03 October,2019 11:34 AM IST | | Agencies
NSA Ajit Doval. File pic
New Delhi: Saudi Arabia has told India that it understands "India's approach and actions in Jammu and Kashmir". The Saudi stance on the issue was conveyed to India in a two-hour meeting between National Security Advisor Ajit Doval and Saudi Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman in Riyadh on Wednesday, sources said.
Highly placed sources said a wide range of issues were discussed on various aspects of bilateral relations in the meeting between Doval and the Saudi crown prince. "The issue of Jammu and Kashmir also figured in the discussion which Saudi Crown Prince expressed understanding about India's approach and actions in Jammu and Kashmir," they said.
India abrogated Article 370 in Jammu and Kashmir on August 5 and bifurcated the state into two new Union Territories- Jammu-Kashmir and Ladakh. Riyadh's remarks come despite Pakistan Prime Minister Imran Khan's visit to Saudi Arabia to seek support.
US warns of terror strikes
The US on Tuesday voiced fears of many countries that following abrogation of J&K special status, Pakistani militants might launch terror strikes in India unless Pakistan "keep a lid on militant groups".
"I think many have concerns that Pakistan keep a lid on militant groups that might conduct cross-border activities as a result of the Kashmir decisions, and I don't sense that China wants that kind of conflict or would support that," Assistant Secretary of Defense for Indo Pacific Security Affairs Randall Shriver said in Washington.
The Jammu and Kashmir administration on Wednesday released all political leaders in Jammu, who were put under house arrest days before the Centre abrogated Article 370. However, politicos in Kashmir continue to be under house arrest. The release comes ahead of Block Development Council Panchayat elections.
India has no extraterritorial ambitions and does not want to "transplant" its ideology on others, Army Chief Gen Bipin Rawat has said, asserting the country will fulfil its regional and global security obligations as a responsible emerging power. Without naming Pakistan, the Army Chief said in the Maldivian capital Male, Indian armed forces are countering a proxy war in J&K on a daily basis and that India reserves the right to acquire military capabilities to counter any security threats emanating from its neighbourhood.
The Juvenile Justice Committee of the Jammu and Kashmir High Court has told the Supreme Court that 144 juveniles were detained in the state after the Centre abrogated provisions of Article 370, but 142 minors were later released. The committee, in its report filed in the apex court, said the remaining two were sent to juvenile homes. When the matter came up for hearing before the top court on Tuesday, a bench of justices N V Ramana, M R Shah and B R Gavai told senior advocate Huzefa Ahmadi, appearing for child rights activists Enakshi Ganguly and Shanta Sinha, that it has received a report from the Juvenile Justice Committee of the HC, in which the averments regarding alleged detention of minors have been denied.
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