ISLAMABAD: Three Pakistani soldiers have been killed by Indian fire across the Line of Control in the disputed Kashmir region, Pakistani officials said Tuesday.
A military statement said the “unprovoked cease-fire violation” took place Monday in Rawalakot in the Pakistan-controlled part of Kashmir. It came two days after India’s army said four of its soldiers had been killed by Pakistani fire along the de facto border between the South Asian rivals.
In the latest shooting, the Indian military said that its soldiers targeted Pakistani posts after the Pakistani side had targeted their positions. The Indian troops did not suffer any casualties, officials said.
The incident happened hours after the wife and mother of an imprisoned Indian naval officer who faces the death penalty in Pakistan for espionage and sabotage were allowed to meet with him in Islamabad.
The situation remained tense in some of the Pakistan-controlled part of Kashmir, with residents fleeing to safer places in the region.
After Saturday’s shooting, the Indian military said in a statement that the soldiers’ killings “will not go in vain.” India said Pakistani soldiers had violated the 2003 cease-fire accord by targeting Indian forward posts in the Rajouri sector.
Pakistan’s army and the foreign ministry did not respond to the Indian claims.
India and Pakistan have a long history of bitter relations over the Himalayan territory of Kashmir, which is claimed by both in its entirety. Both countries have repeatedly accused the other of initiating border skirmishes that led to the deaths of soldiers and civilians.
They have fought two of their three wars over the region since they gained independence from British colonial rule in 1947.
Meanwhile, India accused Pakistan of violating mutual understandings on a meeting Tuesday of an Indian naval officer facing the death penalty in Pakistan for espionage and sabotage with his wife and mother in Islamabad.
It was the first meeting between Kulbhushan Jadhav and his family since he was arrested in March 2016 after allegedly entering the country from Iran.
A Pakistani military tribunal found Jadhav guilty of espionage and sabotage and sentenced him to death, but India obtained an order from the International Court of Justice to halt the execution.
Indian External Affairs Ministry spokesman Raveesh Kumar said that contrary to assurances, the overall atmosphere of the meeting was intimidating insofar as family members were concerned.
During the meeting, Jadhav was seen sitting behind a glass screen in the Pakistani Foreign Office while his mother and wife sat on the other side. They spoke through an intercom for nearly 40 minutes.
Pakistani Foreign Ministry spokesman Mohammad Faisal said Pakistan allowed the meeting as a “humanitarian gesture” following a request from India. He said the visit was granted in accordance with Islamic customs despite Jadhav’s involvement in “acts of terrorism.”
Also on Tuesday, Indian troops killed a rebel commander in a gunfight in southern Samboora village in Indian-held Kashmir, police said.
Police called the killing of Noor Mohammed a “significant breakthrough.”
A statement by police blamed Mohammed for masterminding and coordinating a string of attacks, including an audacious strike recently by three militants near the highly secured airport in the region’s main city of Srinagar.
Anti-India protests and clashes followed as the fighting raged on Tuesday, with hundreds of residents hitting streets in solidarity with the rebels. Government forces fired shotgun pellets and tear gas to quell rock-throwing protesters. There were no immediate reports of injuries.
Pakistan army says Indian fire kills 3 soldiers in Kashmir
Pakistan army says Indian fire kills 3 soldiers in Kashmir
Zelensky says he’s open to creating demilitarized zone in Ukraine’s industrial heartland
- The working draft ensures that Ukraine will receive “strong” security guarantees that would require Ukraine’s partners to act in the event of renewed Russian aggression
KYIV, Ukraine: Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky said he would be willing to withdraw troops from the country’s eastern industrial heartland as part of a plan to end Russia’s war, if Moscow also pulls back and the area becomes a demilitarized zone monitored by international forces.
The proposal offered another potential compromise on control of the Donbas region, which has been a major sticking point in peace negotiations.
Zelensky said the US proposed the creation of a “free economic zone,” which he said should be demilitarized. But it was unclear what that idea would mean for governance or development of the region.
A similar arrangement could be possible for the area around the Zaporizhzhia nuclear power plant, which is currently under Russian control, Zelensky said. He said any peace plan would need to be put to a referendum.
Zelensky spoke to reporters Tuesday to describe an overarching 20-point plan that negotiators from Ukraine and the US hammered out in Florida in recent days, though he said many details are still being discussed.
Russia offers no hint it will agree to withdrawal
Russia has given no indication that it will agree to any kind of withdrawal from land it has seized. In fact, Moscow has insisted that Ukraine relinquish the remaining territory it still holds in the Donbas — an ultimatum that Ukraine has rejected. Russia has captured most of Luhansk and about 70 percent of Donetsk — the two areas that make up the Donbas.
Asked about the plan, Kremlin spokesperson Dmitry Peskov said Wednesday that Moscow would decide its position based on information received by Russian presidential envoy Kirill Dmitriev, who met with US envoys in Florida over the weekend. Peskov declined to share further details.
American negotiators have engaged in a series of talks with Ukraine and Russia separately since US President Donald Trump presented a plan to end the war last month — a proposal widely seen as favoring Moscow, which invaded its neighbor nearly four years ago. Since then, Ukraine and its allies in Europe have worked to pull the plan closer to Kyiv’s position.
Zelensky said figuring out control of the Donbas region is “the most difficult point.”
Meanwhile, on the Zaporizhzhia nuclear power plant, the US has proposed creating a consortium with Ukraine and Russia, in which each party would have an equal stake.
Zelensky countered with a proposal for a joint venture between the US and Ukraine, in which the Americans would be able to decide how to distribute their share, including giving some of it to Russia.
Zelensky acknowledged that the US has not yet accepted Ukraine’s counter-proposals.
“But we have significantly brought most of the positions closer together,” Zelensky said. “In principle, all other consensus in this agreement has been found between us and them.”
Zone would require difficult discussions
Creating the demilitarized economic zone in the Donbas would require difficult discussions on how far troops would be required to move back and where international forces would be stationed, Zelensky said, adding that it should discussed at the leaders level.
The working US-Ukraine draft also proposes that Russian forces withdraw from the Dnipropetrovsk, Mykolaiv, Sumy and Kharkiv regions. Zelensky envisions that international forces could be located along certain points of the contact line within the zone to monitor the implementation of the agreement.
Ukraine also proposes that the occupied city of Enerhodar, which is the closest city to the Zaporizhzhia power plant, become a demilitarized free economic zone, Zelensky said.
This point required 15 hours of discussions with the US, he said, and no agreement was reached.
For now, the US proposes that the plant be jointly operated by Ukraine, the US and Russia, with each side controlling a 33 percent stake in the enterprise — a plan Zelensky called “not entirely realistic.”
“How can you have joint commerce with the Russians after everything?” he asked.
Ukraine instead suggested that the plant be operated by a joint venture with the US in which the Americans can determine independently how to distribute the energy from their 50 percent share.
Zelensky said billions in investments are needed to make the plant run again, including restoring the adjacent dam.
Details on security guarantees
The working draft ensures that Ukraine will receive “strong” security guarantees that would require Ukraine’s partners to act in the event of renewed Russian aggression. That would mirror NATO’s Article 5, which says an armed attack on one member of the alliance is an attack on all.
Zelensky said a separate document with the US will outline these guarantees. It will detail the conditions under which security will be provided, particularly in the event of another Russian assault, and it will establish a mechanism to monitor any ceasefire. The document will be signed with the main agreement to end the war, Zelensky said.
“The mood of the United States of America is that this is an unprecedented step toward Ukraine on their part. They believe that they are giving strong security guarantees,” he said.
The draft contains other elements, including keeping Ukraine’s army at 800,000 during peacetime and making Ukraine a member of the European Union by a specific date. Limiting the size of Ukraine’s military is a key Russian demand.
Elections and economic incentives
The document also proposes accelerating a free-trade agreement between Ukraine and the US The US wants the same deal with Russia, Zelensky said.
Ukraine would like to receive short-term privileged access to the European market and a robust global development package that would include the creation of a development fund to solicit outside investment in Ukraine’s industries.
Other points include raising funds for Ukraine’s reconstruction, with the goal of attracting $800 billion through equity, grants, loans and private-sector contributions.
The draft proposal also requires Ukraine to hold elections after the signing of the agreement. Zelensky’s five-year term was scheduled to end in May 2024, but elections were put off due to Russia’s invasion.
Ukraine is also asking that all prisoners taken since 2014 be released at once, and that civilian detainees, political prisoners and children be returned to Ukraine.
In other developments, an explosion in Moscow on Wednesday killed three people, including two police officers, Russian investigators said, days after a car bomb killed a high-ranking general not far away.
An official from Ukraine’s military intelligence agency, known as GUR, told The Associated Press that the attack had been carried out as part of an agency operation. Another official from the agency said the police officers had taken part in Russia’s war in Ukraine, without providing details. Both spoke on condition of anonymity because they were not authorized to speak publicly on the matter.
