New Delhi
India and China held another round of high-level military talks on Saturday to move forward on the disengagement process in the remaining friction points in eastern Ladakh to end an over 14-month standoff, sources in the security establishment said.
The 12th round of Corps Commander-level talks took place at the Moldo border point on the Chinese side of the Line of Actual Control (LAC) in eastern Ladakh.
The talks started at 10.30am as scheduled, said a source.
India was hopeful of a positive outcome on the disengagement process in Hot Springs and Gogra, the sources said about the talks.
The latest round of talks took place after a gap of over three and a half months. The 11th round of military dialogue had taken place on April 9 at the Chushul border point on the Indian side of the LAC and it lasted for around 13 hours.
The 12th round of military talks came after 2 weeks after External Affairs Minister S Jaishankar firmly conveyed to his Chinese counterpart Wang Yi the prolongation of the existing situation in eastern Ladakh was visibly impacting the bilateral ties in a “negative manner”.
The two ministers had held a one-hour bilateral meeting on the sidelines of a conclave of the Shanghai Cooperation Organisation in Tajik capital Dushanbe on July 14.
2 Pakistani intruders shot dead along IB in Punjab’s Tarn Taran
Chandigarh
Two Pakistani intruders were shot dead by the Border Security Force along the International Border in Punjab’s Tarn Taran district, an official of the BSF said on Saturday. The BSF troops noticed suspicious movement near the border fence at 8.48 pm on Friday. The BSF personnel asked the intruders to stop, but they did not pay heed to repeated warnings. Sensing threat, the BSF troops opened fire, the official said.
LEM ultra arrested as NIA raids 15 locations in J&K
Jammu
The National Investigation Agency Saturday arrested a Lashker-e-Mustafa (LeM) terrorist as it conducted raids at 15 locations across Jammu and Kashmir in connection with two terror-related cases including the recent recovery of a drone-dropped IED from Pakistan, officials said.
A large quantity of incriminating material including digital devices, shells of used bullets, plastic face masks that guard stone-pelting and handwritten jihadi material were also recovered during the raids, they said.
The LeM, working at the behest of Pakistan-based Jaish-e-Mohammad outfit, was declared wiped out in February with the arrest of its self-styled chief Hidayatullah Malik and his associate Nazir Ahmad from Jammu, both residents of Shopian district. They were trying to set up a base to receive Pakistani terrorists and arms and ammunition from across the border.
“The NIA along with J&K police and CRPF conducted searches at nine locations in Shopian, Anantnag and Jammu districts in the case related to the LeM. Subsequent to searches, accused Irfan Ahmed Dar of Batingoo (Anantnag) was arrested,” a spokesperson of the agency said.
The NIA said the preliminary investigation revealed he was involved in the conspiracy to carry out terrorist activities in collusion with other arrested accused.
Change negative perception of police among people: PM
New Delhi
Prime Minister Modi on Saturday told Indian Police Service probationers the spirit of ‘Nation First, Always First’ should reflect in every action of theirs and also asked them to work to change the negative perception of the force among people.
Addressing the IPS probationers at Sardar Vallabhbhai Patel National Police Academy via video-conferencing, he urged them to let their every action in field be guided by national interest and perspective. “You are the flag-bearers of ‘Ek Bharat, Shrestha Bharat’. Therefore, the spirit of Nation First, Always First, should be reflected in your every action,” he said. Noting the “negative perception” people have about police is a “big challenge”, Modi said this changed a bit during the beginning of the coronavirus period when people saw policemen helping out, but the old situation has returned.
In this context, the prime minister cited the credibility and good image the National Disaster Response Force enjoys among people and asked if the society has similar sentiments for police.
