Register crop on ‘Meri Fasal Mera Byora’ portal, says DC

Parveen Arora

Tribune News Service

Karnal, April 3

The district administration also allowed the procurement of wheat crop without the schedule in grain markets after the daylong protest by farmers at the office of the Karnal Market Committee on Saturday. The farmers alleged that were not being allowed to enter grain markets without the schedule.

However, the farmers called off the protest after Deputy Commissioner Nishant Kumar Yadav assured them that gate passes would be issued even to those who come without the schedule. But he made it clear to the farmers that the gate passes would be issued only to those who get their crops registered on the ‘Meri Fasal Mera Byora’ portal. Those who were yet to register on the portal could do so on April 5 and 6. He added that the state government had made the registration of crop on the portal mandatory, and accordingly SMSes were being sent to the farmers about the schedule.

“We apprised the government about the issue of the farmers and it allowed the procurement of wheat without the schedule. Gate passes will be issued manually to those whose crop has been registered on the portal,” said Yadav. He appealed to the farmers to bring their crop after cleaning and drying it. After pacifying the farmers, the Deputy Commissioner along with SP Ganga Ram Punia and SDM Ayush Sinha got the auction of the wheat crop conducted. He also assured the farmers that their payments would be transferred to their bank accounts within 48 hours and the commission of the arhtiyas would be delivered to them.

Earlier in the morning, on the call of the Bharatiya Kisan Union, hundreds of farmers and arhtiyas gathered at the office of the market committee. The SDM tried to pacify them but they remained adamant on their demand. “We have been opposing the scheduling system since the first day, as it is not feasible,” said Rajnish Chaudhary, president of the Karnal Arhtiyas’ Association.

Jagdeep Singh Aulakh, a member of the state core committee of the BKU (Charuni), said that farmers could not wait for the schedule to be issued to them as the crop was ripening and the threat of fire looms large.

Arhtiyas service providers, not middlemen: CM

Asserting that the arhtiyas were not middlemen but service providers, he urged the PM to ensure that the livelihood of farmers and others involved in the procurement of grain was not jeorpardised. file photo

Tribune News Service
Chandigarh, April 3

Punjab CM Capt Amarinder Singh on Saturday wrote to Prime Minister Narendra Modi, seeking continuance of the existing system of payment to farmers till a consensus was evolved on the issue of Direct Benefit Transfer (DBT).

Asserting that the arhtiyas were not middlemen but service providers, he urged the PM to ensure that the livelihood of farmers and others involved in the procurement of grain was not jeorpardised. He sought a meeting with the PM to apprise him of the concerns raised by various stakeholders “before the situation gets out of hand,” assuring his complete support to evolving a consensus for long-term reforms.

Expressing concern over the efforts to “rock” the well-established institutional and social arrangements, the CM said he could see a pattern in some of the one-sided decisions and steps taken by the Centre.

Threaten to gherao FCI offices across nation tomorrow

File photo

Ludhiana, April 3

Members of Samyukt Kisan Morcha (SKM) today criticised the central government for levelling “false” allegations on the Punjab farmers to defame them.

Demanding that the government should revoke its letter to the Punjab Chief Secretary, they said the Centre wanted to divide them but its “conspiracy” would not succeed.

The SKM leaders conducted a meeting with trade unions, employees and students organisations at Punjab Agricultural University here today to plan the next strategy to strengthen the “kisan andolan”

SKM leader Dr Darshan Pal said: “The central government is making various attempts to defame the farmers of Punjab. We have unions in border areas and they never received any complaint regarding bonded labourers or drugs being given to them. The allegations levelled by the central government are false. It should revoke its false letter.”

Another SKM leader Balbir Singh Rajewal said: “It is a conspiracy of the central government to defame farmers. There are no bonded labourers here and there will never be.”

SMK leaders said they would gherao the Food Corporation of India offices on April 5 across the country against the “wrong” policies of the central government.

Balbir Singh Rajewal said the Centre wanted to disband the FCI but they would not tolerate it. — TNS

Investigation being conducted to ascertain the BSF claim, says SPS Parmar, IG (Border Range), Amritsar

A BSF official, pleading anonymity, claimed it was a known fact that labourers from UP, Bihar, MP and Jharkhand, mostly in the age group of 30-50, were allured with handsome packages and perks.

GS Paul & Ravi Dhaliwal
Tribune News Service
Amritsar/Gurdaspur, April 3

The term “bonded labour” was never mentioned in any of the cases lodged with the police on those apprehended by the BSF at the International Border, say the Punjab Police. SPS Parmar, IG (Border Range), Amritsar, says an investigation is being conducted to ascertain the BSF claim, cited by the MHA in its letter to Punjab, on having apprehended and handed over to the Punjab cops 58 Indian nationals from the border areas of Gurdaspur, Amritsar, Ferozepur and Abohar during 2019-20.

Gurpartap Sahota, Attari DSP, said: “We are scrutinising the cases of those handed over to us by the BSF in the past two years.” A BSF official, pleading anonymity, claimed it was a known fact that labourers from UP, Bihar, MP and Jharkhand, mostly in the age group of 30-50, were allured with handsome packages and perks. “In some cases, they end up being exploited and hooked on drugs,” he said.

Backing his claim, Amarjit Shastri, a trade unionist, asserted that providing drugs to the labour was a common practice in rural Punjab. But Rattan Singh Randhawa, vice-president, Jamhoori Kisan Sabha, called the MHA report a “complete lie,” arguing that farmers who offered “langar” amid humanitarian crisis could never indulge in such practices. “Also, agriculture being more technical these days, a person with a low IQ would be unfit for the job,” he argued.

Senior police officers of Punjab’s three border police districts — Gurdaspur, Pathankot and Batala — strongly refuted the BSF claim. Pathankot SSP Gulneet Singh Khurana emphasised: “No such activity is taking place in the border villages of Pathankot.”

Ramesh Rana, senior vice-president of the Punjab unit of the Indian Federation of Trade Unions (IFTU), said: “In 2019, we received information that a landlord had paid Rs 25,000 as advance to a farmhand in Pahra village of Gurdaspur, who died days later. The landlord then asked the son of the deceased to complete the task for which his father was hired. We sent a team to the village and rescued the youth. After that, we did not receive a single case of bonded labour.”

Batala SSP Rachhpal Singh said about a decade ago, brick-kilns indulged in the illegal practice. “However, we cannot recall a single instance of a migrant having been forced to work in a factory or fields.”

Farm leaders call workers family, say they come to Punjab willingly, are treated well

Workers from Uttar Pradesh and Bihar are engaged by state farmers during the paddy-sowing season. Tribune photo

Anirudh Gupta

Ferozepur, April 3

Though the Centre today issued a clarification regarding the letter written by the Ministry of Home Affairs (MHA) to the state Chief Secretary regarding the issue of bonded labourers and human trafficking allegedly afoot in border villages of Punjab, the issue has triggered a controversy among farmers and political parties who are terming it an attempt to defame the farm sector, which is already at loggerheads with the Centre.

Report a farce, says Tarn Taran SSP

The issue has also set the alarm bells ringing for the security agencies operating along the “zero” line in the state. The MHA wrote to the Chief Secretary following a report submitted by the BSF stating that it had already rescued 58 such migrant labourers who had been allegedly drugged and made to work for long hours against their wish.

An intelligence official said there had been shortage of labour in Punjab post implementation of MNREGA and other such schemes for the past few years, but the issue of bonded labour or human trafficking had never surfaced. “There have been instances when building contractors or other such contractors offered them drugs to increase their productivity, but these cases are generally not reported,” he said.

“During the pandemic the migrant labourers were treated so well that they refused to go back to their native place even after the government arranged buses and trains for them,” said another official.

Satnam Singh Pannu, state president, Kisan Majdoor Sangharsh Committee, said it was a conspiracy of the Centre to malign the image of farmers and dent their relations with labourers.

“Farmers consider labourers their family members and treat them accordingly,” he said, adding: “If a farmer is found ill-treating any labourer, he should be strictly punished, but the attempt in the present scenario is different.”

Darshan Singh Karma, district in-charge, Bharti Kisan Union (Ekta Dakonda), said in Punjab, the farmers paid the labourers in advance. “The labourers from Bihar and Uttar Pradesh come to Punjab willingly, not by force because they are treated well here,” he added.

Senior BSF officials said there had been instances when Indian nationals were apprehended from border areas, adding that many of them were not in healthy state of mind due to reasons beyond their comprehension.

As per information, the BSF had last year apprehended 104 Indian nationals roaming under suspicious circumstances along the India-Pakistan border in the state, while this number was 83 in 2019 and 66 in 2018.The data indicates that the number of apprehensions of had seen constant spurt in the last decade from 21 in 2013 to 104 in 2020.

“Many of these apprehended persons were involved in drug peddling. Many of them were either insane or “deaf and dumb” or feeble-minded. We generally hand them over to the police,” said an official, pleading anonymity.

In its official statement today, the MHA said the matter was erroneously reported in a section of media and the government had no intention of levelling such charges against the farmers of the state. Sources in the MHA said the media reports were misleading and distorted and the letter was written on the basis of simple observation about a socio-economic problem.

The BKU leader said this itself provides conclusive evidence of the government’s intentions

Bharatiya Kisan Union leader Rakesh Tikait. — PTI

Aligarh (UP), April 3

Bharatiya Kisan Union (BKU) leader Rakesh Tikait claimed on Saturday that the attack on his convoy of vehicles in Rajasthan’s Alwar was “pre-planned by BJP workers” and said it should serve as a reminder to the farmers protesting against three new agriculture laws of the Centre about the travails and challenges they are going to face in the days to come.

Addressing a “kisan mahapanchayat” at Bhaimalkheda village in this Uttar Pradesh district, Tikait said such attacks “are, in fact, strengthening our resolve to further intensify our struggle, which is a battle for our existence”.

Talking to reporters after the “mahapanchayat”, he said, “We are mentally prepared for more such incidents.” Stones were allegedly pelted at the convoy of Tikait, an influential farmer leader, in Rajasthan’s Alwar district on Friday, damaging the rear windshield of his car. Police had detained a student leader, who the BKU claimed belonged to the Akhil Bharatiya Vidyarthi Parishad (ABVP), the student wing of the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP), and accused the saffron party of being behind the attack.

Addressing the “mahapanchayat” here, Tikait issued a call to the protesting farmers to be mentally prepared to continue with their agitation at least till the end of the year, when they would taste victory.

He urged them to be mobile phone savvy so that they can be active on social media.

Tikait, who held a “mahapanchayat” in Aligarh for the first time after the farmers’ agitation was launched in November last year, alleged that corporates had fully entrenched themselves in the present ruling dispensation, including the Prime Minister’s Office (PMO).

He said how else can one explain the construction of huge grain depots and godowns in several parts of the country “even before the controversial farm laws came to existence”

The BKU leader said this itself provides conclusive evidence of the government’s intentions.

He warned the farmers that even more draconian measures are on the anvil as far as the farm laws are concerned, including stringent regulations regarding crop seeds.

Tikait alleged that under the proposed measures, farmers would be liable to be bound by pernicious terms and conditions, which would place them at the mercy of the seed-selling firms.

He said the three laws would make it impossible for the farmers to enjoy the right to use the seeds of their choice and frustrate them to such an extent that they would be compelled to sell their land to corporates. — PTI

Imran Khan

NEW DELHI, APRIL 3

Pakistan Prime Minister Imran Khan has decided that trade cannot be held with India under the current political circumstances.

Pakistan officials pointed out that the decision to import cotton and sugar was a commercial recommendation by a committee. The Federal Cabinet, chaired by Khan, has turned it down because there has been no change in the political situation – India’s abrogation of Article 370 and change in status of

J&K that compelled Islamabad to cut off all trade with India in August 2019.

Several explanations are being given in Pakistan for reversing a proposal that would have generated economic activity on both sides of the Wagah border. Moeed Yusuf, Pakistan’s designated NSA, said Imran Khan wore two hats. As the minister in charge of commerce, he approved trade with India but as the PM, he opposed the proposal, explained Yusuf.

The PM has now instructed officials to find alternatives, other than Indian, for cheap sources of import of the needed commodities. Indian sugar was 15 to 20 per cent below global prices and Indian cotton and yarn would have bridged the supply shortfall for Pakistani textile mills. — TNS

18 jawans were missing after five security personnel were killed on Saturday in a fierce gunbattle with Naxals

On March 23, five personnel of the District Reserve Guard were killed and several were injured in an IED blast in Chhattisgarh. PTI file

Raipur, April 4

Police recovered bullet-riddled bodies of 17 jawans in the jungles of Chattisgarh on Monday, raising to 22 the number of security personnel killed in a fierce gunbattle with Naxals the previous day—the biggest massacre in more than a year that also left 30 injured.

Police also recovered the bodies of three jawans killed in the encounter, an official said, adding that a search operation is on in the forest.

The dead include personnel from the Central Reserve Police Force (CRPF), its elite unit CoBRA (Commando Battalion for Resolute Action) and the District Reserve Guard (DRG), the official said. It was not clear how many were from which unit.

Eighteen jawans were missing after five security personnel were killed on Saturday in the fierce gun battle with Naxals in a forest along the border between Bijapur and Sukma districts in Chhattisgarh, police had said.

“On Sunday, bodies of 17 missing personnel were recovered during a search operation,” the official said. Some weapons of the security forces were missing, he added.

In a major joint offensive, separate joint teams of security forces, comprising over 2,000 personnel, launched an anti-Naxal operation from Bijapur and Sukma districts in the South Bastar forests, considered as a Maoist stronghold, on Friday night.

The operation was launched from five places – Tarrem, Usoor and Pamed (in Bijapur), and Minpa and Narsapuram (in Sukma), the official said.

When the patrolling team dispatched from Tarrem was advancing through the forest near Jonaguda, around 500 km from the state capital Raipur, it was ambushed by cadres of PLGA (Peoples’ Liberation Guerilla Army) battalion of Maoists and a gun-battle ensued, he said.

Chhattisgarh’s Deputy Inspector General (anti-Naxal operation) O P Pal on Saturday said some jawans, both from the police and paramilitary, were reported missing after the encounter, adding efforts were on to trace them.

Pal had claimed that the Maoists suffered a huge loss in the gunfight. Only the body of a woman Naxal could be recovered from the spot amid heavy exchange of fire.

The attack comes close on the heels of the March 23 incident when five DRG personnel were killed as the Maoists blew up a bus carrying the security personnel with an IED in Narayanpur district of the state.

On March 21 last year, 17 security personnel were killed in a Naxal ambush in Minpa area of Sukma district.

On April 9, 2019, BJP MLA Bhima Mandavi and four security personnel were killed after Naxals blew up their vehicle with an IED in Dantewada district.

On April 24, 2017, 25 CRPF personnel were killed in a Naxal ambush in Burkapal area of Sukma district.

In March 2017, 12 CRPF jawans were killed in a Maoist attack in Sukma district.

In November 2016, two CRPF jawans were injured in a pressure bomb blast triggered by Naxals in the dense forest of Sukma district.

In March 2016, a powerful landmine blast struck a truck filled with para-military soldiers in Raipur district, killing seven policemen.

As many as 14 of the 27 districts in Chhattisgarh are affected by Left Wing Extremism violence.

Union Home Minister Amit Shah on Sunday spoke to Chhattisgarh Chief Minister Bhupesh Baghel and took stock of the situation following the incident, officials said.

Shah also directed CRPF’s Director General Kuldiep Singh to visit Chhattisgarh to assess the situation.

The Union home minister condoled the death of the security personnel in the encounter and said their valour will never be forgotten. The government will continue its fight against the enemies of peace and progress, he added.

President Ram Nath Kovind expressed deep anguish over the death of the security personnel.

“The killing of the security personnel while battling Maoist insurgency in Chhattisgarh is a matter of deep anguish.

My condolences to the bereaved families. The nation shares their pain and will never forget this sacrifice,” he tweeted.

Congress leaders Rahul Gandhi and Priyanka Gandhi Vadra also expressed grief over the death of the security personnel.

“Sadly, Prime Minister and Home Minister Amit Shah are too busy electioneering to take on the menace of Naxalism. TV proclamations ain’t enough. We need to put a decisive strategy and blueprint,” Congress chief spokesperson Randeep Surjewala tweeted. PTI

These precision strike combat drones can be used to strike terror targets deep inside Pakistan
by Ahyousha Khan
Quite recently, on March 12, 2021, the first-ever leaders’ summit of the Quadrilateral Framework was virtually held. During this high-level summit, the leaders from the US, India, Japan, and Australia discussed the policy regarding Indo-Pacific; a region where all these four nations consider China as their common adversary.
Discussion on emerging technologies, technological exchange, maritime security, and resilient supply chains also took place. This summit has set the template for the Biden Administration regarding China and its Indo-Pacific strategy as well. In particular, it seems that in the future US-India cooperation under the Indo-Pacific strategy would grow significantly. Moreover, with growing political commitments in the US and India, the security and strategic relationship between the two countries would likely grow further.
Recently, both states have concluded the “foundational defence agreements”, which solved the legal issues in the operationalization of defence cooperation. These agreements and subsequent technological transfer from the US to India would create an adverse impact on the strategic stability of South Asia. Specifically, this becomes even more relevant when the regional security environment of South Asia is very much affected by the Pulwama-Balakot crisis and the revocation of articles 370 and 35A by India in 2019. Even though both states have recently agreed to adhere to the ceasefire on LOC, the core issue of Kashmir is still unresolved.
After the Quadrilateral Summit, US Defence Secretary, Lloyd Austin visited India and both countries agreed to further increase their military cooperation. It is quite noteworthy that both the countries have already signed military cooperation agreements such as LEMOA, COMCASA, and most recently BECA to eliminate the legal and operability challenges in the military, defence, and security cooperation.
Furthermore, India has been granted STA-1 status by the US so that it could access dual-use technology from the US. India is the first South Asian and third Asian nation to ever have that status. Under these agreements, India would be able to procure military dual-use technologies from the US. This in turn would give it a significant technological edge over its regional counterparts. In this regard, India’s acquisition of drone technology from the US is quite significant. Very recently, the Indian government has decided to buy 30 predator drones from the US amid growing tensions with China and Pakistan. With China, India was involved in serious border clashes last year; India is also competing with China in the Indian Ocean.
The $3 billion worth drone procurement would be approved next month; as per the deal, India would acquire 30 armed MQ-9B Predator drones, built by General Atomics of the US. These predator drones have the endurance to fly for about 48 hours and can carry a payload of about 1700 kilograms. Furthermore, they can be equipped with laser-guided ammunition in addition to air-to-surface missiles and can carry sensors. According to the Indian media reports, the drones once acquired would be used by both the Indian Navy and Indian Army. The navy would use it to monitor the movement of Chinese vessels in the South Indian Ocean, while the Indian Army would use it to engage the targets along the disputed border between Pakistan and India. Previously, the US offered India sea guardian drones, which were not armed and to be used for intelligence and surveillance. However, during the recent border crises with China and Pakistan which proved to be an embarrassment for India at the military level, all three tri-services of India agreed to procure armed drones, where 10 of these would be distributed among them.
Furthermore, with China; it seems that India’s only aim is surveillance due to fear of reprisal. However, vis-à-vis Pakistan ceasefire at the LOC does not reflect any serious commitment; rather India is interested in engaging with Pakistan along the LOC. This Indian quest is seemingly in-line with its much-hyped military doctrine of “Cold Start” and ideas of “surgical strikes”. Such technological advancements also imply that India is continuously and deliberately moving towards acquiring more options for so-called “pre-emption”.
India is adamant on these views that it can exploit the levels below the nuclear threshold, whenever it wants. In this regard, Pakistan has always voiced its apprehensions over the transfer of armed drones to India, with concern that India is only playing ‘China Card’ and ultimately it would use this technology against Pakistan.
Hence, to ensure its security and maintain strategic stability in the region, Pakistan would be compelled to acquire or build different emerging technologies such as hypersonic weapons, armed drones, submarines, and 5th generation air crafts. Procurement of armed drones and ISR assistance under the agreements like BECA would further enhance India’s ability to go for a pre-emptive strike under the sense of overconfidence. This would further impact the already fragile strategic stability in the region. Moreover, Pakistan’s goal is not to acquire strategic parity with India but just to maintain strategic balance in the region, which is tilting in India’s favour due to constant support from the US. Last but not the least, in the case of future technologies, like drones it appears more of a compulsion for Pakistan to invest in them after a clear analysis of its resources and objectives.
Ahyousha Khan, Research Associate, Strategic Vision Institute, Islamabad

The leaders of the Kashmir-centric political parties have gone overboard with the prospect of peace with our immediate neighbour and the global hub of jihadi terror Pakistan. Backing Pakistan Army Chief General Qamar Javed Bajwa’s call for ‘Indo-Pak talks’, PDP chief Mehbooba Mufti has said that the Indian government should initiate talks with Pakistan. “The government should understand the way of peace talks goes through the Kashmir issue. We cannot reach peace without resolving the Kashmir issue”, she said. Speaking in the similar vein National Conference leader Omar Abdullah said, “We have always said that good relations between these two countries is not good for Jammu and Kashmir but for whole south Asia. It’s good that both countries instead of threatening each other are talking. We have heard that there are secret talks going only we wish that the day come they talk openly there are lot of issues including Jammu and Kashmir. We want they all are solved by talks.” The reasons for their optimism are well understood because their political survival for the decades in past had depended on the Pakistan bogey. There is a convergence in the views of Pakistan and Kashmiri leadership because soft-separatism and sub-nationalism has always been the ideological hall-mark of these political parties. But the moot point is can Pakistan be trusted?
It all began in the last week of February when the DGMOs of the two Armies agreed to observe ceasefire on the Line of Control (LoC) in tune with the 2003 ceasefire agreement. Then the two statements one after the other made during the first edition of the Islamabad Security Dialogue organised by Pakistan Security Division in collaboration with the country’s leading think-tankson 17-18 March expressing explicit desire for peace with India took many by surprise since the statements came from none other than the Prime Minister and Chief of Army Staff of Pakistan. Since then, endless debate has begun in the media in both the countries with each claiming peace to be compulsion of the other country. While the entire world knows the truth it has become necessary for Pakistan to beat the drum to satisfy the hardliners. Pakistan for long has pushed aside geo-economics in favour of exploiting its geo-strategic location. Its dwindling economy and near bankruptcy has forced its leadership including military albeit temporarily to resume trade with India which requires normalcy of relations which had been brought to its nadir by Pakistan post abrogation of 370 by unilaterally withdrawing its High Commissioner and suspension of trade with India.
There was inherent contradiction between the statements of the two Pakistanis. While Imran Khan made a little variation to his earlier stated position on 05 March while addressing the Solidarity Day function at Muzaffarabad wherein he said that Pakistan would not talk to India till the restoration of Article 370 in Kashmir, he still stuck to resolution of Kashmir issue as a prerequisite for peace talks. “There is one issue that is stopping us [from improving relations] at this time. We will make our efforts but India must take the first step because after August 5, till they take the first step, then unfortunately we cannot move forward,” Imran Khan said. The next day his Chief of Army Staff said, it was time for India and Pakistan to “bury the past and move forward” as he asserted that the peace between the two neighbours would help to “unlock” the potential of South and Central Asia. He further added that the initiative has to come from India. Though he also referred to Kashmir, he did not mention it as a core issue and said that the peaceful resolution of the issue can lead to lasting peace in the region. Immediately, after the 25 February ceasefire offer, India had made it very clear that onus lies with Pakistan to create a conducive atmosphere for any peace talks by reiterating its well –known stand of “terror and talks” can’t go together. Qamar Bajwa did make a reference to Pakistan changing its strategy from ‘geopolitics’ to ‘geo-economics’. But Pakistan yet has to walk the talk. From all available inputs there might have been a change in thinking of the Pakistani brass and leadership but there are no visible indicators of any change in its “anti-India strategy.”
PM Modi in his customary congratulatory letter to his Pakistani counterpart on the occasion of 70th National Day did acknowledge the need of peace between the two neighbours, India’s consistent and established stand. But he also minced no words in conveying India’s concern for continued support by Pakistan to cross-border terror, the root cause of the hostile relations between the two countries. He wrote “India wants “cordial” relations with the neighbouring country but for that, it’s important to develop an “environment of trust” which is “devoid” of terror.” Post 05 August 2019, India has made its stand clear on the so-called “Kashmir Issue” by making it clear to the global community that dispute regarding to Kashmir is restricted to the illegal occupation of the 2/3rd territory of the erstwhile state of Jammu & Kashmir referred to as Azad Kashmir and POJK by India.
But from the response of PM Imran Khan, it has become obvious that the offer of peace by Pakistan is a sheer façade and Pakistan is just buying time to have a breather necessitated due to compelling military and economic reasons at home. He has tried to put the ball back in India’s court. Imran Khan has written to our PM Narendra Modi for creating an ‘enabling environment’ suited for a constructive and result-oriented dialogue to resolve outstanding issues between the two neighbours, including Jammu and Kashmir issue. For a change he has used the phrase “including Jammu & Kashmir” instead of it being the core issue and no headway can be made without its resolution first. May be Qamar Bajwa, for whom the breather is mandatory, has been able to prevail upon the Khan so that he can continue unabatedly to refurbish and rebuild his army and its assets on the LoC where it has received a thorough battering from the Indian Army.
Another thing to remember is that Pakistan has yet not given up terrorism as an instrument of state policy. Through its proxies it continues to support terror in Kashmir and is reported to be spreading the network of sleeper cells in our hinterland and the North East. Pakistan Army is feverishly using the ceasefire period to upgrade its infrastructure on the LoC including establishing new forward posts as well as preparing gun areas and ammunition points/dumps in the villages in depth in the close vicinity of the LoC. It is also learnt that Pakistani Army with the help of PLA is constructing tunnels in the posts for living shelters and ammunition storage. It would also provide them added protection during a nuclear attack. In addition it is also procuring from China modern military hardware as well as force multipliers like drones and surveillance systems.
Even going by the past, there appears to be many similarities. Pakistan Army continues to treat India as an existential threat. In the past similar ceasefire offers and need for peace overtures had been made by the Pakistani Chiefs but they lasted as long as Pakistan needed the peace. Unilateral abrogation and violation of the ceasefire agreements have been the hall-mark of unstable Indo-Pak relations. There is nothing different so far to trust Pakistan.