Monday night saw the Kashmiri front reignite into the worst breach of the ceasefire between India and Pakistan since it was agreed in 2003. A 12-hour gun battle across the disputed frontier left one Indian and four Pakistani soldiers dead. The Indian army say the battle was started by Pakistani troops crossing the border and opening fire.
"Between 10 and 12 Pakistani soldiers crossed the Line of Control and entered the Kupwara sector (in Indian Kashmir), and after a verbal duel they shot dead a soldier," said spokesman Lt. Col. Anil Kumar Mathur. "We've sought a meeting with the Pakistani army to protest the violation of the cease-fire."
The toD verdict: The last few days have highlighted the range of internal and external threats facing India. Manmohan Singh's government just barely scraped through a vote of no-confidence last week related to its civilian nuclear deal with the United States, and the tumultuous process left it with a blemished reputation and a restless political situation.
Then, over the weekend, came the devastating series of bomb attacks in Ahmedabad and Bangalore that left at least 50 people dead and around 150 injured. The Indian Mujahideen, who claimed responsibility for the Ahmedabad attacks, say the blasts were in retaliation for the region's ethnic clashes in 2002 between Hindus and Muslims, in which around 2,000 Muslims were killed.
Analysts have been quick to point blame at Pakistan's Inter-Services Intelligence (ISI) agency. It is widely believed these attacks are the culmination of a long-term plan by the ISI to create home-grown Islamist cells within India, initially funded and organised in Pakistan and Bangladesh, but increasingly autonomous.
Despite the slow success of the peace process between India and Pakistan, last night's gun battle across the Kashmiri border is evidence of the continued external threat from India's volatile neighbour. India is paying the price for the disarray in Pakistani politics and the failure of Islamabad to keep a tight rein on its army and intelligence services.
Palestinian security forces torture each other, says report
A human rights agency says opposing Palestinian security forces are torturing rivals and that the vast majority of arrests are politically motivated. Both Hamas and Fatah have acknowledged problems, but say they are being dealt with. The two groups have been engaged in a violent struggle for power since Hamas seized control of the Gaza Strip in June 2007. A perfect illustration of the point was made just yesterday as both sides made dozens of tit-for-tat arrests throughout the West Bank and Gaza. Amid ongoing uncertainty about whether and how Palestinian reconciliation should take place, such human rights violations are likely to continue.
PKK denies involvement in Istanbul blasts
The Kurdistan Workers Party (PKK) have denied responsibility for the explosions that killed 17 people in Istanbul on Sunday. "The PKK has nothing to do with this event," the group's leader, Zubeyir Aydar, told a pro-Kurdish news agency, responding to yesterdays' accusations by Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan. The possibility has been raised that the shadowy secularist group Ergenekon could be behind the attacks. There are no certainties in Turkey at the moment - these are tumultuous times, in which the Constitutional Court is about to make a landmark decision on whether the ruling Justice and Development Party has threatened Turkey's rigidly secular code of conduct. Further shocks to system are likely in the coming weeks.
Petraeus speaks too soon
It was unfortunate timing for General David Petraeus, America's top general in Iraq, when he told Reuters that security forces controlled virtually the whole of the country. His interview coincided with one of the bloodiest days of the year in Iraq, with suicide bombers killing an estimated 61 people and injuring around 250 in Baghdad and Kirkuk. The attacks targeted a Shia pilgrimage in the capital, and a Kurdish protest in the northern city of Kirkuk. "I think it's accurate to say that Iraqi and coalition forces control the vast majority of the country," Petraeus said. "There are clearly areas in which al Qaeda or other extremist elements have what you might call small sanctuaries." Sadly, small sanctuaries are all that is needed to carry out large attacks.
