Vikram Sharma

Tribune News Service

Jammu, October 22

BJP Member of Parliament Shamsher Singh has said that Pakistan-occupied Jammu and Kashmir (PoJK) and Gilgit and Baltistan were our homes and India had initiated the process to liberate them from the illegal occupation of Pakistan.He said the surgical strikes in PoJK to eliminate terrorists from the area were the first step by the Central government in this direction and soon the areas would be liberated. He, however, reserved his comments on the next move by the Central government to liberate the occupied areas by Pakistan, saying, “These are internal matters of the government which cannot be made public.”The Rajya Sabha member said the Centre was considering the issue seriously.On the opening of fire by Pakistan on both international border and Line of Control, Shamsher Singh said: “Frustrated by India’s action through surgical strikes, Pakistan has taken to its oft-repeated retaliation on borders. This is momentary and will die down soon. There is nothing much to worry about it.”The BJP MP was speaking at the sidelines of a seminar.

India, Pak not at brink of war: Omar

QUOTE: “I am not one of those who sees imminent war looming in the subcontinent. I’d like to believe that both governments in New Delhi and Islamabad are a lot more careful about the prospect of war than perhaps some of our TV channels would like them to be,” Omar Abdullah, former CM

New York, October 22

Former Chief Minister Omar Abdullah does not see an imminent war looming between India and Pakistan despite heightened tensions along the Line of Control (LoC). He believes the two countries are a “lot more careful” about the prospect of war than some of the news channels would like them to be.“I don’t believe we are,” Omar said when asked whether India and Pakistan were at the brink of war.“I am not one of those who sees imminent war looming in the subcontinent. I’d like to believe that both governments in New Delhi and Islamabad are a lot more careful about the prospect of war than perhaps some of our TV channels would like them to be,” he said at a conference titled ‘India and Pakistan: A Subcontinental Affair’, organised by the students of New York University on Friday.Pakistan’s former President Pervez Musharraf was also scheduled to speak at the conference but cancelled his appearance at the last minute, citing “security concerns”.There were several moments of animated discussions, some heated arguments and loud cheers during Omar’s nearly hour-long discussion with the gathering, that included students from both India and Pakistan, on Kashmir, surgical strikes by India, killing of Hizbul commander Burhan Wani, tension with Pakistan, plight of Kashmiri Pandits and Article 370.Omar said while there was tension along the LoC and ceasefire was “under a bit more pressure” than it was at the same time last year, India and Pakistan were not at the brink of war.He noted that the Government of India had been careful “in moderating how it has sold” to the rest of the world the surgical strikes conducted across the Line of Control.“The Government of India has been careful in explaining what they have done post the Uri militant attack. They have told the world this (surgical strikes) was an anti-terror operation conducted in the vicinity of the LoC,” he said, adding that the government has not gone into details of how far they had gone inside the LoC or how many people were killed in the strikes.“What that has allowed is for an opportunity for a sort of a more nuanced response on the part of Pakistan,” he said, adding that there will have been “enormous pressure” on Pakistan Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif to retaliate had the Indian government spoken of how far they had gone across the LoC or how many people were killed in the strikes.The former CM said the heightened tensions between India and Pakistan added to the “mood of gloom” in the Valley because “no state more than Jammu and Kashmir suffers on account of a downturn in relations between India and Pakistan”. — PTI