Secret battles continue on control line between India and Pakistan

KASHMIR: India and Pakistan continue to fight secret battles along the line of control that divides northern disputed Jammu …

KASHMIR: India and Pakistan continue to fight secret battles along the line of control that divides northern disputed Jammu and Kashmir state, after their armies went on a war footing last December, considerably heightening tension between the nuclear rivals.

From Rahul Bedi,

in Rajouri,

northern India

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The two sides traded artillery and mortar fire at the weekend at Sangarh in the Bhawani sector, around 160 miles north-west of the state's winter capital, Jammu, as Indian army infantry units awaited orders to recapture the strategic area along the line of control that Pakistan had occupied around mid-July.

Military sources said the army has launched "several" unsuccessful attacks over the past six weeks to evict the Pakistanis, securely lodged some 150-200 metres inside Indian territory.

But they were beaten back, as the Pakistan army had "amply fortified" its defences by building fresh bunkers, regularly subjecting nearby villages to mortar and small arms fire.

There was no official confirmation by the army of the occupation, the skirmishes or any casualties.

A security official, declining to be identified said the army was unwilling to share information about the incident with other security agencies as it evoked negative memories of the infiltration three years ago by thousands of Pakistani soldiers deep inside Indian territory in the Kargil region to the north. The Kargil fiasco led to 11 weeks of fighting in which 1,200 soldiers, 520 of them Indian died.

More than one million Indian and Pakistani soldiers mobilised along their common frontier following last December's suicide attack on the Indian parliament, for which Delhi held Islamabad responsible. The two sides came very close to war in June, following a similar attack on a garrison in Jammu. Pakistan denied involvement in both strikes.

Official sources said the tract of land over which skirmishes continue was taken over after the 10 Jammu and Kashmir Light Infantry (JKLI) unit in charge of the area stopped patrolling it.

The JKLI unit reportedly felt that, since it held the Kangarh post located strategically above the occupied tract, there was no need to physically man it.

On July 29th, Indian fighter jets and helicopter gun ships backed by artillery fire and ground troops, carried out precision bombing raids on the Loonda post in the Machil sector, further north along the line of control, killing several Pakistani soldiers.

Seven soldiers and nine high-altitude porters working for the Indian army have also died in unpublicised skirmishes with Pakistan over the past two months.

Fighting has raged around several peaks that dominate the only highway connecting Kashmir's summer capital Srinagar with vital northern military bases along the Pakistani and Chinese borders.

The battle for Point 5070 - named after its altitude in metres - started after Pakistani troops occupied it early this summer. India managed to evict the Pakistani's from this mountain but fighting continues over Point 5301.

Military sources said the army is unable to regain Point 5301 as Point 5353, the highest peak in the region, belongs to India but is held by Pakistan. Troops attempting to capture Point 5301 have faced deadly fire from Pakistan-held positions on the higher peak. Although the army has been lobbying hard for a formidable assault on this feature, the federal government is hesitant to authorise it as it is fearful of further escalating tensions with Pakistan.