Traveller and trekker Amit Tyagi writes about the hidden gems of Kashmir. You won't regret including them in your next itinerary.
The BSF officer also said human rights organisations should take note of the killings of civilians and the damage caused to civilian properties in the intense shelling by Pakistan.
Four Indian Army personnel, a Border Security Force sub-inspector and six civilians were killed while four security forces personnel and eight civilians were injured in the firing by Pakistan during the multiple ceasefire violations between Gurez and Uri sectors in Jammu and Kashmir, officials said.
After spending his previous four Diwalis with the Armed Forces, Prime Minister Narendra Modi is breaking with tradition and spend Diwali this year in Kedarnath, setting off speculation that the decision was taken with an eye on the 2019 Lok Sabha elections. As the Festival of Lights is on us, here's looking back at Modi's Diwali celebrations.
Five paramilitary Border Security Force troopers were injured and one is missing after a landslide triggered by a cloud burst hit their camp near the Line of Control in Gurez sector of north Kashmir's Bandipore district on Wednesday morning.
The Border Security Force is deployed along the LoC under the operational command of the Army as part of guarding the front against Pakistan.
Army foiled a major infiltration bid by militants from Pakistan-occupied Kashmir (PoK) into Gurez sector of Jammu and Kashmir during which one soldier was killed.
This is the fourth successive Diwali that Modi has celebrated with jawans on the border.
This time army killed 1 terrorists along the Line of Control in Gurez sector.
The additional troops deployed on the LoC have been successful in foiling almost all the major attempts of infiltration and terrorists have not been allowed to cross over, sources said.
Modi, after assuming office in 2014, has primarily spent the festival every year with soldiers and security personnel at different parts of the country.
'If the strength of foreign terrorists can be brought to negligible levels there will be few takers for militancy.' 'That is why it is important to neutralise the terrorists at their launch pads,' advises Lieutenant General Syed Ata Hasnain (retd).
Several avalanches and landslides hit the Jammu-Srinagar National Highway on Friday even as the death toll in the series of snow slides that have hit Jammu and Kashmir crossed 20 with the recovery of the bodies of four soldiers.
Alert troops posted on guard duty along the LoC intercepted the terrorists.
The spokesman said more details of the encounter will be available when the operation concludes, as the gunbattle is still on. With Wednesday's killings, the death toll in the four-day operation has gone up to 12
Seven terrorists and an army trooper were killed in two separate anti-militancy operations in Kashmir Valley on Monday.
The army on Friday foiled an infiltration bid along the Line of Control in Gurez sector of Jammu and Kashmir, killing a militant in the operation.
'The Indian Army is there to give a second chance to any youth who accepts his mistakes and wants to surrender and come back to the mainstream. We, the uniformed forces, are here to save lives and not to take lives. The system, the entire administration, will facilitate not only their surrender but also ensure that they are well integrated back into the mainstream,' Lt Gen Y K Joshi said.
The report published in the gazettes of India appeared in local newspapers on Monday and showed that Habba Kadal seat in Kashmir division and Suchetgarh seat in Jammu province had been restored.
Three militants were killed when troops foiled an infiltration bid in the Gurez sector of the Line of Control (LoC) early Saturday morning.
Hundreds of passengers stranded in various parts of the Valley due to heavy snowfall were airlifted on Wednesday to their homes by the Indian Air Force, who arranged special helicopter sorties for the purpose.
The bodies of four army personnel, including an officer, were recovered on Wednesday, taking the death toll due to the avalanche to six in Jammu and Kashmir. Four persons were still missing in Gurez sector of Bandipora district along the Line of Control, defence sources said.Army's rescue-cum-search teams have recovered the bodies of three jawans and an officer from the site of the snow avalanche in Gurez sector, the sources said.
38 militants killed, 22 infiltration bids foiled along LoC in 2017, says Army.
The stage is set for the first of the five-phased assembly elections in Jammu and Kashmir as 12 sitting MLAs, including seven ministers, are among 123 candidates trying their luck in 15 constituencies that will go to polls on Tuesday in all three regions of the state.
Kashmiris stranded in Jammu due to the closure of the Srinagar-Jammu national highway have demanded subsidised airfares from the government to help them fly back to Srinagar.
According to reports, the operation concluded without any positive results.
After initial 'zero infiltration' in the wake of renewed ceasefire agreement between India and Pakistan in February, fresh attempts are on to push terrorists from across the border where 250 to 300 terrorists are trained and waiting on the launch pads, Jammu and Kashmir Director General of Police Dilbag Singh said on Tuesday.
Five soldiers were trapped at an Army post after multiple avalanches hit Batalik sector in Ladakh region of Jammu and Kashmir today, an Army official said.
The condition of the jawan is stable.
The 434-km Srinagar-Leh National highway was closed for traffic as high altitude areas of Kashmir Valley, including the famous ski resort of Gulmarg, experienced the first heavy snowfall of the season, officials said.
Former Jammu and Kashmir CMs placed under arrest as they were considered a threat to the law-and-order situation in the state.
At least 44 passengers were airlifted in two sorties of Mi-17 helicopter from north Kashmir's Bandipora town to Dawar (Gurez), while 46 passengers were rescued from Dawar to Bandipora, an official spokesperson said.
A junior commissioned officer was killed as army foiled an infiltration bid near the line of control in Keran sector of Kashmir valley, officials said on Thursday.
At least 12 militants and an army officer were killed and two jawans wounded in an infiltration bid on the Line of Control in north Kashmir Bandipore district on Saturday.
"Saluting your valour, 130 crore countrymen of India are standing firm with you today. Today every Indian is proud of the strength and bravery of his soldiers. They are proud of your invincibility," said PM Modi.
Army on Sunday foiled an infiltration bid along the Line of Control in Poonch district of Jammu and Kashmir, killing a militant and injuring another, a day after 12 intruders were gunned down in Gurez sector.
Two top Army commanders on Saturday said the fresh ceasefire between India and Pakistan will have no bearing on the counter-terrorism operations in Jammu and Kashmir and that the force will exercise 'maximum restraint' in the event of any violation by the neighbouring country.
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