Current unrest in Kashmir- Tensions escalate between

NRIs and Overseas Pakistani worldwide

Kashmiri Hindus held a counter demonstration against Anti Indian Muslims from Kashmir and Pakistanis in front of CNN building on Sunset Blvd, Los Angeles

On Sunday, Sep. 25, 2016,  around 11am, Kashmiri Hindus and local Indian leaders held a counter demonstration against Anti Indian Muslims from Kashmir and Pakistanis in front of CNN building on Sunset Blvd, Los Angeles, California. The Muslims from Kashmir and Pakistanis were holding banners to free Kashmir, spread lies and venom Propaganda against India.

Most NRI participants felt that civilized countries should take action against Pakistan for spreading terror not only in India but in many other places too. Kashmiri Hindus present were very vocal about their GENOCIDE at the hands of Jihad's and religious fundamentalists.

This pro India event was organized by Dr Amrit Nehru of  Kashmiri Hindu Foundation, Inc.,  a non profit USA based association and Mrs Kamlesh Chouhan of Jagrati, LA bases chapter.

Some banners read: 

• Pakistan---Home of Osama Bin Ladan.
• Kashmir----Crown of India.
• Terrorists out of Kashmir.
• Free Baluchistan
• COWARDS SEND CHILDREN TO STONE INDIAN ARMY.
• ISIS/ Taliban out of Kashmir.
• Birthplace of Terrorism----Pakistan.
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India, Pakistan border firing escalates rift as UN offers mediation

New Delhi, Oct 1, 2016
India-Pakistan tension escalated afresh on Saturday as forces of the two countries exchanged fire along the border in Jammu and Kashmir, sparking international concerns with UN chief Ban-Ki Moon offering mediation to negotiate peace between the rival neighbours.

The skirmish in the Akhnoor sector of the International Boundary that caused no casualties came days after India claimed to have conduced deadly surgical strikes at terror launch pads in Pakistan-administered Kashmir.

Defence sources in Jammu said Pakistan Rangers targeted Indian posts and civilian areas with mortar bombs and heavy machine guns. Indian border forces retaliated but no damage was reported on the either side, they said.

Both sides accused the other of resorting to unprovoked fire in the latest violation of the 2003 ceasefire agreement.

It was the fifth breach of the truce in the past four days when military tension rose following the Indian covert anti-terror operation across the Line of Control (LoC) - the 740 km de facto border that divides Jammu and Kashmir between India and Pakistan.

Indian Army Chief Gen. Dalbir Singh visited Jammu and some border posts and complimented soldiers who carried out the September 28 surgical strike that was said to have annihilated seven terror launch pads located in Tatta Pani, Leepa Valley, Bhimber and Kael in Pakistani-administered Kashmir.

The army chief reviewed the operational preparedness of the army along the borders in the wake of heightened tension.

Pakistan has denied the Indian claim of the surgical strike, terming it as a "hyped routine border clash".

On Saturday, Defence Minister Manohar Parrikar said the Pakistani denial is because it is "in a state of coma just like anyone is after a surgery".

"We do not want to capture any nation. Lord Rama won Lanka and gave it to Vibhishana. We did the same in Bangladesh. We do not want to harm anyone, but if someone harms us a befitting reply will be given."

The rising rift has led to thousands of residents being relocated from around border villages in India amid fears of further military clashes between the two nuclear-powered nations.

This has also caused global worries with the US in a direct message to Pakistan urging it to exercise restraint when it comes to using atomic weapons.

"I would just say nuclear-capable states have a very clear responsibility to exercise restraint regarding nuclear weapons and missile capabilities," US State Department deputy spokesperson Mark Toner said in a daily press briefing in response to a question.

"And that's my message publicly and that's certainly our message directly to the Pakistani authorities."

UN Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon has expressed deep concern over the "significant increase in tensions" and offered to mediate.

"The Secretary General is deeply concernedÂ…in the wake of the recent developments, in particular the reported cease-fire violations along the Line of Control (LoC) following an attack on an Indian army base in Uri on 18 September," his spokesperson said in a statement.

Ban urged both sides to exercise "maximum restraint" and take immediate steps to de-escalate the situation.

He called on both the governments to "address their outstanding issues, including regarding Kashmir, peacefully through diplomacy and dialogue.

"His good offices are available, if accepted by both sides," said the statement.
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It's not war yet, but Punjab border villages face war-like situation

Amritsar, Sep 30, 2016:  There has been no gunfire, no alert sirens and no fighter jets dropping bombs. It is not war time yet but tens of thousands of villagers in Punjab's border belt with Pakistan are already experiencing a war-like situation.

Over 400,000 people in Punjab's border belt, comprising Amritsar, Tarn Taran, Ferozepur, Gurdaspur, Pathankot and Fazilka districts, have been evacuated from their homes to "safer areas".

Residents in nearly 1,000 villages in these districts have been ordered by the authorities to evacuate following escalation of tension between nuclear neighbours India and Pakistan after the Indian Army carried out surgical strikes at the Line of Control (LoC) on Thursday night.

"We loaded a lot of our belongings and household articles on our tractor-trolley. We have not yet decided where we will go. But we have to move out. The standing crop in our fields has to be harvested within the next 10 days. We hope this situation eases out soon," farmer Sardul Singh of Amritsar district told IANS.

Punjab shares a 553-km international border with Pakistan. The entire border is maked by an electrified barbed wire fence.

The Sikh holy city of Amritsar, which lies only 30 km from the international border, too seemed to be prepared for any eventuality, including war.

Hospitals in the border districts have been asked to keep some beds in emergency wards vacant for any contingency. The leave of police personnel, medical staff and others maintaining emergency services have been cancalled.

In some of the border villages which are located across the rivers in the border belt, Border Security Force (BSF) and Indian Army personnel could be seen ferrying people, including children and the elderly, and their belongings to safer areas on Thursday and Friday.

"There is nothing to panic about. The evacuation is being done as a preventive measure. Arrangements are being made to accommodate the evacuated people," Isha Kalia, deputy commissioner of Fazilka district in southwest Punjab, said. Kalia visited various evacuation centres in her district and talked to people accommodated there.

But villagers said that there was some panic and anxiety among them.

"Old timers have been through the 1965 and 1971 wars with Pakistan. Those days were bad. But Punjabis have always faced wars valiantly. For the newer generation, who have not seen wars, the evacuation is a new thing. Many youngsters are worried about what will happen," Waryam Singh of Ferozepur district, who is 70-plus and lived through the 1965 and 1971 wars, told IANS.

The villagers who have been evacuated were headed either to the homes of relatives and friends in "safer zones" or opted for camps organized by the district authorities.

With arrangements to accommodate hundreds of people at each of the 45 relief camps having to be made within a few hours, the evacuated people complained of mismanagement and chaos.

Local gurdwaras and social organizations chipped in, within the past 12 hours, to arrange food and water for the displaced people.

Along all roads and paths in the border belt, any mode of transport available -- be it tractor-trolleys, trucks, buses, private cars, horse and cattle-driven carriages and other vehicles -- was being used by the people to move out with their belongings. The authorities also arranged buses at some places to ferry people.

Army convoys, with artillery, moved towards the border with Pakistan on Thursday and Friday. ….By J. Sarin…IANS
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Behind Pakistan's military confidence: China's growing shadow

Until five years ago, the US and China shared an almost equal proportion of Pakistans arms imports: 39 per cent and 38 per cent respectively. Today, China supplies 63 per cent of Pakistans armaments, with the US dropping to 19 per cent and second place, an IndiaSpend analysis reveals, as Pakistan mulls a response to Indias strike on terror camps across the border.

China's rise to becoming the world's third-largest arms exporter was to a large degree helped by heightened demand from Pakistan, which now buys 35 per cent of these exports and is Beijing's biggest buyer (Bangladesh follows at 20 per cent), according to a February 2016 report from the Stockholm International Peace Research Institute (SIPRI).

The military supplies are bolstered by unwavering support at a time of heightened tension with India and faltering ties with the US (there was a 73 per cent drop in US security aid over four years to 2015, The Wire reported in August 2016; the US also cancelled the subsidised sale of eight F-16 fighters).

Last month, Pakistan's Ministry of Defence Production confirmed a contract with China for the purchase of eight conventional diesel-electric submarines, which will cost between $4 billion to $5 billion (Rs. 25,600 crore to Rs. 33,200 crore), China's biggest defence export deal.

The submarines could have a nuclear strategic capability -- they could be used to launch nuclear-tipped land attack cruise missiles, providing Pakistan with a partial second-strike capability to rival India's submarine-launched nuclear ballistic missiles.

The submarines are the latest of several big ticket arms purchases by Pakistan. Others:

* Between 250 to 300 JF-17 fighter planes jointly developed by China and Pakistan. These will form the backbone of the Pakistani Air Force. Nigeria has signed a memorandum of understanding to purchase an unknown number of JF-17 aircraft, according to IHS Jane's, a defence/aerospace publication, making Pakistan a defence exporter

* Four 2,5000-ton Zulfiquar-class frigates at a cost of $500 to $750 million. Three of these were constructed in China, the fourth in Karachi

* Four 560-ton Azmat-class fast attack craft, essentially missile boats armed with eight C-802 anti-ship missiles meant for littoral defence. Three of four are being manufactured in Pakistan

* 600 Al Khalid tanks produced in Pakistan form the backbone of the Pakistan Army's Armoured Corps. They are variants of Chinese Type 90-II tank.

* Nine HQ-16 medium range surface-to-air missile systems with a maximum intercept range of 40 km at a cost of $600 million.

* Four Karakoram Eagle airborne early warning & control aircraft (AWACS) at a cost of $278 million.

From 2011 to 2015, China sold $8.4 billion worth of arms, overtaking long-established arms exporters France ($8 billion) and Germany ($6.7 billion), although it still lags the leaders: the US ($47 billion) and Russia ($36.2 billion).

China's share in the international arms exports market has risen from 3.6 per cent in 2006-10 to 5.9 per centin 2011-15. France's market share has declined from 7.1 per cent to 5.6 per cent and Germany's, from 11 per cent to 4.7 per cent during this period.

The period coincides with China's emergence as a major global power, seeking to challenge US hegemony across various areas and with enough heft to keep India unbalanced, either directly or through Pakistan.

(In arrangement with IndiaSpend.org, a data-driven, non-profit, public interest journalism platform. Abheet Singh Sethi is a Mumbai-based freelance writer and defence analyst. By Abheet Singh Sethi …IANS