Bharat Rakshak

Amid the current unrest in the valley, Beijing has also invited Kashmiri separatist leaders for talks and offered itself as a mediator, ostensibly in a tit-for-tat for India's refuge for the Dalai Lama. Yet China is actually the third party to the dispute in Jammu and Kashmir (J&K). While India holds about 45% of J&K territory and Pakistan controls 35%, China occupies about 20% (including Aksai Chin and the Shaksgam Valley, ceded by Pakistan to China in 1963).

The denial of a visa in July 2010 to the Indian Army's Northern Commander, General B S Jaswal – who was to lead the fourth bilateral defense dialogue in Beijing – because he commanded "a disputed area, Jammu and Kashmir", was said to be the last straw.

Consequently, a new chill has descended on Sino-Indian relations. India retaliated by suspending defense exchanges with China and lodging a formal protest. New Delhi sees these moves as part of a new Chinese strategy with respect to Kashmir that seeks to nix its global ambitions and entangle India to prevent it from playing a role beyond the region. Prime Minister Manmohan Singh told Indian media: "Beijing could be tempted to use India's 'soft underbelly', Kashmir, and Pakistan to keep India in 'low-level equilibrium'."

Pratyush wrote:^^^ Fine Idea that will just trigger WWIII. The better Idea will be to plot and execute the unraveling of the TSP. Thereby removing the state backing for the non state actors. That in turn will open up the region the POK for us.

JMT.

Juggi G wrote:
If Pakistan Splinters...

If Pakistan Splinters...
2010-10-20
Bharat Verma

The Chinese will suffer a major setback if dysfunctional Pakistan splinters in the near future.

Many Malaysian Muslims will hasten to tell you that their country should not be compared with Pakistan. When introducing themselves, migrant Muslims in West Asia (Middle East) take pains to assert that they are Muslims from India and not Pakistan.

Serious contradictions within Pakistan have pushed it into the pit of despair, from where it is almost impossible to climb out. It is reported that many young Pakistanis out of sheer frustration are repudiating Islam and converting to other religions.

Perhaps, the majority of Pakistan's dominant community, the Punjabi Sunni Muslims living in their isolated world of self-destruction, do not realize the damage they are doing to Islam. Perhaps, they are blind to the fact that Pakistan appears to be hurtling towards self-destruction.

Beijing treats Pakistan as an extension of its war machine and a surrogate colony. The likely breakup of Pakistan in the near future will stall expanding Chinese footprints.

An impaired or divided Pakistan is a cause of deep worry for Beijing, since Islamabad's capability to tie-down India by launching terrorist attacks will also suffer.

If Pakistan splinters, there will be enormous gains for India. Pakistan-occupied Kashmir will return to the Indian fold and peace will prevail.

This is the singular reason for the Chinese to move their troops into Gilgit Baltistan, the northern areas of PoK. The strategy is two-fold.

First, to occupy or gain influence over as much occupied Indian Territory as possible, in case Pakistan breaks up.

Second, to keep up the pressure on Indian borders since Pakistan is no position to do the same given its present internal disarray.

Further, China does not want India to be emboldened to mount an attack on Pakistan, which is already gasping for oxygen.

With the break-up of Pakistan, ISI activities like export of fake Indian currency and infiltration of terrorists through Nepal will cease. Anti-India rabble rousing by ISI inspired elements in Bangladesh will no longer be possible.

The Union of India's consolidation and integration as a nation will get a new fillip, as the distraction created by Pakistan in the name of religion is eliminated.

India then will be able to concentrate on the principal threat posed by China.

A Fragmented Pakistan will lessen the heavy financial burden placed on India's economy with drastic reduction in the security apparatus. This will enable young India to make rapid economic strides that can outpace ageing China in a short span of time.

Similarly, colossal gains accrue to the West if Pakistan splinters.

The West, led by America, is losing the plot in Afghanistan because the problem is the Pakistan Army and its Irregular Forces led by General Kayani. Washington was forced to admit this worst kept secret recently, when its supply routes to Afghanistan were snapped by GHQ Rawalpindi and NATO convoys carrying fuel to Afghanistan were conveniently torched by the ISI controlled Ghost Army of Jihad with impunity.

American attempts to unhook Pakistan from China will continue to fail despite dangling the carrot of modern weapons and technology, as Islamabad's strategic dependency on Beijing is now irreversible.

The 'real estate' of Pakistan was created so that the West could monitor and manipulate the former Soviet Union, China and India.

However, if Pakistan falls apart, Sind, which has very strong democratic yearning, is certain to chart its own independent path, but in consonance with Indian value system.

Independent Baluchistan with its rich resources will be definitely against the Chinese, who are exploiting its resources in conjunction with Islamabad. Denial of Gwadar port will preclude Chinese navy from the warm waters of Indian Ocean and direct access to West Asia.

Afghanistan will gradually witness unhindered growth of democracy; the spoilers Pakistan Army and the ISI would have disappeared.

Therefore, democracies will find many friendly places to operate from and access the resources of Central Asia to the mutual benefit of all players.

The biggest gain for the democracies will be that China's expanding authoritarian influence will be sharply curtailed. Also the Jihad fervor being orchestrated in this part of the world by the Punjabi Sunnis will die a natural death due to fatigue and lack of resources.

The spread of two authoritarian streams, Chinese communism and the Islamic fundamentalism, in combination or otherwise, threaten the survival of democracies in Asia.

If Pakistan splinters, one of the threats will be substantially neutralised.

This in turn will make Central Asia, where Pakistan aims to attain strategic depth with the help of Islamic fundamentalists, a safer place

If Pakistan splinters, Xinjiang in China will face renewed instability, and the Chinese flank in occupied Tibet will come under severe pressure.

With independent Sind and Baluchistan, the Chinese supply lines from Gwadar would also get blocked. This will force China to revert to 'peaceful rise' instead of laying claim on territory or islands of other nations.

The power of the Shias will increase, thus creating a balance with some of the Sunni sects that are mainly responsible for terrorist acts worldwide. Two successive British Prime Ministers have stated that Pakistan accounts for 75 percent of all such acts.

If Pakistan splinters, this percentage will drop dramatically.

Most remarks on Pakistan are often prefaced by: "Just like you Indians cannot live with Pakistan..."

This premise is false. An average Indian can live with Pakistan, as long as Islamabad does not interfere in internal affairs or connive against India. It is irrelevant whether India talks, trades or maintains diplomatic relationship with Pakistan; the growth of the Indian economy or the growing status of India is not even remotely connected with failure or success of Islamabad.

The 'Pakistan Story' failed because of the inherent flaws in the values professed and not because of Kashmir.

The 'Indian Story' shows success because of its belief in secular democratic values.

The truth, therefore, is that 'Pakistan cannot live with India.' The converse is absolutely preposterous.

If Pakistan splinters, it will hit the biggest stakeholder and benefactor China.

In order to safeguard its strategic interests, Beijing will make every endeavour to prevent the breakup of Pakistan, even to the extent of military intervention in support of the Pakistan Army.

If Pakistan splinters, forces led by US President Barak Obama will win. On the contrary, if China is successful in its intervention, authoritarian regimes will hold sway in Asia.

Who wins the great game in Asia, will depend on the finesse with which the cards are dealt by the contending sides.

Bharat Verma, a former Cavalry Officer is Editor, Indian Defence Review.
He frequently appears on television as a commentator, and is the author of Fault Lines and The Indian Armed Forces

The Northern Areas, illegally occupied by Pakistan, has been renamed Gilgit-Baltistan. This region is of great strategic importance to India. It borders Afghanistan and is legally a part of India, but our decision-makers have been ignoring it. In the 20th century, the British were alive to its importance in the context of the threat from Czarist Russia, and after the 1917 Revolution from the Soviet Union. Current reports of an increased Chinese military presence in Gilgit are a cause of grave concern.

The British had a political agent at Gilgit and later obtained a lease to administer the area. As Independence approached, the lease was terminated and Gilgit reverted to Jammu and Kashmir. Brigadier Ghansara Singh of the state Army took over as governor of Gilgit from the British political agent, Colonel Beacon, on August 1, 1947. Major Brown, commanding the Gilgit Scouts, staged a military coup at Gilgit, surrounding the residence of the governor on November 1, 1947. Brig. Ghansara Singh was forced to surrender and the Pakistan flag was hoisted in Gilgit. Pakistan got its first taste of a military coup. The non-Muslim troops of the Maharaja’s Army took refuge in Skardu fort along with a large number of Hindu and Sikh refugees. Col. Shahmsher Jung Thapa was commanding the garrison. On November 1, 1947, when this coup took place, Pakistani forces had advanced to the outskirts of Srinagar. With our backs to the wall, we were preparing to launch an offensive to throw them out of the Valley. Our resources were slender in the Valley and could not be reinforced in the winter.

The grass airfield at Srinagar would soon become unusable after snowfall and the road across Banihal pass was blocked with snow. There was then no tunnel at Banihal. We were in no position to do anything about Gilgit. When the snow melted and the road and air communications were restored, we reinforced our strength in the Valley. Our summer offensive was launched with the main thrust to Muzaffarabad. Gurais Valley was secured in the north to guard against the threat from Gilgit and Sonamarg in the East against the threat from Kargil, then under Pakistani occupation. The relief of Skardu was to be carried out subsequently.

Our summer offensive achieved reasonable success with the capture of Tithwal, tantalisingly close to Muzaffarabad. On the appeal of the UN to both India and Pakistan, our offensive was suspended in June 1948. The Skardu garrison held out heroically for six months. Unfortunately, we did not then have transport aircraft with pressurised cabins, needed for flying at 20,000 feet, to carry out air drops at Skardu. By August 1948, food ran out in Skardu, which had a large civilian population that had taken shelter there.

We had to most reluctantly order the Skardu garrison to surrender. On August 14, 1948, Col. Thapa had to raise the white flag. The enemy massacred Hindus and Sikhs. By September they captured Kargil and advanced to Ladakh, threatening Leh. After two unsuccessful attempts we managed to break through the Zoji-la heights, establishing a world record by using tanks at such high altitude. We captured Kargil and advanced another 200 miles to secure Leh. Soon the ceasefire came into force and Gilgit Baltistan remained under Pakistan occupation.

Pakistan has been assiduously promoting two myths. First, Gilgit was liberated by an indigenous freedom movement against the tyrannical rule of the Maharaja and the people joined Pakistan of their free will. Second, Gilgit-Baltistan was never a part of J&K. Pakistan detached Gilgit-Baltistan from Pakistan-occupied Kashmir and denied its people basic political rights. They still cannot vote for the Pakistan Parliament.

All the top government positions are held by Pakistanis who get special allowances for serving in the region, as the British officers got in India.

The council, recently designated an Assembly, has a nominated chairman known as the chief executive officer with a local deputy elected on a very limited franchise. Eighty-five per cent of the people in the region are Shias and are subjected to ethnic and sectarian violence. There has been a prolonged agitation in the region against anti-Shia school textbooks and the government settling Punjabis and Pathans to alter the region’s demographic profile. Interestingly, members of the United Gilgit-Baltistan movement recently complained that India has not been doing anything for them and they want reservation of seats in Indian educational institutions for students from their region!

Although New Delhi maintains the whole of J&K is an integral part of India, we have been indifferent to the travails of the people of Gilgit-Baltistan.

In March 1953, Pakistan gifted 5,000 sq. km of territory in Shansgam Valley to China. The Karakoram Highway through this region provides a road link between China and Pakistan.

In the present crisis, we can no longer remain indifferent to Gilgit-Baltistan. Simultaneously, we need to build our military muscle to deter military adventurism against us by either China or Pakistan. Belatedly, some efforts are now being made. This must be completed on a war footing to safeguard our national interests.

A rail link is now under construction from Tibet to join the Pakistan rail network and connect to Gwadar port. Permanent military barracks have been constructed for increasing numbers of Chinese troops. This region is an important link in China’s String of Pearls strategy to contain India. In 2005, we agreed to the opening of the Srinagar-Muzaffarabad road. As governor of J&K, in my Republic Day address that year I had urged the opening of the Kargil-Skardu road. Musharraf had allowed a PoK delegation led by a former chief justice to visit Srinagar. This included four members from Gilgit. These four called on me and thanked me for taking up the opening of the Kargil-Skardu road. They wanted their visas extended to enable them to visit Kargil because, they said, they had a deep attachment for the people of Kargil. I arranged for them to visit Kargil. They also mentioned their local problems. Baroness Emma Nicholson, a member of the European Union Parliament, was deputed to prepare a report on Kashmir. She visited PoK, Gilgit-Baltistan and Indian-administered Kashmir. I had a long discussion with her in Srinagar. In her report she praised the functioning of democracy in Indian-administered Kashmir, criticised the lack of it in PoK and its total absence in Gilgit-Baltistan. Pakistan tried to scuttle this report but the European Parliament passed it by over 400 votes, with only nine votes against it.

In the present crisis, we can no longer remain indifferent to Gilgit-Baltistan. Simultaneously, we need to build our military muscle to deter military adventurism against us by either China or Pakistan. Belatedly, some efforts are now being made. This must be completed on a war footing to safeguard our national interests.

- The author, a retired lieutenant-general, was
Vice-Chief of Army Staff and has served as governor of Assam and Jammu and Kashmir.

Chitral-Tajikistan road first survey completed..... Salim Khan

From Our Correspondent

CHITRAL : NWFP Minister for Population welfare, Saleem Khan has disclosed that a survey of Tajikistan Road from Chitral to Afghan boarder has been completed which has declared Lotkoh valley of district Chitral as the most feasible, suitable and safest place for the proposed Tajikistan Road expressing the hope that work on the project would be started during the reign of the present government of PPP.

-Excerpt- Arbab said that 220 kilometres long Pakistan-Tajikistan Road would be the shortest route between the two countries and include a five-kilometre tunnel at Dorrah Pass on the Pak-Afghan border. He said that Prince Karim Aga Khan had been taking personal interest in the construction of the road and had also indicated to extend financial support in this regard.

Pratyush wrote:^^^ Whether it is POK or COK, it is Indian land under Illeagle occupation by India's enemies. The position of India will not change regardless of who cotrols them.

It will be interesting to see if the GOI will try to physicaly tke over the land in case of TSP collapse.

ashokpachori wrote:Omar asks BJP not to hoist flag in Srinagar


Have not we seen Pakistani flags in each and every nukad of India?

http://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/indi ... 222368.cms

Pakistan should be expected to enter a watershed period of transformation in 2011, with this dynamic having significant ramifications for the coalition’s conflict against the Taliban, as well as for the strategic balance between the People’s Republic of China (PRC) and India. In essence, Pakistan will be dominated by its geopolitical essence: as the key bridge between the Indian Ocean, Central Asia and the PRC.

At the same time, the visit to Pakistan by Chinese Premier Wen Jiabao on 16 December highlighted the reality that Beijing now feels that the US 'primacy' in Pakistan's strategic posture has effectively begun to erode, and that it is now time for the PRC to be seen for what it is: Pakistan's most stable and significant strategic ally.

The growing move toward a critical mass in the overall Eurasian landmass of a trading (and therefore geostrategic) patterns dominated by the Shanghai Cooperation Organization (SCO) states linking the Great Black Sea Basin (GBSB) region and Russia to Western European and Mediterranean markets. In this framework, India will be substantially marginalized and Pakistan will be the 'bridge' used by the PRC to sustain this dynamic, ultimately adding to India's historical focus against Pakistan up to and possibly including moves toward consideration of military options;

The signing on 15 December of the TAPI (Turkmenistan, Afghanistan, Pakistan and India) pipeline agreement by the governments of Turkmenistan, Afghanistan, Pakistan and India was an attempt to begin to redress the difficulty which India, in particular, has had in accessing Central Asian energy resources. Significantly, the gas for the TAPI pipeline is projected to come from south-eastern fields under concessions to Chinese companies, and TAPI is proposed to include a major pipeline from Quetta to Gwadar, in Pakistani Baluchistan- thus feeding the PRC market. Whether the Mutlan-New Delhi portion of the pipeline is ever built is very much an open question, but the PRC's interests will be addressed as a priority. From India's standpoint, the 1,700km pipeline would take gas from Turkmenistan's Daulatabad Field, through Afghanistan, to Multan in Pakistan, and then on to the Indian township of Fazilka.

The impact of the 2010 flooding in Pakistan which will see dramatically reduced food and agricultural output in Pakistan in 2011, leading to an exacerbation of economic and political problems, internal schisms along communal lines, and greater pressures on the Pakistan Armed Forces to sustain the infrastructural skeleton of the nation in the absence of other institutions.

The reality is that while the US has been Pakistan's most visible strategic partner in an unstable cycle of peaks and troughs since the mid-20th Century, the PRC has been the power which has consistently provided Pakistan with backing. This, both with regard to the growing necessity of the PRC to constrain India into a corner of Eurasia and with regard to the growing ability of the PRC to provide economic and military aid of very real substance to Pakistan, has reached a transformative stage. In other words, the PRC not only has the absolute need to regard Pakistan as its vital bridge to the Indian Ocean and the Middle East and its Great Wall Against India, it finally has the ability to drive this reality through economic and political power;

Moreover, the transformed security situation in Afghanistan, compounded by the speed with which the coalition is moving to "declare victory and go home", will exacerbate cross-border security concerns between Pakistan and Afghanistan and further encourage Afghan refugee flows into Pakistan, exacerbating Pakistan's economic, social and security concerns;

The PRC can be expected to move strongly in 2011 to help boost Pakistan's economic and industrial situation, bearing in mind that until the 2010 floods and the 2010 tribal unrest Pakistan's economic growth was impressive, albeit offset by its high population and urbanization growth rates.

All of these factors - and many more - warrant detailed expansion and show that 2011 will be a watershed year for Pakistan. It may also be a watershed year for India, given that the Indian government itself must come to grips with the reality that failure to break into the new Great Silk Route network of the Eurasian landmass will render China's strategic leadership unbeatable within a short span of years.

As noted, it is significant that the PRC relationship with Pakistan remains critical, and it is this - not the US-Pakistan relationship - which effectively ensures Pakistan's security against India. As if to confirm this, US President Barack Obama indicated on 16 December that the US-Pakistani relationship would deteriorate in 2011 because Washington blames the US failure in Afghanistan on Pakistan's reluctance to invade the Pushtun and Baluchi lands in order to close down Taliban sanctuaries.

Meanwhile, Pakistan is the great impediment to India in gaining overland access to Central Asia and to be a major participant in the revived 'Great Silk Route' wealth of energy and other trade within and across the entire Eurasian landmass. As this writer has noted, India, if it fails to gain land access to Central Asia, will be forced to rely on being an Indian Ocean (and perhaps Pacific) sea power: "Given the rise of the Eurasian landmass and its internal lines of communications, the Indian Ocean itself will become the dynamic ocean of the 21st Century, an inland sea linking Eurasia with the resources and markets of Africa and Australia. How India plays in this game - as a Mahanist sea power or Mackinderish heartland [power] - will be significant."

The immediate outlook for Pakistan, then, is a period of great challenges, and possible turmoil, with the end of yet another round of close US-Pakistan strategic relations, and the real emergence of support and investment from China. This will be a watershed year for Pakistan.

krisna wrote:Forecast 2011: Conflict Hotspots, Watershed Year for Pakistan

Pakistan has, in recent years, been the country which has had the world's highest level of overall population growth, coupled with the highest level of urban population growth. At the same time, it had, in fact, enjoyed one of the most impressive growths in agricultural output in the world,

Army chief briefs PM on China’s role in POK

May 09, 2011 8:55:54 PM

Rahul Datta/Mohit Kandhari | New Delhi/Jammu

Alarmed at the increasing Pakistan-China nexus, which has seen growing presence of Chinese security forces in Pakistan Occupied Kashmir, Army Chief General VK Singh has taken up the matter with Prime Minister Manmohan Singh.

In a detailed presentation, the Army chief has apprised the Prime Minister of the ground situation and its implications for Indian security. Gen Singh visited Leh a few days ago to take stock of the situation.

Disclosing this here, sources said the 750-km-long LoC is a disputed boundary between India and Pakistan. China, over the past few years, has increased its presence in POK, thereby effectively forming a military nexus with Pakistan and coming close to the LoC and posing a possible threat to Indian security interests.

Given this background, the Army chief visited Leh early last week to take first hand account of the ground situation and review operational preparedness before meeting the Prime Minister.

Sources said Gen Singh urged the political leadership to speed up the process of modernisation of the armed forces, besides improving infrastructure — including roads and airstrips — in the strategically important region of Jammu & Kashmir.

In fact, the first caution was sounded over the increasing Chinese footprint close to the LoC by Northern Command chief Lt General KT Parnaik in a seminar in Jammu last month. Expressing concern over the emerging scenario, he had said, “China is actually present and stationed on the LoC and it facilitates Pakistan armed forces to complement China’s military operations. Its footprints are too close to India and this presence of China in PoK has to be taken seriously.”

The senior Army officer had also made mention of the fact that China had gained a substantial foothold in Gilgit and Baltistan by infrastructure development and its considerably increasing presence, lends strength to China-Pak nexus which is of great security concern to India.

‘China has also strengthened its presence by building sea links and the increased Chinese presence around India is jeopardising the strategic interests of the country,’ Parnaik said while speaking in a seminar on ‘Pakistan-Occupied-Kashmir Internal Dynamics and Externalities’ at University of Jammu.

The Army Commander said China had made inroads around India thus posing substantial challenges not only along the China-Indian border but also along the Line of Control (LoC).

He said ‘a great game is being played by Chinese expansionism and by mushrooming terror networks,’ adding that it was imperative to take control of the situation in Jammu and Kashmir and find a viable solution to internal problems of the State without interference from Pakistan.

The Northern Command chief said ‘unless overt and covert interference of Pakistan is neutralised, no political or economic solution will be implemented.’ He also said Pakistan having ceded trans-Karakoram part of Gilgit and Baltistan to China in 1963, Karakoram highway was built to link Pakistan with China.

India should be assertive and proactive to claim the strategically vital parts of Kashmir 'illegally' occupied by Pakistan where China has increased its footprints leading to fears that Beijing may take over the territory by 2020, according to a report.

The report by New Delhi think tank Institute of Defence Studies and Analysis says China's growing footprint in the region had added another strategic dimension to the discourse on the territory that includes Northern Areas, also called Gilgit Baltistan and Azad Jammu and Kashmir.

"These realities are certain to impinge on India's long-term security interests and therefore it is incumbent upon Indian policy makers to adopt a pro-active approach towards PoK (Pakistan-occupied Kashmir) which is an integral part of India," it says.

The report alleges that the Karakoram Highway (KKH) connecting Pakistan with China through Pakistani Kashmir has been used for the clandestine transfer of nuclear material from Beijing to Islamabad.

"That this has multiple strategic implications for regional security, especially that of India, has been underscored," it states.

The 1,280-km-long highway connects Havelian rail-head near Abbottabad in Pakistan with Kashgar in Xinjiang region of China. It was built in 1978 with Chinese assistance.

Detailing Chinese developmental projects in Pakistani Kashmir, the report says Chinese companies were working on a number of hydel projects, including Neelum-Jhelum, Gomal Zam and the reconstruction of Mangla dam.

The report citing Pakistan media alleges that the joint power projects signed between China and Pakistan during President Asif Ali Zardari's visit in 2009 were 'not transparent' as 'often Chinese companies were awarded contracts without open bidding'.

Sushupti wrote:‘India should reserve IIT, IIM seats for Pakistani Kashmiris’

NEW DELHI: Indian intelligence agencies now have credible evidence of their own that several hundred of the Chinese working in Pakistan-occupied Kashmir are People's Liberation Army engineers. They are in the process of verifying if these Chinese military engineers are engaged in some sort of military construction like bunkers.

The startling confirmation that hundreds of Chinese military engineers are in PoK has come against the stout official denial by China that its military was not present on the Pakistan side of Kashmir. In the past, US intelligence has told India about Chinese military presence in PoK.

The Chinese are involved in hydel projects, realignment of Karakoram highway etc in PoK. Presence of Chinese military engineers in civilian construction activities undertaken by China in foreign countries is "unusual", a source said. "They couldn't be there just for civilian work," he pointed out.

Sources said the inputs about Chinese military presence in PoK was part of an assessment presented by the Indian Army top brass to Prime Minister Manmohan Singh, defence minister A K Antony and other senior officials a few weeks ago.

Army leadership is believed to have pointed out the significant gap in the military capabilities of India and China, especially along the Line of Actual Control (LAC) between the two countries. The stark differences in the logistical capabilities such as roads and air links along the border between the two armies were pointed out to the leadership. But most importantly, Army told the political leadership that the Chinese were capable of deploying some three dozen divisions, against India's less than a dozen divisions, along the LAC in case of hostilities.

The Army leadership is believed to have pointed out the massive air force and ground force capabilities Chinese possess in the regions along the Indian border, while urging the government to step up its own efforts to pull up development of infrastructure.

Indian infrastructure development, almost fully stalled for three decades since the 1962 war, was revived only a few years ago. Even those projects — primarily building road links close the border and reviving abandoned airfields — have run into various issues.

On the military front, while the Army is raising two divisions, IAF has deployed Sukhoi-30s closer to the Chinese border. An Army demand for raising a dedicated mountain strike corps for the China border is yet to be approved by the government.

Army leadership pointed out that the PLA was capable of swift mobilization of troops from other parts of the country, and can sustain half-a-million troops along the border for several weeks. All these capabilities, and India's own deficiencies, could lead to Chinese being more assertive, both on border and diplomatic issues, some believe.

Johann wrote:

Sushupti wrote:‘India should reserve IIT, IIM seats for Pakistani Kashmiris’

This is a smart move that a lot of countries do when they want to make their claims about people, not just territory.

- Include Muzzafarabad/Gilgit/Skardu in TV weather reports