India on Thursday night swiftly foiled Pakistan's attempts to hit various key Indian installations including military stations at Jammu, Pathankot and Udhampur with drones and missiles, the defence ministry said.
Taking advantage of bad weather marked by incessant rainfall and poor visibility, a group of armed terrorists attempted to infiltrate across the LoC, he said.
Tensions between India and Pakistan are escalating following last week's dastardly terror attack in Pahalgam that claimed 26 lives.
A villager was killed and three others were injured in shelling by Pakistan in forward areas of Jammu and Kashmir's Poonch and Rajouri districts early Friday morning, prompting Army troops to retaliate. The shelling also caused significant damage to property, with many houses and hundreds of vehicles affected. The firing and shelling were directed at areas in Rajouri, Poonch, and Jammu districts, apart from Kashmir's Kupwara and Baramulla districts, overnight.
Colonel Sofiya Qureshi revealed that 300 to 400 drones were deployed across 36 locations, with several being shot down by Indian forces using both kinetic and non-kinetic methods.
Pakistan's decision to talk to India on May 10 stemmed from realisation that it will suffer more if its operation continues, Gen Chauhan said.
'Had Haji Pir and/or Skardu been taken, the message would have gone out not just to General Asim Munir and his cohort in the Pakistan army but to the Pakistani people that every terrorist incident in India would lead to substantial loss of territory in PoK.'
The Border Security Force (BSF) is set to receive government approval for 16 new battalions, comprising around 17,000 personnel, and two forward headquarters for its western and eastern commands. The move aims to strengthen security along the India-Pakistan and India-Bangladesh borders, respectively. The new battalions and headquarters are part of a larger plan to address evolving security dynamics and challenges in the border regions.
We have nothing to gain by raising our concerns internationally as our narrative has got entangled with several controversial concepts in the United Nations, asserts Ambassador T N Sreenivasan.
A senior government official confirmed that after a meeting with other stakeholders, the decision has been taken and airlines and airport authorities have been informed about it.
The troops returned fire and reinforcements were rushed to neutralise the terrorists, the officials said, adding that a search operation is underway in the area.
Suspected drones were observed along the International Border in Samba district of Jammu region on Monday, while armed forces downed a 'surveillance drone' in Punjab's Jalandhar district.
The officials said dozens of unexploded explosives were destroyed by the experts along the Line of Control in Rajouri and Poonch districts and along the International Border in Jammu and Samba which witnessed intense cross-border shelling and drone attacks from May 7 to May 10.
Calm prevailed in Punjab, especially in the border areas of the state, on Sunday morning, following an understanding between India and Pakistan to stop all firings and military actions on land, air and sea.
India has accused Pakistan of breaching an understanding reached earlier on Saturday to stop military actions. Foreign Secretary Vikram Misri said there have been repeated violations of the understanding since the evening, and that the Indian armed forces are giving an appropriate response.
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).
The father of Murali Naik, a soldier from Andhra Pradesh who died during cross-border shelling in Jammu and Kashmir's Poonch, said his son joined the Army despite his opposition as he wanted to serve the nation. Naik, a 23-year-old Agniveer, died in the line of duty on Friday. He was the primary breadwinner for his family, which has been living in Mumbai for the past 32 years. Naik's death has been mourned by politicians and officials, including Andhra Pradesh Chief Minister N Chandrababu Naidu and Maharashtra Chief Minister Devendra Fadnavis.
Army spokesman Lt Gen Ahmad Sharif Chaudhry in a media interaction said at least 26 people were killed and 46 injured in the missile strikes on cities in Punjab and PoK. "The six locations that India attacked last night... Pakistan lost 26 people and 46 were injured," he said.
'It could take the form of sporadic LoC violation through heavy artillery and mortar fire, focusing on border villages where the Hindu Dogra population is predominant.'
Pakistan military spokesperson Lieutenant General Ahmad Sharif Chaudhry told a hurriedly called press conference in Islamabad at around 4 am that th Pakistan air force's Nur Khan (Chaklala, Rawalpindi), Murid (Chakwal) and Rafiqui (Shorkot in Jhang district) airbases were targeted.
'The Pakistani State has to realise that the pigeons have come home to roost.'
People in several districts of Punjab, Jammu and Kashmir and Gujarat spent an anxious night as authorities enforced blackouts amid heightened tension between India and Pakistan.
As part of the home season, India are scheduled to host West Indies and South Africa and therefore, the members are likely to decide on the venues for the those Test series.
Indian Armed Forces brought down a number of these drones using kinetic and non-kinetic means.
Amid escalating tensions between India and Pakistan, the US has said it will not get involved in the conflict, stressing that it is "fundamentally none of our business." While acknowledging concerns about a potential nuclear war, Vice President J D Vance emphasized that the US cannot control India and Pakistan, but can encourage them to de-escalate. The US has also reiterated its support for direct dialogue between the two countries and encouraged efforts to improve communications.
'...without massive amounts of force.'
'Will this near-war, India's strongest military response so far, buy India another seven years of deterrence?' asks Shekhar Gupta.
The GoC said the security forces have also recovered a huge quantity of narcotics which establishes a deep nexus between defence establishments in Pakistan and terrorist groups.
For Ali, who hails from Mendhar sub-division near the Line of Control (LoC) in Poonch district, the uniform is more than a job -- it's a calling. He has dedicated nearly half his life in the police force, serving its various wings with distinction and earning multiple commendations for his courage and unwavering commitment to duty.
'Every decision India makes along the LoC, it must also consider implications along the LAC.'
An Army personnel died of a bullet injury from his own service rifle near the Line of Control (LoC) in Jammu and Kashmir's Poonch district, a police official said on Wednesday.
On February 25, 2021, India and Pakistan announced that they have agreed to strictly observe all agreements on ceasefire along the Line of Control in Jammu and Kashmir and other sectors.
'For weeks, months and years, it would continue to be debated if India should have pushed the early advantage and decapacitated Pakistan militarily.' 'India refused to bite the provocatively proverbial bullet and escalate it into a full-fledged war,' notes N Sathiya Moorthy.
Authorities in Kashmir have launched a massive crackdown on terrorists and their sympathisers in the aftermath of the Pahalgam terror attack, razing homes of the ultras, raiding their safe havens and detaining hundreds of overground workers for questioning, officials said on Saturday.
'I'm not accepting the 'any act of terrorism is an act of war' threshold.' 'I don't think this is sustainable because if you do this four or five times in a short duration, it will lose its edge.'
In a strong retaliation to the Pahalgam massacre, India's armed forces early Wednesday destroyed nine terror sites including that of Jaish-e-Mohammad and Lashkar-e-Taiba in Pakistan and Pakistan-occupied Kashmir (PoK) using deep strike missiles in a 25-minute-long 'measured and non-escalatory' mission.
'When one air force (India's) hits the other's airbases with impunity and that air force (Pakistan's) is not able to respond, then the air force, which has put the other's airbases out of commission, has won.'
'I am worried that Pakistan will still feel compelled to take substantive military action beyond this apparent drone activity.' 'If so, the crisis could persist for a while more and dangerous days are still ahead.'
Soldiers keep vigil along the Line of Control in the Nowshera sector in Rajouri, Jammu and Kashmir, ahead of Independence Day.
'This strike has certainly enhanced your image.' 'Otherwise, people would have called you a damp squib, capable of doing nothing except talking big.'
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