It was a day of quiet on the India-Pakistan front except for the sporadic gunfire exchanged between the two sides in the Akhnoor sector of the international border in Jammu and Kashmir.
On the other hand, it is a worrying sign to see no diplomatic efforts being taken up by both the sides to diffuse the tension. The South Asian Association for Regional Cooperation (SAARC) summit to have been held in the Pakistan in November was cancelled after India boycotted the summit. The announcement came after Afghanistan, Bhutan, Bangaladesh too boycotted the summit on Friday. Sri Lanka too had expressed its reservations.
Politicians on both sides of the border are still making some chest thumping statements. Defence Minister Manohar Parrikar today compared Pakistan’s condition to an “anaesthetised patient” after a surgery and said like Hanuman Indian Army has recognised its prowess. Comparing the Indian Army to Hanuman, he made a reference to the Ramayana in which the monkey god crossed an ocean in a single stride after he was reminded about his extraordinary powers by Jamwant. “Indian troops were like Hanuman who did not quite know their prowess before the surgical strikes,” Parrikar said.
Pakistan Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif Terming warned that Pakistan is also capable of executing surgical strikes and will not allow anyone to “cast an evil eye” on it.
All Indian channels have been banned in Pakistan. The order of Pakistan Electronic Media Regulatory Authority (PEMRA) will come into effect on October 15.
Pakistan has stopped showing Indian films in Pakistan theatres.
There is clamour for Pakistan artists working in Indian film industry to leave the country.
There are some people to people peace initiatives emerging. There is a petition campaign going on asking to bring peace between the two nations.
There is also a poster campign on Facebook. Admiral L. Ramdas, a former chief of Indian Navy, and his wife Lalita Ramdas, a former chairperson of Greenpeace international posted a photo asking for peace between the two neighbours.
Tensions between nuclear armed India and Pakistan rose after terrorists attacked an Indian military camp in Uri in Jammu & Kashmir.
In retalliation India conducted surgical strikes across the Line of Control on 28th September.
Millions of people have been evacuated from the border districts of India.
