India-Pakistan: September 30, 1999

Archives

Police killed seven Moslem militants during a large gun battle in Kashmir, near the Pakistan border.. 

September 28; Indian shelling killed two Pakistani civilians and wounded six in Kashmir. 

September 28; India has established the new XIV Corps (3rd Infantry Division, 8th Mountain Division) to man the northern end of the Line of Control in Kashmir (including the Siachen Glacier) as well as the Chinese border (which is also disputed). The recent crisis was caused when Pakistani-based guerrillas infiltrated the area, then guarded only by the 3rd Infantry, during the winter when the mountain passes were blocked and the XV Corps could not reinforce the 3rd Infantry. Once the passes opened, the 8th Mountain Division was taken off counter-insurgency duty at Srinigar and rushed to the north. (The 8th Mountain Division will now be replaced by a new division moving into Kashmir from India. The XV Corps will still control the central portion of the Line of Control as well as counter-insurgency forces such as the Rashtriya Rifles. The XVI Corps continues to control the southern plains of Kashmir.) --Stephen V Cole

September 28; India will raise an entirely new division to replace the 8th Mountain Division in XV Corps. The division will serve in the counter-insurgency role in central Kashmir.--Stephen V Cole

September 27; Several clashes in Kashmir left some fifteen dead, including nine Moslem separatists.. One of the incidents involved the attempted assassination of a former Indian cabinet minister.


September 27; India has agreed to buy 1,000 Krasnopol-M laser-guided 155mm howitzer shells from the Russians along with ten laser designators for $34.5 million.--Stephen V Cole

September 25; India is negotiating to buy a squadron of 12-18 French Mirage-2000D nuclear strike fighters to form the air component of its "Minimum Nuclear Deterrent". India also wants to buy ten Mirage-2000Hs to replace the four lost in accidents (out of the original 42) and for war reserves.--Stephen V Cole

September 23; India and Pakistan both declared in August 99 that they had the ability to build a neutron bomb for tactical use against armored units on the battlefield.--Stephen V Cole