Window on Pakistani Media

By VK Gaur

New Delhi, March 03, 2019: The Pakistani media has never been honest in reporting related to Indo-Pak relations. They are still harping on shooting down two Indian fighter jets and yet not accepting the loss of their own F-16 Fighter plane. Here is what Pakistani is talking about in their own language.

EDITORIAL of EXPRESS TRIBUNE (3 MAR 19)

De-escalation of tensions may be a misnomer for what has transpired at the demarcation line between Pakistan and India. Tensions have transformed from openly manic to quietly manic; reports inform that residents of the Kashmir territory continue to experience war-like circumstances. Shelling by Indian troops took place in Azad Jammu and Kashmir in which one casualty, Mohammad Sudhir, and three injured youngsters were reported just hours prior to Wing Commander Abhinandan Varthaman’s promised release by Prime Minister Imran Khan. The violent lashing out continued on March 2 with responses from both sides, resulting in two civilian deaths. Many edifices have been evacuated but there needs to be more effort to first protect then rehabilitate civilians and the obvious path to choose is also the more noble and judicious route: meaningful dialogue.

The release of Abhinandan could have been the start of changed attitudes, regardless of what occurred at both ends before that point. However, the Indian response has been less than grateful. The Indian media has hinted that Pakistan released the pilot because it was weak or otherwise required to release him as per the Geneva Conventions on prisoners of war. The counterargument is Pakistan and India had not declared active war, so Abhinandan was not a POW. As for offerings of tea by way of humane treatment of the pilot, it is confusing for many on both sides that while the two nuclear countries threaten war and claim offences in the name of defence pointing to the other as the instigator, much of the focus was on the treatment of one captured man from the other side.

Nevertheless, while humane dealing was meted out to Abhinandan, the treatment of affected civilians remains the opposite. There needs to be a conscious effort by Prime Minister Narendra Modi and the Indian army to come clean and steer the region out of conflict. Admittedly, dialogue in the past has been unfruitful. However, a different approach is required with mediators as buffers to facilitate both sides in stating what they want and recognising that both countries mutually have a desire for their own safety and doing away with terrorists.

News Express Tribune

Modi indirectly Admits…..

Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi has indirectly admitted the superiority of Pakistani military in the ongoing confrontation between the two countries triggered by the February 14 suicide attack on Indian forces in the Pulwama district of Occupied Kashmir.

“Today, we badly felt the absence of Rafale fighter jets [in our air force fleet]. If we had Rafale, the scenario would have been different,” Modi said while speaking at the India Today Conclave 2019 in New Delhi on Saturday.

Pakistan Air Force shot down two Indian warplanes on Wednesday – a day after Indian aircraft violated Pakistan’s airspace and dropped their payload in a jungle of Balakot district of Khyber-Pakhtunkhwa.

New Delhi claimed its forces also shot down a Pakistan F-16 fighter jet but failed to substantiate its claim with credible evidence.

Modi said he would like to make it very clear that in the past, the country ‘suffered’ due to vested interest over the Rafale jets.

The Modi administration has signed a multibillion-dollar deal with French defence manufacturer Dassault Aviation to acquire 36 Rafale jets in an effort to overhaul the Indian Air Force. The opposition accuses Modi of wrongdoing in the deal.

The Russian-made MiG jets form an important part of the IAF fleet. India started using the MiGs in 1963, but since 1970, 170 pilots and 40 civilians have been killed in accidents involving the aircraft series. Due to the high rate of crashes, MiGs have come to be called ‘flying coffins’.

Modi criticised the opposition for politicising the Rafale deal. “We continue to suffer due to the politicisation of the Rafale deal. The vested interests and politicisation have caused great harm to the nation’s interest,” he said.

Attacking the opposition, Modi said they [opposition] are welcome to criticise his government’s policies and find faults in its working. “But I request you not to oppose matters related to the nation’s security,” he said.

India forces have relentlessly shelling civilian population along the Line of Control (LoC) since the Pulwama attack and the intensity and frequency of their shelling has increased since the downing of their warplanes on Wednesday.

Pakistan Army troops have befittingly and comprehensively responded to India’s aggression along the LoC, targeting posts of Indian border guards with accuracy. Intelligence sources say there are at least 15 confirmed casualties on the Indian side, though the death toll might be high.

Amid rising tensions between Pakistan and India, New Delhi has demanded Islamabad to ‘do more’, Express News reported.

According to sources, India has demanded Pakistan to handover 20 absconders, the majority of who are Sikh leaders of the Khalistan Movement.

Pakistan has been provided with a list of absconders which includes the main leaders of the Khalistan Movement.

The list includes Babbar Khalsa leader Wadhawa Singh, Khalistan Zindabad Movement leader Sardar Ranjit Singh, Khalistan Commando Force leader Sardar Paramjeet Singh Panjwar, International Sikh Youth Federation leader Lakhbir Singh and Happy Singh.

India has long accused Pakistan of leading the Khalistan Movement. Pakistan, however, has rejected the claims.

According to sources, none of the Sikh leaders mentioned in the list reside in Pakistan.

DAILY DAWN (3 March 2019)

Some Indian opposition leaders have asked the government to share evidence of the strikes.

Foreign Office says an OIC resolution has "condemned the recent wave of Indian terrorism in occupied Jammu and Kashmir".

2 soldiers martyred in Indian firing across LoC; 2 civilians dead, 3 others injured

The soldiers were martyred while returning fire to an Indian post that was targeting the civilian population, ISPR says.

The body of Pakistani prisoner killed in Indian jail handed over by BSF at Wagah

The release of Shakirullah's body comes a day after IAF pilot Abhinandan was handed over to India in a gesture of peace.

'Pakistan to ask UK, EU parliamentarians to play their part for de-escalation of tensions with India'

Qureshi says "world needs to differentiate between those who want peace and those who want war."

US "walked back its rhetoric of self-defence" after PAF shot down IAF plane, says former White House official.

DAILY PAKISTAN – (3 March 2019)

RAWALPINDI – Indian forces on Saturday again resorted to unprovoked firing along the Line of Control (LoC), killing four, including two Pakistan Army soldiers.

According to Inter Services Public Relations (ISPR), the Indian forces targeted the civilian population in Nakiyal, Tattapani and Jandrot sectors along the LoC.

The martyred soldiers have been identified as 31-year-old HavaldarAbdur Rub from Dera Ghazi Khan who is survived by two daughters and a widow.

Naik Khuram also traces origin from Dera Ghazi Khan city of Punjab. The 31-year-old valiant soldier is survived by a daughter and a widow.

Pakistani forces responded befittingly in retaliation after aggression by India and killed several Indian troops while destroying many Indian posts after targeting them.

Earlier, ISPR had said two civilians had been martyred and two others were left injured as Indian forces targeted civilian population in Tattapani and Jandrot sectors along LoC. The injured have been shifted to a hospital in Kotli, the military’s media wing added.

The Pakistan Air Force (PAF) and Pakistan Navy continue to be alert and vigilant, the ISPR stated.

Last week, Indian jets dropped payload at a hilly forest area in Balakot. In reply to that, Pakistan Air Force (PAF) on Wednesday shot down two Indian military aircraft in Pakistani airspace after repeated LoC violation. Pakistan also captured an Indian pilot Abhinandan alive who was released on Friday as a “peace gesture”.

Photo – Courtesy Daily Express / Dawn / GETTY SAMAA TV

(Compiled by Mr. VK Gaur, former IG, BSF, who has written more than 50 Books on the issues related to Defence, Strategy and Internal security.)