ceasefire violation by Pak - Indian response ... Rahul blooper

As ceasefire violations and heavy firing and shelling by Pakistan continued along the Line of Control (LoC) in Jammu and Kashmir, India responded with the Border Security Force promising to "retaliate effectively".   A Hindustan Times reportsaid that in the counter-attack launched by India, 37 Pakistani posts had been targeted by the Indian army, resulting in 15 deaths and more than 30 injuries on the Pakistani side and serious damage to the outposts manned by Pakistan Rangers.

"While India has no intention of escalating the situation on the Jammu border, there is no question that the Pakistanis will be allowed to go without punishment,” said a senior South Block official quoted in the HT report.  Before that a beleaguered Sharad Pawar complained on Modi campaigning in Maharashtra. At Baramati (Maharashtra)- sending a strong message across the border amid continuing truce violations, Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Thursday said "times have changed" and Indian soldiers have given a demonstration of their capability and their bravery.

Islamabad may not be awed, but it certainly is shocked by the ferocity and volume of the Indian response to ceasefire violations along the International Border in Jammu and Kashmir, writes Daily Mail.   The volume and intensity of India’s return fire is much higher than the usual calibrated response the Pakistanis have come to expect.  Mail today reports that Indian forces are systematically targeting infrastructure and force deployment nodes on the other side. The damage on the other side is so high that Pakistan is, according to an internal report sent to South Block by the Indian mission in Islamabad, “ducking for cover”. A media blackout of sorts is in place in Pakistan’s affected areas, so as to keep a lid on the extent of damage suffered. Pakistan’s military establishment is on the verge of losing face, and it doesn’t like the evolving situation one bit.

The government is understood to have also told Indian forces not to seek any flag meeting with the other side, thus sending the signal that it is in no mood to ease situation on the border with Pakistan until the ceasefire violations come to a complete halt. Indian Govt has sent categorical message that  they are  not prepared to hold any discussion with Pakistan until the firing stops, as it wants to underline the point that Islamabad cannot dictate the terms of dialogue.

At his election rally in Maharashtra on Wednesday, Congress vice-president Rahul Gandhi added a blooper to his speech: he apparently called Prime Minister Narendra Modi the “leader of Opposition.” The faux pas was committed by Gandhi during his speech while criticising Modi for his repeated attacks on the Congress.

With regards – S. Sampathkumar

9^th Oct 2014.