India - Pakistan Diplomatic Ties

India, Pakistan exchange lists of nuke installations, civilian prisoners​

Notwithstanding tensions in bilateral ties, India and Pakistan today exchanged through diplomatic channels the lists of nuclear installations and facilities as well as civilian prisoners and fishermen in their custody.

The lists were exchanged simultaneously in New Delhi and Islamabad, the Ministry of External Affairs (MEA) said.

The lists of nuclear installations and facilities were exchanged under the Agreement on the Prohibition of Attack against Nuclear Installations and Facilities, which was signed on 31 December 1988 and entered into force on 27 January 1991. It provides, inter alia, that India and Pakistan inform each other of the nuclear installations and facilities to be covered under the accord on the first of January of every calendar year. This is the 31st consecutive exchange of such lists between the two countries, the first one having taken place on January 01, 1992.

The two countries also exchanged the lists of civilian prisoners and fishermen in their custody. This is in keeping with the provisions of the 2008 Agreement under which such lists are exchanged every year on 1 January and 1 July.

India handed over a list of 282 Pakistan civilian prisoners and 73 fishermen in its custody to Pakistan. Similarly, Pakistan has shared a list of 51 civilian prisoners and 577 fishermen in its custody, who are Indians or are believed to be Indians.

New Delhi also called for an early release and repatriation of civilian prisoners, missing Indian defence personnel and fishermen, along with their boats, from Pakistan’s custody. In this context, Pakistan was asked to expedite the release and repatriation of two Indian civilian prisoners and 356 Indian fishermen to India whose nationality has been confirmed and conveyed to Pakistan. In addition, Pakistan was asked to provide immediate consular access to 182 Indian fishermen and 17 civilian prisoners who are in Pakistan’s custody and are believed to be Indian.

India also requested Pakistan to expedite the grant of visas to the members of the medical experts team and facilitate their visit to Pakistan to assess the mental condition of believed-to-be Indian prisoners of unsound mind, lodged in different jails of Pakistan. It was also proposed to organise an early visit of the Joint Judicial Committee to Pakistan.

The MEA said India remains committed to addressing, on priority, all humanitarian matters, including those pertaining to prisoners and fishermen in each other’s country. In this context, India has also urged Pakistan to expedite necessary action at its end to confirm the nationality status of 68 Pakistan prisoners, including fishermen, whose repatriation is pending for want of nationality confirmation by Pakistan.

In view of the COVID-19 pandemic, Pakistan has been requested to ensure the safety, security and welfare of all Indian and believed-to-be Indian civil prisoners and fishermen.
www.thestatesman.com

India, Pakistan exchange lists of nuke installations, civilian prisoners

India remains committed to addressing, on priority, all humanitarian matters, including those pertaining to prisoners and fishermen in each other's country.
www.thestatesman.com www.thestatesman.com
 

@Jaymax


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_Anonymous_ said:

@Jaymax


I've just discovered a new way to Cut The Clutter in Taklu's Cut The Clutter. Go to settings & set the speed at 1.25x - 1.5x . Tbh - it took my 15 yr old nephew to come up with a solution when I was glancing at my YT notifications & groaned at the time length of Taklu's CTC & who in turn uses this method to research his assignments online. Guess I'm getting old. @Nilgiri
Click to expand...
Always watched him at 1.75x and some other anal-yeasts at 2X
 

MEA refuses comment on 'PM's Pakistan visit' claim​

The Ministry of External Affairs today said it “does not comment on observations from private individuals” when asked to react to claims by leading Pakistani businessman Mian Muhammad Mansha that backchannels were working between Pakistan and India that would hopefully yield good results.

Backchannel diplomacy?
  • Top Pak honcho claimed at a Lahore meeting that backchannels are working between the two neighbours
  • If all goes well, Indian PM Modi could visit Pak in a month, he asserted
  • MEA spokesperson neither confirmed nor denied the claim
Click to expand...

“If things improve between the two neighbours, Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi could visit Pakistan in a month,” he told a gathering of businessmen at the Lahore Chambers of Commerce and Industry on Wednesday. But MEA spokesperson Arindam Bagchi neither confirmed nor denied the claim and instead said it was not the practice of South Block to comment on statements by private individuals.

The Chairman of the Lahore-based Nishat Group warned that there would be disastrous consequences if the Pakistan economy did not improve and advised Islamabad to improve trade relations with India. “Europe fought two great wars, but ultimately settled for peace and regional development. There is no permanent enmity,” he observed in this context. There were similar reports last year of backchannel talks brokered by the UAE, leading to a ceasefire on the Line of Control but further conversation was discontinued.

Trade relations between the two countries were suspended in August 2019 after India revoked Article 370 in Jammu and Kashmir.
www.tribuneindia.com

MEA refuses comment on 'PM's Pakistan visit' claim

The Ministry of External Affairs today said it “does not comment on observations from private individuals” when asked to react to claims by leading Pakistani businessman Mian Muhammad Mansha that backchannels were working between Pakistan and India that would hopefully yield good results
www.tribuneindia.com www.tribuneindia.com
 

Guns ‘n’ Walnuts: As India-Pak ceasefire completes one year, business back on track in J&K​

Ghulam Rasool Kakroo, 63, a walnut trader in border town Uri, in north Kashmir’s Baramulla district, is hopeful of doing good business this year again, as the India-Pakistan ceasefire agreement completes one year.

The two countries had agreed upon a ceasefire on February 25, 2021.

“Last year, too, we did good business as we received supplies from villages along the Line of Control (LoC). Earlier, it was not possible because of cross-border shelling,” Kakroo told Moneycontrol.

“In fact, people who live in these LoC villages have contacted us again for walnuts,” he said.

‘Local markets alone not enough’

“During times of ceasefire violation along the LoC in Gowhalan village, the Army didn’t allow any movement from that area and traders had to sell walnuts in the local markets. This resulted in losses running into lakhs of rupees,” Kakroo’s 26-year old son, Faisal Kakroo, says.

“Since last year, when the two armies agreed to maintain peace at the borders, we have been trying to get our business back on track,” he said.

“When ceasefire was violated, these people were unable to come to the market for business. In case, someone managed, he would be in a hurry to go back home, fearing shelling,” Rasool Kakroo adds.

Shabbir Ahmad Awan, a local from the Batgran village near LoC, said: “I do walnut business and I have not been able to buy from these border villages for the last many years. No labourer was ready to go there. But the last one year has proven to be a blessing in disguise.”

Uri’s Lagama market, where India’s finest walnut kernels are sold, is over a century old. The walnut market opens in September, October and November.

The supply flows from villages like Nambla, Hathlanga, Sourha, Thajal, Gawalta, Gowhalan -- all falling close to the LoC.

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Walnut traders in the Lagama market, which is over a century old, in Uri. (Photo: Idrees Bukhtiyar)

Development work, farming pick up

Haji Mohd Hanief, sarpanch of Thajal village, said that development works have also resumed at a good pace. “Whether it is the construction of a house, road or building, things are being carried out smoothly,” he said.

Abdul Khaliq Bhat, sarpanch of Silikote village, located on the zero line, said that for the last one year, everything is going well. “People are easily moving out of their homes, doing their daily chores and agricultural activities are also picking up well,” he said.

Javaid Ahmad Malik, sarpanch of Ramgai village, recalls the horrors of cross-border shelling. “We have lost our homes, livestock, crops and other things. But for the last one year, things have turned normal and better.”

Children return to border schools

Uri’s Zonal Education Planning Officer Wali Mohammad Kakroo said there has been an increase of more than 50 percent of students in government schools along the LoC.

“Over 10 schools fall near the LoC in Uri and they have suffered a lot due to cross-border shelling, forcing students to move to private schools in Uri town,” he said.

“After the ceasefire, our enrollment drive and various cultural activities to motivate the kids are proving successful,” he said.

Border tourism being restored

On February 10 this year, Deputy Commissioner (DC), Baramulla, Bhupinder Kumar, and Tourism Director, Kashmir, Dr G N Itoo, visited Uri and initiated an array of developmental activities to promote border tourism.

In September last year, Minister of State (MoS) for Defence and Tourism, Ajay Bhatt, who visited the border district of Kupwara in north Kashmir, said that in times to come, there will be prosperity and development. Border tourism will strengthen as the concept shared earlier has been accepted, he said.

Irshad Ahmad Khawaja, 42, from Garkote village in Uri, recently visited the tourist destination, Rustum, close to the LoC, along with his family after a gap of 30 years.

“Earlier it was not possible, but now you can find a huge rush of people there,” he said.

Farhaan Lone, a vlogger from Bijhama area of Uri, said earlier they were not able to go to the forests or mountains in that area to shoot videos. “Now, we are doing it and promoting our place as a tourist destination,” he said.

One year of ceasefire

Guns fell silent along the LoC on February 25, 2021, when India and Pakistan agreed upon a ceasefire.

The Directors-General of Military Operations (DGMOs) of both the countries had finalised the agreement on February 23 and its implementation started a day after. The ceasefire announcement was made by the two armies through a joint statement on February 25.

India and Pakistan had initially signed a ceasefire agreement in 2003, but it was frequently violated.

Last month, the General Officer Commanding (GoC) of the Army's 15 Corps or the Chinar Corps, Lt Gen D P Pandey, said in a statement that the year-old ceasefire along the LoC in Kashmir is holding and the Indian Army would like it to continue for the benefit of the common people on both sides, but it was remaining vigilant as the enemy is very devious.

There were 4,645 ceasefire violations in 2020; 3,168 in 2019 and 1,629 in 2018. In contrast, there were 592 violations last year, till the ceasefire was announced.
www.moneycontrol.com

Guns ‘n’ Walnuts: As India-Pak ceasefire completes one year, business back on track in J&K

The walnut business is one example of how movement of goods and people can change lives. Sales in local markets alone are not enough to make profits, traders say. Children return to border schools, and tourism, development work and agricultural activities pick up after the ceasefire agreement.
www.moneycontrol.com www.moneycontrol.com
 
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