% surge in terror attacks across Pakistan in the first 21 months of Taliban rule, according to a report by ORF. The province of Khyber Pakhtunkhwa has been hit hardest, witnessing an alarming 279.8% rise in incidents, jumping from 572 in 2021 to 2,173 in 2024. Meanwhile, the BLA and BLF have also stepped up their offensives, particularly targeting Pakistani military installations, further destabilizing internal security from multiple fronts, according to the report. First Published: 4 May 2025, 08:14 PM IST
Indian Express
03-05-2025
- Politics
- Indian Express
The hot LoC: What is the nature of India-Pakistan ceasefire understanding
Pakistani troops violated the ceasefire along several sectors at the Line of Control (LoC) and International Border for the eighth consecutive night on Thursday. The Indian Army has responded to each of these violations in a 'calibrated and proportionate manner'. The violations by Pakistan, which began after the April 22 terrorist attack in Pahalgam in which 26 civilians were killed, and the Indian response, have not caused any deaths on either side thus far. But the violations represent the most intensive breakdown of the ceasefire since the Indian and Pakistani Directorates General of Military Operations (DGMOs) renewed it through a joint statement in February 2021. How did the India-Pakistan ceasefire originate and evolve? What do violations of ceasefire in times of crises indicate? The LoC: nature & evolution The India-Pakistan ceasefire, as it stands today, is less of an agreement and more of an understanding. A ceasefire between two conventional militaries is usually established after the cessation of war hostilities, along a line on the ground on the two sides of which each force has established its effective control. In the case of India and Pakistan, such a ceasefire was last established in December 1971. The line for this was largely the same as the 'Ceasefire Line' that was established by the Karachi Agreement (1949) after the 1948-49 war. The Simla Agreement (1972) re-characterised this line as the 'Line of Control', a military border without 'prejudice to the recognised position of either side' – which means this is not a legally recognised international border but a holding line for both militaries. The LoC runs for approximately 740 km from near Sangam in Kashmir to Point NJ-9842 near the Siachen Glacier. In Jammu, the line changes into the International Border (IB) for India, since it has no territorial claims on Pakistani Punjab on the other side. But for Pakistan, the IB is a 'Working Boundary', since it claims Jammu on the Indian side – and hence deems the border unsettled. Over the decades, the LoC has acted as the de facto border between India and Pakistan. Given the background and military character of the LoC, on-ground positions on either side have been defended mostly by the two armies (unlike the IB which is managed solely by India's Border Security Force and the Pakistani Rangers) with extensive defensive structures and large numbers of troops. The soldiers on each side are mandated to ensure that the other side does not attempt 'unilateral changes' to the LoC (which otherwise shifts quite literally as the snow melts or accumulates seasonally in Kashmir), and to prevent unauthorised infiltration – of both soldiers and civilians such as shepherds, etc. The high number of soldiers from two nuclear armed countries with a history of wars positioned eyeball-to-eyeball across each other makes the LoC perpetually prone to tensions. Cross-border firing, along with the infiltration of Pakistan-sponsored terrorists, especially since the beginning of the insurgency in Kashmir in 1989, or raids by Pakistani 'Border Action Teams' has meant that the ceasefire 'agreement' does not really exist. Technically, it lapsed when the first exchange of fire happened after 1972. Since then, whenever cross-border firing stops after a few exchanges, the two sides reach an 'understanding' to return to the ceasefire. At certain times such as in the 1990s or between 2016 and 2021, there were more than a thousand yearly violations – the 1990s, especially, are often referred to as a 'free for all' by veterans of the Indian Army's Northern Command. In a Shakespearean sense, then, the ceasefire has been 'more honoured in the breach than the observance'. (Hamlet, Act I) The violations: stops & starts Why do the violations occur and why do they stop? Ceasefire violations along the LoC have increased during every crisis since 1972, including those executed to impose military costs on the other side. Such violations have ranged from limited small-arms fire to full-fledged cross-border operations such as the Indian surgical strikes against terrorist infrastructure in Pakistan occupied Kashmir in 2016. Sometimes, these violations can be the result of local dynamics on the ground, largely disconnected from political developments. These 'Autonomous Military Factors' (Happymon Jacob, Line on Fire: Ceasefire Violations and India-Pakistan Escalation Dynamics, 2019) are a product of the way both militaries function at the border, which include the need to constantly 'test' the units on the other side, maintain troop morale, military vendetta, or to establish 'moral ascendancy' over the other side. Thus, the resolve of a new local commander on one side may be tested by an older commander on the other side through a round of artillery shelling or small- or medium-arms fire. As several Indian generals including former Northern Army Commander Lt Gen H S Panag have said, there are no strict rules of engagement that prevent one side from firing at the other. There is, however, a body of unwritten standard operating procedures and mechanisms to resolve differences. These include 'flag meetings' between local commanders, as well as hotlines such as that between the two Directorates General of Military Operations in New Delhi and Rawalpindi. However, these do not – and are not intended to – ensure that future violations do not occur. The LoC, then, is a peculiar border where violence is normal, and mutually controlled through communication mechanisms. Current crisis: What now? In 2021, both militaries had an incentive to cease violations across the LoC and reach yet another 'understanding', invoking the 2003 understanding before the India-Pakistan Composite Dialogue. The Pakistan Army was facing new internal threats and a freshly destabilised border with Afghanistan. For the Indian Army, the ceasefire provided a chance to focus better on the threat from China at the Line of Actual Control (LAC) in Ladakh. As violations dropped to about a few dozen incidents per year, local populations benefited. Cross-border shelling directly impacts border villages, with stray shells or bullets killing civilians. The benefits were visible in bumper crop yields and more stable livelihoods. Both India and Pakistan have incentives to continue this understanding. Indeed, since 2019, when the two countries snapped diplomatic and economic ties, formal channels of bilateral communication have been active only at the military level. Lt Gen Paramjit Sangha, who was the Indian Director General of Military Operations in 2021, said the hotline at the Directorate is used almost every week to take stock of developments along the LoC. During any significant incident, the Directors themselves speak to one another. Nominated officers from the DGMOs spoke over the hotline on April 29. The Indian side strongly objected to continuing Pakistani ceasefire violations, it was reported. Cross-border firing allows Pakistan to keep pressure on Indian forces and probe for weaknesses, especially as it apprehends military action from India in response to the Pahalgam attack. For India, apart from responding to the Pakistani violations, there is a need to address new issues such as that of the BSF jawan who has been in Pakistani detention ever since he inadvertently crossed the IB in Punjab on April 23. During times of crises, such accidental crossings act as leverage for one side over the other. Cross-border firing is usually both the first measure that either side takes during a crisis, as well as the most controlled of military actions that draws from decades of experience along the LoC. But the risk of escalation remains.
NDTV
26-04-2025
- Politics
- NDTV
When Pakistan Tried To Alter Line Of Control - The Siachen, Kargil Story
Pakistan has claimed it may put the 1972 Simla Agreement "in abeyance" after India's move to put a hold on the Indus Waters Treaty following the barbaric attack on tourists in Jammu and Kashmir's Pahalgam in which 26 innocent civilians were killed. Pakistan said it "Shall exercise the right to hold all bilateral agreements with India, including but not limited to the Simla Agreement in abeyance", questioning the validity of the Line of Control mutually agreed by the two governments after the 1971 war. The existing LoC is based on the ceasefire line established on December 17, 1971. Advertisement - Scroll to continue Context - What Happened After 1971? Seven months after the 1971 war, the Prime Ministers of both countries met in Shimla to sign a peace treaty aimed at putting an "end to the conflict and confrontation". The Simla Agreement made provisions for the establishment of the Line of Control based on the ceasefire of December 17, 1971. However, Pakistan tried to unilaterally alter the Line of Control at least twice after signing the Simla Agreement. Siachen - A Battle Fought At 20,000 Feet The origins of the conflict lie in the 1949 Karachi Agreement, a boundary that divided the militaries of India and Pakistan. After the first India-Pakistan war over Kashmir, which started in 1947, India and Pakistan Delegations authorized the establishment of a UN-brokered ceasefire line (CFL) in 1949. The CFL started from Manawar in Jammu and ran north to Keran in the Kupwara district, and then east to glaciers and then north to the glaciers. NJ 9842 was the last demarcated point on the CFL since the areas north of it were considered "inaccessible". (Map Of CFL) In the late 1970s, Colonel Narendra Kumar, also known as 'Bull Kumar', was the commander of the Army's High-Altitude Warfare School (HAWS). Two German mountaineers approached Colonel Kumar, requesting permission for an expedition to the Siachen glacier. The mountaineers brought maps which showed Siachen as part of Pakistani territory and the line from NJ 9842 running north-east to the Karakoram range instead of north to the glaciers as per the Karachi Agreement. It was later learned that Pakistan was allowing expeditions to the glacier from its side. The Pakistani objective was to draw a new ceasefire line, not as per the agreement, without firing a single shot. Siachen Glacier, which lies between the Saltoro Range to its west and the eastern Karakoram range to its east, is the source of the Nubra River, which joins the Shyok River, a major tributary of the Indus. India's claim was based on the universally accepted watershed principle of demarcating boundaries, where the ridge line of the Saltoro Range will be the LoC (now known as the Actual Ground Position Line - AGPL) as the watershed for the Dansam river to its west and Nubra to its east. However, Pakistan had a different understanding, claiming the extension of the LoC northeast to Karakoram, therefore occupying the Saltoro range, the Nubra river basin and the Siachen glacier. Sia La, Bilafond La, Gyong La and Indira Col are present along the Saltoro Range Photo Credit: Google Earth Colonel Kumar then started expeditions to the Siachen glacier. On September 26, 1978, Flying Officer Man Mohan Bahadur (later Air Vice Marshal) of the 114 Helicopter Unit flew Colonel Kumar and his men to the glacier, which started a chain of events and several expeditions were carried out. In August 1983, Pakistani troops protested against Indian patrols in the Siachen glacier. In a message, the Pakistani soldiers wrote, "Requesting instruct your troops to withdraw beyond LoC south of the line joining NJ 9842 and Karakoram pass. Any delay in vacating our territory will create a serious situation." A few days later, a similar warning was issued by Pakistan suggesting that Islamabad was planning something big in the region, i.e occupying Siachen. It was now a race against time. Air Marshal Arjun Subramaniam, in his book 'Full Spectrum', writes "Pakistan displayed tactical nimblesness and dispatched a small force with machine guns and mortars in the winter of 1983 to occupy Bilafond La (La means to Pass) or Sia La, two of the highest passes in the northern sector of the had to turn back due to inclement they succeeded, Pakistan might have succeeded in occupying the Saltoro Range." India wargamed how to prevent Pakistani occupation of the glacier without any localised escalation. It was decided that control of Sia La and Bilafond La was crucial for the defence of Siachen, and Prime Minister Indira Gandhi gave a go-ahead to the plan in early 1984 and thus began Operation Meghdoot. 4 Kumaon and the Karakoram Wing of Ladakh Scouts were chosen for a mission to take control of Gyong La, Bilafond La, Sia La and Indira Col. Brigadier Vijay Channa, the brigade commander of 26 sector, decided that Indian troops would take control of these passes in April instead of the summer months in June. April 13, the day of Baisakhi, was chosen as D-day for the operation. The first troops set foot on April 13, hoisting the tricolour. Within the next few days, the Saltoro Range was taken over by India, but Pakistan refused to stay silent. On June 23, 1984, the first shots were fired by Pakistan toward Bilafond La, in which Lance Naik Chanchal Singh, who was manning a 'Listening Post', was shot in the head. Captain Kulkarni and his men retaliated and repelled the Pakistani attack. Over several days and weeks, multiple Pakistani attacks took place to take control of the Saltoro range, and each attack was repelled. Three years later, in 1987, the Quaid Post on the Pakistani side of the glacier region began firing on the Sonam post, located at a lower elevation along a narrow ridgeline, cutting off the supply of essentials to Indian troops. India decided to take over the post, and 2/Lt Rajiv Pandey of 8 JAK Li led a patrol to take over the post. The Pakistani troops fired on Indian soldiers, killing 2/Lt Rajiv and nine other men. Operation Rajiv was launched to avenge the death of 10 soldiers and to take control of the Quaid post located at over 21,000 feet. Naib Subedar Bana Singh led a patrol and successfully fought with the enemy and took control of the position. The post was later renamed Bana Post, and he was awarded the Param Vir Chakra. Naib Subedar Bana Singh of 8 JAK LI was awarded the Param Vir Chakra. Photo Credit: Operation Meghdoot is the longest-running active military operation in the world. Kargil - Pakistan's Second Misadventure Siachen laid the foundation of the Kargil conflict. The plan, made on flimsy grounds, had a taste of revenge mixed, stemming from the Siachen conflict. In 1999, General Pervez Musharraf wanted to avenge his defeat as a Brigade commander following several failed attempts to capture Siachen glacier. Nasim Zehra, a Pakistani journalist and author of 'From Kargil to Coup: Events That Shook Pakistan', writes that the plan to take control of NH-1 was presented to General Zia Ul-Haq, who rejected it because of Pakistan's involvement in the Soviet-Afghan war and later to Prime Minister Benazir Bhutto. Operation Koh-e-Paima (KOP), as it was called, was planned by the 'gang of four' comprising: General Musharraf, Lt Gen Aziz, the Chief of General Staff, Lt Gen Mehmud, the 10 Corps Commander, Rawalpindi and Major General Javed Hassan, Force Commander Northern Areas (FCNA). The objective was to take over mountain peaks overlooking NH-1 from Mushkoh valley near Zoji La to Turtok in the far east, which lay west of the foothills of the Saltoro Range, covering a total area of over 100 km. In 1999, the first intrusions into Indian territory were detected on May 3 in Batalik, followed by multiple sightings in different sectors by the second week of May. It was clear that it was a large-scale intrusion and not a localised incursion. Read more: Revisiting Kargil At 25: Air Power That Turned The Tide At 18,000 Feet Pakistan's objectives, as stated by India's Kargil Review Committee, were to cut off supply lines between Kashmir and Ladakh, isolating troops in the Siachen glacier. Alter the Line of Control, forcing the Indian and Pakistani governments to negotiate with a threat of nuclear escalation and further internationalise the issue of Jammu and Kashmir, achieving a better trade-off against positions held by India in Siachen and creating a security vacuum in the Kashmir valley by pulling troops toward Kargil. General Musarraf even told Pakistan Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif, while briefing him about the Army's operation in May 1999, "Sir, based on the wisdom and experience of my entire professional career, I could guarantee the success of the operation." India responded with full force. The Army and the Air Force jointly operated to reclaim all of the occupied territory, though 527 Indian soldiers and officers were killed in action in one of the toughest high-altitude battles fought at heights over 15,000 feet in military history. Share
Times of Oman
13-04-2025
- Politics
- Times of Oman
Siachen Day: Indian Army honours bravehearts of world's highest battlefield
New Delhi: April 13 marks Siachen Day, commemorating the Indian Army's Operation Meghdoot in 1984. On this day, Indian troops landed at Bilafond La Pass and captured key positions on the Siachen Glacier, securing a strategic advantage in the disputed region of Kashmir, the world's highest battlefield. The poem "Quartered in snow, Silent to remain, When the clarion calls, They shall rise and march again" beautifully captures the spirit of the Indian Army's presence in Siachen. It highlights the soldiers' ability to remain vigilant and prepared, even in the harshest of conditions, and to respond swiftly when called upon to defend the nation. Indian soldiers have been stationed in the harsh environment of the Siachen Glacier for decades, enduring extreme temperatures and challenging terrain. The day marks the historic launch of Operation Meghdoot in 1984, when the Indian Army established full control over the Siachen Glacier, thwarting adversarial attempts to claim the strategically vital region. It celebrated the 41st anniversary of the famous Operation, which was carried out by the Indian forces. Siachen has been a bone of contention between India and Pakistan ever since the Karachi Agreement of 1949, when the area was left undivided due to the hostile terrain and extremely rough weather. Operation Meghdoot was India's bold military response to what New Delhi calls Pakistan's "cartographic aggression" in the uncharted territory of Ladakh, north of map reference NJ9842, where New Delhi and Islamabad had agreed the Line of Control (LoC) ran up to. Intelligence inputs about impending Pakistani military action prompted India to secure strategic heights on Siachen, deploying troops via airlifts and air-dropping supplies to high-altitude airfields. The primary objective behind this operation was to pre-empt the seizure of Sia La and Bilafond La passes by the Pakistan Army. Launched on April 13, 1984, this military operation was unique as the first assault launched on the world's highest battlefield. It was launched under the leadership of Lieutenant General Manohar Lal Chibber, Lieutenant General PN Hoon, and Major General Shiv Sharma. It is distinguished by being one of the greatest examples of seamless coordination and synergy between the Indian Army and the Air Force. The military action resulted in Indian troops gaining control of the entire Siachen Glacier. According to a press release from last year, the operation involved the IAF airlifting Indian Army soldiers and dropping them on the glacial peaks. Although the operation began in 1984, IAF helicopters have been operating in the Siachen Glacier since 1978, flying the Chetak helicopter, which was the first IAF helicopter to land in the Glacier in October 1978. The Indian Army launched Operation Meghdoot to secure strategic heights on Siachen with the deployment of troops. Playing an irreplaceable role in this effort, IAF's tactical and strategic airlifters, An-12s, An-32s, and IL-76s transported stores and troops and air-dropped supplies to high-altitude airfields, from where Mi-17, Mi-8, Chetak, and Cheetah helicopters ferried men and material to dizzying heights on the glacier, far above the limits set by the helicopter manufacturers. Located at a height of around 20,000 feet in the Karakoram Mountain range, the Siachen Glacier is known as the highest militarised zone around the world. It is located so strategically that while it dominates Shaksgam Valley (ceded to China by Pakistan in 1963) in the north, controls the routes coming from Gilgit Baltistan to Leh from the west, and at the same time, it dominates the ancient Karakoram Pass in the eastern side too. Further, towards the west, it borders nearly the entire of the Gilgit Baltistan, which too is an Indian territory illegally occupied by Pakistan in 1948. Every year, the day honours all the Siachen Warriors who have served their motherland while successfully thwarting the enemy's evil designs over the years. To this day, the Siachen Warriors continue to guard the 'Frozen Frontier' with tenacity and resolve against all odds.
