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India Pakistan: Kashmir fighting sees Indian aircraft downed

Pakistan says it has shot down two Indian military jets and captured a pilot in a major escalation between the nuclear powers over Kashmir.

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India said it had lost one MiG-21 fighter and demanded the immediate and safe return of its pilot.

Pakistani PM Imran Khan said the two sides could not afford a miscalculation with the weapons they had.

India and Pakistan - both nuclear-armed states - claim all of Kashmir, but control only parts of it.

They have fought three wars since independence from Britain and partition in 1947. All but one were over Kashmir.

As it happened: Fears rise amid India-Pakistan escalation

India and Pakistan in uncharted waters

The aerial attacks across the Line of Control (LoC) dividing Indian and Pakistani territory are the first since a war in 1971.

They follow a militant attack in Kashmir which killed at least 40 Indian troops - the deadliest to take place during a three-decade insurgency against Indian rule in Kashmir. A Pakistan-based group said it carried out the attack.

Map of region

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The BBC's Soutik Biswas, in Delhi, says the challenge for India and Pakistan now is to contain the latest escalation before things get completely out of control.

What do we know about the situation?

Pakistan's military spokesman said that Pakistan fighter jets had carried out "strikes" - exactly what they did remains unclear - in Indian-administered Kashmir on Wednesday.

Two Indian air force jets then responded, crossing the de facto border that divides Kashmir. "Our jets were ready and we shot both of them down," Maj Gen Asif Ghafoor said.

He said that one Indian pilot was in the custody of the Pakistani army. Officials had previously said two pilots had been captured and one had been taken to hospital.

No explanation has been given as to why the numbers have changed.

Maj Gen Ghafoor said the captured Indian pilot, Wing Commander Abhinandan, was being "treated as per norms of military ethics".

Earlier Pakistan's information ministry published but subsequently deleted a video showing the pilot - blindfolded and with blood on his face - identifying himself to soldiers.

Another video circulating on social media appeared to show the pilot being beaten by residents in Pakistan-controlled Kashmir before the arrival of Pakistani soldiers.

Pakistan's information ministry also tweeted what it said was footage of one of the downed Indian jets.

Sorry, this Twitter post is currently unavailable.

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In India, Ministry of External Affairs spokesman Raveesh Kumar acknowledged the loss of a jet and its pilot.

He also said that an Indian plane had shot down a Pakistani fighter jet, and Indian ground forces observed it falling on the Pakistani side of the LoC. Pakistan denied any of its jets had been hit.

India's foreign ministry later issued a statement demanding the release of its fighter pilot and condemning the images shared by Pakistan of Wing Commander Abhinandan, describing them as a "vulgar display of an injured personnel".

How are India and Pakistan reacting?

In a televised address, Prime Minister Khan offered India talks over terrorism and warned against further escalation.

"If we let it happen, it will remain neither in my nor Narendra Modi's control," he said.

"Our action is just to let them know that just like they intruded into our territory, we are also capable of going into their territory," he added.

Mr Modi has yet to comment but was meeting top security and intelligence officials to discuss the situation, reports in India said.

Indian Foreign Minister Sushma Swaraj said her country would act "with responsibility and restraint".

"India does not wish to see further escalation of the situation," she said, speaking from a meeting with Russian and Chinese foreign ministers in China.

What about the earlier air strikes?

Pakistan's assertion that it had shot down two Indian aircraft came shortly after Islamabad said its warplanes had struck targets in Indian territory.

Indian authorities said the Pakistani jets had been forced to withdraw.

Viewpoint: India strikes in Pakistan a major escalation

What is militant group Jaish-e-Mohammad?

Why India and Pakistan dispute Kashmir

Pakistan's military spokesman Maj Gen Ghafoor said jets had "engaged" six targets in Indian territory but then carried out air strikes on "open ground".

"We don't want to go on the path of war," he said.

Sorry, this Twitter post is currently unavailable.

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India said Tuesday's air strikes on Balakot in north-western Pakistan killed a large number of militants, but Pakistan said there had been no casualties.

The US, EU and China have all called for restraint.

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'These are uncharted waters'

By Soutik Biswas, BBC News, Delhi

The challenge for India and Pakistan now is to contain the escalation before things get completely out of control.

It is almost unprecedented for two nuclear-armed countries to carry out air strikes into each other's territories.

"We are in uncharted waters," Husain Haqqani, the former Pakistani ambassador to the US and adviser to three Pakistani prime ministers, told me late on Tuesday.

An Indian defence analyst believes Indian security forces will now have to be prepared for a "full spectrum of conflict".

However Daniel Markey from Johns Hopkins University in the US says we are "several steps away" from nuclear escalation.

A further escalation, he believes, will happen if Pakistan's "next step were to raise the stakes by hitting Indian civilian targets".

That is highly unlikely.

Read more from Soutik on this story

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What else is happening?

Pakistan has closed its entire airspace, its civil aviation authority said. Nine airports in northern India were temporarily closed but have now reopened, reports in India say.

Hindustan Times

IAF air strikes across LoC: Biggest terror training camp across LoC bombed, says Government

Prime Minister Narendra Modi chairs a meeting of the Cabinet Committee on Security at his residence in New Delhi on Feb 26, 2019 following the IAF's air strikes in Pakistan. (PTI Photo)

Indian forces carried out a strike at the biggest camp of the terror group Jaish-e-Mohammed in Balakot early this morning, Foreign Secretary Vijay Gokhale said on Tuesday, hours after IAF dropped 1,000 pound bombs in a thickly-forested hilltop that has eliminated a large number of terrorists. This camp was headed by Jaish chief Masood Azhar’s brother-in-law Maulana Yousuf Azhar.

The strikes was carried out on the basis of credible intelligence and designed to target the Jaish camp without any civilian casualties, Gokhale announced hours after Prime Minister Narendra Modi held a top security meet to review the cross-border strike.

The strike on terror camp comes 12 days after the Pulwama terror attack which killed 40 CRPF jawans dead after a Jaish terrorist rammed an explosive-laden vehicle into a CRPF convoy on Jammu-Srinagar highway on February 14.

Watch | ‘Air Force bombed JeM’s biggest camp in Pakistan’: Foreign Secretary

Also read | IAF hits main Jaish camp deep across LoC, 200-300 killed: Sources

The government said it had expected the Jaish to carry out more terror attacks.

“Credible intelligence was received that JeM was attempting another suicide terror attack in various parts of the country, and the fidayeen jihadis were being trained for this purpose. In the face of imminent danger, a preemptive strike became absolutely necessary,” he said.

Gokhale’s briefing was the first formal statement from the government on the overnight strike by IAF’s Mirage-2000 jets. Sources told HT earlier that the laser-guided 1,000 pound bombs caused an estimated casualty of 200-300.

Catch live updates here.

The Foreign Secretary did not get into the details of the strike but he underlined that “a very large number of JeM terrorists, trainers, senior commanders and groups of jihadis” being trained for suicide attacks were eliminated.

“Strikes happened only a short while ago. We are waiting for more details,” he said.

India also underlined how Pakistan had not acted against the Jaish that had been banned by the United Nations, despite being informed about the presence of the camps many times.

“The existence of such massive training facilities capable of training hundreds of jidhadis could not have functioned without the knowledge of Pakistan authorities,” the top official said.

Also read | Fully prepared to respond , says Pak, calls emergency meet after IAF strike

Pakistan Foreign Minister Shah Mahmood Qureshi has called an “emergency meeting” after India carried out air strikes across the LoC and destroyed terror camps in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa province.

Bloom Berg Asia

India Says Hundreds of Terrorists Killed in Strikes on Pakistan

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India said its fighter jets destroyed a major terrorist camp in Pakistan in the worst escalation between the nuclear-armed rivals since 2001, in an incident that Islamabad has described as a "grave aggression."

More than 300 people were killed in the air strikes at the camp belonging to terrorist group Jaish-e-Mohammed that has trained suicide bombers, according to an Indian official speaking on condition of anonymity. Pakistan denies the attack did any damage or caused casualties.

Foreign Secretary Vijay Gokhale said in New Delhi today that India carried out strikes in Pakistan following attack in Kashmir earlier this month in response to intelligence that indicated Jaish-e-Mohammed was planning more attacks.

Vijay Gokhale

Vijay Gokhale briefs the media about India’s air strikes in Pakistan, on Feb. 26.Photographer: Manish Swarup/AP Photo

"In the face of imminent danger, a preemptive strike became absolutely necessary," Gokhale said. "In this operation, a very large number of JeM terrorists, trainers, senior commanders and groups of jihadis who were being trained for fidayeen action were eliminated."

Pakistan Foreign Minister Shah Mahmood Qureshi said at a televised news conference in Islamabad that India violated the line of control. "We have the right to respond," Qureshi said. "India has committed aggression against Pakistan today -- I will call it a grave aggression. Pakistan reserves the right to respond reasonably," he said adding that Prime Minister Imran Khan had called a security briefing.

Coveted Region

Earlier today, the Indian rupee weakened offshore, but has since erased most losses and is now trading 0.1 percent lower at 71.05 per dollar. Pakistan stocks dropped 1.5 percent in the first 10 minutes of trading, with the benchmark KSE-100 Index near the lowest level in almost six weeks. India’s S&P BSE Sensex was down 0.6 percent at 12:09 p.m. in Mumbai, after plunging as much as 1.4 percent.

Read more: Where the Latest India-Pakistan Conflict May Lead

Indian Air Force violates Pakistani air space to conduct air strikes near Line of Control

This handout photo shows trees damaged by payloads dropped by the Indian Air Force, near Balakot, Pakistan, Feb. 26.Source: Inter-Services Public Relations (ISPR) via EPA-EFE

"The last time the Indian Air Force crossed the line of control intentionally and publicly to conduct air strikes was 1971," Vipin Narang, an associate professor of political science at MIT said via email, referring to the last Indo-Pakistan war. But the fact that Pakistan has already said the aircraft did no significant damage could lead to a de-escalation, he said.

Major General Asif Ghafoor, spokesman of the Pakistan Armed Forces, said the Pakistan Air Force responded by scrambling its own jets, adding in a tweet there were “No casualties or damage.”

Tense Relations

Relations between the historic arch-rivals has been extremely tense since a suicide car bombing, claimed by the Pakistan-based terrorist group Jaish-e-Mohammed, on Feb. 14 in Kashmir killed 40 members of India’s security forces. Jaish-e-Mohammed is a United Nations designated terrorist group.

INDIA-PAKISTAN-UNREST-KASHMIR

Indian security forces inspect the remains of a vehicle following an attack in Kashmir on Feb. 14.Photographer: AFP via Getty Images

It’s the worst escalation since 2001, when Pakistan and India moved ballistic missiles and troops to their border following an attack on parliament in New Delhi that was also blamed on Jaish-e-Mohammad. India and Pakistan have fought three wars since partition and independence in 1947.

"This is the first time that India has crossed the line of control and from the looks of it, the international border," said G. Parthasarathy, the former Indian High Commissioner in Pakistan. "In 2001, we had deployed the army on our borders but there was no military action."

Prime Minister Narendra Modi, who faces a general election in the coming months, is under enormous pressure after blaming blaming Pakistan for the worst attack on security forces in Kashmir in several decades, and markets reacted after Modi pledged a “befitting reply.”

Islamabad has denied any role in the Feb. 14 attack. Khan vowed to retaliate against India in a televised speech on Feb. 19 if New Delhi launched any sort of military response. Pakistan’s army chief, General Qamar Javed Bajwa, in the past few days visited troops along the “Line of Control” to see their preparedness, according to the military media wing Inter-Services Public Relations.

ALJAZEERA ENGLISH

India launches air strikes on Pakistani territory

https://www.aljazeera.com/amp/news/2019/02/pakistan-military-accuses-india-violating-airspace-190226040437318.html?__twitter_impression=true

Islamabad, Pakistan - Indian fighter jets have crossed into Pakistani territory, conducting what the foreign ministry termed a "non-military pre-emptive action" against armed group Jaish-e-Muhammad (JeM), dramatically escalating tensions between the nuclear-armed neighbours weeks after a suicide attack in the disputed Kashmir region.

Pakistan first reported the Indian airspace incursion early on Tuesday, with Pakistani military spokesperson Major-General Asif Ghafoor saying Pakistani air force jets were scrambled to respond, forcing the Indian aircraft to "release [their] payload in haste while escaping".

Indian Foreign Secretary Vijay Gokhale, however, asserted that the jets had hit their target, and that "a very large number of JeM terrorists, trainers, senior commanders and groups of jihadis who were being trained for fidayeen action were eliminated".

"The government of India is firmly and resolutely committed to taking all necessary measures to fight the menace of terrorism," he told reporters in New Delhi. "Hence this non-military pre-emptive action was specifically targeted at the Jaish-e-Muhammad camp."

C Uday Bhaskar, the director of the Society for Policy Studies based in New Delhi said "India has sent a very firm signal".

"The fact that air power has been used for the first time against a terrorist target to my mind signaled to Pakistan that India is demonstrating resolve in terms of using military power particularly air power," he said.

Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi held a meeting with his top government officials in New Delhi where he was briefed about the pre-dawn air strikes.

Sounds of aircraft

Local residents and journalists in Pakistan told Al Jazeera that the sounds of aircraft and an explosion were heard in the Jaba area of Mansehra district, located about 60km from the LoC - the de facto border that divides Indian- and Pakistan-administered Kashmir.

India and Pakistan have fought three of their four wars over the disputed territory of Kashmir, which both claim in full but administer separate portions of.

The airstrikes on Tuesday appear to have taken place outside of Kashmir, at least 10km inside the Pakistani province of Khyber Pakhtunkhwa.

Pakistan's military did not confirm the location of the incident, offering conflicting reports that at first placed it near the town of Balakot, about 12km from Jaba, and then later claimed it occurred within the confines of Pakistan-administered Kashmir.

Tensions between South Asian neighbours have been high since February 14, when a suicide attacker killed at least 42 Indian security forces personnel in the Indian-administered Kashmir town of Pulwama.

India has threatened Pakistan with military action repeatedly since that attack, blaming it for "controlling" the attack. Pakistan-based armed group JeM claimed responsibly for the attack.

Pakistan denies any role in the attack, and last week Pakistani Prime Minister Imran Khan asked India for "actionable intelligence" in order to take action against any JeM operatives in Pakistan.

Pakistan has reiterated its right to self-defence.

"This is a violation of the Line of Control, and Pakistan reserves the right to a reasonable response and the right to self defence," said Foreign Minister Shah Mehmood Qureshi, ahead of a high-level meeting with PM Khan.

Dawn News

Army chief warns India against ‘misadventure’

https://www.dawn.com/news/amp/1465527?__twitter_impression=true

In press conference, military spokesman tells New Delhi: ‘Don’t mess with Pakistan’

• Says pension of ex-spymaster Asad Durrani has been stopped for violation of military code of conduct

• Discloses two army officers have been held for espionage

ISLAMABAD: Army chief Gen Qamar Bajwa, during a visit to the Line of Control (LoC) on Friday, warned India against aggression, saying any misadventure would receive resolute response from his troops.

Also read: World needs to dissuade India from its war-mongering after Pulwama, Qureshi tells UNSC chief

Gen Bajwa visited the LoC to review the state of preparedness and morale of the troops, a day after the National Security Committee authorised the armed forces to respond to any Indian aggression with full force. The top commander’s visit signalled the highest level of preparedness to the adversary.

War hysteria in India in the aftermath of last week’s attack on Indian security forces in occupied Kash­mir’s Pulwama area has led to fears that India may undertake military action to deflect public attention from internal problems.

Speaking to the troops on the frontlines in Chirikot and Bagsar sectors, Gen Bajwa said: “Pakistan is a peace-loving country but we will not be intimidated or coerced. Any aggression or misadventure shall be paid back in same coin”.

Meanwhile, military spokesman Maj Gen Asif Ghafoor, while addressing a press conference at the Inter-Services Public Rela­tions office, said in case India started aggression against Pakistan it would be surprised by the level of response it would get from the Pakistani armed forces.

In a message directed at Indian military planners, the spokesman said: “Be rest assured, should you initiate any aggression. First, you shall never be able to surprise us. We are ready. In response we shall for sure surprise you.”

Talking of deployment at forward locations, Gen Gha­foor said Pakistani troops “shall have superior force ratio at decisive points”. He cautioned the Indian army against underestimating Pakistani defence, saying: “Never think that we shall fall short of capacity. … We have the ways and means for the end state.”

He said Pakistani armed forces were “ready to res­pond to full spectrum thr­eat” and in the event of Ind­ian aggression, “shall dominate the escalation ladder”.

Emphasising unity within the country, the military spokesman said: “We have singleness of conception all across from PM to a common citizen, including all political parties and other segments of society from our chiefs down to soldiers. We have the will and the determination.”

His message for the Indian side was “don’t mess with Pakistan”.

He said that Pakistan’s military capabilities were India-specific and the troops were battle-hardened after a long fight against terrorism.

Questioning Indian allegations of Pakistani state’s involvement in the Pulwama attack, the general said that the timing of the strike showed the other side had tried to benefit from it. He maintained that a closer look at the events and circumstantial evidence, including the vehicle and explosives used in the attack, proved that Pakistan was not involved. He also called for analysis of the video in which the attacker claimed responsibility.

“Pattern of attacks shows that whenever in Pakistan there is some important ev­ent due, some staged act­ion of this sort takes place,” the spokesman noted.

He further said: “The attack took place miles away from LoC. The explosives used in the attack were not from Pakistan. The car used was not from Pakistan either. The attack was carried out by a youngster from occupied Kashmir who was mistreated by Indian security forces.”

Maj Gen Ghafoor said unlike India which unleashed allegations soon after the attack, Pakistan denied the allegations of its involvement after conducting its investigations. “We are responding to India as a responsible state,” he said and recalled that Prime Minister Imran Khan’s statement on the escalation made an unprecedented offer to India by proposing dialogue on terrorism and other outstanding matters and offering cooperation in investigation of the attack.

Asad Durrani

Maj Gen Ghafoor, sharing an update on the investigation against former Inter-Services Intelligence chief retired Lt Gen Asad Durrani, said that he had been found guilty of violating the Military Code of Conduct and accordingly punished.

“His pension has been stopped immediately and we are working with the Ministry of Interior over whether or not to keep him on Exit Control List,” he said.

Gen Durrani had collaborated with former Indian top spy A.S. Dulat in a book project. The book titled The Spy Chronicles: RAW, ISI, and the Illusion of Peace contains conversations between Gen Durrani and Dulat mediated by an Indian journalist. The two former spies had in the book touched upon some of thorny issues that kept Pak-India ties strained for decades, at times pushing them to the brink of war. These issues included terrorism, particularly Mumbai attack, Kashmir, spy wars and the influence of defence bureaucracies in the two neighbouring countries.

Gen Durrani was later tried for violation of the military code of conduct which is applicable on all serving and retired military personnel. Section 55 of the Military Law, which relates to “conduct unbecoming of an officer” is considered to have a very wide scope.

The military spokesman further disclosed that in another case, two Army officers had been taken into custody on the allegations of espionage and Army Chief Gen Qamar Bajwa had ordered a field general court martial against them.

The military spokesman, responding to a question about angry statements made by some Iranian officials after the attack on a Revolutionary Guards bus, said Pakistan and Iran had brotherly ties, which would further improve.

“We are discussing with Iran fencing of the border so that that no one can misuse the space,” he said.

Pakistan and Iran share over 900-km-long border which is infested with criminal gangs, militants and drug traffickers. Some of the groups have in the past carried out cross-border attacks killing Iranian border security forces. Therefore border security has for long remained a major irritant in bilateral ties.

ALJAZEERA

Fear, anxiety in Pakistan-administered Kashmir as tension peaks

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Residents along the Line of Control caught in the web of fever-pitch tensions between nuclear-armed India and Pakistan.

Chakothi, Pakistan-administered Kashmir - Shabnam Lone just wants to go home.

The 22-year-old came to Muzaffarabad, the capital of Pakistan-administered Kashmir, three weeks ago to visit her uncle and aunt for a short trip, after waiting a year and a half for her application to make its way through the labyrinthine Pakistani and Indian security vetting processes.

Now, however, she is stuck, an unintended fly caught in the web of fever-pitch tensions between South Asian neighbours India and Pakistan following a suicide attack on an Indian security convoy in the India-administered Kashmir town of Pulwama that killed 42 troopers last week.

Early on Monday morning, just hours before her bus was to depart, she was told Indian authorities had suspended the service, which has carried more than 14,000 passengers across the Line of Control (LoC) since it was launched in 2005.

India and Pakistan have fought three of their four wars over the disputed territory of Kashmir, which both claim in its entirety but administer separate parts of, divided by the LoC.

India and Pakistan have fought three of their four wars over the disputed territory of Kashmir [Al Jazeera]

"She just wants to go home, this is causing her so much stress," says Sohail Lone, her uncle.

The Lones refused to reveal their real names for fear of reprisals by Indian authorities, and Shabnam refused to speak directly to Al Jazeera, speaking only through her uncle.

Border villages like Chakothi, just 2km away from the LoC, are at the front line of the hostilities between the nuclear-armed neighbours [Asad Hashim/Al Jazeera]

"She's young, and she's scared of what might happen to her when she goes back."

India immediately blamed Pakistan for having facilitated the attack in Pulwama, hours after a purported video of the suicide bomber emerged in which he said he was a member of Pakistan-based armed group, Jaish-e-Mohammed (JeM).

Pakistan denies any involvement in the attack, and Prime Minister Imran Khan has promised an investigation into JeM's activities on Pakistani soil if "actionable intelligence" is shared.

An Indian government statement rejected the offer as a "lame excuse", further ratcheting up tensions.

A day after the attack, Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi, the leader of the nationalist Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP), had already said he had given the Indian military "a free hand" to deal with the situation in Kashmir, threatening that Pakistan would "pay a very heavy price" after the attack.

On Friday, Pakistan said it would respond to any Indian military aggression against it in kind, but that it would continue to support a process of dialogue rather than conflict.

'When firing starts, it is chaos'

In Chakothi, just two kilometres from the LoC, the mood is tense.

"Shelling or firing could begin at any moment," says Nabila Shaheen, 40, a farmer who has lived here for decades. "We are constantly fearful."

While a ceasefire was established at the LoC in 2003, violations of it by both sides are frequent, particularly in times of high tension between the nuclear-armed neighbours.

In 2018, the Pakistani military says there was a marked uptick in Indian shelling across the de facto border, killing 55 people, mostly civilians, and wounding more than 300 others.

India says Pakistan also violates the ceasefire regularly, killing at least 14 security personnel in 2018, according to government data (PDF).

Saini Begum says a shell hit her home years ago and that she fears for the future with tensions running high [Asad Hashim/Al Jazeera]

Whenever such violence occurs, it is usually border villages like Chakothi that are straight in the firing line.

"When the firing starts, it is chaos," says Abdur Rahim, 61, a retired schoolteacher. "You can't leave the house. The markets are empty. Supplies run out - and even if you can get them, they are only available at double or three times the price."

Rahim has built a small reinforced concrete bunker adjacent to mostly civilians, and wounding more than 300 others.

India says Pakistan also violates the ceasefire regularly, killing at least 14 security personnel in 2018, according to government data (PDF).

Saini Begum says a shell hit her home years ago and that she fears for the future with tensions running high [Asad Hashim/Al Jazeera]

Whenever such violence occurs, it is usually border villages like Chakothi that are straight in the firing line.

"When the firing starts, it is chaos," says Abdur Rahim, 61, a retired schoolteacher. "You can't leave the house. The markets are empty. Supplies run out - and even if you can get them, they are only available at double or three times the price."

Rahim has built a small reinforced concrete bunker adjacent to his home for when the shelling begins. Not all families here are lucky enough to have the resources to do so, however.

"We feel the fear deep in our hearts," says Mehmood Ahmed, 30, an unemployed labourer. "We don't have a bunker at home … we don't have the money to afford one."

Shaheen, the farmer, says her family was forced to sell a buffalo, one of the most valuable livestock animals in this part of the world, to be able to afford to build their bunker. In total, she says, it has cost them more than 200,000 Pakistani rupees ($1,430), and it is still not complete.

"I broke the stones for this bunker myself," she says. "But it is still not done, it isn't usable yet."

These days, she says, she stays as close to home as possible, and remains constantly on alert for the sound of shells hitting.

Rizwan Ramzan, 22, a young medical store clerk told Al Jazeera his family had cleaned out their bunker, but that it hardly had enough room for the family itself, let alone their many neighbours.

"There is standing room for 40 people inside, but they cannot move in there," he said of the cramped space.

The small, cramped space in this bunker is meant to house up to 40 people if shelling commences [Asad Hashim/Al Jazeera]

Asked how they expected the standoff between the two countries to end, villagers here were confused as to how to respond.

"Why should I know anything about it?" asks Ahmed.

Shaheen offers only a little more clarity on what could come next.

"How can we say what happens next?" she asks. "The Indians might do an operation, or not. But they will shell us, definitely."

There should not be a war'

Pakistan's response to the steady increase in tone from the Indian government has been calmly defiant, even in the face of accusations from the Indian military commander in Indian-administered Kashmir that the attack was "controlled" by Pakistan's Inter-Services Intelligence (ISI) agency.

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On Friday, Major-General Asif Ghafoor, Pakistan's military spokesperson, said his country did not desire war, but would respond if attacked.

"We do not wish to go into war, but please rest assured that should you initiate any aggression - first, you will never be able to surprise us," he said.

"Because you initiate, we shall also dominate the escalation ladder. We shall have a superior force ratio at decisive points. Never think that due to our commitments elsewhere we will have any [lack of] capacity."

In Pakistan-administered Kashmir, his comments are echoed by the state's government, which while technically autonomous, does fall under the ambit of the Pakistani federal government.

"On a small scale, [India] can fire [at Pakistani-administered Kashmir] with heavy fire or light fire on Pakistani positions," says Tariq Farooq, senior minister in the Pakistan-administered Kashmir government.

Indian analysts have warned that the country will be examining the full spectrum of response options, from increasing shelling at the LoC to launching air raids either across the LoC or the international border.

"Air strikes are not possible when both are nuclear countries and the international community is alive and the international media is alive, I don't think that's [possible]," says Farooq, who hails from the district of Bhimber, where he says some Indian shelling took place on Wednesday.

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The state government has issued orders to citizens living near the LoC to limit movements, refrain from forming large groups as they could be targeted, keep lights dimmed at night and build bunkers.

"Keeping the current situation in mind, the Indian army could take extreme actions at any time," reads a widely distributed government notice.

For those at the border, though, it is not so simple.

Saini Begum, 50, a widow who runs a household of 10 people, says she feels very afraid, and does not know what the future holds.

"No, no, there should not be a war," she says, when asked if she thinks it is a possibility. "Things should get better, but I do not know how that will happen."

Radio Pakistan

Sudan's President Omar al-Bashir declares state of emergency

http://www.radio.gov.pk/23-02-2019/sudans-president-omar-al-bashir-declares-state-of-emergency

In Sudan, President Omar al-Bashir has declared a state of emergency across the country for one year.

He has dismissed the federal government and sacked all state governors.

In a televised address to the nation, he asked parliament to postpone constitutional amendments that would allow him to run for another term.

People in Sudan are protesting against the rule of Omar al-Bashir who has been ruling the country for a long term.

Reuters

Trump says U.S. has developed 'much better' relations with Pakistan recently

FILE PHOTO: Pakistani Prime Minister Imran Khan speaks at the opening ceremony for the first China International Import Expo (CIIE) in Shanghai, China November 5, 2018.

Reuters) - U.S. President Donald Trump said on Friday that the United States has developed a "much better" relationship recently with Pakistan, which has long been at odds with the United States over the war in Afghanistan.

Trump, speaking at a White House event on trade negotiations with China, noted that relations had improved over the "last short period of time" and added that the United States may set up some meetings with Pakistan.

U.S. envoys say Pakistan has an important role to play in Afghan peace talks, given its links to the Taliban.

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Taliban representatives are due to meet U.S. special peace envoy Zalmay Khalilzad in Qatar on Feb. 25 in the next round of talks. The Taliban has refused to allow the participation of the Afghan government, which it regards as a U.S. puppet.

Afghanistan's Foreign Ministry summoned the Pakistani ambassador on Wednesday over remarks that Afghan peace talks could be affected if India resorted to violence after last week's deadly attack on Indian paramilitary police in the disputed Kashmir region, for which Pakistan-based Jaish-e-Mohammad militant group claimed responsibility.

The Taliban had earlier announced that its team would meet U.S. negotiators this week in Islamabad. The meetings did not take place for reasons that remain unclear.

NEWSWEAK

Saudi Arabia's Mohammed bin Salman attends the G20 opening ceremony at the Hangzhou International Expo 

https://www.newsweek.com/saudi-arabia-mohammad-bin-salman-defends-china-concentration-camps-muslims-1340592?amp=1&__twitter_impression=true

Saudi Arabia's Mohammed bin Salman attends the G20 opening ceremony at the Hangzhou International Expo Center Hangzhou, China, on September 4, 2016.

As he faces criticism from Western countries over the brutal murder of Saudi journalist Jamal Khashoggi, Saudi Arabia’s young crown prince Mohammed bin Salman is forming new alliances.

On Friday, the leader colloquially known as MBS arrived in China, another country accused of authoritarianism, to meet with officials there. He was greeted by China’s Vice Premier Han Zheng and signed key agreements with Beijing related to energy production and the chemical industry. During his visit, he also appeared to defend China’s use of re-education camps for its country’s Muslim population.

"China has the right to carry out anti-terrorism and de-extremization work for its national security,” the crown prince was quoted as saying on Chinese television.

China has detained an estimated 1 million Uighur Muslims in concentration camps, where they are undergoing re-education programs allegedly intended to combat extremism. The Uighur are an ethnic Turkic group that practices Islam and lives in Western China and parts of Central Asia. Beijing has accused the Uighur in its Western Xinjiang region of supporting terrorism and implemented a surveillance regime. Millions of Muslims are also allegedly being forced to study communist doctrine in the camps.

“The Chinese government has long carried out repressive policies against the Turkic Muslim peoples in the Xinjiang Uyghur Autonomous Region (XUAR) in northwest China. These efforts have been dramatically scaled up since late 2016, when Communist Party Secretary Chen Quanguo relocated from the Tibet Autonomous Region to assume leadership of Xinjiang,” read a report from the organization Human Rights Watch.

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“There have been reports of deaths in the political education camps, raising concerns about physical and psychological abuse, as well as stress from poor conditions, overcrowding, and indefinite confinement,” the report continued. “While basic medical care is available, people are held even when they have serious illnesses or are elderly; there are also children in their teens, pregnant and breastfeeding women, and people with disabilities. Former detainees reported suicide attempts and harsh punishments for disobedience in the facilities.”

China claimed the camps were vocational training schools.

Uighur groups called on Mohammed bin Salman to use his official visit to pressure China on the issue of the concentration camps, as Saudi Arabia has traditionally been a defender of the rights of Muslims worldwide.

GULF NEWS

Pakistan SC admits petition of IHC ex-judge for hearing

https://gulfnews.com/amp/world/asia/pakistan/pakistan-sc-admits-petition-of-ihc-ex-judge-for-hearing-1.62209202

Justice Siddiqui was removed by President Alvi on charges of misconduct

ISLAMABAD: The Supreme Court of Pakistan on Thursday admitted petition filed by the former senior judge of the Islamabad High Court (IHC) Justice Shaukat Aziz Siddiqui for hearing.

A senior judge of the apex court Shaikh Azmat Saeed during an in-chamber hearing admitted his petition for hearing.

Justice Siddiqui was stripped of his judicial powers last year in October by President Arif Alvi on the recommendations of the Supreme Judicial Commission (SJC) on charges of misconduct.

A speech delivered by the judge in July 2018 in a meeting of the Rawalpindi district bar association was the major cause of his sacking in which he had criticised the military establishment (ISI) for interfering into judiciary’s matters.

Interestingly, neither the ISI nor the Army’s Inter-Services Public Relations (ISPR) lodged a formal complaint against the judge or the content of his speech.

Siddiqui was seen as the most vocal judge of high court and had kept raising issues of public interest during the usual hearing of the cases.

He had on a number of occasions alleged that ‘external hands’ were active in constituting benches in high profile cases and some senior military officers were influencing the courts.

He even did not spare his own bosses and in the said speech spoke against the then Chief Justice of Islamabad High Court Anwar Khan Kasi for cowing into the pressure. On another occasion, during a hearing, he publicly appealed to the former Chief Justice of Pakistan Mian Saqib Nisar for not humiliating judges.

His removal from the office however was based on the address he delivered in the Pindi bar association meeting.

Justice Siddiqui had challenged his removal in the Supreme Court, but his petition was returned with objections from the registrar’s office. He challenged the Registrar’s objections in the Supreme Court again and the apex court on Thursday admitted it for hearing.

One of the objections raised by the SC registrar was that he was invoking extraordinary jurisdiction of the Supreme Court under Article 184(3) of the Constitution for the redressal of an individual grievance. According to the SC Registrar that was not permissible in terms of judgement reported as 1998 SCMR 793 titled as Zulfiqar Mehdi Vs PIA etc.

However, in his petition against Registrar Office’s objections, Siddiqui submitted his case was of common welfare” and that the Supreme Court had ruled in such cases under Section 3 of the Article 184.

Justice Siddiqui’s own bar Rawalpindi Bar and the High Court Bar where he served as judge had not raised any voice in his support but interestingly lawyers of Karachi had rallied behind him denouncing his ‘unceremonious exit’ from judicial office by President Arif Alvi on the recommendations of the Supreme Judicial Commission (SJC).

SJC is a forum comprising of members of the superior judiciary with Chief Justice of Pakistan as chairman of the forum entrusted with accountability of the judges of High and Supreme Courts.

GULF NEWS

No possibility of nuclear war between India and Pakistan: Musharraf in Dubai

I will return to Pakistan soon as environment is conducive now, says former President

https://gulfnews.com/amp/world/asia/pakistan/no-possibility-of-nuclear-war-between-india-and-pakistan-musharraf-in-dubai-1.1550844399003?__twitter_impression=true

Dubai: Former Pakistani President General (retired) Pervez Musharraf has ruled out the use of nuclear weapons in case of an armed conflict between India and Pakistan in the wake of terrorist attack in Pulwama which left 49 soldiers dead.

“It is ridiculous even to say that there will be use of atom bomb in case of any war between the nuclear neighbours. If Pakistan uses one bomb, India will use 20 bombs so Pakistan may have to use 50 - this is disastrous. People who are talking about such possibilities have no idea of warfare,” Gen Musharraf said while replying to question at a press conference in Dubai on Friday.

He said that nuclear weapon at best is a deterrence and should not be used by anyone.

Musharraf noted that the relations between Pakistan and India have been very tense and even dangerous for the 10 months.

Gen. Musharraf who is also founder of All Pakistan Muslim League (APML) addressed the media along with his senior party members, newly elected APML Chairman Hidayatullah Kheshgi and Secretary General Mehreen Malik. He announced the he would be reorganising his party both in Pakistan and abroad and would enter the political scene before the next elections.

Relauching party in Pakistan

“Imran’s PTI has emerged as the third force in the Pakistan after Nawaz Sharif’s PML-N and Asif Ali Zardari’s PPP. Since both of them are corrupt and facing charges, we will take advantage of the situation and re-launch our party in Pakistan,” he said.

General Musharraf, 75, looking frail with a weak voice, was addressing the media after a long time as he has been reportedly suffering from an unspecified illness.

General Musharraf who has been living in Dubai since 2016 in a self-imposed exile has a high-profile treason case for suspending the Constitution in 2007 against him and is also wanted in a number of other cases in Pakistan. He travelled out of the country for medical treatment for a few months after securing a special permission from the court but never went back.

General Musharraf, who ruled Pakistan from 1999 to 2008, has been declared a fugitive in the Benazir Bhutto murder case and the Red Mosque cleric killing case.

He also launched his political party APM in 2010 but could not go back in 2018 to contest elections for fear of his arrest.

Return to Pakistan

“I am planning to go back soon as the environment is conducive for my return to Pakistan,” he said replying to a question. Musharraf said that many of the senior officials and ministers working for the Imran Khan government had also worked under him and would help him on his return.

Musharraf, however did not give any time frame for his return.

US withdrawal from Afghanistan

He said that relations between Afghanistan and Pakistan are also at the lower level and they should work to improve ties.

To a question on withdrawal of US forces from Afghanistan, General Musharraf said that the Afghanistan would head to civil war and Taliban will be the winner again.

“If US withdraws from Afghanistan, there will be war proxy war between India and Pakistan in Afghanistan with Pakistan backing Taliban and India backing Northern alliance groups and the situation would be worse than 1991 when the US left Afghanistan after the soviet war,” he explained.

He appreciated the current government’s efforts to mend relations with Saudi Arabia and the UAE saying that they have always been close friends. “The UAE and Saudi Arabia always stood with Pakistan and helped our country in all possible ways. It was Nawaz Sharif who spoiled our relations,” he added

Siasat.Pk

Moulana Fazl ur Rehman thrashes Pak Army at these sensitive times - social media convention speech

Pakistan Revolution Party Requests Ban On All The Religious Parties. 

https://www.siasat.pk/forums/threads/moulana-fazl-ur-rehman-thrashes-pak-army-at-these-sensitive-times-social-media-convention-speech.676776/

Pakistan Revolution Party requests Pakistani establishment especially Army to ban all the political parties who operate in the name of religion and spreading religious extremism in the country. We all know religious parties like JI,TLP,PAT JUI and many more are the nurseries of spreading religious extremism in Pakistan, They should be banned with immediate effect from doing politics and their leadership like Fazal Ur rehaman and Sirajul Haq should be in the prison with Khadim rizvi. In fact they should be in the same prison so they could exchange their evil thoughts with each instead of brain washing our youth.They should not be allowed to brain wash our innocent nation in the name of religion. In reality these religious parties are not interested in democracy and not even bringing in true Islam in Pakistan.Their only motto is to make money through politics and to come into power. 

Pakistani army recently defeated Pakistani Taliban in tribal area and brought peace in Pakistan,no wonder we do not see any suicide attacks in Pakistan,well done Pak Army but i am afraid if we allow those religious parties which i mentioned earlier in my post,we might see another phase of terrorism in Pakistan . It is so important to get rid of these parties once for all and ban them forever. Pakistani establishment especially Army should only allow those parties to do politics in Pakistan who do not use the name of religion and make it a selling tool to the innocent people of Pakistan. 

Al Arabia English

Pakistan prepares warm welcome for Saudi Crown Prince

https://english.alarabiya.net/en/features/2019/02/15/Pakistan-prepares-warm-welcome-for-Saudi-Crown-Prince-.html

Pakistan is preparing a warm welcoming ceremony for Saudi Arabian Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman, due to arrive on Sunday.

Banners heralding the Crown Prince were already lining the streets of the capital Friday, and a grand reception has been planned for what will be his first visit to Pakistan since he was appointed heir to the throne in 2017.

Islamabad is hoping to sign a raft of investment deals and other agreements during the two-day visit, which begins Sunday and will include talks with Pakistan's Prime Minister Imran Khan and the powerful army chief, General Qamar Javed Bajwa.

The Crown Prince had originally been due to arrive on Saturday, but late Friday the Pakistan foreign ministry released a statement saying the visit had been delayed by one day, with the programme unchanged.

Saudi Arabia is reportedly preparing to sign a record investment package with Pakistan, including a $10 billion refinery and oil complex for the strategic Gwadar Port on the Arabian Sea.

Pakistan's foreign office spokesman said Islamabad is seeking to sign a number of other deals, including one on “combating organized crime”.

Saudi Arabia and Pakistan are also participating in talks with the US and other countries seeking to bring the Taliban to the table for peace negotiations with Kabul after more than 17 years of war.

The Taliban have claimed their representatives will visit Islamabad on Monday, after the Saudi Crown Prince leaves.

Al Arabia English

Erdogan says won’t go back on S-400 deal with Russia

https://english.alarabiya.net/en/News/middle-east/2019/02/16/Erdogan-says-won-t-go-back-on-S-400-deal-with-Russia.html

President Recep Tayyip Erdogan said Turkey would not “turn back” on a deal with Moscow to buy Russian S-400 missile defense systems in comments published on Saturday.

Turkey’s push to buy the systems has raised questions among NATO allies over their compatibility with alliance equipment as well as concerns over the burgeoning relationship between Erdogan and Russian President Vladimir Putin.

“We agreed a deal with Russia on the S-400, so for us to turn back from the deal is out of the question.

This is a done deal,” Erdogan said, quoted by CNN Turk broadcaster.

The United States in December approved the sale of $3.5 billion in missiles to Turkey, which followed Washington anger over Turkey’s intention to buy Russian systems.

Turkey was “open” to buying US Patriot missiles, Erdogan told Turkish journalists on board his plane from the southern Russian city of Sochi after a three-way summit on Syria with his Russian and Iranian counterparts.

“But this sale must serve the interests of our country. To this end, joint production, credit and early delivery are of vital importance,” Erdogan added.

The Turkish leader said the US administration “looked positively” at early delivery but “said nothing regarding joint production and credit”.

Erdogan said work continued for the systems to be delivered in July as promised before.

Washington has warned Turkey the S-400s purchase jeopardized participation in the F-35 fighter jets program. US officials have said Ankara could even face sanctions on defense purchases under US law if it goes ahead.

But Ankara has said the two defense systems are not seen as an alternative for the other.

The S-400 deal is one of the key symbols of the warm relationship enjoyed by Erdogan and Putin, who have also worked closely on finding a political solution to the Syrian war.

Al_Arabia English

US backs India’s right to defend itself after Kashmir attack

https://english.alarabiya.net/en/News/world/2019/02/17/US-backs-India-s-right-to-defend-itself-after-Kashmir-attack.html

The United States has told India it supports its right to defend itself against cross-border attacks, the government in New Delhi said on Saturday as it considers retaliation against a car bombing in disputed Kashmir claimed by Pakistan-based militants.

Tensions between nuclear-armed India and Pakistan have risen again after India, incensed by the killing of 44 paramilitary police in the deadliest attack in Kashmir in decades, demanded that Pakistan act against the Jaish-e-Mohammad (JeM) militant group behind the bombing.

It has begun a diplomatic and economic offensive against its neighbor, withdrawing Most Favoured Nation trade privilege earlier in the week. On Saturday, Finance Minister Arun Jaitley said customs duties on all imports from Pakistan would be raised to 200 percent.

The impact is likely to be limited, experts say, with bilateral trade between the two countries barely reaching $2 billion.

 

Indian soldiers examine the debris after an explosion in Lethpora in south Kashmir’s Pulwama district on February 14, 2019. (Reuters)

But Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s government, facing a general election by May, is under pressure from hardline groups for more decisive action against Pakistan.

US National Security Adviser John Bolton spoke to his Indian counterpart Ajit Doval on Friday night, promising to help bring those behind the attack to justice, the Indian foreign ministry said in a readout of the phone call.

“The two NSAs vowed to work together to ensure that Pakistan cease to be a safe haven for JeM and terrorist groups that target India, the US and others in the region,” the foreign ministry said.

“They resolved to hold Pakistan to account for its obligations under UN resolutions,” it added.

Pakistan condemned Thursday’s attack, in which the bomber slammed into a military convoy, and denied any complicity.

India has for years accused Muslim Pakistan of backing separatist militants in divided Kashmir, which the neighbors both claim in full but rule in part.

Pakistan denies that, saying it only offers political and diplomatic support to the Kashmiri people in their struggle for self-determination.

TRT World

One year since Turkey launched Operation Olive Branch in Syria

https://www.trtworld.com/middle-east/one-year-since-turkey-launched-operation-olive-branch-in-syria-23458/amp

Today marks the one year anniversary of Turkey's Operation Olive Branch aimed to clear terrorists affiliated with the PKK from the Afrin region.

It's been a year since Turkey launched Operation Olive Branch to drive the YPG and Daesh terror groups from Afrin in northern Syria.

On January 20, 2018, Turkey, in cooperation with the Free Syrian Army (FSA), launched Operation Olive Branch with the stated aim of eliminating the PYD/PKK and Daesh terrorist presence in Syria’s northern Afrin district.

The PYD/PKK has enjoyed a significant presence in Afrin, which lies close to the Turkish border since mid-2012, when Syrian regime forces withdrew from the area without a fight.

The operation lasted 58 days and eventually cleared the YPG from the city. 

Ankara says the PKK terror group's Syrian branches, the YPG and PYD were using tunnels and local collaborators to infiltrate Turkey.

Fight against Daesh

Turkey first recognised Daesh as a terrorist organisation more than five years ago and promised to continue its fight against Daesh even after the US withdraws from Syria. 

Daesh has also posed a security threat within Turkey's borders. 

At least 290 people were killed and more than 1,300 other people were injured in at least eight different Daesh attacks, according to reports.

Ankara says its main goal is to stop the flow of Daesh fighters from travelling between Turkey and Syria. 

As a part of those operations Turkey has arrested more than 4,000 people accused of being Daesh members. 

Around 61,000 foreign nationals are banned from entering Turkey because of suspected links to Daesh. About 1,000 others accused of links to the group are awaiting deportation.

TRT World's Mohsin Mughal has more about the planned operation.

Life in Afrin 

Lieutenant Commander Nadide Sebnem Aktop said the Turkish army neutralised at least 3,000 Daesh terrorists in its Operation Euphrates Shield and aided in the return of some 300,000 Syrians to Syria.

Turkey has conducted two successful cross-border operations into Syria since 2016, Euphrates Shield and Olive Branch, both meant to eradicate the presence of PYD/PKK and Daesh terrorists near Turkey’s borders.

TRT World's Yasin Eken has more from Afrin.

Turkey-US relations

Turkey has long objected to the US giving support and weapons to the YPG/PYD, arguing that using one terrorist group to fight another makes no sense.

There has been friction between Ankara and Washington over the upcoming Turkish counter-terrorist operation against the YPG/PYD amid the withdrawal of US forces from Syria.

In its more than 30-year terror campaign against Turkey, the PKK has been responsible for the deaths of some 40,000 people. 

TRT World spoke to Ragip Soylu, Turkey's Correspondent for the Middle East Eye.

TRT WORLD

Fifty-two Syrian nationals with ties to Daesh arrested in Turkey's Bursa

https://www.trtworld.com/turkey/fifty-two-syrian-nationals-with-ties-to-daesh-arrested-in-turkey-s-bursa-24176/amp?__twitter_impression=true

More than 300 people have lost their lives in Daesh-claimed attacks in Turkey, where the terror group has targeted civilians in suicide bomb, rocket, and gun attacks.

Fifty-two Syrian nationals suspected of having ties to the Daesh terrorist group have been arrested by counterterrorism police in Turkey's northwestern province of Bursa, Daily Sabah reported on Thursday.

Police raided five addresses in two neighbourhoods in the city's Osmangazi district. The suspects were taken to the police station and were remanded in custody.

Security forces have been involved in a long-running campaign to rid Turkey of Daesh terrorists.

The raids came a month after 12 Daesh suspects, including two French women sought by Interpol, were arrested in the city.

The terrorist group is blamed for a number of terror attacks in Turkey that killed scores of people over the past three years in Istanbul and Ankara as well as cities in the southeast.

Since 2016, Turkey has launched Operation Euphrates Shield as well as Operation Olive Branch in northwestern Syria and liberated the region, including Al Bab, Afrin and Azaz, of YPG/PKK and Daesh terrorists, making it possible for Syrians who fled violence there to return home.

Al Arabia English

Britain will ‘do what it takes’ to beat ISIS: Defense minister

https://english.alarabiya.net/en/News/middle-east/2019/02/14/Britain-will-do-what-it-takes-to-beat-ISIS-Defense-minister.html

Britain is ready to do “all that is required” to neutralize the threat from ISIS, defense minister Gavin Williamson said Wednesday, after the US suggested creating a new international mission in northeast Syria.

Acting US defense secretary Patrick Shanahan said he would consult with allies at a meeting of NATO defense ministers in Brussels about the “potential” for an observer force in northeast Syria after American forces pull out.

US-backed forces are currently in the fifth day of a fierce battle to expel ISIS fighters from their last holdout in eastern Syria -- the final remaining scrap of the “caliphate” the extremist group declared in 2014.

But the US is set to withdraw its 2,000 troops from the country, as announced by President Donald Trump in December, in a move that shocked America’s allies and raised security fears for the region.

Asked if Britain would support an observer force with boots on the ground, Williamson did not demur but pledged to carry on the fight against ISIS, also known as Daesh.

“We recognize the fact the threat of Daesh is going to evolve and it’s going to change and it’s going to disperse,” Williamson said as he arrived for the NATO meeting.

“We will continue to do all that is required to ensure that Britain and our allies remain safe.”

Shanahan visited Baghdad on Tuesday to reassure Iraqi leaders after President Donald Trump angered many by saying he wanted to maintain some troops at the Al-Asad airbase, northwest of Baghdad, to keep an eye on Iran.

Afterwards Shanahan said he would use the NATO meeting to discuss “where we can take advantage of the opportunities there... in terms of the potential in northeast Syria to establish an observer force” to ensure stability in the longer term.

The international anti-ISIS coalition, which includes the US and many NATO countries as well as Middle Eastern nations, could be an option for the proposed force, Shanahan said.

Al Arabia English

12 soldiers killed in attack on convoy in Indian Kashmir

https://english.alarabiya.net/en/News/world/2019/02/14/12-soldiers-killed-in-attack-on-convoy-in-Indian-Kashmir-.html

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WORLD

NEWS WORLD

12 soldiers killed in attack on convoy in Indian Kashmir

Clashes occur frequently in Kashmir between rebel groups and the roughly 500,000 Indian troops deployed in the region since 1989. (File photo: AP)

AFP, New DelhiThursday, 14 February 2019

At least 12 Indian soldiers were killed on Thursday in an attack on a convoy near the main city of Srinagar in Indian-administered Kashmir, police said.

“An IED (improvised explosive device) went off as a CRPF (Central Reserve Police Force) convoy passed by,” senior police officer Munir Ahmed Khan told AFP. “We have 12 CRPF fatalities. We are evacuating the injured from the site and don’t have their number at the moment.”

India has an estimated 500,000 soldiers in Kashmir, which has been divided between India and Pakistan and riven by unrest since the end of British rule in 1947.

Al Arabia English

Iran’s Rouhani blames US, Israel for attack on Revolutionary Guards

https://english.alarabiya.net/en/News/middle-east/2019/02/14/Iran-s-Rouhani-blames-US-Israel-for-attack-on-Revolutionary-Guards.html

Iranian President Hassan Rouhani blamed the United States and its regional allies on Thursday for a suicide bombing in southeastern Iran that killed 27 members of the country’s elite Revolutionary Guards, Iranian state TV reported.

The force said on Wednesday a suicide bomber driving a vehicle laden with explosives had attacked a bus transporting members of the Guards in the province of Sistan-Baluchestan.

A militant Sunni Muslim group, Jaish al-Adl (Army of Justice), which says it seeks greater rights and better living conditions for the ethnic minority Baluchis, has claimed responsibility for the attack, Iranian media have reported.

“The crime will remain as a ‘dirty stain’ in the black record of the main supporters of terrorism in the White House, Tel Aviv and their regional agents,” Rouhani said.

Apart from Israel, Rouhani did not name the regional states he believed were to blame. Mainly Shiite Muslim Iran does not recognize Israel, which is a key US ally in the region and sees Tehran as posing an existential threat to its existence.

In the past, Tehran has accused its main regional rival Saudi Arabia of backing Sunni militia groups who have carried out bloody attacks against Iranian security forces. Riyadh has denied the charges.

ALSO READ: Pompeo says ‘confronting Iran’ key to Mideast peace

Repeating warnings made by senior commanders of the Guards, Rouhani said Iran was determined to bring justice to those responsible for one of the worst assaults ever against the Revolutionary Guards in years.

The assault, which wounded at least 13 people, took place in the province of Sistan-Baluchestan, which has a large, mainly Sunni Muslim, ethnic Baluchi community, which straddles the border with Pakistan.

Jaish al Adl has carried out attacks against the border guards from Pakistan since its founding in 2012.

Iran has called on neighboring countries to crack down on separatist groups.

Am Arabia English

Uncovering ancient kingdoms, Saudi Arabia develops modern sites in al-Ula

https://english.alarabiya.net/en/features/2019/02/14/Uncovering-ancient-kingdoms-Saudi-Arabia-develops-modern-sites-in-al-Ula.html

On Sunday, Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman launched mega tourism projects in the ancient desert city of al-Ula in Saudi Arabia. The projects implemented by the Royal Commission for the Governorate of al-Ula include the global fund for the Arabian leopard, the Sharaan Nature Reserve, and the Sharaan Resort, which will attract tourists to the area.

Tourism is one of the key aspects of the Crown Prince’s Vision 2030 to diversify the Saudi Arabia’s economy.

During the launch, The Royal Commission for al-Ula announced its commitment to protecting the Arabian leopard through the creation of The Global Fund for the Arabian Leopard, which is the largest conservation fund for this endangered species.

The Global Fund for the Arabian Leopard will enable the Sharaan Nature Reserve to become a suitable area for releasing and reintroducing the Arabian Leopard in future. (File photo: Shutterstock)

“The beautiful canyon area of Sharaan is now a designated nature reserve, setting a new standard in the region for re-balancing ecosystems and reflecting Saudi Arabia’s commitment to protecting the natural environment of al-Ula. The Sharaan Nature Reserve initiative includes the establishment of a global fund for the protection and reproduction of the Arabian leopard,” said Prince Badr bin Abdullah bin Farhan al-Saud, Saudi Minster of Culture and Governor of the Royal Commission for al-Ula.

Al-Ula was the site of the winter festival titled “Winter at Tantora,” which ran from Decenber 2018 until February 2019. The festival offered its visitors a wide range of activities and entertainment performances.

“There are many spectacular places in the Kingdom that we don’t know about,” said Saudi national Fares al-Mashat, who recently visited al-Ula. “I was amazed by the natural landscape.”

The launch of the Sharaan Nature Reserve is one of the key strategic projects, which focuses on the rehabilitation of the region’s natural ecosystem and the reintroduction of wild species into the reserve.

“Our ambitions for al-Ula is led by a firm commitment to preserve and nurture human and cultural heritage, and stems from the vision of our beloved kingdom,” Prince Badr said.

Al-Ula’s mountain landscape will serve as the foundation of the Sharaan Resort, which will employ architecture inspired and hosted by the area’s nature. The resort will be designed by Jean Nouvel, the French architect who designed the Louvre Museum in Abu Dhabi, UAE.

Rich in cultural heritage

Al-Ula valley is located 300km north of Medina in northwestern Saudi Arabia. The area is notable for its natural heritage and rich history. The area is home to a series of important historical and archaeological sites such as Mada'in Saleh and al-Khuraybah.

The ancient city of Mada’in Saleh is Saudi Arabia’s first UNESCO World Heritage Site, also known as Al-Hijr and Hegra. It was the principal southern city of the Nabataean Kingdom and is comprised of more than 100 well preserved tombs with elaborate facades cut out of sandstone outcrops surrounding the walled urban settlement.

Al-Khuraybah (ancient Dadan) was the capital of the Dadan and Lihyan Kingdoms. It is considered to be one of the most developed 1st-millennium BCE cities of the Arabian Peninsula.

“The public launch of our vision for al-Ula is an exciting step forward in our journey to protect the natural heritage of the region and share its rich cultural history around the globe,” said Amr Al Madani, the CEO of the Royal Commission for al-Ula.

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الهيئة الملكية لمحافظة العلا

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@RCU_SA

Replying to @RCU_SA

Launching the AlUla vision is more than just an event, it is both our promise to the region and the world as we move forward, inviting the world to join us in protection of this world heritage site! #AlUlaVision