Latest world news
Day-long standoff between Indian and Chinese troops in Ladakh resolved after talks
Incident comes a month ahead of Modi-Jinping summit in Mamallapuram, Tamil Nadu
Just a month ahead of the summit meet between Prime Minister Narendra Modi and Chinese President Xi Jinping on October 11-13, Chinese troops yesterday – Wednesday, Sep 11 – stopped an Indian army patrol in Ladakh leading to heated exchanges and a standoff that lasted till evening.
The matter was finally resolved through delegation-level talks, said media reports quoting Army sources.
The incident happened at Pangong lake. China controls two-thirds of the 134km long high altitude lake extending from Tibet to Ladakh.
Indian soldiers were patrolling at the northern bank of Pangong lake on Wednesday morning when they were stopped by Chinese soldiers, according to a report in The Times of India. Soon, the standoff between the two sides started, with both calling in reinforcements and it continued till the evening, the newspaper reported.
“The matter has been de-escalated and disengaged fully after delegation-level talks yesterday. This occurs due to differing perceptions of LAC (Line of Actual Control). There are established mechanisms to resolve such occurrences,” an Army source said.
While the LAC has remained largely peaceful, there has been a pattern of stand-offs ahead of major bilateral visits between the two countries.
The present instance comes ahead of the summit meeting between Modi and Jinping at the historic coastal town of Mamallapuram on the scenic East Coast Road in Tamil Nadu. Modi will host Jinping for two days — October 11 and 13 — in Mamallapuram, according to reports.
Also Read: Delhi Police constable thrashed by bootlegger and his family, accused arrested
Last month, China, whose forces regularly intrude into Ladakh, strongly opposed India’s move to create Ladakh Union Territory. Chinese Foreign Minister Wang Yi told India’s Minister for External Affairs S Jaishankar that the Indian government’s announcement of the establishment of the Ladakh Union Territory, “which involves Chinese territory, has posed a challenge to China’s sovereignty and violated the two countries’ agreement on maintaining peace and stability in the border region”.
The India-China border dispute covers the 3,488 km LAC. China also claims Arunachal Pradesh as part of southern Tibet.
This is not the first time that a standoff has been reported between Indian and Chinese soldiers around Ladakh’s Pangong lake, a site that also draws a lot of tourists.
In August 2017, a video of a standoff between soldiers of the two sides was widely circulated on social media, showing many soldiers from the two countries punching and kicking each other and throwing stones. The incident took place on Independence Day when Chinese troops tried to enter Indian terrain along the banks of Pangong lake, but were stopped by Indian soldiers.
The two-hour-long standoff was brought under control after a drill which sees both sides holding up banners proclaiming their rights over the disputed area before stepping back to their respective positions.
Then also, Brigadier level officers met to try and find a way to bring down tensions in the region, as was done on Wednesday.
Also Read: High Court seeks DU response on rejected nominations for DUSU poll 2019
Earlier the same year, in June 2017, there was a prolonged standoff between Indian and Chinese troops at Dokalam when Indian soldiers crossed the Sikkim border to stop the construction of a Chinese road near the ‘Chicken’s Neck’, a thin strip that links India to its north-eastern states. After more than two months of soldiers from both sides staring down at each other just 150 metres apart, the standoff, described as the worst in decades, subsided with both countries accepting that they were withdrawing their troops. China, according to several reports, proceeded to build a base near the area.
Last week, India and China postponed the next round of border talks under the “special representatives” (SR) mechanism. Top officials from both countries had been expected to meet later this month in New Delhi for the 22nd round of the talks to resolve the long-standing dispute over the 3,488 km border.
The 21st round of the talks took place near the city of Chengdu in southwest China last November.
A solution to the Sino-India border dispute continues to elude the two countries after nearly 45 rounds of talks since 1960.
Latest world news
Suicide bombing near Turkey Parliament building in Ankara, 2 cops injured
Turkey’s main opposition leader Kemal Kilicdaroglu has slammed the attack in Ankara and stated that terrorism is a crime against humanity.
Turkey’s interior minister Ali Yerlikaya on Sunday asserted that two terrorists carried out a bomb attack in front of the ministry buildings in Ankara. He added that one of them died in the explosion and the other was “neutralised” by authorities there.
Earlier, Turkish media reported that an explosion was heard near the parliament and ministerial buildings, and broadcasters showed footage of debris scattered on a street near the Interior Ministry. A footage from Reuters showed soldiers, ambulances, fire trucks and an armoured vehicle gathered near the centre of Turkey’s capital, where the police have blocked multiple key roads.
Taking to social media X, formerly Twitter, Ali Yerlikaya, the interior minister, said that two police officers were slightly injured in the incident at 9:30 a.m. He added that two terrorists came with a light commercial vehicle in front of the entrance gate of the General Directorate of Security of their Ministry of Internal Affairs and carried out a bomb attack.
The interior minister further mentioned that one of the terrorists blew himself up and the other was neutralised, which usually means was killed. He noted that their struggle will continue until the last terrorist is neutralised.
Reports said that Ankara’s chief prosecutor initiated an investigation into what it also called a terrorist attack. Authorities did not identify any specific militant group, as yet.
Meanwhile, Turkey’s main opposition leader Kemal Kilicdaroglu has slammed the attack in Ankara and stated that terrorism is a crime against humanity. The leader of the Republican People’s Party mentioned that no matter from whom and where it came from, they will fight it together as a country and will never give treacherous ambitions a chance.
The concerned authorities in Ankara have cautioned the citizens over suspicious packages and bags that are being detonated in a controlled manner. Ankara Security Directorate asked citizens not to panic.
Latest world news
Balochistan blast: Pakistan alleges India’s involvement in suicide attack, toll rises to 60
Sarfaraz Bugti told media that civil, military and all other institution will jointly strike against the elements involved in the Mastung suicide bombing.
Pakistan interior minister Sarfaraz Bugti in a shocking claim alleged India’s Research and Analysis Wing (RAW) intelligence agency for the suicide blast in Balochistan. The blast that took place on Friday claimed the lives of nearly 60 people, leaving 60 others injured. The Indian government, on the other hand, is yet to make an official statement on Sarfaraz Bugti’s allegations.
The suicide bomb attack targeted a procession which gathered to celebrate Prophet Muhammad’s birthday near the Madina Masjid at a place called Mastung. The blast tore through the mosque in the southern province of Balochistan after the bomber denoted his explosive near a police vehicle where the people gathered for the procession.
Sarfaraz Bugti told media at Quetta that civil, military and all other institution will jointly strike against the elements involved in the Mastung suicide bombing. Without providing much details or evidence, the Pakistan minister claimed that RAW is involved in the suicide attack.
Wasim Baig, the spokesman for Balochistan’s health department, asserted that seven more people had died in hospital since Friday, which had caused the rise in the death toll. He added that more patients remained in critical condition.
In addition, a second attack on Friday at a mosque in northern Khyber Pakhtunkhwa had killed nearly five people. Police on Saturday lodged a report to initiate an investigation, mentioning that they had sent DNA from the suicide bomb attacker to be analysed.
So far, no group has claimed responsibility for either attack. A surge in terror attacks in Pakistan’s western provinces has cast a shadow on preparations and public campaigning in the run-up to January’s general elections, but until now the attacks had mostly targeted security forces.
The Pakistani Taliban (TTP), which is responsible for some of the bloodiest attacks in Pakistan since the group’s formation in 2007, denied responsibility for Friday’s blasts. On Saturday, a statement from the Counter-Terrorism Department (CTD) said that an FIR with murder charges and terrorism offences has been registered against an unidentified attacker.
The caretaker government of Balochistan announced three days of mourning in the wake of the attack.
Latest world news
Former Pakistan Prime Minister Imran Khan, Mahmood Qureshi held guilty in cipher case
The PTI leaders’ trial has been requested by the FIA, and it is expected that they would be sentenced in accordance with the law.
Former Pakistan Prime Minister Imran Khan and former foreign minister Shah Mahmood Qureshi were found guilty on Saturday by Pakistan’s top investigating agency in the cypher case, a case involving the alleged exposure of state secrets.
The charge sheet against Khan, the Tehreek-e-Insaf party chairman, and Qureshi, who are both presently being held in custody on judicial remand, was submitted by the Federal Investigation Agency (FIA) to a special court set up under the Official Secrets Act, according to the Pakistan Observer website.
Imran Khan, 70, was detained last month following the filing of a complaint against him for allegedly breaking the Official Secrets Act by revealing a covert diplomatic cable (cypher) issued by the nation’s embassy in Washington last year in March.
The PTI leaders’ trial has been requested by the FIA, and it is expected that they would be sentenced in accordance with the law.
The vice chairman of PTI is 75-year-old Shah Mahmood Qureshi. Asad Umar, the former general secretary of the PTI, is not on the FIA’s list of suspects, but former principal secretary Azam Khan has been portrayed as a key witness in the FIA’s case against Imran Khan, according to GeoTV, a well-known news outlet. The challan also contains Azam Khan’s statement recorded under sections 161 and 164.
The speeches by Shah Mahmood Qureshi and Imran Khan from March 27 are also included in the FIA’s attachment.
The Pakistan Observer further noted that the FIA had provided the court with a list of 28 witnesses in addition to the charge sheet. According to the report, the list of witnesses includes names such as current foreign secretary Asad Majid, previous foreign secretary Sohail Mahmood, and additional foreign secretary Faisal Niaz Tirmizi.
Imran Khan had been imprisoned on remand three times earlier on September 26. Along with Qureshi, his judicial remand was initially extended until September 13 and then again until September 26.
The former PM was transferred from Attock prison to the Adiala Jail in Rawalpindi on the same day, one day after the Islamabad High Court instructed authorities to do so.
