The 2003 ceasefire on the Line of Control has clearly now ceased to hold, with daily exchange of fire between Indian and Pakistani soldiers. The DGMO channel has failed to quell exchanges that include artillery and mortar fire. There are no bilateral talks today at any level, and the only contact between the governments in Islamabad and New Delhi is when one country’s foreign ministry summons the other’s High Commissioner to issue a demarche about the growing casualties along the International Boundary and the LoC in Jammu and Kashmir. The two countries have even dispensed with routine niceties: Pakistan is yet to condemn the Uri attack in which 19 soldiers were killed, and India has not put out a statement on the spate of terror attacks in Balochistan. Meanwhile, fears about the LoC firing spiralling out of control have grown. In Pakistan, that worry has increased because of the impending decision on who will be the next army chief, and owing to tensions between Army Headquarters and the Nawaz Sharif government. India, having announced its ‘surgical strikes’ as a new red-line of response post-Uri, is concerned about a terrorist build-up across the LoC, with 18 infiltration attempts reported in the past week.
It is against this backdrop, with confidence-building measures dismantled and dialogue dead, that Sartaj Aziz, Foreign Affairs Advisor to the Pakistan Prime Minister, has indicated that he will visit India for the Heart of Asia donor conference on Afghanistan in early December. A year ago, when External Affairs Minister Sushma Swaraj attended the Heart of Asia meet in Islamabad, she had announced the resumption of bilateral talks, called a “comprehensive dialogue”. This year no such announcement appears to be even remotely on the cards during Mr. Aziz’s trip to Amritsar. It is, however, a window of opportunity to take the current tensions firmly in hand, and assure regional leaders gathered at the conference — who will include Afghanistan President Ashraf Ghani, Iranian Foreign Minister Javad Zarif and ministers from China and Russia — that India and Pakistan can in fact sort out the concerns bilaterally. The Heart of Asia conference will no doubt reinforce India’s message to Pakistan on terrorism on the need to dismantle all groups including those that target its neighbours such as India, Afghanistan and Iran. However, in discussing the protracted violence in Afghanistan, leaders at the conference may also drive home the point that the current levels of tension and violence between India and Pakistan will benefit no one, but only worry the region at large.
Source : The Hindu
1. Ceased (verb) (समाप्त) – come or bring to an end
Synonyms – terminate, close
Antonyms – begin, start
Ex: Once the treaty is announced, the fighting on the border should cease.
2. Quell (verb) (शांत करना)– put an end to (a rebellion or other disorder), typically by the use of force
Synonyms – conquer, subdue
Antonyms – release, encourage
Ex: The old man drinks warm milk to quell his upset stomach.
3. Artillery (noun) (तोपें)– large-calibre guns used in warfare on land
Synonyms – arms, ordanance
Ex: Artillery shells landed all around us.
4. Bilateral (adjective) (द्विपक्षीय)– having or relating to two sides, affecting both sides
Synonyms – mutual, respective
Antonyms – multilateral, unilateral
Ex: Because of the bilateral collaboration between the FBI and the state police, the escaped convicts were quickly caught.
5. Summons (noun) (सम्मन) – an order to appear before a judge or magistrate, or the writ containing such an order
Synonyms – citation, notification
Ex: A summons for non-payment of a parking ticket.
6. Demarche (noun) (डेमार्श)– a political step or initiative
Synonyms – procedure, action
Antonyms – inaction, honesty
Ex: Foreign policy demarches.
7. Dispensed (verb) (बांटना) – distribute or provide (a service or information) to a number of people
Synonyms – allocate, measure
Antonyms – conceal, combine
Ex: They finished, and clean up was quickly dispensed with.
8. Condemn (verb) (अपराधी ठहराना) – express complete disapproval of, censure
Synonyms – adjudge, frame
Antonyms – commend, endorse
Ex: If the judge does not condemn the defendant with a life sentence, he will anger the public.
9. Remotely (adverb) (दूर से) – from a distance, without physical contact
Synonyms – casually, unexpectedly
Antonyms – purposely
Ex: New electronic meters that can be read remotely.
10. Protracted (adjective) (दीर्घ) – lasting for a long time or longer than expected or usual
Synonyms – stretching, prolonged
Ex: We got a protracted vaccation due to the heavy rains.
