While we seem to want soldiers on short-term engagement, warfare itself is getting more technical and needs skilled manpower. The world has seen the dismal performance of armies that rely on short tour of duty soldiers or have outsourced war to 'contractors' in Afghanistan and now in Ukraine, points out Colonel Anil A Athale (retd).
These Army posts -- some at the highest altitude of about 12,000 feet -- are the first line of defense against the intruders in these infamous, traditional routes of infiltration. These infiltration routes converge at the mighty Shamsabari range.
A police spokesperson said two of the four recent cases of target killings in Srinagar and Bandipora have been solved with the elimination of the terrorists involved in these incidents.
The greatest unknown in this risky initiative lies in the way human relationships will play out -- not just between the Agniveers, who will be competing with their fellows for permanent jobs beyond their four-year tenures -- but also between the Agniveers and existing full-time soldiers, warns Ajai Shukla.
Parvez, a resident of the downtown area in Khanyar, was 21 when he was rescued from Ankara, after his parents claimed he had been misguided by some people to join the terror ranks.
An editorial in Sena mouthpiece Saamana also asked what has changed in Jammu and Kashmir after the abrogation of Article 370, and said 'Hindutva means nationalism'.
'He continued firing with the other hand with the AK-47.' 'He was hit in the neck and shoulder, but did not let go of the terrorist.' On Republic Day, Mudasir Ahmed Sheikh of the J&K Police was awarded the Shaurya Chakra posthumously for eliminating three Pakistani terrorists.
Central Reserve Police Force commander Chetan Cheetah, who was shot nine times during an encounter with terrorists in Kashmir, has made a "miraculous" recovery and will be discharged from the AIIMS on Wednesday.
For the soldiers at this frontier, it's a battle that has to be fought on two fronts -- hostile neighbour and harsh winter, which is approaching.
Army sources said the CoI has been given one month's time to complete the probe.
The army has gunned down two more intruding militants on the Line of Control in north Kashmir's Kupwara district.
National Conference leader and former Jammu and Kashmir chief minister Farooq Abdullah has rejected the notion that the threat of a nuclear war would solve the Kashmir issue, asserting that the region would never be a part of Pakistan and dialogue is the best way to "move forward".
The revelation has come as intelligence agencies, too, say Pakistan is pushing terrorists infected with COVID-19 into Kashmir.
All the four were found guilty of "conspiracy" to wage war against the government of India and sentenced to 10 years rigorous imprisonment.
The top court also held that medical opinion regarding the age of an accused cannot be 'brushed aside' in the absence of statutory proof on the same issue.
SPO Ahmad succumbed to injuries while SI Parihar has been admitted to the army hospital.
A home ministry spokesperson, however, said the decision does not imply that the AFSPA has been completely withdrawn from the three insurgency-hit states but will continue to be in force in some areas of the three states.
The Army has initiated general court martial proceedings against a captain for the killing of three men in a staged encounter in Amshipura in south Kashmir in July 2020 after a Court of Inquiry found that troops had 'exceeded' powers vested under the Armed Forces (Special Powers) Act, officials said in Srinagar on Sunday.
Slogans for his long afterlife rented the air, as coffin of Flight Lieutenant Advitiya Bal arrived at his home in Jinder Mehlu hamlet of border belt of R S Pura, where thousands of people gathered to pay their last respects to the fighter pilot.
The Armed Forces (Special Powers) Act, 1958, was completely withdrawn in Meghalaya in 2018, Tripura in 2015 and Mizoram in the 1980s.
The stage on which the Jammu and Kashmir flood disaster played out is littered with protagonists, most of whom did not receive the attention they deserve, says Ajai Shukla
"We have decided to add new features to our convoy movement to and from Kashmir," CRPF Director General R R Bhatnagar said.
There has been a sudden rise in armed robberies in banks in Kashmir after demonetisation.
He said the Modi government was trying to take forward the initiatives taken by previous governments.
More than 8,000 pilgrims on Monday paid obeisance at the holy cave shrine.
One of the most wanted terrorist, Mudasir Pandit, and a Pakistani ultra were among the three terrorist killed in an overnight encounter with security forces in the Sopore area of Jammu and Kashmir's Baramulla district, police said.
A Defence spokesman said the ultras opened heavy fire on search parties resulting in critical injuries to the JCO and four other personnel.
The Union home ministry, from its North Block office atop the Raisina Hill in New Delhi, kept a 'constant and engaging' vigil across the country with central paramilitary forces, intelligence agencies and state police forces in toe.
On a specific input, the security forces launched a cordon and search operation in Reban area of south Kashmir district, a police spokesperson said.
The BSF is also conducting joint patrolling with the army, the Central Reserve Police Force and police to thwart nefarious attempts of terrorists, Boora said.
Amid multi-tier security, Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Sunday will dedicate India's first 'carbon neutral panchayat' to the nation apart from inaugurating and laying foundation stone of development projects worth over Rs 20,000 crore to give fillip to speedy development of Jammu and Kashmir.
What is the lure of a government job? The answer is India's worst kept secret: Job security. And among the many government jobs desperately sought after is in the armed forces. Which is why the riots by aspiring armed forces job seekers against the government's Agnipath scheme should not really be surprising, points out Harishchandra.
This is the first death due to the pandemic among the about 10 lakh personnel strong Central Armed Police Forces (CAPFs) or the paramilitary forces that function under the Union Home Ministry for upkeep of internal security and border guarding.
Army troops on Saturday busted a hideout of Lashkar-e-Tayiba in Jammu and Kashmir's Doda district and recovered a cache of army, ammunition and explosive material.
The incident took place at Panjgaon at Chowkibal when terorists, suspected to be of terror outfit Jaish-e-Mohammad stormed the battalion camp which is in-charge of road opening duties on the crucial roads in this area.
'Criticism that Amnesty is interested in those in favour of independence for Kashmir is unfounded.'
'The person who carried out the London attack... was a fighter from the Islamic State, and did so in response to calls to target citizens of coalition countries,' the ISIS statement read.
The number of terrorists killed in the past seven months this year is the highest in the same period over the past seven years.
The Delhi Police on Tuesday said it has foiled a major terror plan during the festival season with the arrest of a 40-year-old Pakistani terrorist who has Inter-Services Intelligence (ISI) links and had been living in India for over 10 years under a fake identity.
He said 162 terrorists and Maoists were killed across the country in 2021-22.
