Pakistan Defense Minister: Indian Incursion Is Imminent
Defense Minister Khawaja Muhammad Asif said Pakistan was bolstering reinforcements after its military briefed the government on the potential of an attack (Reuters)
The United States is urging India and Pakistan to work toward a “responsible solution” after India publicly blamed Pakistan for an attack last week in Kashmir, a State Department spokesperson said (Reuters)
Additionally, China backed calls for an independent probe into the recent attack, while urging both Pakistan and India to “exercise restraint” and avoid an escalation of bilateral tensions (DW)
Indian Navy Conducts Missile Test
Both countries have escalated their rheotric since the attack in Kashmir last week: Indian Prime Minister stated his citizens’ blood was “on the boil,” while Pakistan’s railway minister said his country’s nuclear arsenal was not kept as “models” (Guardian)
Indian Army Chief Visits Kashmir
The head of India’s armed forces is visiting the site of Tuesday’s attack in India-administered Kashmir today (Reuters)
Indian and Pakistani troops exchanged fire in Kashmir today for the first time since the COVID-19 pandemic, unnamed Indian officials said; Pakistan’s foreign ministry declined to comment (Bloomberg)
Pakistan Responds to India’s Dowgrading of Ties
Pakistan responded with countermeasures today, calling India’s blame “frivolous [and] devoid of rationality” (Dawn)
Islamabad will close its airspace for Indian owned or operated airlines, declare Indian military advisors in Pakistan persona non grata, suspend bilateral trade and visa-free travel, and close its side of a border post, the prime minister’s office said (Hindustan Times) After India announced it would suspend the Indus Water Treaty, the Pakistani government said that any attempt to block or divert the flow of water amounted to “an act of war” (NYT)
Indian police released sketches of three people suspected of involvement in the attack, saying two are Pakistani nationals and one is a Kashmiri resident (Reuters;Al Jazeera)
India Downgrades Ties With Pakistan After Terrorist Attack in Kashmir
India’s foreign secretary, Vikram Misri, said the attack had “cross-border” links to Pakistan, and Indian police said they believed Pakistan-based group Lashkar-e-Taiba was responsible; media outlets were not immediately able to independently verify responsibility (NYT;NDTV)
New Delhi announced the closure of the Attari border checkpoint, which serves as a primary border crossing between India and Pakistan; India also announced that it would suspend the Indus Waters Treaty, which delineated water distribution of the Indus river system (Reuters)
Furthermore, India’s Foreign Ministry announced that it would no longer permit Pakistani nationals to enter India with special visa exemption status, which was established as a program within the South Asian Association for Regional Cooperation (SAARC) (Al Jazeera)
Militants Kills Over Twenty-Six Tourists in Kashmir
The attack in the Indian-administered Baisaran Valley, a popular tourist destination, was the deadliest attack the territory has experienced in decades (Times of India)
Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi condemned it as a terror attack and cut short a trip to Saudi Arabia to return to India (NYT)
The “Kashmir Resistance,” a lesser-known militant group in the region, claimed responsibility for the attack on social media (Reuters)
Indian and Pakistani Security Forces Exchange Fire Near Line of Control
The Indian army stated that Pakistani soldiers set off a mine explosion after reportedly encroaching across the Line of Control, triggering the exchange between parties (DW)
Gunfight in Jammu and Kashmir Kills Four Indian Policemen and Two Militants
The Indian military stated that the Indian security forces were investigating reports of armed rebels in Kathua, near the India-Pakistan border when the deadly clash broke out (Reuters)
Prime Minister Modi Calls Pakistan the “Epicenter of Turmoil” in Interview
Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi criticized Pakistan’s lack of cooperation and willingness to foster peace between the two countries; in the same interview, Modi praised U.S. President Donald Trump’s vision for the United States and praised the “sense of mutual trust” between the two leaders (Independent)
Pakistani Military Places Death Toll of Balochistan Train Hijacking at Thirty-One
A Pakistani army spokesperson stated that the Balochistan Liberation Army (BLA) militants killed twenty-five off-duty soldiers, five passengers, and three railway staff (Reuters)
Meanwhile, Islamabad claimed that the BLA militants communicated with “ring leaders in Afghanistan” and that India sponsored the attack; both Kabul and New Delhi rejected these claims (Al Jazeera)
India Announces First Hypersonic Missile Test
India joins a small group of countries, including the United States, China, and Russia, that have tested such a weapon; the defense minister said it was launched from an island off India’s east coast on Saturday (Times of India)
Lawmakers in Indian Kashmir Pass Resolution Calling for Return to Special Status
A new local legislature took office last month in India-administered Kashmir; it is led by parties backing the region’s return to its previous semiautonomous status (AP)
The Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP), which rules India nationally, was the only party in the Kashmir legislature to oppose the nonbinding resolution; a change in the region’s status would still be subject to approval by its New Delhi-appointed lieutenant governor (Indian Express)
Unidentified Militants Throw Grenade Toward Security Forces in India-Administered Kashmir
The attack at a flea market injured at least eleven people, an unnamed local official told Reuters; Indian troops in the area killed a senior commander of militant Islamist group Lashkar-e-Taiba the previous day (Reuters)
Indian Foreign Minister Makes Rare Visit to Pakistan for SCO Summit
Subrahmanyam Jaishankar’s visit marks the first in almost a decade of icy relations between India and Pakistan, but the two countries have not planned a bilateral meeting (Economic Times)
The Shanghai Cooperation Organization (SCO) annual leaders summit began in Islamabad as the city is under strict security lockdown while high-profile diplomats visit; violence in Pakistan has been on the rise recently, especially toward Chinese nationals (Reuters)
India’s Kashmir Elects Party Seeking Return of Special Status, BJP Wins Haryana Vote
In Jammu and Kashmir’s first local election since the stripping of its semiautonomous status in 2019, the region chose the largest party that openly called for a return to its special status (AP)
India’s Foreign Minister Refuses to Discuss Bilateral Relations With Pakistan
Subrahmanyam Jaishankar’s statement comes ahead of the 2024 Shanghai Cooperation Organization (SCO), where ten Central Asian states, including Pakistan and India, will meet to discuss regional multilateral diplomacy (Al Jazeera)
Modi Promises Statehood for Jammu and Kashmir
As campaigning in the Jammu and Kashmir region draws to a close, Prime Minister Narendra Modi echoed other parties in saying he would restore statehood to the region; his government stripped the region of its semiautonomous status in 2019, transforming it into a territory run by the national government (PTI)
Foreign Diplomats To Monitor Polling in Jammu and Kashmir
The Indian government is hosting a delegation of fifteen foreign diplomats from embassies in New Delhi to observe the ongoing elections in Jammu and Kashmir over the next couple of days; it’s the region’s first vote since New Delhi stripped the region of its semiautonomous status in 2019 (NDTV)
India’s Jammu and Kashmir Holds First Local Election Since Losing Special Status
Voters headed to the polls today for the first time since the Indian government stripped the region of its semi-autonomous status in 2019; parties vying for support in the elections include groups that want to restore that status, against India’s governing and main opposition party (Reuters)
Voting will roll out in phases with the final count due on October (NDTV)
Protestors Block Roads in Indian State Where Trainee Doctor Was Killed
India’s ruling party called for yesterday’s demonstrations in the state of West Bengal, where it is in the opposition; a trainee doctor was raped and murdered at a government hospital there earlier this month (Reuters)
The state’s chief minister resolved to advance a bill giving the death penalty to those convicted of rape (The Hindu)
India’s Modi Holds Separate Calls with Biden, Putin
Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi discussed the war in Ukraine in separate calls yesterday and today with U.S. President Joe Biden and Russian President Vladimir Putin; these one-on-ones followed his visit to Ukraine last week (Bloomberg)
Modi “expressed full support for early return of peace and stability” to Biden, a readout from India said; the White House readout said both leaders support “a peaceful resolution of the conflict in accordance with international law, on the basis of the UN Charter” (Hindustan Times)
Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi Begins Visit to Jammu and Kashmir
Modi said that recent terrorist attacks in the region have been taken “very seriously” and that his government “will not hesitate” to teach a lesson to the enemies of Jammu and Kashmir, appearing to refer to Pakistan (Hindustan Times)
New Delhi Lieutenant Governor Granted Permission to Prosecute Author Arundhati Roy
Roy’s lawyer said the case, which was over comments she made about the disputed region of Kashmir at a 2010 event, “is political in nature” and that her comments did not lead to violence or unlawful activity (PTI,WaPo)
Militant Attack on Hindu Pilgrimage in Kashmir Kills Nine
Suspected militants killed nine people and injured thirty-three today after opening fire at a bus carrying Hindu pilgrims in Kashmir; the ambush caused the bus to fall into a deep gorge in Jammu province’s Reasi district (AP)
Pakistan PM Issues Statement on Indian Election Results
Pakistani Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif congratulated recently re-elected Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi today on X, Pakistan’s first response to India’s election results (Reuters)