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                        <title>The Express Tribune</title>
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                        <description>The Express Tribune keeps you up to date with all the latest happenings from Pakistan and across the world!</description>
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			<title>Police arrest gunman for killing four soldiers at Indian military base</title>
			<link>https://tribune.com.pk/story/2412362/police-arrest-gunman-for-killing-four-soldiers-at-indian-military-base</link>
			<comments>https://tribune.com.pk/story/2412362/police-arrest-gunman-for-killing-four-soldiers-at-indian-military-base#comments</comments>
			<pubDate>Mon, 17 Apr 23 12:45:32 +0500</pubDate>
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				<![CDATA[AFP]]>
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			<category><![CDATA[World]]></category>
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				<![CDATA[Attack took place last week at the Bathinda military station in Punjab]]>
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				<![CDATA[An Indian army gunner has been arrested for the killing of four soldiers at a military base near the Pakistan border, police said on Monday, ruling out a terror motive.

The attack took place last week at the Bathinda military station in Punjab, a northern state where tensions have been high over the resurgence of Khalistan movement.

Police said the accused gunner, Desai Mohan, shot the four soldiers dead in the early hours of the morning while they slept, using a stolen rifle and ammunition.

Local media reports quoted an unnamed police official saying the accused was being sexually abused by the four soldiers.

Read more:&nbsp;Indian army finds rifle linked to killing of 4 soldiers at base

&quot;The motive was personal,&quot; senior police superintendent Gulneet Singh Khurana told reporters in Bathinda. &quot;He had enmity with them.&quot;

Punjab has been on edge since authorities launched a manhunt for firebrand Sikh separatist preacher Amritpal Singh last month.

Singh rallied a huge following in recent months by demanding the creation of Khalistan, a separate Sikh homeland, the struggle for which sparked deadly violence in Punjab during the 1980s and &#39;90s.

He remains at large despite a dragnet involving thousands of police officers and a statewide internet shutdown that lasted several days.]]>
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			<title>Split families still suffer after 75 years of Pakistan-India Partition</title>
			<link>https://tribune.com.pk/story/2370982/split-families-still-suffer-after-75-years-of-pakistan-india-partition</link>
			<comments>https://tribune.com.pk/story/2370982/split-families-still-suffer-after-75-years-of-pakistan-india-partition#comments</comments>
			<pubDate>Sat, 13 Aug 22 12:36:26 +0500</pubDate>
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				<![CDATA[Reuters]]>
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			<category><![CDATA[Pakistan]]></category><category><![CDATA[World]]></category>
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			<description>
				<![CDATA[Thousands of families like the Baqai brothers' remain divided three-quarters of a century]]>
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				<![CDATA[Ali Hasan Baqai and Syed Abid Baqai, brothers split for 75 years by the Partition of Pakistan and India, talk with their families on a video call, words and tears binding them but with no hope of reunion.

Thousands of families like the Baqai brothers&#39; remain divided three-quarters of a century after their countries were formed in the rupture of independence from British-ruled India in 1947.

&quot;I felt that I can&#39;t touch them,&quot; younger brother Syed Abid told Reuters in New Delhi. It was good to see Ali Hasan in Karachi, but it was nothing like &quot;a hug, a touch, shaking hands or talking to them&quot; in person.



Muslim-majority Pakistan marks independence on Sunday, majority-Hindu archrival India on Monday.

Read more:&nbsp;Love transcends: Indian, Pakistani siblings reunite 75 years after Partition

The Baqai families last met eight years ago when the older brother travelled to New Delhi. Repeated subsequent attempts for visas by the two families have been rejected from both sides, the brothers said.

Pakistan and India have fought three wars since independence, two over the disputed Himalayan region of Kashmir, which they both claim in full.



Britain&#39;s carving out new nations by splitting the two, as its empire ebbed after World War Two, triggered mass sectarian migration in both directions, marred by bloodshed and violence on both sides.



About 15 million people changed countries, mainly based on religion, and more than a million were killed in religious riots in the 1947 Partition, according to independent estimates.



Among the divided, the Baqais have not been able to share each other&#39;s happiest or saddest moments. Ali Hasan, the older brother, was not allowed to attend the Indian funerals of his two sisters and mother in New Delhi.]]>
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			<title>NASA shows us how heavily guarded the India-Pakistan border is</title>
			<link>https://tribune.com.pk/story/967957/nasa-images-show-indo-pak-border-from-space</link>
			<comments>https://tribune.com.pk/story/967957/nasa-images-show-indo-pak-border-from-space#comments</comments>
			<pubDate>Mon, 05 Oct 15 18:24:12 +0500</pubDate>
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				<![CDATA[web.desk]]>
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			<category><![CDATA[World]]></category>
			<guid isPermaLink="false">https://tribune.com.pk/?p=967957</guid>
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				<![CDATA[This nighttime panorama shows one of the few places on Earth where the international border can be seen during night]]>
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				<![CDATA[A nighttime panorama of South Asia shows one of the few places on Earth where an international border can be seen during the night - the India-Pakistan border.

The National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA) released photos that clearly show the international border shared between Pakistan and India.

The international border can be easily identified from space -- all thanks to security lights that run the length of the border. The city lights and darkness of the agriculture closely move along with the great curves of the Indus Valley.

The photo, which was taken by an astronaut aboard the International Space Station while he looked north across Pakistan’s Indus River valley, shows the port city of Karachi appearing to be a bright cluster of lights against the Arabian Sea.

[caption id="" align="alignnone" width="625"] This photo taken from space shows cities in Pakistan and India while also showing the international border between the two countries. PHOTO: NASA EARTH OBSERVATORY[/caption]

Another picture shows the lights of Islamabad, Lahore and New Delhi while also showing an orange line snaking across the centre signifying the border zone between India and Pakistan.

The orange lit fence is essentially deigned to discourage smuggling and arms trafficking.

[caption id="" align="alignnone" width="625"] PHOTO: NASA[/caption]

In comparison, daytime images of the region are less revealing. The following photograph of the region was clicked on June 14, 2014.

The article originally appeared on Earth Observatory]]>
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			<title>LoC skirmishes : Pakistani, Indian commanders meet to defuse tensions</title>
			<link>https://tribune.com.pk/story/961198/loc-skirmishes-pakistani-indian-commanders-meet-to-defuse-tensions</link>
			<comments>https://tribune.com.pk/story/961198/loc-skirmishes-pakistani-indian-commanders-meet-to-defuse-tensions#comments</comments>
			<pubDate>Tue, 22 Sep 15 00:21:34 +0500</pubDate>
			<dc:creator>
				<![CDATA[news.desk]]>
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			<category><![CDATA[Pakistan]]></category>
			<guid isPermaLink="false">https://tribune.com.pk/?p=961198</guid>
			<description>
				<![CDATA[Rajnath Singh says New Delhi wants better relations with both Islamabad and Beijing]]>
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				<![CDATA[Top commanders from Pakistani and Indian armies on Monday held a crucial flag meeting in Poonch Sector of the Line of Control (LoC) in the disputed Himalayan region of Kashmir in a bid to deescalate tensions caused by frequent skirmishes.


According to Indian media reports, the army commanders of the two countries met at the Chakan-da-Bagh crossing point in Poonch Sector at 11:30am. The Pakistani side was led by the brigade commander of Poonch-Rawalakot while the 121 brigade commander led the Indian side.



India’s defence spokesperson Col SD Goswami confirmed the flag meeting, which, he said, was held to address the issue of ceasefire violations. “The field commanders will discuss modalities to defuse the tense situation,” he was quoted as saying by India’s Zee News prior to the meeting.

The frequency and intensity of ceasefire violations at the LoC have gone up over the past few weeks, resulting in civilian casualties on both sides. On Friday, Pakistan summoned the Indian deputy high commissioner to protest the killing of three civilians by Indian troops in Nakyal Sector on the Pakistani side of the LoC.

The official of Pakistan Rangers and Indian Border Security Force (BSF) had met in New Delhi on September 10 and agreed to deescalate tension along the working boundary. However, the Indian forces had continued to violate the LoC.

Meanwhile, Indian Home Minister Rajnath Singh said on Monday that India wanted better relations with both Pakistan and China.

“We want better relationships with China and Pakistan. Peace cannot prevail in Asia and the continent cannot prosper on the path of development till India’s relations with them improve,” Rajnath Singh said while addressing Indian troops of the Indo-Tibetan Border Police (ITBP) at Samba in Indian held Kashmir.

Singh claimed India had always been ‘a peaceful neighbour’ and willing to maintain and have good relations with all its neighbouring countries.  “Whether it is a question of border disputes or issues of terrorism, I feel all the issues can be resolved through talks,” he added.

Asked whether India was hopeful of a positive outcome from Monday’s Indo-Pak flag meeting, Rajnath evaded a direct reply, saying that the Pakistan Rangers DG had met him and has given an assurance on this critical issue.

On the issue of dialogue with Pakistan, he said, “I have said that India wants better relations with the neighbours. Better relations can be built. Pakistan should come forward…Both the sides should come forward. India is ready to take lead.”

Last week, Prime Minister Adviser on National Security and Foreign Affairs Sartaj Aziz had said that India would have to take the initiative for resuming dialogue with Pakistan.

“Our position is very clear. India called off the national security adviser-level dialogue last month and the request for any meeting must come from it. India has to take the initiative,” Aziz said in an interview with the Hindustan Times published on September 16.

Published in The Express Tribune, September 22nd,   2015.]]>
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			<title>Ceasefire violations: Indian envoy summoned to lodge protest</title>
			<link>https://tribune.com.pk/story/959560/ceasefire-violations-indian-envoy-summoned-to-lodge-protest</link>
			<comments>https://tribune.com.pk/story/959560/ceasefire-violations-indian-envoy-summoned-to-lodge-protest#comments</comments>
			<pubDate>Sat, 19 Sep 15 00:06:25 +0500</pubDate>
			<dc:creator>
				<![CDATA[our.correspondent]]>
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			<category><![CDATA[Pakistan]]></category>
			<guid isPermaLink="false">https://tribune.com.pk/?p=959560</guid>
			<description>
				<![CDATA[FO says three civilians killed in Nikial sector]]>
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				<![CDATA[Pakistan on Friday summoned a senior Indian diplomat to lodge a strong protest over the latest ceasefire violation by the Indian troops that resulted in the deaths of three civilians along the Line of Control (LoC).


This is the second time in three days that Indian Deputy High Commissioner J P Singh was called to the Foreign Office over the unprovoked firing by the Indian troops along the LoC.

Regarding the latest ceasefire violation, the FO said that Indian troops had killed Munshi Ameen, 13-year-old Laiba Bashir and Mohammad Zahid in Nikial sector.

Read: Pakistan urges India to halt ceasefire violations immediately

“Indian Deputy High Commissioner J P Singh was summoned to the Ministry of Foreign Affairs by Dr Mohammad Faisal, DG (SA &amp; SAARC), to protest against the Shahadat (martyrdom) of three civilians in Nikial sector due to unprovoked ceasefire violations by the Indian security forces at the Line of Control,” reads a statement issued by the foreign ministry.



It said the Pakistani government has expressed deep concern over the continuous unprovoked ceasefire violations by the Indian security forces and the intentional targeting of innocent civilians, which is highly condemnable.

“Pakistan has stressed upon India to stop forthwith these ceasefire violations and respect the 2003 ceasefire arrangement in order to restore peace and tranquillity at the LoC and the working boundary. The government of Pakistan extends its heartfelt condolences to the bereaved families and prays for the departed souls and for the quick recovery of the injured.”

As Pakistan registered a strong protest with India over the ceasefire violations, the military’s media wing, the Inter-Services Public Relations, said four civilians, including three women, were injured when Indian troops resorted to unprovoked firing in Nikial sector on Friday. The injured have been identified as Sobia Parveen, Mehroz, Muhammad Rafiq and Robina Kausar.

Read: Indian troops violate ceasefire in Nakial sector

The latest ceasefire violation took place days after the directors general of the Pakistan Rangers and the Indian Border Security Force agreed to restore the ceasefire along the working boundary.


Published in The Express Tribune, September 19th, 2015.]]>
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			<title>Diplomatic protest: Pakistan urges India to stop truce violations</title>
			<link>https://tribune.com.pk/story/958184/diplomatic-protest-pakistan-urges-india-to-stop-truce-violations</link>
			<comments>https://tribune.com.pk/story/958184/diplomatic-protest-pakistan-urges-india-to-stop-truce-violations#comments</comments>
			<pubDate>Wed, 16 Sep 15 22:58:02 +0500</pubDate>
			<dc:creator>
				<![CDATA[our.correspondent]]>
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			<category><![CDATA[Pakistan]]></category>
			<guid isPermaLink="false">https://tribune.com.pk/?p=958184</guid>
			<description>
				<![CDATA[Summons Indian deputy high commissioner to lodge protest]]>
			</description>
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				<![CDATA[A day after a Pakistani soldier was killed in ‘unprovoked firing’ by Indian troops at the Line of Control (LoC), Islamabad lodged a diplomatic protest, asking New Delhi to stop violating the 2003 ceasefire agreement.


“The Indian deputy high commissioner was summoned to the Ministry of Foreign Affairs by the director general (South Asia &amp; SAARC) and a protest was lodged over the latest unprovoked ceasefire violations by India at the LoC,” read a statement issued by the Foreign Office on Wednesday.

The Pakistani soldier was killed in Battal Sector of LoC. Pakistan’s diplomatic protest coincided with a fresh ceasefire violation by Indian troops in Rawalakot where a civilian was wounded by Indian fire.

Condemning both the incidents, Pakistan expressed its deep concern over India’s ‘continuous unprovoked ceasefire violations’ at the LoC and targeting of the civilian areas, according to the statement. It said the Indian government was urged to stop forthwith ceasefire violations and observe the 2003 ceasefire arrangement for restoration of peace and tranquility at the LoC and working boundary.

“The government of Pakistan offers its heartfelt condolences to the family of the deceased and prays for the departed soul and for the quick recovery of the injured,” it said.



The latest incident of ceasefire violation took place days after the heads of Pakistan Rangers and Indian Border Security Force agreed to restore ceasefire along the working boundary. Although, the agreement does not cover the LoC, Pakistan was hoping that understanding between the senior military officials would have positive impact on the de facto border in the disputed valley of Kashmir.

The latest incident also came just days before the prime ministers of Pakistan and India will be gathering in New York for the annual UN General Assembly session.

In an interview with Hindustan Times, Prime Minister’s Adviser on National Security and Foreign Affairs Sartaj Aziz said India would have to request Pakistan if it wanted a meeting between the two prime ministers on the margins of the UN session.

“Our position is very clear. India called off the national security adviser level dialogue last month and the request for any meeting must come from you. India has to take the initiative,” Aziz said in a telephonic talk with the Indian daily.

Islamabad has not yet received any request from New Delhi for a meeting on the sidelines of the UN General Assembly, Aziz told the Indian newspaper. “Nothing so far,” he said, “If there is a request, our stand is clear. We want a discussion on all outstanding issues, including Kashmir.”

Aziz clarified Pakistan would not have a ‘conditional’ meeting with India in New York, underlining the mutual distrust between the two sides. “India only wants to talk terror and we want discussions on all issues, including Kashmir,” the newspaper quoted Aziz as saying.


Published in The Express Tribune, September 17th, 2015.]]>
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			<title>Intense shelling: Indian aggression kills 8</title>
			<link>https://tribune.com.pk/story/946842/intense-shelling-indian-aggression-kills-8</link>
			<comments>https://tribune.com.pk/story/946842/intense-shelling-indian-aggression-kills-8#comments</comments>
			<pubDate>Fri, 28 Aug 15 22:56:50 +0500</pubDate>
			<dc:creator>
				<![CDATA[kaleem.rauf]]>
			</dc:creator>
			<category><![CDATA[Pakistan]]></category>
			<guid isPermaLink="false">https://tribune.com.pk/?p=946842</guid>
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				<![CDATA[Unprovoked firing along Sialkot border leaves 47 injured]]>
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				<![CDATA[India on Friday resorted to unprovoked aggression along the working boundary (WB) at Sialkot and targeted the civilian population, killing at least eight Pakistani citizens while injuring more than 40 others.


According to the Foreign Office, the firing by the Indian Border Security Force (BSF) started at around 11:30pm on Thursday night, when Pakistani soldiers confronted India troops for using an excavator near the WB without following the established standard operating procedures.

“Pakistani troops initially exercised restraint; however, [they] responded befittingly when India started heavy firing. The firing ended today [Friday] at 11:00am,” it added.

Updating about the Indian shelling on his Twitter account, the army’s chief spokesperson Major General Asim Saleem Bawja said  the total number of people injured on Friday was 47, including 24 women and eleven children.



Local sources said Indian forces started shelling at Sajeet Gardh Sector along the Sialkot border and targeted Pakistan Rangers posts and villages with heavy weapons. Later, they also opened fire in Charwah Sector and Chaprarr Sector.

As a result of the shelling, border villages –Thathi Mehenderwal, Thathi Khurd, Thathi Kallan, Thathi Gujran, Dole, Malanay, Nandpur, Rarki Awanan, Bajra Garhi, Kundanpur and Herpal – were heavily affected.

Kundanpur bore the maximum brunt of the Indian aggression where seven people, including three members of a family and a woman, were killed and more than a dozen suffered injuries. The deceased were identified as Waqas, Sajjad, Waqar Ali, Saad Ali, Irshad Bibi, Mehmood and Bilal. Zulfiqar of Bajra Garhi also died in a volley of gunfire.

People of the Kundanpur village, who sustained injuries included Nabila, Muhammad Javed, Naina, Amir Ali, Ali, Nazeer, Rashid, Azra, Zainab, Imtiaz, Haseena, Namrina, Muskaan, Fakhar ul Hassan, Shabana  and Kailash.  In Chaprar village, Jameela Bibi and Zeeshan got injured.

Due to the intense shelling, a number of people started relocating while all the schools in the border areas remained closed. The angry people of  the area also staged protest against India and shouted slogans against the country’s arch enemy. At places, youth also put Indian flags on fire.

Later, the victims were laid to rest in a local graveyard at Kundanpura in the presence of a large number of people.  People belonging to different walks of life including lawmakers from the area attended the funeral prayers.

Published in The Express Tribune, August 29th, 2015. 

 ]]>
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			<title>One killed as India violates truce again</title>
			<link>https://tribune.com.pk/story/938898/one-killed-as-india-violates-truce-again</link>
			<comments>https://tribune.com.pk/story/938898/one-killed-as-india-violates-truce-again#comments</comments>
			<pubDate>Sun, 16 Aug 15 00:02:08 +0500</pubDate>
			<dc:creator>
				<![CDATA[our.correspondent]]>
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			<category><![CDATA[Pakistan]]></category>
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				<![CDATA[One villager, Muhammad Shafi, was killed, while three others — Muhammad Imran, Shahpaal and Abdur Rashid were wounded]]>
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				<![CDATA[Notwithstanding repeated diplomatic protests by Pakistan, ceasefire violations by Indian security forces continue unabated. In the latest incident, one Pakistani civilian was killed and three others were injured when Indian troops opened unprovoked fire in Nakial Sector, 200 kilometres from Muzaffarabad, along the Line of Control (LoC), on Saturday.

One villager, Muhammad Shafi, was killed, while three others — Muhammad Imran, Shahpaal and Abdur Rashid – were wounded.

Spokesman for the Azad Jammu and Kashmir (AJK) government and Rehabilitation Minister Abdul Majid Khan said India was never sincere in promoting peace in the region.

He added that ceasefire violation on Independence Day was unfortunate and could undermine efforts being made to settle all outstanding issues between Pakistan and India through political dialogue.  

Published in The Express Tribune, August 16th, 2015.]]>
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			<title>Too early to speculate on timing of India visit: Aziz</title>
			<link>https://tribune.com.pk/story/922661/too-early-to-speculate-on-timing-of-india-visit-aziz</link>
			<comments>https://tribune.com.pk/story/922661/too-early-to-speculate-on-timing-of-india-visit-aziz#comments</comments>
			<pubDate>Fri, 17 Jul 15 13:43:20 +0500</pubDate>
			<dc:creator>
				<![CDATA[web.desk]]>
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			<category><![CDATA[Pakistan]]></category>
			<guid isPermaLink="false">https://tribune.com.pk/?p=922661</guid>
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				<![CDATA[PM's senior aide to meet his Indian counterpart in New Delhi, as agreed in Ufa by premiers of Pakistan, India]]>
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				<![CDATA[Amid escalating border tensions, Adviser on Foreign Affairs and National Security Sartaj Aziz said on Friday it is ‘too early’ to speculate about when he will visit New Delhi for talks with his Indian counterpart.

"It is too early to speculate on my visit's timing," he said, while speaking to the media regarding his visit to hold talks with his Indian counterpart Ajit Doval as agreed at Ufa.

Refusing to comment on India's reaction to recent firing on the border, Aziz said he does not want to ‘vitiate the atmosphere’ by commenting.

Read: Five killed in Indian BSF firing near Sialkot: ISPR

Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif and his Indian counterpart Narendra Modihad met in Ufa to attend the Shanghai Cooperation Organisation (SCO) earlier in July. Among other things, the two premiers decided that Aziz and Doval would meet in New Delhi in the near future to discuss ‘all issues connected to terrorism’.

Sartaj Aziz refrained from commenting when asked about the Indian Foreign Secretary Jaishankar's statement cautioning Pakistan of 'effective and forceful' reply to ‘unprovoked’ firing and cross-border terrorism.

Aziz called it ‘mischief’ to suggest that tension was escalating between India and Pakistan and could cancel his plan to visit to New Delhi.

Read: Pakistan Army shoots down Indian 'spy drone'

The premier's senior aide assured that Pakistan was working to reduce the tension escalating at the border. Avoiding commenting on India’s allegation that no drone was sent for spying in Pakistan, he said, "Pakistan Army will be in a better position to offer comments about it since the earlier information was also provided by it."

Read: Out of control: Opposition MPAs condemn Indian border aggression

On Thursday, five people were killed and dozens others injured as India’s Border Security Force (BSF) resorted to unprovoked firing along the Working Boundary near Sialkot.

The incident came a day after an Indian ‘spy drone’ used for aerial photography was shot down by Pakistan Army near Bhimber along the Line of Control.

The incidents took place despite an ice breaking meeting between Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif and his Indian counterpart Narendra Modi in Russia on July 10.

The article originally appeared on The Times of India]]>
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			<title>Airspace violation: Indian chopper returns home</title>
			<link>https://tribune.com.pk/story/280200/pakistan-forces-indian-chopper-to-land-for-violating-airspace</link>
			<comments>https://tribune.com.pk/story/280200/pakistan-forces-indian-chopper-to-land-for-violating-airspace#comments</comments>
			<pubDate>Sun, 23 Oct 11 10:54:44 +0500</pubDate>
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				<![CDATA[express]]>
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			<category><![CDATA[Pakistan]]></category>
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				<![CDATA[The military authorities, however, failed to give reason for letting chopper return without any investigation.]]>
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				<![CDATA[The Indian chopper, that was forced by Pakistan's military to land for violating Pakistani airspace, has returned to India along with the four Indian army officers on Sunday.

The helicopter intruded into Pakistani territory in Olding sector in northern Skardu region around 1:00 p.m (0800 GMT).

According to the Express 24/7 correspondent Faisal Shakeel, the military authorities have confirmed that the chopper was allowed to return to India.

The authorities, however, failed to give the reason for letting the chopper return without any investigation.

After the violation of the airspace, the Indian authorities were immediately informed about the incident and it was stated that the act would be investigated.

The military spokesman Major-General Athar Abbas had told Reuters that "the helicopter had came deep into our airspace. It was forced to land. Four Indian army officers have been taken into safe custody. They are safe."

The two nuclear-armed South Asian rivals have fought three wars since their independence from British rule in 1947.

However, their relations have improved after they resumed a peace process this year which was suspended after co-ordinated attacks by Pakistan-based militants in the Indian city of Mumbai in 2008, that killed 166 people.]]>
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			<title>3 Pakistani troops killed by Indian soldiers: Army</title>
			<link>https://tribune.com.pk/story/243324/loc-three-pakistani-soldiers-die-in-attack-by-indian-forces</link>
			<comments>https://tribune.com.pk/story/243324/loc-three-pakistani-soldiers-die-in-attack-by-indian-forces#comments</comments>
			<pubDate>Thu, 01 Sep 11 08:30:07 +0500</pubDate>
			<dc:creator>
				<![CDATA[reuters]]>
			</dc:creator>
			<category><![CDATA[Pakistan]]></category>
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			<description>
				<![CDATA[Indian border forces opened fire on Dhudnial checkpost on Tuesday, confirms ISPR.]]>
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				<![CDATA[Indian forces fired across the de facto border in the disputed Himalayan region of Kashmir early on Wednesday, killing three Pakistani soldiers, the Pakistani army said on Thursday.

It said Indian forces opened "unprovoked" fire across the so-called Line of Control (LoC) – which divides Kashmir between India and Pakistan – in Neelam valley.

"The soldiers were moving from one post to another when they came under fire. Three soldiers were killed," military spokesman Major Gen. Athar Abbas said.

Pakistani forces returned fire in retaliation and the incident was raised with local Indian commanders, he said.

A spokesman for the Indian army in Kashmir gave a different account.

"They opened fire first and we retaliated ... In the morning again they started firing mortars again and we retaliated and the exchange of fire continued," Lt. Col. J.S. Brar told Reuters.

The incident underlined the fragility of ties between the countries that have fought three wars since 1947.

There were frequent exchanges of fire between the two forces before the nuclear-armed neighbours agreed to a ceasefire across the dividing line there in 2003. They continue to exchange sporadic fire.

The latest incident is unlikely to have any impact on renewed efforts by the two countries to improve their ties.

India and Pakistan in February resumed a formal peace process broken off after the 2008 attack on Indian's financial capital of Mumbai blamed on Pakistan-based militants, which killed 166 people.

Meeting in the Indian capital of New Delhi in July, foreign ministers of the two countries hailed a new era in ties, and agreed to fight militancy and boost trade and travel.]]>
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			<title>Indo-pak trade: Indian govt likely to lift blanket ban on investment</title>
			<link>https://tribune.com.pk/story/242942/indo-pak-trade-indian-govt-likely-to-lift-blanket-ban-on-investment</link>
			<comments>https://tribune.com.pk/story/242942/indo-pak-trade-indian-govt-likely-to-lift-blanket-ban-on-investment#comments</comments>
			<pubDate>Tue, 30 Aug 11 19:54:59 +0500</pubDate>
			<dc:creator>
				<![CDATA[ppi]]>
			</dc:creator>
			<category><![CDATA[Pakistan]]></category>
			<guid isPermaLink="false">https://tribune.com.pk/?p=242942</guid>
			<description>
				<![CDATA[India has asked Islamabad to move towards a 'normal trade' mode.]]>
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				<![CDATA[India and Pakistan have agreed to consider easing business visa rules, India’s TNN news agency reported on Tuesday.


Pakistan is expected to come up with contours of the liberalised visa regime which India will match, it quoted a senior Indian government official as saying.

In addition, it said, the Indian government has agreed to consider lifting the blanket ban on investment from across the border while asking Islamabad to move to ‘normal trade.’

During talks in New Delhi last week, the report said, there were indications that Pakistan would grant the most favoured nation (MFN) status to India and also implement its commitments under South Asian Free Trade Agreement (SAFTA) that entailed lowering of duties and allowing the import of commodities, barring a negative list.

At present, it said, Pakistan follows a positive list which means only a handful of products can be imported from India. As a result, a bulk of products is traded through a third country, such as the United Arab Emirates, it said. “We are some distance away from investment actually coming through given that even companies would be worried about reversal of policy. But in case of trade, Pakistan can show the way and we can reciprocate through easier visa norms,” it quoted an analyst as saying.

Published in The Express Tribune, August 31st,  2011.]]>
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			<title>Jailed abroad: Back in Pakistan, some prisoners don’t know where home is</title>
			<link>https://tribune.com.pk/story/240402/jailed-abroad-back-in-pakistan-some-prisoners-don%e2%80%99t-know-where-home-is</link>
			<comments>https://tribune.com.pk/story/240402/jailed-abroad-back-in-pakistan-some-prisoners-don%e2%80%99t-know-where-home-is#comments</comments>
			<pubDate>Fri, 26 Aug 11 23:03:54 +0500</pubDate>
			<dc:creator>
				<![CDATA[ali.usman]]>
			</dc:creator>
			<category><![CDATA[Pakistan]]></category>
			<guid isPermaLink="false">https://tribune.com.pk/?p=240402</guid>
			<description>
				<![CDATA[India releases three Pakistani men, prisoner Dr Chisty’s family says time is running out.]]>
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				<![CDATA[Allah Ditta cannot tell where he comes from. To any question asked, the mentally challenged man released from Kot Bhalwal Central Jail in Indian Kashmir, just says “Ditta”.

In his sixties now, Ditta was one of three prisoners released by Indian authorities on Thursday. Edhi, the country’s largest charity, is trying to trace his family and that of another mentally challenged prisoner, Shaukat Ali. Ali knows only one thing about his background: “My home is in Mandi Ahmadabad in District Okara.”

The third prisoner, Muhammad Nabeel, says he was given an 18-month sentence, but was released after four years. There are around 30 Pakistanis in Kot Bhalwal jail, he says, adding that 20 of them have completed their sentence.

Nabeel, who was handed over to Edhi Home in Gulberg, Lahore, told The Express Tribune there is one Pakistani woman in the jail too. “Several Pakistanis who have completed their sentence have been languishing in Bhalwal jail for years, but no one has so far forwarded their case to authorities concerned,” he says. Most Pakistani prisoners are detained under the Public Safety Act and when they complete their sentence they are shifted to some other jail, he adds.

Four years ago, Nabeel mistakenly crossed the border in Azad Kashmir. “I was cutting wood at the Pakistani side of the border when officers from the Indian Border Security force asked me to pick up some wood lying near the Line of Control (a de facto border between India and Pakistan). When I went near the border they arrested me and another person who was accompanying me.”

(Read: Tales from the LoC, Divided at home)

Nabeel served his sentence in Punch Jail and was later shifted to Kot Bhalwal. “By the time many people are released they have lost their senses. I am lucky I got out in four years.”

“We...did not know which jail he was in,” said Muhammad Tahseeb, Nabeel’s brother who came to take his brother home on Friday.

In India, Dr Khaleel Chishty, is still waiting to be released on humanitarian grounds. Speaking to The Express Tribune, Chisty’s grandson, Syed Ali Ghalib Chishty said: “A 14-year sentence after a trial of 19 years...is inhuman. I appeal to all Indian ...friends...to consider his case and release him.”

Published in The Express Tribune, August 27th,  2011.]]>
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			<title>Second round of dialogue: Pakistani, Indian MPs favour easier interaction</title>
			<link>https://tribune.com.pk/story/235643/second-round-of-dialogue-pakistani-indian-mps-favour-easier-interaction</link>
			<comments>https://tribune.com.pk/story/235643/second-round-of-dialogue-pakistani-indian-mps-favour-easier-interaction#comments</comments>
			<pubDate>Sat, 20 Aug 11 05:01:50 +0500</pubDate>
			<dc:creator>
				<![CDATA[Aditi Phadnis]]>
			</dc:creator>
			<category><![CDATA[Pakistan]]></category>
			<guid isPermaLink="false">https://tribune.com.pk/?p=235643</guid>
			<description>
				<![CDATA[Lawmakers to send their recommendations to the presiding officers of their respective houses of parliament.]]>
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				<![CDATA[Parliamentarians from Pakistan and India met here for the second round of their dialogue under the veil of secrecy and far away from the prying eyes of the media.


However, a chance encounter with the MPs made one wonder why it had all been kept so hush-hush. The MPs spoke from the heart, movingly sometimes. Ultimately, they endorsed the national positions of their countries, with heavy emphasis on easier people-to-people interaction.

Pakistani MPs spoke of resolving ancient disputes between the two countries so that relations could become normal. Some MPs cautioned against talking down to Pakistan – as it hurt feelings in the country and was seen as an impediment to normalising relations. The Indian side was emotional. MPs spoke of divided families and the hunger to meet. They also said Indian Muslims had undergone many travails as a minority and had been victims – but the Indian state had protected their rights and was trying to stem attacks on them from radical groups.

Business trade and the economy came in for some discussion. It was pointed out that because the two countries had no banking facilities in each others’ countries, they lost money routinely via third country transactions. Business visas often run into red tape and are usually rejected. Ordinary people have found it difficult to secure visas.

Joint statement issued

A joint statement issued after the dialogue said it was in the interest of both countries that peace, security and stability be established between them. The statement noted that the foreign ministers of both countries had agreed that the dialogue should be “un-interrupted and un-interruptible”. The specific issues that were flagged were that the composite dialogue should go on; all outstanding issues including Jammu and Kashmir, Siachen and Sir Creek should be discussed, and the Pakistani concern of water flow during the sowing season be addressed along with timely sharing of information on the Indus Basin.

The parliamentarians urged both governments to “address the water issue within the framework of the Indus Waters Treaty, discuss between themselves the 1960 Iran-Pakistan-India gas pipeline, and the easing or removal of restrictions and considerations of a preferential duty regime”.

The dialogue had a great deal to say about changes in the visa regimes in both countries. Among the issues flagged was the implementation of agreements to open new transit routes across the Line of Control in Kashmir and at Khokhrapar-Monabao, as also additional flights.  The MPs will send their recommendations to the presiding officers of their respective parliaments.

 

 

Published in The Express Tribune, August 20th, 2011.department is working with a depleted force.

Despite the passage of almost two months, tax authorities have failed to set a new collection target since the target approved by parliament became redundant after the tax figure fudging controversy.

A recent proposal to fill strategic positions in the FBR is also awaiting the chairman’s approval.

 

 

Published in The Express Tribune, August 20th, 2011.]]>
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			<title>Indo-pak ties: Cross-LoC trade reaches Rs16.9 million</title>
			<link>https://tribune.com.pk/story/222932/indo-pak-ties-cross-loc-trade-reaches-rs16-9-million</link>
			<comments>https://tribune.com.pk/story/222932/indo-pak-ties-cross-loc-trade-reaches-rs16-9-million#comments</comments>
			<pubDate>Tue, 02 Aug 11 20:15:33 +0500</pubDate>
			<dc:creator>
				<![CDATA[ppi]]>
			</dc:creator>
			<category><![CDATA[Pakistan]]></category>
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				<![CDATA[As many as eight trucks rolled out from the Trade Facilitation Centre (TFC) at Ranger in Poonch district.]]>
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				<![CDATA[Goods worth over Rs16.9 million were traded across the Line of Control (LoC) at Chakan-Da-Bagh Crossing point in Poonch district, officials said on Tuesday. As many as eight trucks rolled out from the Trade Facilitation Centre (TFC) at Ranger in Poonch district carrying bags of coconut, red chilli and embroidery items worth Rs 3.45 million. From Azad Kashmir, 15 trucks carrying bags of almonds, dried grapes, dates, Peshawari sandals, and herbs crossed to the Indian side of the LoC and these were worth Rs13.46 million. Officials from both sides of LoC monitored the transportation of these goods at the Chakan-Da-Bagh crossing point twice during the day, officials said.

Published in The Express Tribune, August 3rd, 2011.]]>
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			<title>Small is beautiful on India-Pakistan front</title>
			<link>https://tribune.com.pk/story/220750/small-is-beautiful-on-india-pakistan-front</link>
			<comments>https://tribune.com.pk/story/220750/small-is-beautiful-on-india-pakistan-front#comments</comments>
			<pubDate>Sat, 30 Jul 11 17:11:58 +0500</pubDate>
			<dc:creator>
				<![CDATA[jyoti.malhotra]]>
			</dc:creator>
			<category><![CDATA[Pakistan]]></category>
			<guid isPermaLink="false">https://tribune.com.pk/?p=220750</guid>
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				<![CDATA[Unspoken charge against Hina in Delhi was that at 34 years of age, she couldn’t possibly be anything but lightweight.]]>
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				<![CDATA[Pakistan’s foreign minister Hina Rabbani Khar was always in danger of being miscast as an up-at-heel Cinderella by the Indian media during her visit to Delhi this week — and I plead guilty.

The lady’s fury is totally in order, too. Back in Lahore, when asked by waiting reporters to react to the Indian media’s description of her as a style icon, Hina snapped back. “There is paparazzi everywhere,” she said, implying that the Indian journalist’s obsession with her oversized Birkin bag (at Rs1.7 million, said the Times of India), her Roberto Cavalli sunshades and her coloured pearls (South Sea or Mikimoto?) was directly proportional to the limited attention it paid to all serious issues.

Now that’s a serious charge, and regretfully I must admit the beautiful Hina may be right again. The Indian media was so swept off its feet by the trappings of the vision from across the border, it failed to adequately note the path-breaking nature of the joint statement in which, for the first time in several decades, “the people” from both countries were put on top of the bilateral agenda.

In fact, the Pakistani media returned the compliment in some ways. The obsession with the Great Game in both countries abounds: Indian spies are found on sundry street corners in the big and small cities of Balochistan, the return to ‘strategic depth’ in Afghanistan is accompanied by a rush of adrenalin whether or not Kabul is interested in such a relationship with Islamabad in the first place, and Siachen and Sir Creek become coveted markers from where spheres of influence can be enhanced.

But look at what happened this time. The Pakistani side couldn’t possibly object to Delhi’s initiatives to increase interaction between Kashmiris on both sides of the Line of Control, or across the international border. The offer of “non-discriminatory trade” is  hidden deep inside the joint statement, an alias for most-favoured nation status. Let’s see how that pans out when Pakistan’s commerce secretary Zafar Mehmood comes to Delhi to talk to his counterpart Rahul Khullar. (And yes, both are Punjabi).

Actually, it may be a good thing that Hina Rabbani Khar stole the show last week. Pakistan’s “weapon of mass distraction”, as a fully paid-up member of India’s Twitterati set described her, has thrown such a cloud of stardust in the eyes of both medias that it allows both governments — and dare I say, Pakistan’s army, which takes a serious interest in foreign policy, especially with India — to underwrite the small-is-beautiful measures that hawks mostly misunderstand.

The unspoken charge against Hina in Delhi was that at 34 years of age, she couldn’t possibly be anything but a lightweight. She has very little experience, she belongs to Pakistan’s upper-class and is therefore as feudal as they come, and may be a front for the real powers that runs foreign policy, whether Ashfaq Kayani, Asif Zardari, Yousaf Raza Gilani or Rehman Malik.

Thing about Hina is, she’s stunning. There are so few men and women in public life who are so good-looking that the attention is natural. But instead of getting perturbed by the publicity, she would do well to remember that Indira Gandhi was also called a goongi gudiya when she first entered politics — within five years, the country was calling her Durga, the mother goddess.

Published in The Express Tribune, July 31st, 2011.]]>
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			<title>Kashmir CBMs widely welcomed</title>
			<link>https://tribune.com.pk/story/219041/kashmir-cbms-widely-welcomed</link>
			<comments>https://tribune.com.pk/story/219041/kashmir-cbms-widely-welcomed#comments</comments>
			<pubDate>Thu, 28 Jul 11 04:20:01 +0500</pubDate>
			<dc:creator>
				<![CDATA[express]]>
			</dc:creator>
			<category><![CDATA[Pakistan]]></category>
			<guid isPermaLink="false">https://tribune.com.pk/?p=219041</guid>
			<description>
				<![CDATA[Pakistan and India agreed on Wednesday to facilitate trade and travel on the Line of Control.]]>
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				<![CDATA[All sections of people from Kashmir, cutting across party lines, welcomed the new set of confidence building measures mooted by the Indian and Pakistan foreign ministers on Wednesday.

Jammu and Kashmir Chief Minister Omar Abdullah described the fresh initiatives on cross-LoC travel and trade as a “good step” on microblogging site Twitter.com. Moderate Hurriyat Conference on Wednesday said Kashmiris should be included in it to make the process fruitful.

Details: CMBs on Kashmir

Pakistan and India agreed on Wednesday to facilitate trade and travel on the Line of Control (LoC) – the de facto border between the two halves of the disputed Kashmir state. Following are the details of these confidence building measures (CBMs) on Kashmir:

CROSS–LoC TRADE:

i)  List of 21 products of permissible items for Cross-LoC trade will be respected by both sides. The Working Group will review the trading list with a view to further specifying permissible items to facilitate intra-Jammu &amp;Kashmir Cross-LoC trade.

ii) Both sides will provide adequate facilities at the trade facilitation centres on each side.

iii)  The number of trading days stand enhanced from 2 to 4 days per week. Truck movements shall take place on Tuesdays, Wednesdays, Thursdays and Fridays, both on Srinagar-Muzaffarabad and Poonch-Rawalakot routes.

iv)  The Designated Authorities will resolve operational issues concerning cross-LoC trade through regular interaction.

v)  Regular meetings between the Chambers of Commerce and traders of both sides will be facilitated.

vi)   Existing telephone communication facilities should be strengthened.

vii) The meetings of the Designated Authorities will be held alternately at the Terminal of the Crossing Points on both sides of the LoC every quarter or as and when deemed necessary.

CROSS-LoC TRAVEL

i)   Cross-LoC travel would be expanded on both sides of the LoC to include visits for tourism and religious pilgrimage. In this regard, the modalities will be worked out by both sides.

ii)  Facilities including waiting area, terminal and clearing procedures at the operational crossing points will be streamlined by both sides for smooth Cross-LoC travel.

iii) The Cross-LoC bus service between Srinagar-Muzaffarabad and Poonch-Rawalakot routes will henceforth run on every Monday.

iv)  Application forms and requisite documentation in respect of travel across LoC will be exchanged by email between Designated Authorities of both sides. Such email transfer of application forms will be backed up by hard copies.

v)  Both sides will expedite the processing time for applications, which shall not be more than 45 days.

vi) Six month multiple entry cross-LoC travel permits will be allowed by the Designated Authorities after completion of the required formalities at an early date.

vii) Coordination meetings between the Designated Authorities will be held at the Terminals alternately on both sides of the LoC every quarter or as and when deemed necessary.  

Published in The Express Tribune, July 28th, 2011.]]>
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			<title>Khar-Krishna talks: Agreement on simplified travel procedure across LoC</title>
			<link>https://tribune.com.pk/story/218421/khar-krishna-talks-agreement-on-simplified-travel-procedure-across-loc</link>
			<comments>https://tribune.com.pk/story/218421/khar-krishna-talks-agreement-on-simplified-travel-procedure-across-loc#comments</comments>
			<pubDate>Wed, 27 Jul 11 12:55:32 +0500</pubDate>
			<dc:creator>
				<![CDATA[ppi]]>
			</dc:creator>
			<category><![CDATA[Pakistan]]></category>
			<guid isPermaLink="false">https://tribune.com.pk/?p=218421</guid>
			<description>
				<![CDATA[Travel across the LoC will now include visits for tourism and religious pilgrimage.]]>
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				<![CDATA[India and Pakistan agreed to simplify travel procedures and increase the frequency of bus services for cross-LoC (Line of Control) travel in disputed Kashmir on Wednesday.

The decision was among the Kashmir-related confidence building measures (CBMs) the two countries unveiled at a meeting between Foreign Minister Ms Hina Rabbani Khar and Indian External Affairs Minister SM Krishna.

(Read: Khar-Krishna talks: Pakistan, India plan fresh CBMs on Kashmir)

"Cross-LoC travel would be expanded on both sides of the LoC" said a joint statement issued after Khar-Krishna meeting.

It said travel across the LoC will now "include visits for tourism and religious pilgrimage. In this regard, the modalities will be worked out by both sides."

Earlier, bus service was only for families. The two countries also decided that facilities, including waiting area, terminal and clearing procedures would be streamlined at the crossing points for "smooth cross-LoC travel".

The two sides also decided to relax travel permit conditions by having a system of six-month multiple entry permit. Validity of the entry permit till now was only for four weeks.

"Application forms and requisite documentation in respect of travel across LoC will be exchanged by email between designated authorities of both sides. Such email transfer of application forms will be backed up by hard copies," statement said. This will expedite the travel applications processing time, which shall not be more than 45 days now.]]>
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			<title>Pakistan-India relationship: ‘New era’ dawns in ties</title>
			<link>https://tribune.com.pk/story/218365/india-pakistan-agree-to-push-for-stability-in-volatile-region</link>
			<comments>https://tribune.com.pk/story/218365/india-pakistan-agree-to-push-for-stability-in-volatile-region#comments</comments>
			<pubDate>Wed, 27 Jul 11 11:00:02 +0500</pubDate>
			<dc:creator>
				<![CDATA[Aditi Phadnis]]>
			</dc:creator>
			<category><![CDATA[Pakistan]]></category>
			<guid isPermaLink="false">https://tribune.com.pk/?p=218365</guid>
			<description>
				<![CDATA[Two countries cut a slew of deals to facilitate trade and travel across LoC.]]>
			</description>
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				<![CDATA[As the Indian media swooned over Hina Rabbani Khar’s social graces and fashion sense, Jane Birkin handbag, Chanel sunglasses, her pearls and her diamonds, substantive gains were made in the people-to-people component of India’s relations with Pakistan in her talks with Indian Foreign Minister SM Krishna.


But some Indian analysts raged and ranted over the manner in which New Delhi had ‘given up’ the initiative on terrorism and merely registered its ‘disapproval’ of Khar’s meeting with Kashmiri politicians.

However, those who want the India-Pakistan engagements to continue strongly backed Khar’s statement that dialogue between the two countries should be ‘uninterrupted and uninterruptible’ – a phrase that Congress MP Mani Shankar Aiyar claimed Khar had borrowed from him.

Appearing at a joint news conference with Khar after their two and half hours of talks, Krishna said ties were back ‘on the right track,’ while Khar spoke of a ‘mindset change’ that had ushered in a ‘new era of cooperation’.

“We have some distance to travel, but with an open mind and a constructive approach ... I am sure we can reach our desired destination of having a friendly and cooperative relationship,” Krishna said.

Khar said: “A new generation of Indians and Pakistanis will see a relationship that will hopefully be much different from the one that has been experienced in the last two decades.”

On the thorny issue of terrorism, the two foreign ministers agreed to work more closely to fight militancy and to bring to justice perpetrators of the Mumbai attacks which, New Delhi believes, were carried out by Pakistan-based militants.

“We have agreed ...to fight and eliminate this scourge in all forms,” Krishna said. “We have also agreed on the need to strengthen cooperation in counter-terrorism to bring those responsible for terror crimes to justice.”

(Read: India, Pakistan in post-Mumbai phase)

Krishna said the two countries had agreed to ease travel restrictions, boost bus services frequency and double the number of days goods could be traded across the Line of Control – the de facto border in the Himalayan state of Kashmir. “I can confidently say our relations are on the right track,” he said.

A joint statement issued after the meeting outlined the commitment of both sides to fight terrorism, boost trade and keep the peace process going.

Indian foreign policy experts, including former Foreign Secretary Kanwal Sibal, objected to the reference to counterterrorism and progress on the Mumbai trials while omitting altogether any reference to the status of the trials of those charged in the conspiracy in Pakistan.“There should have been a more extended reference to terrorism,” said former deputy national security adviser Leela Ponappa.

Aside from an agreement on facilitating each other’s prisoners, the two sides also agreed on a slew of confidence building measures (CBMs) on Kashmir.

But on the progress of the trials of the Mumbai blasts, the Indian side said it got no convincing assurances from Pakistan.

“Pakistan said: we are also victims of terror. But where is the equivalence? Pakistan is a victim because of its own mistakes. But we (India) are victims because Pakistan nurtures terrorists. What has changed after these talks?” asked Kanwal Sibal.

Despite the official upbeat assessment of the talks, it appears that Khar’s meetings with Kashmiri politicians have not gone down well with the Indians. She met Syed Ali Geelani and Mirwaiz Umar Farooq, chiefs of their respective factions of the All Parties Hurriyat Conference (APHC) on Tuesday.

Foreign Secretary Nirupama Rao said the meetings illustrated the ‘divergence’ between the two countries. “We have a very different point of view from Pakistan on that particular event (the meeting) and we have expressed our concerns in a frank and candid manner to the Pakistan side,” Rao told reporters.

Pakistan Foreign Secretary Salman Bashir moved quickly to dismiss the Indian apprehensions. “This matter of the meeting yesterday cannot be construed in any manner including intentionally or by design to cast any shadow on today’s talks,” he said. “I think we should not read more into it.”

Prime Minister Singh accepted an invitation to visit Pakistan at mutually convenient dates. (With additional input from AFP)

 

Published in The Express Tribune, July 28th, 2011.]]>
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			<title>Trans-Loc Peace Bus: 158 people from AJK visit IHK</title>
			<link>https://tribune.com.pk/story/210842/trans-loc-peace-bus-158-people-from-ajk-visit-ihk</link>
			<comments>https://tribune.com.pk/story/210842/trans-loc-peace-bus-158-people-from-ajk-visit-ihk#comments</comments>
			<pubDate>Sat, 16 Jul 11 02:58:08 +0500</pubDate>
			<dc:creator>
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			</dc:creator>
			<category><![CDATA[Pakistan]]></category>
			<guid isPermaLink="false">https://tribune.com.pk/?p=210842</guid>
			<description>
				<![CDATA[crossed sides through the weekly trans-Line of Control (LoC) peace bus operating between Muzaffarabad and IHK.]]>
			</description>
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				<![CDATA[As many as 158 people from different families of Azad Jammu and Kashmir (AJK) crossed sides through the weekly trans-Line of Control (LoC) peace bus operating between Muzaffarabad and Indian Held Kashmir (IHK), official sources said on Friday. Talking to APP, they said that 60 AJK citizens crossed, on foot, the peace bridge in Chakothi-Uri at the LoC to meet relatives residing in IHK, while 81 returned to AJK.  They said three residents of IHK, who had come to AJK to visit their relatives, had also returned to their homes, while 14 Kashmiris from IHK crossed over to this side of the LoC.

Published in The Express Tribune, July 16th, 2011.]]>
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			<title>Make the LoC the international border</title>
			<link>https://tribune.com.pk/story/208783/make-the-loc-the-international-border</link>
			<comments>https://tribune.com.pk/story/208783/make-the-loc-the-international-border#comments</comments>
			<pubDate>Wed, 13 Jul 11 15:53:15 +0500</pubDate>
			<dc:creator>
				<![CDATA[letter.]]>
			</dc:creator>
			<category><![CDATA[Pakistan]]></category>
			<guid isPermaLink="false">https://tribune.com.pk/?p=208783</guid>
			<description>
				<![CDATA[Pakistan should not expect is that India will hand over Kashmir on a silver platter. It was ceded to India.]]>
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				<![CDATA[This is with reference to Tariq Fatemi’s article of July 13 titled “Peace prospects with India”. What is required for Pakistan is to reduce its force strength at the border with India, remove the threat by non-state actors and also recall non-state actors sent to Kashmir.

Then India can follow by drawing down its troops from Kashmir. Once Kashmir is in such a state, then both countries can consider upgrading their trade links. Also, in the meantime, the two sides can sit down and negotiate, starting with minor issues. If that were to happen with some degree of success, it would be seen as a tangible confidence-building measure. That could, in turn, build up momentum for the resolution of more serious issues, leading eventually to Kashmir.

One thing that Pakistan should not expect is that India will hand over Kashmir on a silver platter. It was ceded to India. The best solution really can be that the Line of Control is declared as the international border between the two countries, and that people on both sides are given permission to move freely across it. Both countries could share in the defence of the region.

Mohan Ram

Published in The Express Tribune, July 14th, 2011.]]>
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			<title>Towards peace with Pakistan</title>
			<link>https://tribune.com.pk/story/203712/towards-peace-with-pakistan</link>
			<comments>https://tribune.com.pk/story/203712/towards-peace-with-pakistan#comments</comments>
			<pubDate>Wed, 06 Jul 11 16:13:55 +0500</pubDate>
			<dc:creator>
				<![CDATA[kuldip.nayar]]>
			</dc:creator>
			<category><![CDATA[Pakistan]]></category>
			<guid isPermaLink="false">https://tribune.com.pk/?p=203712</guid>
			<description>
				<![CDATA[Kashmir is a complex issue which has got more intractable over the years, and Pakistan is willing to resume from 2007.]]>
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				<![CDATA[At times, even negative growth is considered positive. This sums up the outcome of talks between the two foreign secretaries, Nirupama Rao of India and Salman Bashir of Pakistan. The fact that they addressed a joint press conference and did not utter a word of denunciation, even after having taken a divergent stand at the day-long special session on Kashmir, shows that the two countries are beginning to care about each other’s sensitivities.

It augurs well for the meeting between the foreign ministers later this July. Both countries have an opposite stance on Kashmir and, as Bashir said at the joint press conference, they have not resiled from their known positions. Not even an optimist expected a breakthrough at Islamabad.

Still, Rao gave a peep into the future when she said that it was time that “a vocabulary of peace” rather than an ideology of military conflict determined the way the two countries viewed each other. What it indicates is that they have realised how futile the two wars of 1947 and 1965 have been. The important point is that after the hostilities they have found a common ground to sign peace agreements.

Indeed, Kashmir is a complex issue which has got more intractable over the years. First, there were two parties, India and Pakistan. Now the Kashmiris, too, want to have their say, a natural desire which has taken the shape of azadi. The Kashmiris have lost some 40,000 people in their ‘fight’ for self-determination. The solution has to have the imprint of Kashmiris’ approval.

Many solutions have been bandied about — New Delhi and Islamabad are still working at a few through back channels — but what appears more acceptable than the rest is to make the Line of Control (LoC) into the ‘Line of Peace’, as Zulfikar Ali Bhutto suggested in 1972 when he was giving me an interview as Pakistan’s prime minister. He did not pursue the proposal at the Shimla Conference. His probe in the country had made it clear that he could not sell the formation when it had lost its eastern wing a few months earlier.

More or less the same formula was retrieved by former Pakistani president General Pervez Musharraf nearly 35 years later. Indian Prime Minister Manmohan Singh reportedly endorsed it because there was no change in the Kashmir-Muzzaffarpur border, his pre-condition for accepting the solution. According to Pakistan’s former foreign minister Khurshid Kasuri, the agreement would have been signed by Singh at Lahore if the lawyers’ agitation in Pakistan had not disturbed the situation.

The two foreign ministers can bring the formula back to the table. There are enough indications to suggest that Pakistan is willing to begin from the point where talks ended during the Musharraf period.

After the Mumbai 2008 attacks, India is convinced that no militant can operate in Kashmir and elsewhere in the country without assistance from across the border. In fact, the Mumbai attacks consumed almost the entire meeting on the first day between the two foreign secretaries. Rao pointed out that Pakistan had done very little to bring the perpetrators to justice. Bashir promised to pursue the case vigorously. But since no new judge has been appointed to the Special Court for the prosecution of the killers, there is little hope for an early action.

Rao took all this in her stride to show how keen New Delhi was to normalise relations with Pakistan. Bashir responded by agreeing to set up two joint committees to discuss how to clear the nuclear shadow over the subcontinent and to suggest steps to control the excessive military build up on both sides. This initiative on the part of Pakistan shows that the army is on board.

At last, both countries have realised that people to people contact is essential to establish good relations There are proposals to liberalise visas and, at the same time, increase trade, which is negligible at present. Were the two foreign ministers to take up the implementation of the reported agreement on Sir Creek, they would strengthen a good beginning. Both countries should have concluded by this time that there is no option but peace and friendship.

Published in The Express Tribune, July 7th, 2011.]]>
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			<title>Light at the end of India-Pakistan tunnel?</title>
			<link>https://tribune.com.pk/story/202210/light-at-the-end-of-india-pakistan-tunnel</link>
			<comments>https://tribune.com.pk/story/202210/light-at-the-end-of-india-pakistan-tunnel#comments</comments>
			<pubDate>Mon, 04 Jul 11 16:03:47 +0500</pubDate>
			<dc:creator>
				<![CDATA[editorial]]>
			</dc:creator>
			<category><![CDATA[Pakistan]]></category>
			<guid isPermaLink="false">https://tribune.com.pk/?p=202210</guid>
			<description>
				<![CDATA[Pakistan needs to move forward on the opening of free trade and trade routes with India]]>
			</description>
			<content:encoded>
				<![CDATA[Indian foreign secretary Nirupama Rao has said some promising things for the troubled India-Pakistan equation. Her first statement was that perhaps it was wrong on the part of India to stop talking to Pakistan after the 2008 Mumbai attack; her second statement said that Pakistan’s attitude had changed towards terrorism and therefore there were better prospects for an India-Pakistan normalisation these days, represented by uninterrupted bilateral talks on outstanding issues.

There was undue triumphalism in the Pakistani press on Ms Rao’s owning up to India’s mistake in her first statement. The correct reaction would have been to say that her statement had improved the outlook for a better regional security environment. There is no doubt that there is international pressure on both India and Pakistan to start talking. Furthermore, signals are also being given to India to abandon its policy of linking all progress in talks to the resolution of the Mumbai attack case in Pakistan against several Lashkar-e-Taiba members. It was wrong to interpret Ms Rao’s observation as a kind of Indian admission of defeat.

Ms Rao is talking frankly because she has come to the end of her tenure as secretary for external affairs of India. She may want to improve her prospects as Indian ambassador to the United States where she might be called upon to look at Pakistan more realistically than she was at New Delhi, responding to public rage in the post-Mumbai days. It is also possible that privately she preferred a softer approach to Pakistan as foreign secretary than the consensus inside the Indian establishment allowed. We know that Prime Minister Manmohan Singh definitely wanted a similar approach to Pakistan, meaning that Ms Rao was not alone in her views.

Her second statement, given on a TV show, is more detailed and therefore significant. She thinks that “the prism through which Pakistan sees the issue of terrorism has definitely been altered” and this was her conclusion after the last secretary-level talks she attended in Islamabad. What exactly persuaded her to change her mind? This observation: “I think when they [Pakistan] speak of the fact that non-state elements in this relationship need to be tackled, that we must look at safe havens and sanctuaries, that we must look at fake currency, we must look at all the aspects that are concerned with the business of terror, I think that is a concrete development”.

There could be extra-regional factors of persuasion on both countries behind these subtle reactions. And this persuasion is not coming only from the US but also from the UK and the European Union. Pakistan’s Foreign Secretary Salman Bashir — heretofore known as a hawk closely aligned with the military that runs Pakistan’s India policy — has mellowed if he did say that terrorism had to be tackled. This mellowness is owed to international persuasion and the relentless decay of the old policy applied to the problem of terrorism. Some of this persuasion is also managed indirectly through states that Pakistan counts as its ‘all-weather’ friends. Ms Rao ended up saying significantly: “But let me say that the fact that we are discussing the threat, the scourge, the evil of terrorism and the fact that it has ramifications that extend into the entire region, I think is a development we must take note of”.

Pakistan and the US are at a crossroads of sorts and if no flexibility is shown by both sides, a new round of tension is bound to start with Pakistan facing more than just one nutcracker situation that national ghairat alone cannot fight. The national economy is winding down fast and political discord is being added to terrorism, crime and movements of insurgency. Pakistan needs to act in accordance with its agreed ‘national interest’, which is definitely not providing or blinking safe havens — said to be 150 — to gangs who strike across Pakistan’s frontiers. More than that, Pakistan needs to move forward on the opening of free trade and trade routes with India; but that, too, will require pacification of territories ceded to the terrorists inside Pakistan.

Published in The Express Tribune, July 5th, 2011.]]>
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			<title>Tales from LoC-3: Neelum valley people thirst for peace</title>
			<link>https://tribune.com.pk/story/202001/tales-from-loc-3-neelum-valley-people-thirst-for-peace</link>
			<comments>https://tribune.com.pk/story/202001/tales-from-loc-3-neelum-valley-people-thirst-for-peace#comments</comments>
			<pubDate>Mon, 04 Jul 11 04:43:44 +0500</pubDate>
			<dc:creator>
				<![CDATA[irfan.ghauri]]>
			</dc:creator>
			<category><![CDATA[Pakistan]]></category>
			<guid isPermaLink="false">https://tribune.com.pk/?p=202001</guid>
			<description>
				<![CDATA[Being witness to the horrors of war, residents put their weight behind talks.]]>
			</description>
			<content:encoded>
				<![CDATA[Unlike those who merely give lip-service to the cause of ‘peace in Kashmir’, the war-stricken inhabitants of the Neelum valley of Kashmir mean peace in its true sense, for they have been witness to ‘senseless’ violence for over a decade.


Directly affected from Indo-Pak border tensions in the past, they share horrific incidents of human sufferings. Only a decade ago, this area, which now seems normal, was an active war zone between India and Pakistan.

Hundreds of families lost their loved ones in incidents of bombings and indiscriminate firing between 1992 and 2003. “Even our cats and dogs came into the line of 24/7 live bullets flying across the Line of Control (LoC),” said Safeer Ahmed, a local villager.

“Eleven children were killed in a single day when mortars fired by Indian army landed at their school in Nagdar village in 1993,” locals recalled.

Now the same school stands as a Boys College but the memory of it being one of the victims of the long war refuses to fade away.

A majority of the population living near LoC had to go through the agony of leaving their homes and hearths and taking refuge in safer places, mostly in AJK.

Those who opted to stay behind lived under perpetual fear and survived on subsistence; living on whatever they received in special package offered by the government.

“I still remember how terrible it was for us to pull away the body of our cousin Azam Khan amid gunfire from the Indian side,” said Muhammad Arif, a 55-year-old local, pointing toward a bunker still visible on the other side of the mountain.

Two of his nephews, he said, both in their early 20s had crossed the LoC to fight Indian forces in 1995 but never returned. Their families never heard of them since. One of them, Masood (21 then) was newly-married and had an infant daughter.

Believing he was dead, his family married the ‘widow’ to Masood’s younger brother and the new couple have four more children – all school-going, Arif said.

The 200-mile-long valley of Neelum remained cut off from the rest of the country as the only road that was a link remained closed most of the time due to heavy crossfire.

The locals say Pakistan military had made a temporary jeep track for logistic supply to troops that too sometimes remained blocked for weeks during winters, leaving no option for the civilian population but to walk for hours to reach nearby town Ath Muqaam.

Most of the men, now middle-aged, worked for Pakistani troops as porters to transport supplies when the roads would be closed. Negotiating the hilly terrain did not end there. These men had to carry loads of daily-use items for their families on their backs. They were the human ambulances for the ailing and the elderly.

Arif longs to see the children of his paternal aunt who was married in a village on the Indian side of Kashmir. He told The Express Tribune that his aunt had died but his cousins could not come across, neither could he go there to see them.

Once himself a staunch supporter of what he believed liberation of Kashmir through armed struggle, Arif now admits that it was a futile exercise and use of guns was no solution.

“We have lost a generation to this war,” he said.

“Talks are only way out… The ‘revolutionary times’ (when militancy was at peak) was really hard for us. God forbid such time comes again,” said Muhammad Rahim, an elder of the village.

Published in The Express Tribune, July 4th, 2011.]]>
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			<title>Line of control trade resumes after four weeks</title>
			<link>https://tribune.com.pk/story/199121/line-of-control-trade-resumes-after-four-weeks</link>
			<comments>https://tribune.com.pk/story/199121/line-of-control-trade-resumes-after-four-weeks#comments</comments>
			<pubDate>Wed, 29 Jun 11 22:35:27 +0500</pubDate>
			<dc:creator>
				<![CDATA[ppi]]>
			</dc:creator>
			<category><![CDATA[Pakistan]]></category>
			<guid isPermaLink="false">https://tribune.com.pk/?p=199121</guid>
			<description>
				<![CDATA[Trade across the LoC resumed with 39 trucks carrying goods exchanged.]]>
			</description>
			<content:encoded>
				<![CDATA[Cross-Line of Control (LOC) trade has resumed on Wednesday after four weeks although on a low note as only 39 trucks were exchanged, according to Press Trust of India.


Total of 24 trucks carrying mainly red chilli, tamarind and other spices crossed to Azad Jammu and Kashmir while 15 trucks loaded mostly with dry fruits crossed to this side, officials said. Total value of goods exchanged was Rs32.6 million, record low for 2011.

Trade was at its peak in April when around 200 vehicles crossed the LoC and exchanged goods worth around Rs200 million in two days.

Cross-LoC trade is conducted every Tuesday and Wednesday on barter basis, but was suspended since May after traders accused Indian authorities of neglecting their demands.

Traders have demanded exempting cross-LoC trade from purview of Value Added Tax, as they claimed that trade between divided parts of Kashmir should be treated as intra-state business.

Published in The Express Tribune, June 30th, 2011.]]>
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			<title>Tales from the LoC: Divided at home</title>
			<link>https://tribune.com.pk/story/198517/tales-from-the-loc-divided-at-home</link>
			<comments>https://tribune.com.pk/story/198517/tales-from-the-loc-divided-at-home#comments</comments>
			<pubDate>Wed, 29 Jun 11 02:44:06 +0500</pubDate>
			<dc:creator>
				<![CDATA[irfan.ghauri]]>
			</dc:creator>
			<category><![CDATA[Pakistan]]></category>
			<guid isPermaLink="false">https://tribune.com.pk/?p=198517</guid>
			<description>
				<![CDATA[Villagers separated by de facto border throw gifts for their relatives across the river.]]>
			</description>
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				<![CDATA[There are some people in Karen village who can talk to their relatives only when the winter is at its harshest and the sound of the river is low. They shout messages across to their family members for this is the closest they can get to them.


Divided by the Line of Control (LoC) that separates the two parts of Kashmir, people from this small village can never meet each other.

Karen is about 80 kilometres north of Muzaffarabad, in the centre of the spectacular Neelum Valley. On the other side, Karen is linked with Kupwara town of Indian Kashmir.

This picturesque village spread on both sides of the LoC - the border created “temporarily” more than 60 years ago, divides the state of Jammu and Kashmir into its Pakistan and Indian controlled parts.

The status of Jammu and Kashmir is still disputed, and the LoC that was called the ceasefire line before the Simla agreement between Pakistan and India under the United Nations resolution, is still a temporary border as per international law.

Ravis Khan, now around 75, recalls the village’s hanging bridge that he used to cross almost daily to visit his family living across the Neelum River before 1947. The bridge ceases to exist and there are no remnants left.

Sitting at his small tuck- shop that he runs with his friend Muhammad Yousaf, also in his mid-70s, the two men  pointed towards the area where villagers having relatives on the other side sometimes stand, wave and scream across to each other to beat the noise of the river on some special occasions.

This “festivity” for them has been made possible after 2003-04 when the armed forces on both sides agreed to stop crossfire and some peace was restored. During the ‘90s, the firing between both forces was a daily routine.

The exchange of greeting between locals on both sides mostly occurs in the harsh winters when temperatures drop below freezing point and the whole area is covered in heavy snow. During the summer, high water pressure and noise of the river prevents people’s voices from crossing over.

When there is a call for prayer (Azan) on one side of the border, people from the other side also go to offer their prayers, villagers said.

Sometimes people also exchange small gifts on special occasions like marriage or Eid, but they have to throw them across with a small rock tied to the present to save their gift from falling into the water.

Yousaf recalls a moment when a man in his twenties, unable to control his emotions after seeing his father who had come from a village in Indian Kashmir, jumped into the river, crossed the icy waters and disappeared in the jungle with his father to avoid being caught by Indian forces. “I don’t know what happened to them after that,” Yousaf said.

He said the boy was from a village in Indian Kashmir and had crossed the LoC with a group of militants.  He lived in a refugee camp in Muzaffarabad for a few years, while the rest of his family was on the other side of the border.

Locals claim that many civilians have been killed by soldiers assuming them to be militants trying to cross over the border.  Although some of them were militants, others just wanted to see their loved ones.

 

 

 

Published in The Express Tribune, June 29th, 2011.]]>
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			<title>Pakistan, india: Protesters demand increase in cross-LoC trade</title>
			<link>https://tribune.com.pk/story/188227/pakistan-india-protesters-demand-increase-in-cross-loc-trade</link>
			<comments>https://tribune.com.pk/story/188227/pakistan-india-protesters-demand-increase-in-cross-loc-trade#comments</comments>
			<pubDate>Tue, 14 Jun 11 01:54:33 +0500</pubDate>
			<dc:creator>
				<![CDATA[ppi]]>
			</dc:creator>
			<category><![CDATA[Pakistan]]></category>
			<guid isPermaLink="false">https://tribune.com.pk/?p=188227</guid>
			<description>
				<![CDATA[Pakistani and Indian governments are supposed to review list of trade items every quarter.]]>
			</description>
			<content:encoded>
				<![CDATA[Traders working along the Line of Control (LoC) between the divided Kashmir held a protest on Monday, demanding India and Pakistan increase the list of items to be traded between the two parts of Kashmir.


“As per instructions issued by the governments, trade items were supposed to be reviewed every quarter. Instead of revising the list, governments of India and Pakistan have imposed a ban even on some of the agreed items,” Salamabad Chakoti Traders Union General Secretary Hilal Turki said, according to the Press Trust of India.

According to Turki, the two governments should review the list “as early as possible,” adding “a clear trade policy should be defined and all items should be allowed as part of trade across the LoC.”

Although 21 items were initially being exchanged, the list had been reduced to only 14 items.

Published in The Express Tribune, June 14th, 2011.]]>
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			<title>Siachen demilitarisation focus of Pak-India talks</title>
			<link>https://tribune.com.pk/story/179295/siachen-demilitarisation-focus-of-pak-india-talks</link>
			<comments>https://tribune.com.pk/story/179295/siachen-demilitarisation-focus-of-pak-india-talks#comments</comments>
			<pubDate>Tue, 31 May 11 04:43:14 +0500</pubDate>
			<dc:creator>
				<![CDATA[express]]>
			</dc:creator>
			<category><![CDATA[Pakistan]]></category>
			<guid isPermaLink="false">https://tribune.com.pk/?p=179295</guid>
			<description>
				<![CDATA[Talks held in a ‘constructive framework’ to resume dialogue after three years.]]>
			</description>
			<content:encoded>
				<![CDATA[Amiable talks but little movement forward was the result of the first day of talks between India and Pakistan about demilitarisation of Siachen, a mountainous region where borderline is not demarcated, in a “constructive framework”, picking up the threads of the issue after a gap of three years.


Defence secretaries from both countries began two days of closed-door talks in New Delhi on Monday on withdrawing forces from the mountainous no-man’s land above the Siachen glacier in disputed Himalayan territory , where they have faced off since 1984.

“The talks were held in a constructive framework. Both sides apprised each other of their perception about the Siachen issue and also discussed the surrounding issues,” Defence Ministry officials said, The Hindu reported.

Defence Secretary Pradeep Kumar led the Indian delegation at the talks with his Pakistani counterpart Lt. General (Retd) Syed Ather Ali.

The decision to take the dialogue process forward between the two countries was taken last year during the meeting of Prime Minister Manmohan Singh and his Pakistani counterpart Yousaf Raza Gilani in Thimpu.

While the Pakistani delegation has two civilian officials and four military officers, the Indian side includes Special Secretary R K Mathur, Director General of Military Operations (DGMO) Lt. General A M Verma and Surveyor General S Subha Rao.

The Pakistani Defence Secretary met Defence Minister A K Antony in the afternoon for over 20 minutes. The two sides may come up with a joint statement tomorrow after the talks, the officials said.

Point of disagreement 

“The AGPL is not clearly marked beyond the grid reference point of NJ—9842. The two countries have decided to demilitarise the Siachen Glacier, but the matter is stuck as there are apprehensions on both sides,” officials said.

India wants Pakistan to authenticate the AGPL, both on the maps and the ground, as it occupies most of the dominating posts on the Saltoro Ridge, they said. Pakistan, in turn, has been insisting on maintaining the pre-1972 troop positions as agreed in the Simla Agreement.

During the talks, the two sides are also expected to take up the issue of the existing ceasefire along the Line of Control (LoC) and the AGPL, sources said.

Both countries have long accepted the need to demilitarise Siachen, located as high as 20,000 feet (6,000 metres) above sea level, and military experts say the inhospitable climate and avalanche-prone terrain has claimed more lives than gunfire.

“Success could be measured in various terms but I would say the real barometer would be any progress over Siachen,” a senior Indian government official said on condition of anonymity because of the sensitivity of the discussions.

Published in The Express Tribune, May 31st, 2011.]]>
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			<title>Talks on Siachen</title>
			<link>https://tribune.com.pk/story/178843/talks-on-siachen</link>
			<comments>https://tribune.com.pk/story/178843/talks-on-siachen#comments</comments>
			<pubDate>Mon, 30 May 11 17:59:15 +0500</pubDate>
			<dc:creator>
				<![CDATA[editorial]]>
			</dc:creator>
			<category><![CDATA[Pakistan]]></category>
			<guid isPermaLink="false">https://tribune.com.pk/?p=178843</guid>
			<description>
				<![CDATA[In all likelihood, the two teams discussing the stand-off will walk away from the table mouthing separate positions.]]>
			</description>
			<content:encoded>
				<![CDATA[At the risk of sounding like a complete cynic, not much is expected of the defence secretaries-plus-generals’ meeting in New Delhi because Siachen, like other India-Pakistan baskets of disputes, is complicated by doctrines of national security; and these doctrines apparently don’t change. This, of course, is a complete shame given the burden that the high-altitude stand-off places on each country’s meagre resources. The Indian defence secretary, a known hawk, threw in the monkey wrench before the talks got going: Pakistan must do something about home-grown terrorism that spills across the borders. After 27 years, and 11 rounds of talks, the dispute over the ‘occupation’ of the glacier by India will remain unresolved.

In the past, the blunt Indian repartee used to be cross-border violations by so-called Pakistani mujahideen; now it is the Mumbai attack which most Pakistanis think was not carried out by their compatriots. Meanwhile, the two armies have got into the act and wrenched the basket away from civilians on both sides. The Indian Army has convinced the Indian elected leadership that high-altitude experience is good for its soldiers and links it to the ‘Chinese threat’ through the Karakoram Highway.

That the Indian doctrine over Siachen developed gradually as the Indian economy improved is borne out by the fact that the two sides came pretty close on a couple of occasions to signing an agreement over vacating the glacier. Now it is going to be difficult to come to that point again unless the military agrees to normalising relations with India through free trade and free movement of the people.

How did it all start? The roots of it go back to the 1948 India-Pakistan war which ended with an agreed map that delineated the Line of Control (LoC) whose northernmost demarcated point on the map grid was NJ9842. From this point onwards, the map agreed on at Simla simply said ‘thence north to the glaciers’, thus creating a no-man’s land. India said Pakistan moved its troops into the region beyond NJ9842 before it ‘responded’ in 1984: Pakistan said the Indian move began the conflict and that Pakistan was taken by surprise.

In all likelihood, the two teams discussing the Siachen stand-off will walk away from the table mouthing the same separate positions, like in the Sir Creek dispute where the two are hog-tied over whether the water boundary should run mid-channel or on the Indian bank. Some years ago, Indian commentators and analysts began pointing out the absurdity of the conflict where Indian troops took 80 per cent of their casualties from the weather, and to the fact that the human waste and war detritus produced by the two armies polluted the area. No one but the military strategists of India and Pakistan really understand what purpose the war on Siachen serves. It is said that India spent Rs20 million a day in 2002 to keep its troops on the glacier. The cost must be several times that now. Pakistan must be spending a similar amount, apart from the casualties nature inflicts on its soldiers. Strategy is pure imagination and becomes workable only when linked to resources and diplomacy. If this linkage is not achieved, strategy becomes dangerous fantasy. Kargil happened a decade later, a foolish adventure with Siachen in mind.

Both sides seem to be deaf to moderate advice. The real enemy is the changing ecology and how it challenges the two neighbours. The waters that flow from this mountainous region into the subcontinent are mostly used in India, while Pakistan’s lifeline, the Indus River, has its source here. Only 30 per cent of the water needed in the subcontinent is supplied by the monsoons which have become unpredictable in recent years. After the defence secretaries return to their ministries empty-handed, there will be time for ‘strategists’ on both sides to weave even more dangerous fantasies of conflict based on the PNS Mehran attack by the Taliban.

Published in The Express Tribune, May 31st, 2011.]]>
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			<title>Crossing The LoC: Two boys handed over to Indian army</title>
			<link>https://tribune.com.pk/story/178087/crossing-the-loc-two-boys-handed-over-to-indian-army</link>
			<comments>https://tribune.com.pk/story/178087/crossing-the-loc-two-boys-handed-over-to-indian-army#comments</comments>
			<pubDate>Sun, 29 May 11 05:41:50 +0500</pubDate>
			<dc:creator>
				<![CDATA[]]>
			</dc:creator>
			<category><![CDATA[Pakistan]]></category>
			<guid isPermaLink="false">https://tribune.com.pk/?p=178087</guid>
			<description>
				<![CDATA[The boys has mistakenly crossed the Line of Control.]]>
			</description>
			<content:encoded>
				<![CDATA[The army on Saturday handed over two young boys to the Indian army and the Poonch district administration at the Taitrinoot crossing some 90-kilometres away from here.


The boys had mistakenly crossed the Line of Control from the Surankot area of occupied district Poonch into Azad Kashmir.

 

Published in The Express Tribune, May 29th, 2011.]]>
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			<title>Pakistani soldier killed in explosion at Kashmir camp: Officials</title>
			<link>https://tribune.com.pk/story/159076/pakistani-soldier-killed-in-explosion-at-camp-in-kashmir-officials</link>
			<comments>https://tribune.com.pk/story/159076/pakistani-soldier-killed-in-explosion-at-camp-in-kashmir-officials#comments</comments>
			<pubDate>Fri, 29 Apr 11 05:25:02 +0500</pubDate>
			<dc:creator>
				<![CDATA[afp]]>
			</dc:creator>
			<category><![CDATA[Pakistan]]></category>
			<guid isPermaLink="false">https://tribune.com.pk/?p=159076</guid>
			<description>
				<![CDATA[One soldier was killed and five wounded in an explosion at an army camp in a Pakistani administered area of Kashmir.]]>
			</description>
			<content:encoded>
				<![CDATA[One soldier was killed and five were wounded in an explosion at an army camp in a Pakistani administered area of Kashmir early Friday, officials said.

The blast took place around midnight (1900 GMT) and triggered fire in Gulpar camp in Kotli district near the UN monitored line of control that divides the disputed Himalayan region between India and Pakistan, local police chief Malik Khalid told AFP by telephone.

"One body has been recovered and five soldiers injured in the incident have been admitted to hospital," he said.

Local administration chief Fareed Ahmed confirmed the incident. "We are investigating if the explosion was accidentally caused by an electrical short circuit or if it was an act of terrorism," he said.

Overall militant violence in the region has declined since India and Pakistan began a peace process in 2004. Since then, there have been sporadic small clashes with both sides accusing the other of violating the ceasefire.]]>
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			<title>Change LoC into Line of Commerce: Attique Ahmed</title>
			<link>https://tribune.com.pk/story/152767/change-loc-into-line-of-commerce-attique-ahmed</link>
			<comments>https://tribune.com.pk/story/152767/change-loc-into-line-of-commerce-attique-ahmed#comments</comments>
			<pubDate>Wed, 20 Apr 11 04:59:37 +0500</pubDate>
			<dc:creator>
				<![CDATA[express]]>
			</dc:creator>
			<category><![CDATA[Pakistan]]></category>
			<guid isPermaLink="false">https://tribune.com.pk/?p=152767</guid>
			<description>
				<![CDATA[AJK prime minister inaugurates new English magazine.]]>
			</description>
			<content:encoded>
				<![CDATA[The highly militarised Line of Control (LoC) should be reduced into a functional line of commerce and all trade routes before the partition should be reopened.


This was said by Azad Jammu and Kashmir (AJK) Prime Minister Sardar Attique Ahmed Khan on Tuesday.

Speaking at the inaugural ceremony of the web edition of AJK’s first fortnightly English news magazine “Awam”, Khan said barter-based intra-Kashmir trade should be made through currency by involving banks so that trades on both side of the divide becomes easier and more feasible.

The premier claimed that AJK is being made into a welfare state and that they had already started work on a plan for it.

“We have made progress in the development of tourism, hydel power generation, industry, communication, transport, information technology, investment, education, agriculture, animal husbandry, the preservation of forests, environment and culture, and other sectors,” Khan said.

Khan, whose tenure will expire after the general elections that are likely to be held in the first week of July this year, also announced that his government will preserve the religious sites of Hindus and Sikhs to promote religious tourism.

“Here where we are sitting, are the remains of the sixth kingdom of Sikhs, and to preserve them, police lines are being shifted elsewhere,” he said.

He announced the formation of legal councils in every union council of AJK to make villagers aware of laws and human rights
because awareness of state laws will help them get rid of those infringing upon
their rights.

Published in The Express Tribune, April 20th, 2011.]]>
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			<title>Across the LoC</title>
			<link>https://tribune.com.pk/story/150731/across-the-loc</link>
			<comments>https://tribune.com.pk/story/150731/across-the-loc#comments</comments>
			<pubDate>Sat, 16 Apr 11 16:13:50 +0500</pubDate>
			<dc:creator>
				<![CDATA[editorial]]>
			</dc:creator>
			<category><![CDATA[Pakistan]]></category>
			<guid isPermaLink="false">https://tribune.com.pk/?p=150731</guid>
			<description>
				<![CDATA[There seems to be little hope of finding a lasting solution to the Kashmir dispute.]]>
			</description>
			<content:encoded>
				<![CDATA[Right now, mainly as a result of the actions of the hawks who play an unrelenting role in determining affairs between New Delhi and Islamabad, there seems to be little hope of finding a lasting solution to the Kashmir dispute that, over the last 63 years, has triggered three wars between the two countries. But, as a result of efforts made in the past, things have improved for Kashmiris on both side of the Line of Control (LoC), carved out soon after Partition.

It has now been six years since a bus service linking the two parts of the divided Kashmir Valley began as a means to allow divided families and others to meet. Over 15,000 Kashmiris have since used the service — 9,581 from Pakistan and 6,395 from India. After the launch of the bus service between Muzaffarabad and Srinagar in April 2005, another service between Rawalakot and Poonch was added in 2006 and the running of buses increased to once a week rather than fortnightly. The small step forward has already helped thousands over a relatively short period of time. Of course, much more could be done to bring together divided families on both sides of the LoC but for that a significant measure of vision and statesmanship is required of India’s and Pakistan’s leaders.

There have, over the years, been proposals on how this could be achieved. A ‘soft’ border for Kashmiris at the LoC has been suggested, as well as relative autonomy for the two parts of the territory. All of these offer practical solutions. Others can be thought about. But the problem is that those who claim to stand for the rights of Kashmiris, notably in Pakistan, insist that only a ‘final’ solution, a ‘conquest’ of the territory, can be the goal. This angry chorus from the hardliners and their allies makes it hard for governments in either country to move forward — and in the meanwhile, the people of the Valley, who have gained so much from a relatively minor measure such as the bus service, continue to suffer, wondering if a day will come when peace and serenity can be restored to their beautiful valley, which has, for decades now, known no lasting peace.

Published in The Express Tribune, April 17th, 2011.]]>
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			<title>Barter trade: Pakistan, India to route payments through banks</title>
			<link>https://tribune.com.pk/story/119470/barter-trade-pakistan-india-to-route-payments-through-banks</link>
			<comments>https://tribune.com.pk/story/119470/barter-trade-pakistan-india-to-route-payments-through-banks#comments</comments>
			<pubDate>Wed, 16 Feb 11 05:48:32 +0500</pubDate>
			<dc:creator>
				<![CDATA[ppi]]>
			</dc:creator>
			<category><![CDATA[Pakistan]]></category>
			<guid isPermaLink="false">https://tribune.com.pk/?p=119470</guid>
			<description>
				<![CDATA[Move aimed at curbing terror financing.]]>
			</description>
			<content:encoded>
				<![CDATA[In a bid to stop profits from being used for terror funding or illegal Hawala system, India and Pakistan may monetise barter trade across the Line of Control (LoC), according to newspaper Indian Express.

Earlier this month, New Delhi sent a proposal to Islamabad, identifying J&amp;K Bank as the financial intermediary from the Indian side to handle remittances through a Nostro account, in order to track money payers and recipients of goods.

Since monetising LoC trade would involve both Indian rupees and Pakistani rupees, Islamabad has to mandate its bank with a branch in Kashmir to maintain a similar account.

J&amp;K Bank will open a Pakistani rupee-denominated account in a Pakistani bank and instruct traders to settle transactions with it. In return, the Pakistani bank would open an Indian-rupee account with J&amp;K Bank for similar transactions.

LoC trade was initiated as a confidence-building measure in October 2008, with both governments identifying 21 home-grown items from the two Kashmirs for barter trade. However, this antiquated system has no provision for information about buyers who are to be approached for payments.

Trade has surged over the years and been riddled with accusations of hawala, due to discrepancies in data. Moreover, the entry of bulk traders from Lahore and Delhi has attracted the attention of intelligence agencies, the report said.

Published in The Express Tribune, February 16th, 2011.]]>
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			<title>‘Increase trade to ease tension along LoC’</title>
			<link>https://tribune.com.pk/story/116078/%e2%80%98increase-trade-to-ease-tension-along-loc%e2%80%99</link>
			<comments>https://tribune.com.pk/story/116078/%e2%80%98increase-trade-to-ease-tension-along-loc%e2%80%99#comments</comments>
			<pubDate>Tue, 08 Feb 11 20:00:25 +0500</pubDate>
			<dc:creator>
				<![CDATA[peer.muhammad]]>
			</dc:creator>
			<category><![CDATA[Pakistan]]></category>
			<guid isPermaLink="false">https://tribune.com.pk/?p=116078</guid>
			<description>
				<![CDATA[Such a step can minimise the tension between Pakistan and India and enhance interdependence between the two countries.]]>
			</description>
			<content:encoded>
				<![CDATA[Participants of a discussion on Tuesday called for increased trade and commerce across the Line of Control.

They said such a step can minimise the tension between Pakistan and India and enhance interdependence between the two countries.

They were speaking at the launch of discussion papers on Jammu and Kashmir trade across the  Line of Control (LoC), organised by Pakistan Institute of  Legislative Development and Transparency(PILDAT).

“Both countries should promote trade and other means of people-to-people contacts across the LoC to pave way for resolving the Kashmir issue,” said Shahzada Mohiuddin, MNA and chairperson of National Assembly Standing Committee on Kashmir Affairs and Gilgit-Baltistan.

He said that the initiative of both governments to open the LoC for trade will help promote interaction between the  two sides.

He was of the opinion that people of both sides of LoC are quite happy after the start of cross-border trade and it has provided an opportunity to the people on both sides of the border to meet each other.

Renowned Defence Analyst Hassan Askari Rizvi said that the countries were making a practical effort to resolve the conflict.

“If trade and commerce increase, tension and conflict can be minimised. This creates stakeholders on both sides and allows greater human interaction on the both sides of the LoC,” he said.

Authors of the papers, Ayesha Saeed and Arif Kamal, were of the opinion that intra-Kashmir trade is not just another confidence building measure. It is, in fact, the first-ever step that directly benefits the people of Jammu and Kashmir. Interdependence rather than interconnection could benefit people across the LoC.

However, President Jammu and Kashmir Joint Chamber of Commerce and Industry Zulfiqar Abbasi disagreed. He pointed out the hindrances and problems being faced by the traders. The restriction of trade to 21 times and two days a week was not sufficient, he said, adding that this was “too little” to revive the economy of the area. He said multi-entry trade pass of at least two year should be issued to traders on both sides.

Former Federal Secretary Interior and Commerce Tasneem Noorani echoed Abbasi’s opinion. He said intra-Kashmir trade has insignificant economical benefits because it is very restricted. He believed that “allowing trade and then restricting everything” is of no use to Pakistan and India and both sides must re-visit their policies on cross-border trade.

Jonathan Cohen, Director Programmes, Conciliation Resource, United Kingdom, said that the main objective behind the discussion papers was to give authors from either side an opportunity to express their feelings on Intra-Kashmir trade.

In many conflicts, economics has played an important role in achieving conflict resolution. He said that we cannot separate the economic and
peace process.

Published in The Express Tribune, February 9th, 2011.]]>
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			<title>Winter woes: Is LoC an acronym for Lots of Cold?</title>
			<link>https://tribune.com.pk/story/103519/winter-woes-is-loc-an-acronym-for-lots-of-cold</link>
			<comments>https://tribune.com.pk/story/103519/winter-woes-is-loc-an-acronym-for-lots-of-cold#comments</comments>
			<pubDate>Fri, 14 Jan 11 05:23:10 +0500</pubDate>
			<dc:creator>
				<![CDATA[roshan.mughal]]>
			</dc:creator>
			<category><![CDATA[Pakistan]]></category>
			<guid isPermaLink="false">https://tribune.com.pk/?p=103519</guid>
			<description>
				<![CDATA[Thousands of people in the LoC region are living miserably due to long power cuts and fuel price-hike.]]>
			</description>
			<content:encoded>
				<![CDATA[Tens of thousands of people living in the towns and villages close to the Line of Control (LoC) in Azad Kashmir have been braving chilly weather this winter — thanks to the government’s apathy towards rural areas.

The perpetual power cuts and the exorbitant prices of fuel have rendered the area’s rapidly vanishing forests, the only available source of firewood, as their last defence against the freezing cold.

Civic and commercial life has come to a standstill in Jhelum, Neelam and Leepa valleys as hundreds of villages and towns remain plunged in the darkness for weeks, making many jobless and causing much strife to young students.

It is no mystery then that the villagers have run out of patience. To attract the attention of the government towards their miseries, they have planned protests in the area.

Residents of Chakothi town, a trade hub which has been facing week-long power shutdowns for almost two years, had planned to block the passage of the intra-LoC trade truck service as a protest on Tuesday, but were unable to do so as it [truck service] was cancelled due to a strike by traders against the state government on the same day.

Unfortunately, neither the ruling nor the opposition parties have made any efforts for alleviating the people’s misery.

Last month, Raja Farooq Haider Khan, visited his constituency, Chakothi, to gain support for his newly launched Muslim League-N in Azad Jammu and Kashmir (AJK). Strangely, his supporters, although upset about the power cuts, did not demand the restoration of electricity.

Just a kilometre across the LoC, Indian-held Kashmir government has been providing LPG on a subsidised rate of only Rs300 per 11 kilogramme cylinder for “the protection of forests”, according to a local newspaper.

“Why is the government not providing subsidised LPG and firewood to us, in order to end our misery and conserve the forests that are fast disappearing?” asked Muhammad Adil, 21, a shopkeeper in Chakothi.

Published in The Express Tribune, January 14th, 2011.]]>
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			<title>Terminal business: No cross-LoC trade this week</title>
			<link>https://tribune.com.pk/story/98851/terminal-business-no-cross-loc-trade-this-week</link>
			<comments>https://tribune.com.pk/story/98851/terminal-business-no-cross-loc-trade-this-week#comments</comments>
			<pubDate>Tue, 04 Jan 11 04:33:49 +0500</pubDate>
			<dc:creator>
				<![CDATA[roshan.mughal]]>
			</dc:creator>
			<category><![CDATA[Pakistan]]></category>
			<guid isPermaLink="false">https://tribune.com.pk/?p=98851</guid>
			<description>
				<![CDATA[Traders suffered losses running into millions of rupees due to lack of storage.]]>
			</description>
			<content:encoded>
				<![CDATA[Intra-Kashmir traders announced that they would boycott weekly trade this week to protest against the unavailability of storage facility on the Line of Control (LoC).

Intra-Kashmir Traders’ Association, a joint body of the traders of both sides of the divide, announced the boycott after incurring losses of millions of rupees after their goods were damaged in rain along the terminal in the Salamabad near the LoC.

“There will be no trans-LoC trade…on Tuesday and Wednesday as traders in occupied Kashmir have (also) decided to stage a protest,” a Kashmiri trader Aijaz Ahmad Mir told The Express Tribune.

He said that Azad Kashmir traders lacked proper facilities to protect their goods that are coming in from across the LoC and demanded that the authorities provide them with adequate facilities at the Chakothi terminal.

Mir said that because of the non-availability of a covered storage facility at Salamabad, traders had suffered losses amounting to millions of rupees last week.

“They have decided to stop trade along the Srinagar-Muzaffarabad road indefinitely as the government has not made necessary arrangements for storage of goods at the Salamabad trade faciliation centre,” Mir said, quoting a conversation with a counterpart on the other side of the LoC.

Mir said most of their goods were lying unprotected in open areas.

Published in The Express Tribune, January 4th, 2011.]]>
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			<title>Crossing LoC: Pakistan, India approve triple entry permits</title>
			<link>https://tribune.com.pk/story/93502/crossing-loc-pakistan-india-approve-triple-entry-permits</link>
			<comments>https://tribune.com.pk/story/93502/crossing-loc-pakistan-india-approve-triple-entry-permits#comments</comments>
			<pubDate>Thu, 23 Dec 10 05:43:31 +0500</pubDate>
			<dc:creator>
				<![CDATA[roshan.mughal]]>
			</dc:creator>
			<category><![CDATA[Pakistan]]></category>
			<guid isPermaLink="false">https://tribune.com.pk/?p=93502</guid>
			<description>
				<![CDATA[Travel on the new permit will be valid for three visits in a year.]]>
			</description>
			<content:encoded>
				<![CDATA[Pakistan and India have agreed to further facilitate travel between the two parts of disputed Jammu and Kashmir by providing triple entry permits to divided Kashmiri families to travel across the Line of Control (LoC).

“A decision has been taken by both governments and we have obtained permission for this by taking up the matter with the foreign office,” Director General Cross LoC Trade and Travel Authority (TATA) Brigadier (retd) Muhammad Ismail said on Wednesday.

Travelling on a triple entry permit will be valid for three visits in one year to either part of Kashmir through Srinagar-Muzaffarabad and Poonch-Rawalakot bus services.

The triple entry permit will be also valid on crossing points established in Neelum Valley and Tetapani Kotli.

Ismail said the triple entry permit for intra-Kashmir travel through bus service and crossing pints will ease the reunions of divided Kashmiri families.

“Now the applicants will not need to continuously visit offices nor have to go through a procedure for travel every time,” he said, adding that the luggage of the passengers will now be transported by vehicles instead on trolleys. Since April 2005, 9,206 Kashmiri have traveled from Azad Kashmir to Indian Kashmir, while 6, 205 people have visited Azad Kashmir from Indian Kashmir.

Thousands of divided families are living on either side of the LoC since 1948 after a cease fire line was drawn which divides Kashmir between Azad Kashmir and Indian Kashmir. The cease fire line was turned into the Line of Control (LOC) after the Simla Accord between India and Pakistan in 1972.

Both countries started bus services between the two Kashmirs in April 2005 and truck service in October 2008, for families to reunite.

Meanwhile on Wednesday, Indian Kashmir trade authorities turned away 12 trucks from Indian Kashmir to Azad Kashmir terming them as exceeding the limit of weekly trade.

The AJK TATA has decided to ban the trade of onion to Indian Kashmir given its soaring prices in Pakistan. TATA had also banned the trade of Dal Mong which had become a favorite trading item for AJK traders given high profit margin.

Published in The Express Tribune, December 23rd, 2010.]]>
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			<title>Indian border firing injures one in Azad Kashmir</title>
			<link>https://tribune.com.pk/story/68505/indian-border-firing-injures-one-in-azad-kashmir</link>
			<comments>https://tribune.com.pk/story/68505/indian-border-firing-injures-one-in-azad-kashmir#comments</comments>
			<pubDate>Wed, 27 Oct 10 16:51:35 +0500</pubDate>
			<dc:creator>
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			</dc:creator>
			<category><![CDATA[Pakistan]]></category>
			<guid isPermaLink="false">https://tribune.com.pk/?p=68505</guid>
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				<![CDATA[Indian forces fire at Pakistani civilians across the Line of Control in Kashmir, injuring one person.]]>
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				<![CDATA[Indian forces on Wednesday fired at Pakistani civilians across the Line of Control (LoC) in Kashmir, injuring one person, officials said.

"Indian troops fired machine gun at civilians in Battal sector in violation of ceasefire on the LoC Wednesday injuring one person," Shehryar Khan, a senior local police official, told AFP.

A senior military official confirmed the incident.]]>
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			<title>Rangers’ delegation crosses Wagah</title>
			<link>https://tribune.com.pk/story/37846/rangers%e2%80%99-delegation-crosses-wagah</link>
			<comments>https://tribune.com.pk/story/37846/rangers%e2%80%99-delegation-crosses-wagah#comments</comments>
			<pubDate>Tue, 10 Aug 10 04:19:40 +0500</pubDate>
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			<guid isPermaLink="false">https://tribune.com.pk/?p=37846</guid>
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				<![CDATA[A 13-member delegation of paramilitary Rangers crossed the Wagah border to hold a meeting with Indian security forces.]]>
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				<![CDATA[A 13-member delegation of paramilitary Rangers crossed the Wagah border to hold a meeting with Indian security forces on Monday.

A spokesman for Pakistan Rangers said that the three-month coordination meeting between both sides took place at the Atari border post in India.

The meeting was attended by the director general of Pakistan Rangers (Punjab), Brigadier Shafqat Nawaz Khan, who led members of Survey of Pakistan, and the anti-narcotics force.  The Pakistani delegation complained about unprovoked firing of Indian troops on civilians and illegal border area defence structures, the spokesman said.

Other issues such as constant air violations by Indian helicopters, smuggling activities induced by the Indian Border Security Forces and its intrusions and Pakistani civilians imprisoned in Indian jails were discussed during the meeting.

Brigadier Shafqat  earlier told the media at the Wagah border  that important issues like illegal (border) fence structures were to be discussed during the meeting.

Nawaz said he would discuss issues relating to security with his Indian counterpart, including unprovoked firing by the Indian forces adding that Indian helicopters will be gunned down if they will violate Pakistan’s airspace in the future. Talking on the occasion, DIG Indian Border Forces Wasu Dev Anand said that these talks will usher in an aura of peace and harmony between the two countries.

He said that candid talks would focus on all important issues including border disputes and prisoners on both sides. Responding to the issue of illegal border constructions, he brushed aside the issue by saying “No comments”.

Published in The Express Tribune, August 10th, 2010.]]>
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			<title>Cross-border firing by Indian forces kills one</title>
			<link>https://tribune.com.pk/story/22879/cross-border-firing-by-indian-forces-kills-one</link>
			<comments>https://tribune.com.pk/story/22879/cross-border-firing-by-indian-forces-kills-one#comments</comments>
			<pubDate>Mon, 21 Jun 10 19:55:08 +0500</pubDate>
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				<![CDATA[junaid.aftab]]>
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				<![CDATA[Indian forces opened fire in the Chaprar sector in Sialkot early on Monday, killing a woman and seriously injuring a young girl, days before Indian and Pakistani foreign ministry officials are due to meet in Islamabad.

According to reports unprovoked firing by Indian forces killed a woman praying on the rooftop of her home in Surgpur village and injured the woman’s young niece. The woman, named Sadia, was shot three times.

Indian forces fired on and off for four hours, causing traffic in the area to come to a standstill. When Pakistani forces retaliated with gunfire, the shooting from the Indian side stopped.

Sadia, the deceased, had married local resident Suleman only a year ago. He currently works in Kuwait, and Sadia’s funeral will be held when he returns to Pakistan.

The inhabitants of Surgpur and nearby villages strongly condemned the firing, and criticised Indian forces for their attack.

Meanwhile, India on Monday accused Pakistan of violating a ceasefire along the Line of Control in disputed Kashmir.

Firing across the border was reported on Monday, according to AFP, in the southern sector of Rambhir Singh Pora in Indian Kashmir, officials from the Indian Border Security Force (BSF) told a group of visiting journalists. BSF retaliated and intermittent firing continued for six hours.

This is the second such incident in two days, as on Sunday the Indian military alleged that two civilian porters working for the Indian army were killed and two soldiers injured in “unprovoked firing” by Pakistani troops along the LoC.

Indian army spokesperson Vineet Sood claimed that Indian troops did not retaliate, and accused Pakistan of violating the ceasefire that has been in force along the LOC since 2003 in northern Machil sector.

The Pakistani military had denied that any such incident took place on Sunday.

Indian Foreign Secretary Nirupama Rao is scheduled to meet her Pakistani counterpart Salman Bashir on June 24 as the two states look to build on a recent thaw in relations to revive stalled peace process. (Additional input from AFP)

Published in The Express Tribune, June 22nd, 2010.]]>
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			<title>Pak firing kills 2 at LoC: India</title>
			<link>https://tribune.com.pk/story/22703/pak-firing-kills-2-at-loc-india</link>
			<comments>https://tribune.com.pk/story/22703/pak-firing-kills-2-at-loc-india#comments</comments>
			<pubDate>Sun, 20 Jun 10 20:51:14 +0500</pubDate>
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				<![CDATA[express]]>
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				<![CDATA[Two civilian porters working for the Indian army were killed on Sunday in firing along the Line of Control (LoC), the de facto border between the two countries, the Indian military stated on Sunday.

According to Indian military officials, two Indian soldiers were also injured in the incident – a claim rejected by the Pakistani military.

“Two of our civilian porters were killed and two soldiers injured in firing by Pakistani troops,” Indian army spokesperson Vineet Sood told AFP on Sunday. He claimed Indian troops did not retaliate.

However, Director-General of Pakistan’s Inter-Services Public Relations Maj-Gen Athar Abbas denied any such incident took place. “We have confirmed that there is absolutely no truth in the allegation,” he said. “Nothing about this is being reported, this is not true.”

The claims come at a time when tensions in Indian Kashmir, especially Srinagar, are running high. The long-running freedom movement against Indian rule in Kashmir has left more than 47,000 people dead by official count. The violence has decreased since the two countries launched a peace process in 2004, but tensions have recently flared over civilian killings blamed on security forces.

Pakistani and Indian foreign secretaries, however, are scheduled to meet in Islamabad on June 24 to discuss how to proceed with bilateral dialogue. (with Additional input from AFP)

Published in The Express Tribune, June 21st, 2010.]]>
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