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Islamabad Accuses India of Air Strike in Kashmir, Delhi Denies
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öPakistani military spokesman Gen Qureshi pointing towards the area of clashes on a map.
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By
Zafarul-Islam Khan, IOL South Asia Correspondent
NEW
DELHI, Aug 23 (IslamOnline) - Pakistan accused India Friday, August
23, of launching air strikes against a military post in the
Pakistan-administered "Azad Kashmir". The strikes came as a
top U.S. diplomat began a fresh peace mission in the Subcontinent.
Observers are baffled that whenever an American dignitary lands in
India something of this kind takes place.
The
BBC reported today, quoting Pakistani television, that India had
launched an unprovoked air attack in Gultari sector in the northern
part of the Himalayan region of Kashmir Thursday night, August 22,
2002.
Pakistani
military spokesman Major-General Rashid Qureshi told reporters in
Islamabad early today that India had launched a ground assault on a
mountain post in the north of the disputed Himalayan region Thursday
night and suffered heavy casualties.
"The
Indians in their frustration resorted to a highly escalatory act by
bombing the area using the Indian air force," he said, reading
from a written statement. He claimed that Pakistan had suffered no
casualties. The Pakistani spokesman termed it as a "highly
escalatory act."
Qureshi
said Indian planes had conducted between three and five sorties. He
said intermittent fire from the Indian side was continuing today and
that Pakistani troops were under instructions to return fire in
self-defense. Qureshi said the clash occurred in the Gultari sector of
northern Kashmir at an altitude of almost 17,000 feet.
"Whenever
there is a high-profile visit to the Subcontinent...the Indian
government has got into the habit of either going into escalation or
stage-managing an incident," Qureshi claimed. Asked if he feared
an escalation, Qureshi said: "The very act of using the Indian
air force is a highly irresponsible and escalatory act."
India,
however, denied that there had been an "air attack" but
accepted that there had been exchange of artillery fire in the area.
"Pakistani troops opened fire with heavy guns, forcing our troops
to retaliate but there are no casualties on our side," an Indian
defense ministry spokesman said here Friday.
India
and Pakistan have massed a million men along their border since a
December attack on the Indian parliament which New Delhi blamed on
Pakistan-based guerrillas.
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Indian army ready on the borders.
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India
on Friday categorically said that its armed forces had not crossed the
Line of Control (LoC) in Jammu and Kashmir nor had they attacked any
military posts there.
However,
despite world pressure, India has not lowered its rhetoric against
Isalmabad. Only yesterday the strongman of the Indian government,
Deputy Prime Minister LK Advani said that India considers itself
"at war" with Pakistan. "When people ask me 'will there
be a war between India and Pakistan?' they are obviously referring to
a declared war like that which happened in 1971 or 1965. But for
India, we are at war," Advani told Britain's Channel 4
Television. He is visiting UK at present.
Only
a day earlier Indian Foreign Minister Yashwant Sinha had said in
Kathmandu that infiltration and cross-border terrorism were still
continuing in Jammu and Kashmir, therefore there will be no resumption
of dialogue with Pakistan.
Accusing
Pakistan of trying to disturb the forthcoming legislative assembly
elections in Jammu and Kashmir, Foreign Minister Sinha on August 17
ruled out demobilization of troops from the border in the "near
future."
Meanwhile
details of a serious "mini war" between India and Pakistan
are slowly emerging. It is being dubbed as "Kargil II" in
reference to the Kargil war between the two countries three years ago.
According
to the available information "Kargil II" took place in
Kashmir during late July-early August. In the incident, Pakistani
troops are said to have once again infiltrated and occupied heights in
the Neelam Valley. The Indian Army had to mount two missions,
including the use of air power, to evict them. There were casualties
on both sides. U.S. officials seem aware of the incident.
According
to an August 16 report by the official Indian news agency, PTI, nearly
28 Pakistani soldiers were killed when the Indian army counterattacked
to push them back from a feature they had occupied on the LoC in
Machil sector of Gurez area in Jammu and Kashmir. The agency quoted
"highly placed army sources."
According
to the PTI report, Pakistani forces in almost a repeat of the Kargil
operation in 1999, occupied the feature dominating the Neelam Valley
on their side of Pakistan-administered Kashmir taking advantage of
blinding rains and near whiteout conditions.
According
to the report, three Indian soldiers were killed in as a result of
Pakistani artillery fire. Indian army units, which regularly patrolled
the area, could not reach the feature for four days in the first week
of August due to heavy rains and thick mist and on the fifth day when
they ventured near the feature, they came under heavy fire from the
Pakistani forces. Reportedly the Pakistanis had quickly built bunkers
and other defenses atop the feature.
The
Indian army retaliated to the Pakistani intrusion by pounding their
positions with heavy artillery and mortars and wrested back the
feature in two assaults, the report said adding that an inquiry had
been ordered into the episode.
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