'What is going on is the under counting of the migration population in urban areas.' 'It has been going on in the last few censuses.'
Official confirmation from the government is still awaited, and more details are expected soon.
Drones were sighted and explosions were heard in Jammu and Kashmir on Friday, a day after India thwarted attempts by the Pakistan military to attack Indian military installations using drones and missiles. The drones were also engaged in Udhampur and Nagrota of Jammu and Punjab. Heavy cross-border shelling started along the International Border in Suchetgarh and Ramgarh sectors of Jammu and Samba districts. Chief Minister Omar Abdullah appealed to residents to stay indoors and ignore rumors.
People along the Line of Control and International Border in the Jammu region continue to live under the shadow of death, with unexploded mortar shells fired by Pakistani troops still embedded in farmlands and residential areas even though hostilities have stopped for nearly a week. IMAGE: Kindly note that this image has been posted for representational purposes only. Photograph: / Rediff.com Despite the May 10 understanding between India and Pakistan, locals describe the border areas as a 'death trap'. Sixty-two-year-old Balvinder Singh, who returned to his home in Pargwal sector on May 14, recounted a narrow escape. "Two shells exploded in our compound, damaging our house. Three more landed on our farmland. We were terrified and told our family to stay away from the fields until the Army could help," Singh told PTI. Army engineers later came to the village and safely defused the unexploded shells, bringing a temporary sense of relief. "Fear is writ large on the faces of people to these death traps in border hamlets", he said. Scenes of destruction are evident rooftops torn apart, broken houses, windows punctured by shrapnel, and carcasses of cattle lying in pools of blood. The acrid smell of gunpowder still lingers in the air. Sardar Gurmeet Singh faced a similar ordeal. His family could not re-enter their home as a live mortar shell had sunk into the compound in a village close to the International Border. "The army's bomb disposal squad removed it after four days, allowing us to finally enter, back home," he said. Indian Army engineers have launched a sweeping clearance operation across border districts, defusing over 80 unexploded shells in the past five days -- including 6 in Pargwal, 19 in Rajouri, 42 in Poonch, and 12 along the IB. "These shells, mostly 120 mm calibre, have a range of 15 to 30 km and pose a serious threat to both civilian and military targets," an Army officer said. "Many of them were fired by Pakistan during recent hostilities." On May 7, the Indian Army launched Operation Sindoor, conducting precision strikes on nine terror hubs in Pakistan and Pakistan-occupied Jammu and Kashmir (PoJK) in response to the April 22 terror attack in Pahalgam that killed 26 people, most of them tourists. The subsequent retaliation by Pakistan pushed the region to the brink of war. From 7 to 10 of May, 27 civilians were killed and over 70 injured in Pakistani shelling in the Jammu region. Farid Din Gujjar, a resident near the border, expressed fear about returning to his fields. "Several shells created deep craters in our paddy land. We cannot resume work until all unexploded ordnance is cleared. It's a death trap," he said. Army units, in coordination with Jammu and Kashmir Police, have evacuated high-risk zones and issued stern warnings to residents not to touch any suspicious objects or unexploded shells. In one major operation, 42 live shells were safely destroyed in the Poonch villages of Jhullas, Salotri, Dharati and Salani. "All safety protocols were followed. The shells posed a serious danger to local lives," an Army spokesperson said, calling the effort a 'continued commitment to protect civilians and restore normalcy'. Poonch saw the vast majority of deaths due to shelling. Security officials said that Pakistan used a mix of mortar shells, armed drones, and missiles during the shelling spree, specifically targeting civilian habitations and border towns in Jammu, Samba, Kathua, Rajouri, and Poonch. As clearance operations continue, the border residents are slowly returning to their homes, but with caution, fear, and lingering uncertainty about shelling that may yet happen in the future.
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.
The reopening brought a sense of relief to students, teachers, and parents across the region.
Pakistani drones were intercepted by Indian air defence in Jaisalmer. Explosions were heard and flashes seen in the sky.
Pakistan's troops have engaged in unprovoked firing along the Line of Control (LoC) and International Border (IB) in five districts of Jammu and Kashmir, prompting retaliation from the Indian Army. This marks the eighth consecutive night of such incidents, following heightened tensions stemming from a recent terror attack in Pahalgam. Civilians residing along the LoC and IB are preparing their bunkers in anticipation of potential escalation.
Emotional scenes were witnessed across the country as the last rites of those killed in shelling by Pakistan during the recent military conflict with India were performed on Sunday.
With respect and gratitude we honour the memory of soldiers who sacrificed their lives in Operation Sindoor.
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.
Security forces' operation to eliminate the militants in Pindi Kathar area of R S Pura in Jammu and Kashmir is still in progress.
The cross-border shelling by Pakistan Rangers, the first major ceasefire violation since 2021, started around 8 pm Thursday in the Arnia area of R S Pura sector and lasted around seven hours, leaving a BSF jawan and a woman injured.
A BSF head constable was killed in unprovoked firing by Pakistan Rangers along the International Border (IB) in the Ramgarh sector of Jammu and Kashmir's Samba district early Thursday, officials said.
Unprovoked firing by Pakistan Rangers has marred dozens of weddings in villages along the International Border in Jammu with many forced to make last-minute changes to some rituals as well.
Two BSF personnel and a woman were injured on Thursday, October 26, 2023 night when Pakistani Rangers started firing at the International Border in the Arnia and RS Pura sectors of Jammu district.
The Pakistan Rangers opened fire around 8.15 am on Tuesday on the troops at the Vikram post in the Arnia sector, following which the BSF jawans fired in retaliation, the BSF said in a statement.
Officials said the BSF personnel manning the border outpost in Makwal came under fire from across the border, prompting a strong retaliation.
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.
The infiltration attempts were scuttled by the alert troops in Arnia sector of Jammu and Ramgarh sector in Samba district in the early hours of the day, the BSF spokesperson said.
There was no traditional exchange of sweets and pleasantries between the two sides along the International Border, the officials said, attributing it to the tense situation following the recent ceasefire violations by Pakistan Rangers that left a Border Security Force jawan dead.
There are always attempts from across the border to push in more terrorists before the onset of winter and closure of tracks due to heavy snowfall, but the security forces are alert and would foil any infiltration bids, Border Security Force Director General Nitin Agrawal said in Srinagar Thursday.
The officer said the terrorist's name surfaced during the investigation of an arms dropping case through drone from Pakistan on February 24 in Arnia sector.
Hours after an incident of ceasefire violation, Border Security Force and Pakistan Rangers Tuesday held a flag meeting along the international border in Jammu and agreed to respect the "existing norms", an official said.
No casualties were reported on the Indian side even as the BSF has decided to lodge a "protest" with their Pakistani counterparts and have sought a flag meeting on Saturday.
The officials said the suspected drone returned to the Pakistani side when the border guards fired half a dozen rounds to bring it down.
Such violations have not been very common since India and Pakistan agreed for a renewed ceasefire along the borders in Jammu and Kashmir on February 20, 2021.
They said a massive search operation has been launched to trace any weapon or explosive that it might have dropped.
Police in Jammu seized an ammunition consignment allegedly meant for terrorists dropped by a drone from Pakistan near the Jammu International Border (IB), officials said on Thursday.
The first phase of the infrastructure renovation and creation of some new ones has been recently completed on a stretch of 26 kilometres along the front in Jammu while another 33 kilometres in the same region is being carried out, official sources told PTI.
'Despite the existence of a ceasefire agreement between Pakistan and India, Pakistan Rangers did not stop their nefarious activities against India and carried on with their ill motives on IB in Jammu'
Over 40,000 villagers decided to leave their home along the India-Pakistan border
Five other civilians injured as Pak troops shelled border out posts along the IB.
Blood splattered compounds, smashed window panes and demolished roofs are all that are left of houses in border hamlets which have been battered in Pakistani firing and shelling in the last three days.
The BSF was effectively retaliating and the firefight was going on.
The terrorists fired at two non-local labourers at a brick kiln at Magraypora in Chadoora area of the central Kashmir district, the officials said.
Dense to very dense fog engulfed the Indo-Gangetic plains, including Delhi, for the second morning on the trot on Tuesday, lowering visibility to 50 metres in the city and affecting road traffic and train movement.
Over 100 border dwellers have been evacuated and put in safe shelters
As per reports, Pakistan has fired 3000-4000 mortar shells targeting Indian villages and border towns in which 12 people have been killed.
Firing from across the border took place in several areas along the Line of Control and the International Border, drawing effective retaliation from the Indian troops, the officials said.
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