Category: Asia News

The Army on Sunday paid tributes to its bravehearts killed in the line of duty during Pakistani firing at the LoC in north Kashmir, officials said.

In a solemn ceremony held at BB Cantt, Lt General BS Raju, Chinar Corps Commander, and all ranks paid homage to Havildar Hardhan Chandra Roy, Naik Satai Bhushan Rameshrao, Gunner Subodh Ghosh, and Sepoy Jondhale Rushikesh Ramchandra on behalf of the proud and grateful nation.

The gallant soldiers had made the supreme sacrifice on November 13 when the Pakistan Army indulged in unprovoked ceasefire violations in multiple Sectors of Kashmir.

Havildar Hardhan Chandra Roy and Gunner Subodh Ghosh of the Artillery Regiment were deployed in the Uri Sector while Naik Satai Bhushan Rameshrao and Sepoy Jondhale Rushikesh Ramchandra of the Maratha Light Infantry were deployed in the Gurez Sector.

In the unprovoked artillery shelling by Pakistan army, these bravehearts received multiple splinter injuries. They were provided immediate medical aid and evacuated to nearest military medical facilities, but succumbed to their injuries.

Late Havildar Hardhan Chandra Roy, 38, belonged to Mhedhipara village in Futkibari Tehsil in Dhubri district, Assam. He had joined the Army in 2001 and is survived by his wife and son.

Late Naik Satai Bhushan Rameshrao hailed from Kotal village in Nagpur district, Maharashtra. The 28-year-old had joined the Army in 2011 and is survived by his parents.

Late Gunner Subodh Ghosh had joined the Army in 2017. The 22-year-old belonged to Raghunathpur vilalge in Tehatta Tehsil in Nadia district, West Bengal, and is survived by his wife and parents.

Late Sepoy Jondhale Rushikesh Ramchandra hailed from Bahirewadi village in of jara Tehsil in Kolhapur district, Maharashtra. The 20-year-old had joined the Army in 2019 and is survived by his parents.

“The Chinar Corps also acknowledges the supreme sacrifice of Sub-Inspector Rakesh Doval of the Border Security Force during the ceasefire violation in Naugam Sector,” the Army said.

The mortal remains of the bravehearts were taken to their native places, where they would be cremated with full military honours.

“In this hour of grief, the Army stands in solidarity with these bereaved families and remains committed to their dignity and well-being,” the Army said.

India had on Saturday summoned the Charge d’Affaires of the Pakistan High Commission to lodge a strong protest over unprovoked ceasefire violation in Jammu and Kashmir on the festive occasion of Diwali.

In a statement, the Ministry of External Affairs said, “The Charge d’Affaires of the High Commission of Pakistan was summoned by the Ministry of External Affairs today and a strong protest was lodged over unprovoked ceasefire violations by Pakistani forces, on multiple sectors along the Line of Control (LoC) in Jammu and Kashmir on 13 November 2020, resulting in the death of four innocent civilians and serious injuries to 19 others”.

“India condemns, in the strongest terms, the deliberate targeting of innocent civilians by Pakistani forces,” MEA said.

“It is highly deplorable that Pakistan chose a festive occasion in India to disrupt peace and perpetrate violence in J&K through coordinated firing along the length of the LoC using heavy caliber weapons, including artillery and mortar on Indian civilians,” the statement by India said.

India also strongly protested Pakistan’s continued support to cross border terrorist infiltration into India, including through supporting cover fire provided by Pakistan forces. Pakistan was once again reminded of its bilateral commitment to not allow any territory under its control to be used for terrorism against India in any manner.

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The Russian peacekeeping force stationed in the Nagorno-Karabakh region also took part in the event, Azerbaijan’s Defence Ministry said in a statement…reports Asian Lite News

Azerbaijan and Armenia exchanged the bodies of a number of servicemen who were killed during the fighting around the city of Shusha in the disputed Nagorno-Karabakh region, according to the defence authorities here.

An unspecified number of bodies of the Armenian armed forces were handed over on Saturday, while the bodies of six Azerbaijani servicemen were returned, Xinhua news agency reported.

The Russian peacekeeping force stationed in the Nagorno-Karabakh region also took part in the event, Azerbaijan’s Defence Ministry said in a statement.

Meanwhile, the search and retrieval of the conflict victims are underway with the involvement of the Russian peacekeepers and the Red Cross, according to the Defence Ministry of Armenia.

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The exchange was organized in accordance with Article 8 of a joint statement signed on November 8 by Azerbaijani President Ilham Aliyev, Armenian Prime Minister Nikol Pashinyan and Russian President Vladimir Putin, agreeing on a complete ceasefire in the conflict-ridden region.

As agreed, Russia has deployed a peacekeeping contingent consisting of 1,960 servicemen with small arms, 90 armoured personnel carriers, and 380 vehicles to the region.

This is the fourth ceasefire since last month.

The three other ceasefires — two brokered by Russia (October 10, 17) and one by the US (October 26) — collapsed after Armenia and Azerbaijan traded accusations and attacks.

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A new round of armed conflict broke out on September 27 along the contact line of the disputed Nagorno-Karabakh region, which is internationally recognized as part of Azerbaijan but mostly governed by the Republic of Artsakh, a de facto independent state with an Armenian ethnic majority.

The area experienced flare-ups of violence in the summer of 2014, April 2016 and in July this year.

Armenia and Azerbaijan went to war over the region in 1988-94, eventually declaring a ceasefire.

However, a settlement was never reached.

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In a statement on Saturday, Foreign Ministry spokesman Saeed Khatibzadeh said that the story by the western media is a “scenario and fabricated information created by the US and Israel”…reports Asian Lite News

Iran’s Foreign Ministry has denied a media report about the recent killing of an Al Qaeda leader in the capital Tehran.

On November 13, the New York Times reported that Al Qaida’s second-in-command Muhammad al-Masri was killed by the Israeli operatives in Tehran in August, reports Xinhua news agency.

The newspaper report cited US intelligence officials as saying that al-Masri, accused of being one of the masterminds of two deadly 1998 attacks on American embassies in Africa, was gunned down by two assassins on motorcycles on August 7.

But in a statement on Saturday, Foreign Ministry spokesman Saeed Khatibzadeh said that the story by the western media is a “scenario and fabricated information created by the US and Israel”.

The western media report is “a false accusation” levelled by the US officials against Iran, and the Islamic republic “strongly denies the presence of terrorist members in the country”, he added.

“In order to dodge responsibility for the criminal activities of this group and other terrorist groups in the region, Washington and Tel Aviv from time to time try to paint Iran as being tied to these groups through weaving lies and leaking fabricated information to the media.”

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