The National Investigation Agency (NIA) has started interviewing eyewitnesses, including tourists, in connection with the deadly terrorist attack in Pahalgam, south Kashmir. The attack, carried out by terrorists from the Pakistan-based Lashkar-e-Taiba (LeT), claimed the lives of 26 people on April 22. Initial investigations suggest that five to seven terrorists were involved, aided by local militants trained in Pakistan. Security forces are conducting massive operations to hunt down the terrorists in the dense jungles of the Pir Panjal range.
He said the search operation turned into an encounter after the terrorists fired at the security forces, who retaliated.
'I am committing suicide because I was subject to torture and humiliation in the police station.'
Security forces launched a cordon and search operation at Kadder in the Behibagh area of the district on Wednesday night following information about the presence of suspected terrorists there, an official said.
Terrorism and insurgency in J&K had subsided when India demolished East Pakistan -- for the simple reason that Pakistan understands power. We need to follow Chanakya's dictum of Saam, Daam, Dand, Bhed for strategising against Pakistan, asserts Lieutenant General Prakash Katoch (Retd). The ground truth is that unless we are prepared to acknowledge our shortcomings, including massive intelligence failures, punish those responsible and take corrective actions, we will continue in the same vein, asserts Lieutenant General Prakash Katoch (Retd).
None of its candidates won. Most of them lost badly.
Satish Kumar Singh, a Rajput, was shot by terrorists in Kakran area of the south Kashmir district at around 7.30 pm.
Jammu and Kashmir is facing a severe water crisis this year due to a massive rainfall deficit. Chief Minister Omar Abdullah has expressed concern about the situation and called for a proactive approach towards water management and conservation. The state has witnessed an 80% deficit in rainfall this year, raising the possibility of drought in the valley this summer. Several water bodies are flowing below the zero level mark, and some springs in south Kashmir have dried up completely. The water level in Jhelum and other major streams is alarmingly low.
They said the encounter happened after the police launched a cordon and search operation in Khandipora area of the south Kashmir district following a specific input about the presence of terrorists there.
A police spokesman said based on specific input regarding the presence of terrorists in the Mirhama area of Kulgam in south Kashmir, a cordon and search operation was launched by the security forces there.
The assailants fired upon Javeed Ahmad Dar near his residence at Brazloo Jageer area of the south Kashmir district at around 4.30 pm, officials said.
'The whole Kashmiri population is seemed to be a suspect community. This status is not good.'
The nomination papers of 35 candidates including that of jailed separatist Sarjan Barkati were on Wednesday rejected during scrutiny for the first phase of assembly polls in Jammu and Kashmir, leaving 244 contestants in the fray.
A turnout of about 59 percent -- the highest in the past seven elections -- was recorded in the first phase of assembly polls in Jammu and Kashmir on Wednesday, Chief Electoral Officer P K Pole said, adding polling passed off peacefully.
The gunfights broke out in Goplapora and Pombay areas of the South Kashmir district. Two terrorists each were killed in the twin encounters, a police official said.
The spokesman said it was learnt that an active terrorist of Hizbul, Farooq Ahmad Bhat, had received directions from terror handlers based in Pakistan to target the members of Panchayati Raj Institutions in Kulgam.
At least four terrorists were killed and two soldiers laid down their lives in twin encounters in Kulgam district of Jammu and Kashmir on Saturday, officials said.
The rescued police personnel were shifted to hospital where their condition is stated to be stable.
'We want to ensure that no government in J&K will be formed without our support.'
The attack, which claimed the lives of seven individuals, including a local doctor and two labourers from Bihar, has raised concerns about the unreported trend of local youths joining terrorist groups in Kashmir during this period.
The results of assembly elections in the Kashmir Valley have culminated in a significant rejection of separatist candidates, including those from Engineer Rashid-led Awami Ittehad Party and Jamaat-e-Islami, who failed to make a meaningful impact in the polls.
Zeenat, considered as an improvised explosive device (IED) expert, was earlier associated with another terror group Hizbul Mujahideen.
Three women, including former minister Sakeena Masood (National Conference), won elections on Tuesday to enter the male-dominated assembly in Jammu and Kashmir.
The operation at the Keran Sector in Kupwara is still underway, the Army said.
Ghulam Nabi Azad remarked that the figures are not high enough to know whether the people are happy or angry with the abrogation of Article 370 and bifurcation of Jammu and Kashmir into two Union Territories, Mehbooba Mufti said it is a message that the people have not accepted the Centre's decisions.
The assailants believed to be Pakistani terrorists, meticulously studied the site layout before executing their plan.
The gunfight is going on and further details were awaited.
The operation was in progress when reports last came in.
Unidentified gunmen barged into the bank branch at Yaripora and looted Rs 65,000 in cash at gunpoint.
Militants shot at and killed a trooper of the Territorial Army in southern Kashmir's Kulgam district on Wednesday afternoon.
The Indian National Developmental Inclusive Alliance (INDIA) is poised to form the first elected government in Jammu and Kashmir, having secured a victory in the assembly elections by securing 49 out of 90 seats on which polls were held for the first time since the abrogation of Article 370 five years ago.
A senior police officer said a group of militants barged into the post manned by four cops deployed for guarding members of the minority community in Adijan village of Kulgam.
While Jamaat cannot take part in the elections due to the ban imposed on it by the Union home ministry, it had shown interest in participating in the polls during the Lok Sabha elections if the ban were removed.
The raids in the twin capitals of Srinagar and Jammu along with Budgam in central and Kulgam and Anantnag in south Kashmir led to the seizure of incriminating documents and digital devices connected with the activities of JeI and its related Trusts and more than Rs 20 lakh, a spokesperson of the federal agency said.
"The search operation was launched on specific information about presence of a group of militants inside a house in the village," the officer said.
In 2022 Nanaji Dembi pulled down the Hurriyat office board in Srinagar, an act of defiance that grabbed headlines. Despite such nationalistic bravado, the BJP has denied him a ticket for the assembly election.
Will Lieutenant Governor Manoj Sinha, who gets his orders from New Delhi, call the shots or allow a democratically elected government to independently govern, questions Ramesh Menon.
Security forces had launched a cordon-and-search operation in Nehama village of Kulgam following information about the presence of terrorists in the area on Thursday, the officials said.
Tral, the former hotbed of terrorism, rocks to the music of democracy.
Modi began his nearly 45-minute speech by welcoming the people who attended the rally in the Kashmiri language. "This time, the (assembly) election will decide the future of Jammu and Kashmir, which has remained the target of foreign powers since Independence," he told the gathering.
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