There are reports that Pakistan is planning to intensify the proxy war against India in response to last year’s airstrike on Balakot camp. This came after Green Book 2020 published by the general headquarters of the Pakistan Army was leaked by Express

The report suggests reviving the “local uprising” in Jammu and Kashmir which will make it difficult for “India to keep selling the terrorism card” in the highly-volatile region. The book maps out the plans to wage war against India into the “non-kinetic domain” like information or cyber or electronic warfare.

The book mentions China as a steadfast ally of Pakistan and quotes Chinese President Xi Jinping as saying: “No matter how things change in the world and the region, China will firmly support Pakistan in upholding its sovereignty, independence and territorial integrity and dignity.”

A leaked copy reveals Pakistan Army COAS – General Qamar Javed Bajwa has written that the Balakot strike and eroding of Jammu and Kashmir’s special autonomous status will have “lasting imprint on the geopolitics” of the region.

Tensions between India and Pakistan are at an all-time high due to unrelenting terror attacks on the Indian security forces in Jammu and Kashmir and ceasefire violations along the Line of Control.

Yesterday, three soldiers of the Central Reserve Police Force (CRPF) were killed and seven injured after a patrolling party of the paramilitary force was attacked by terrorists in Jammu and Kashmir’s Handwara on Monday.

This came after the death of five security officers, including two senior army officers, in Handwara, Kupwara district in a face-off with terrorists that began on Saturday. Two terrorists were also killed during the operation.

This further lead to heavy cross border shelling in Baramulla region of Jammu and Kashmir. India says that Pakistan has violated the ceasefire around 1,400 times this year alone.

Given the tense state of affairs, New Delhi has come up with a plan to construct 125 bunkers along the Line of Control (LoC) in Baramulla and Kupwara districts to safeguard men and material along the LoC from the cross-border shelling.

India Protests Over Gilgit-Baltistan

India has launched a strong protest against Pakistan’s Supreme Court order allowing elections to be held in Gilgit Baltistan. India considers Gilgit Baltistan as its integral part, illegally controlled by Pakistan.

The Press release by Ministry of External Affairs (MEA) stated that the entire state of Jammu and Kashmir which also includes ‘Gilgit-Baltistan’ areas is an integral part of India by virtue of its accession in 1947. Any action to alter the status of any part of the territory under forcible and illegal occupation of Pakistan has no legal basis whatsoever and is completely unacceptable.

This came after a seven-member bench including the Chief Justice Gulzar Ahmed accepted the plea made by the government of Pakistan asking to amend the Gilgit-Baltistan Order 2018.

The order essentially seizes the powers of Gilgit Baltistan Council and entrusts the Prime Minister of Pakistan with indisputable authority vis-a-vis Gilgit-Baltistan. This plea made by the government of Pakistan included holding the elections and to set up a caretaker government during the interregnum period which was accepted by the court.

India has maintained that Pakistan has no locus standi in the case since it is illegally occupied. “Such actions can neither hide the illegal occupation of part of the state of Jammu and Kashmir by Pakistan nor the grave human rights violations, exploitation and denial of freedom to the people residing in Pakistan occupied territories for the past seven decades,” stated the MEA press release.

India has always considered the entire region of Jammu and Kashmir as part of its own territory. In August 2019, a constitutional amendment was passed by New Delhi which removed the special autonomous status and divided the state into two union territories, directly governed by the Central government.