(site of the 1998 test,prime minister went to see)
Posted on 05/17/2002 11:28:10 PM PDT by Vigilant1
JAMMU, India, May 18 (Reuters) - Indian and Pakistani troops, massed on the border since mid-December, exchanged heavy fire for the second successive day in the disputed Kashmir region, an Indian defence official said on Saturday.
The fighting comes ahead of a meeting in New Delhi on Saturday of the Cabinet Committee on Security (CCS). It is to discuss security measures in Kashmir following a deadly attack this week on an army camp near Jammu, blamed by India on Pakistan-based Kashmiri separatists.
"There has been heavy mortar firing through the night in the Akhnoor sector of the Line of Control," the official said referring to a ceasefire line that divides the disputed region between the nuclear foes. "It is continuing but the intensity has reduced."
Troops also traded small arms and heavy machinegun fire along the frontier in Kathua, R.S.Pora and Samba sectors in southern Kashmir, the official said.
There were no reports of casualties but some houses were damaged on the Indian side, the official said.
New Delhi on Friday vowed to fight what it calls terrorism after 34 people, mostly wives and children of soldiers, died in the raid on the army camp earlier this week.
Washington has called for restraint by the neighbours who have massed a million men and equipment on their border since a bloody attack on India's parliament in December, blamed by New Delhi on Pakistan-based Kashmiri separatists.
I honestly don't think so.
Musharaff has nothing to gain, and everything to lose, by going nuclear. I know he says he doesn't know where the nukes are and can't control them, but I simply don't believe that. He is, above all else, a military dictator.
Since he wants to maintain his power, it's in his advantage to let India clean out the rat's nest in Kashmir.
Do we have mutual defense treatys with either one?
How much $$$$$ can we make selling more weapons to both sides?
I have to agree with you there
All due respect but that is one the most uninformed statements I have ever seen on FR.
If India attacks Pakistan....which they are now justified to do after this recent attack that murdered women and children...then Pakistan "must" retaliate.
The Pakistani people already see Musharaf as an illigitimate tool of the United States that is betraying Islam [I am not talking about the radicals...in our definition, the majority of Pakistanis would be considered radical] and if he were to then allow India...their "bitter to the point of stupidity" enemy to assault into Pakistan, he would most assuredly lose the power you refer to.
This thing could blow...and if it did come to an exchange...it would really be ugly. Without a doubt the single greatest loss of life in history. Not that I would mind some neighborhood revitalization in that region but nobody intentionally wants that kind of slaughter.
This is what you get when you have two idiot religions in control of nuclear weapons.
Grace Lord, grace.
That is a highly unlikely scenario. If India attacks into Pakistan, the Kashmir border would be the worst place to do it. They have historically attacked into the open central plain, cutting Pakistan in half. This plain is excellent tank country. The Kashmir, on the other hand, is heavily defended mountain passes that would negate any military advantages the superior India Army has. It would be extremely costly for them to attack there, a monumentally stupid stragtegic move.
If the Indians do successfully attack Pakistan, and the Pakis feel they're about to be overrun, they have promised to use their nukes. Under such circumstances, they would likely do so.
Thanks for explaining that. I thought the border buildup meant they were going to go after the terrorists. I figured it was part of "the plan" that we keep hearing so much about.
BTW, there was some speculation of what China would do if this war breaks out.
China's military starts war games near Taiwan
Looks like they plan to have an opportunity within the next six months.
Getting very hard these days to prove those Hindu folks wrong.
In my opinion both the Indians and the Pakistanians are bureaucrats, not warriors. They would prefer to make tons of obstacles to war in their offices rather than engage in combat in the field.
That was enlightening.
The Indian government need to show its people it's "doing something," and the Musharaff need's to show he's got some backbone. Border skirmishes will suffice for both purposes.
I think headline MAY be OK, since such an invasion might get Musharraf out of Pakistan and safely into retirement by his Walden in New England, before he is murdered as is the usual fate of Muzzie leaders.
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