Twenty-seven months after she lost her husband in an anti-insurgency operation in south Kashmir's Pulwama, 29-year-old Nitika Kaul on Saturday donned the army uniform after completing a one-year rigorous training in Tamil Nadu.
'Pakistan is no longer a front-burner issue for America.'
The launch of the first-ever direct train service from Delhi to Kashmir would be a big turning point in the Valley's mood and its integration with India. He had to thwart it at any cost, asserts Shekhar Gupta.
"I want to spend one night with you people and understand your problems," Shah said addressing the security personnel at the CRPF campus, adding it was his 'most important' engagement during his visit to the Union territory.
'There's a lot of sense in what Prime Minister Modi did, but the Indian government has to be really prepared for a really sharp escalation spiral.'
World leaders, including US President Donald Trump, Russian President Vladimir Putin and Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, condemned the terror attack in Jammu and Kashmir that killed 26 people, expressing solidarity with India. The attack was claimed by The Resistance Front (TRF), a proxy of the Pakistan-based Lashkar-e-Taiba (LeT) terrorist group. The attack came during US Vice President J D Vance's maiden visit to India. Prime Minister Modi, who had arrived in Saudi Arabia on a two-day visit earlier in the day, cut short his visit and departed for New Delhi on Tuesday night following the attack.
Despite the tragic terror attack in Pahalgam, Kashmir, locals demonstrated incredible bravery and compassion, risking their own lives to save tourists. Syed Adil Hussain Shah, a pony 'wallah', was killed while protecting tourists from the gunmen, while Nazakat Ahmed Shah rescued a family of 11, including three children. Tourist guide Sajad Ahmad Bhat also carried injured people to the hospital. The attack, which claimed the lives of 26 people, mostly tourists, highlighted the resilience and kindness of the Kashmiri people.
Mudasir Ahmed Khan alias 'Mohd Bhai, an electrician with a graduate degree and a resident of Pulwama, arranged the vehicle and explosives used in the terror strike.
The grenade missed the intended target and exploded on the road.
'There's something called deterrence by punishment.' 'That means you hit in a manner calculated to raise costs and consequences for Pakistan, so that the next time it attempts a Pahalgam-like attack, it has to think ten times.'
A vehicle-borne IED blast was averted as security forces detected a car laden with 45 kg of explosives in Pulwama.
The Central Reserve Police Force (CRPF) that lost 40 troopers in the 2019 Pulwama terror attack said on Sunday that the country 'did not forgive' and 'will not forget' the supreme sacrifice made by the personnel.
Amid rising tensions between India and Pakistan, the US has called on both countries "not to escalate" the conflict. Secretary of State Marco Rubio is expected to speak with the foreign ministers of Pakistan and India as early as today or tomorrow. The US State Department said Washington is reaching out to both India and Pakistan "regarding the Kashmir situation" and telling them "not to escalate the situation."
'Innocent lives lost. Tourists, families, people who were just... living. Seeking beauty. Seeking peace. And now there's only grief.'
A deadly terror attack targeting tourists in Jammu and Kashmir's Pahalgam on Tuesday drew strong condemnation and outrage. 26 people, including two foreigners and two locals, were killed in the attack, which is the deadliest in the Valley since the Pulwama strike in 2019. Prime Minister Narendra Modi asserted that the perpetrators will not be spared and their evil agenda will never succeed. Opposition leaders demanded accountability, claiming the government's claims of normalcy in Kashmir have fallen flat.
Security forces launched a cordon and search operation in the Zadoora area of Pulwama district in south Kashmir during the night following specific information about the presence of terrorists there, a police official said.
The agency has re-registered the case and formed a team to investigate the terror strike.
'The wave of terrorism is over in Kashmir. Local people do not support it.'
This is a third attack on non-local labourers in Kashmir in the past one week.
Officials said Bilal Ahmed Kuchey had allowed the terrorists to use his house as a hideout and also provided them with high-end mobile phones.
They ultras were wanted for their complicity in a series of terror crimes.
His statement comes two days after Pakistan's Science and Technology Minister Fawad Chaudhry admitted his country's role in the Pulwama attack during a debate in their National Assembly (Parliament).
Two persons from Uttar Pradesh were shot at by terrorists in Jammu and Kashmir's Budgam district on Friday evening, officials said.
Nine soldiers and two civilians were injured as militants targeted an Army patrol with an Improvised Explosive Device (IED) at Arihal in Pulwama district on Monday.
The explosives are called "Super-90" or S-90 in short, the official said.
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.
India and Pakistan exchanged lists of their nuclear installations on Wednesday, fulfilling a decades-old agreement that prohibits attacks on each other's atomic facilities. The exchange took place amid strained relations between the two countries over the Kashmir issue and cross-border terrorism. The agreement, signed in 1988, mandates the annual exchange of such lists, which has occurred for the 34th consecutive year.
Prime Minister Narendra Modi asserted that his "vocal for local" campaign is bearing fruit as Indian products are going global and making their presence felt across the world. He said that India was becoming the land of infinite innovations, finding affordable solutions and offering them to the world. The prime minister also highlighted the country's rising defense products, electronics, automobile sector, and the success of superfoods, Ayush products, and yoga. He said India should be presented to the world as it is, without any bias. Modi said that the country was now emerging as a manufacturing hub and a "factory of the world." He added that India was creating solutions that were affordable, accessible, and adaptable, and offering them to the world without gatekeeping.
They said the terrorists opened fire on the vehicle at Botapathri near Nagin post.
The listed terrorists have been identified as Ashiq Hussain Ganaie of Panjran Pulwama and Imran Ahmad Bhat of Arihal Pulwama.
'It was inspired by the Hamas attack and was like their attack -- well planned and well executed.'
A seven-kilogram improvised explosive device (IED) was detected on Sunday near the crowded general bus stand area in Jammu, averting a major tragedy and a plan by terrorists to set off an explosion on the second anniversary of the 2019 Pulwama attack, officials said.
'If they aim to remain aligned with the public sentiment, as any democratic government should, then they must respond. Why else would the prime minister have cut short his visit to Saudi Arabia? And why would he have instructed the home minister himself to travel to Srinagar to assess the situation firsthand? This suggests that something is indeed being planned. I am quite certain of that, although the exact form it will take remains to be seen.'
New Delhi said if the reports of Azhar's location are correct, then Pakistan's "duplicity" has been exposed as it has been maintaining that the JeM chief is not in that country.
Waiz-ul-Islam, 19, of Srinagar's Bagh-e-Mehtab locality and Mohammad Abbass Rather, 32, of Hakripora village in Pulwama district were arrested by the NIA, the official said.
Trolled for referring to the attack in which 40 Central Reserve Police Force personnel were killed, the Congress leader tweeted again, saying there should be no doubt that the incident was an act of terrorism.
'Strength to the families of the martyred jawans and the CRPF soldiers injured in the attack.'
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.
"The killing of Abdul Rehman alias Fauji Bhai alias Fauji Baba, a Pakistani national, is a big success for security forces as he was a master in assembling improvised explosive devices for JeM," Inspector General of Police Vijay Kumar told reporters in Srinagar.
The deceased woman has been identified as Nigeena Bano.
