It's a different Srinagar from what Rediff.com's Syed Firdaus Ashraf encountered 24 years ago. Tourists throng the Kashmir Valley post-Article 370, azaadi appears dead, and everyone says one man is responsible for this change, so what if his poster is nowhere to be seen.
Four recent encounters in Jammu and Kashmir's Kathua district have exposed the route used by terrorists to infiltrate into India from across the International Border (IB), a senior police officer said. The successful recovery of huge quantities of arms and ammunition, including explosives, after the gunfights has scuttled a major plan of the terror groups to carry out a major strike in Jammu and Kashmir.
He said the search operation turned into an encounter after the terrorists fired at the security forces, who retaliated.
Bharath Bhushan from Bengaluru, who was visiting Pahalgam with his wife and three-year-old son, was shot dead by terrorists. His wife, Sujatha, and their child survived the attack.
The tragedy struck the family on May 7 when they found themselves in the middle of intense Pakistani shelling at their rented accommodation in Poonch which was badly hit by the cross-border shelling.
The DGP, along with additional director general of police (law and order) Vijay Kumar and Jammu zone additional director general of police Anand Jain, visited Jammu-based White Knight Corps and interacted with General Officer Commanding Lt Gen Navin Sachdeva, the army said.
The gunfight broke out when a joint security party of the Army and police, acting on a tip-off, launched a cordon-and-search operation in the Naidgham area in the Chhatroo belt, they added.
The wife of Surat resident Shailesh Kalathiya, who lost his life in the terror attack in Kashmir's Pahalgam, on Thursday said terrorists showed no remorse as they were seen laughing after shooting her husband dead.
A terror attack on tourists in the Pahalgam area of south Kashmir's Anantnag district has left several injured. Jammu and Kashmir Lieutenant Governor Manoj Sinha condemned the attack and vowed to bring the perpetrators to justice. Chief Minister Omar Abdullah also condemned the attack, calling it an abomination. Several political leaders from the region have denounced the attack and called for a thorough investigation. The attack has raised serious questions about the security situation in Jammu and Kashmir, with the incident being described as the most unfortunate and shameful act by the JKPCC.
'We need to raise the costs and consequences for Pakistan. It is long overdue. Our initial surgical strike was effective for about six months. Then, the Balakot strike provided a deterrent for perhaps two to three years. But we cannot operate under the assumption that such limited responses will suffice for decades to come.'
One suspected Pakistani terrorist and an Army soldier were killed in a gunfight during an ongoing search operation in a remote village in Rajouri district of Jammu and Kashmir on Tuesday, officials said.
'Will this near-war, India's strongest military response so far, buy India another seven years of deterrence?' asks Shekhar Gupta.
'These statements which you are telling me were never uttered from mosques on that day.' 'And if this had happened, I would have got the report as the chief secretary of J&K.'
In the first such incident in the past two decades, terrorists exchanged fire with security forces in the dense forests of the Zabarwan range in Kashmir on Sunday, November 10, 2024, forcing residents to flee in panic as additional forces were mobilised to strengthen the cordon.
The Indian Army shared a video of the brave canine on duty, doing what she was trained to do, lead soldiers in a search op drill.
A Junior Commissioned Officer of the Army's special forces laid down his life on Sunday, while three more soldiers were injured in a gunfight with terrorists in a remote forest area in Jammu and Kashmir's Kishtwar district, officials said.
Security forces on Saturday extended the ongoing search operation to new areas after the body of the fourth policeman and two slain terrorists were recovered from the scene of a gunfight in a remote forested area in Kathua district of Jammu and Kashmir, officials said.
Three civilians picked up by the Army for questioning after the terrorist ambushed two Army vehicles on Thursday at Dhatyar Morh between Dhera Ki Gali and Buffliaz in Poonch were found dead on December 23.
Naib Subedar Chunni Lal is the only soldier awarded the Ashok Chakra, Vir Chakra and Sena Medal.
Terrorists had laid an ambush and fired indiscriminately when the troops approached the village.
No fresh batch of Amarnath Yatra pilgrims was allowed to leave the Bhagwati Nagar base camp in Jammu for Kashmir as a precautionary measure in view of the fifth anniversary of the abrogation of Article 370 on Monday, officials said.
The reality is that far from being friendless, India is better positioned in the world than at any point post-Cold War, asserts Shekhar Gupta.
The fierce gunfight was going on in the area with the induction of more troops to neutralise two terrorists trapped at the spot, they said.
Police officials said the two operations were launched on August 28 based on specific inputs by Kupwara Police a day earlier.
The Army has foiled an attempt to push in arms and ammunition by Pakistan from across the Line of Control (LoC) in Keran sector of Jammu and Kashmir and recovered a cache, including four AK 74 rifles.
A search operation in Thanamandi belt turned into a fierce encounter after the terrorists opened fire on the forces, who retaliated, Army officials said.
The search operation was launched in Heff village in the Zainapora area, an army official said.
Security forces on Friday launched a massive cordon and search operation in the forest area of Jammu and Kashmir's Poonch district, a day after five army personnel were killed and two others injured in a terrorist attack.
A top Pakistani commander of the terrorist group Lashkar-e-Taiba (LeT) who was active in the Valley for several years was killed and four security personnel were injured in an encounter in the Khanyar area of Srinagar on Saturday, officials said.
When the country has been at war, the Opposition has buried its differences with the government, points out Aditi Phadnis.
'I am ashamed that you and I were born into the same faith -- because we are nothing alike. My religion is humanity. The Islam I know teaches me to protect the innocent. Yours celebrates slaughter, you #&$#@#. 'My Islam teaches me to serve my nation. Yours tells you to tear it apart,' writes Major Dr Mohommed Ali Shah (retd).
One Pakistan terrorist belonging to the Lashkar-e-Taiba has been gunned down in the ongoing encounter.
An Indian Army operation is underway to hunt down terrorists at Ahlan Gadool in the Kokernag area of Jammu and Kashmir's Anantnag district.
The AFSPA, often criticised as a draconian law, gives armed forces operating in disturbed areas sweeping powers to search, arrest and open fire if they deem it necessary.
'It is typical of China's strategic deception of making virtue out of necessity,' observes Rup Narayan Das.
The alleged torture of five civilians by Army personnel in Kishtwar has triggered angry reactions from various political parties in Jammu and Kashmir, notably from Chief Minister Omar Abdullah, who has demanded a transparent investigation and court martial for those found guilty.
One army trooper was killed during a search operation a forest area in north Kashmir's Kupwara district on Monday morning, a senior police officer to Rediff.com
The Jammu and Kashmir police questioned a dozen of persons and examined the call details of army jawan Javaid Ahmad Wani who went missing a couple of days ago from his native Kulgam district while on leave, officials said on Monday.
Despite a massive search operation, terrorists affiliated with Kashmir Tigers, a shadow group of Pakistan-based Jaish-e-Mohammad outfit, who have recently infiltrated into the country, remain untraced.
Militants ambushed a convoy of the Indian Army in Kupwara, Kashmir on Saturday morning.
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