Editor’s Note: Here is a bit of a dispassionate analysis of the facts. I have gathered this material from Indian News Papers so that the facts may not be called biased. This just shows how tricky it is to rely on media reports and launch into tirade. The actual facts are far from really known but even this small glimpse of what happened from Indian News papers shows that all is not well on thier side also. Hope sanity will prevail and everyone can see that this is not as black and white as we all make it. May Allah bless us with His Guidance and Taqwa.

For more see comments:

Business Standard: ……………Nor is the MoD keen to disturb the ceasefire; the Pakistan Army has shifted some 70,000 soldiers from the LoC to Khyber-Pakhtunkhwa province, for counter terrorist operations in the tribal areas. If India turned on the heat seriously, an insecure Pakistan Army could move troops back to the LoC. Indian intelligence agencies also worry that an aggressive Indian response could cause the Pakistan Army to mend fences quickly with the jehadi groups they are currently fighting.

But this logic has been ignored by large sections of the Indian media, which covered the incident in gory detail on the morning of January 9, even as there was deafening silence from the Pakistani press. After a full day of Pakistan-bashing on television, January 10 saw two Indian newspapers — The Hindu; and DNA (Daily News & Analysis) — prominently headline the news that the Pakistani attack in Mendhar was in response to an Indian attack in Uri the preceding Sunday, in which one Pakistani soldier was killed and another grievously injured in an attack on a Pakistani post. The article also stated that earlier Indian attacks on Pakistani posts on the LoC had been accompanied by the beheading of Pakistani soldiers.

For many Indians, this revelation somewhat changed the complexion of the debate. From a dastardly sneak attack that involved the barbaric chopping off of Indian heads, the Pakistani action was now retaliation; and its barbarity viewed in the context of a wider barbarism on the LoC. But large sections of the media simply ignored the report, maintaining a relentless drumbeat for action against Pakistan.

Like many Pakistani television guests, the Pakistan Army’s former Chairman Joint Chiefs of Staff Committee, General Tariq Majid, emphatically reject allegations that Pakistani soldiers could have deliberately taken an Indian head. He argues that explosions during combat sometimes mutilate soldiers’ bodies.

“The perception in our official circles is that this (Indian allegation) is yet another manifestation of the blow-hot-blow-cold policy being pursued to keep Pakistan under pressure,” says General Majid.

More:

The Hindu: ……….Inside of a week after Ms. Reshma’s departure, troops of the 9 Maratha Light Infantry began constructing observations bunkers around Charonda, seeking to monitor the movement of villagers.

The construction work — barred by the terms of the Line of Control ceasefire which India and Pakistan agreed on in 2003 — provoked furious protests from Pakistani troops. Indian commanders, the military source said, conceded that the construction was in violation of the ceasefire.

However, they refused to stop work, arguing that the posts faced out towards the village, posing no threat to Pakistan.

Early in October, the official said, tensions began to escalate. Pakistan even made announcements over a public address system, demanding that Indian troops end the construction work.

Following the announcement, shells followed. Pakistani troops fired mortar and high-calibre automatic weapons at Indian forward positions. The fire missed…

http://www.thehindu.com/todays-paper/runaway-grandmother-sparked-savage-skirmish-on-loc/article4292618.ece

Here is the original source from The Hindu Story on how both sides have engaged in “beheadings”

LoC firing: Defence Ministry ‘clarifies’, The Hindu responds

In a ‘Media Clarification’ issued on Thursday, the Public Relations Officer, Ministry of Defence, Srinagar, says:

1. Please refer to the news article “Runway grandmother sparked savage skirmish on LoC” by Praveen Swami, published in The Hindu on January 10, 2013. Certain aspects mentioned in the article are factually incorrect.

2. First, as per the article, 70-year-old Reshma Bi had crossed the Line of Control on 26 September, 2011. Therefore, the recent cease fire violations cannot be linked to an incident 16 months old.

3. As mentioned in the article, no announcements were made by the Pakistan Army over a public address system at Uri demanding a halt to any construction work.

4. GOC 19 Inf Div. Maj Gen G.S. Rawat is not the General Officer Commanding of 19 Inf Div, Maj Gen Khandare is the GOC, 19 Inf Div now.

5. Also it is denied that any permission was ever sought by the GOC for aggressive action against any Pakistani post. No LC transgression has been resorted to by the Indian army in Uri Sector on 06 Jan 13, as alleged.

6. Pakistan has carried out cease fire violations on night 05/06 Jan and controlled retaliation was carried out by own side on January 6, 2013.

Praveen Swami replies:

I indeed erred in designating Brigadier G.S. Rawat as the head of the 19 Infantry Division; he was in fact the Brigade Commander of the 161 Brigade in Uri, which is part of the 19 Infantry Division. The error is regretted.

However, the rest of the Defence Ministry clarification makes little sense. It states that “as per the article, 70-year-old Reshma Bi had crossed the Line of Control on 26 September, 2011.” There is no such claim in the article. It in fact states that she crossed the Line of Control on September 11, 2012. That means there were barely six weeks between her departure and the firing, not sixteen months.

Secondly, the Defence Ministry disputes that the Pakistan Army made announcements over its public address system asking India to cease the bunker construction that followed. However, it does not dispute that it began constructing bunkers — the bone of contention which led to the clash.

Finally, it states that The Hindu charged it with staging a cross-border raid on January 6, 2012. The Hindu story made no such claim: it merely states that Pakistan alleges that Indian troops staged such a raid, along with India’s denial of this allegation.

Thus, the Defence Ministry denial concedes all key elements of The Hindu’s article — i.e., that India constructed bunkers around Charonda, which provoked a Pakistani response, leading to a clash in which Pakistani soldiers were killed, and Indian soldiers were killed in retaliation.

Interestingly, the Defence Ministry does not deny other elements of the story, such as the suggestion that both sides have engaged in cross border raids, which have on occasion included beheadings.

http://www.thehindu.com/todays-paper/tp-opinion/loc-firing-defence-ministry-clarifies-the-hindu-responds/article4296692.ece