Decorated lights decked up buildings and earthen lamps dotted houses as people across the country celebrated Diwali.
People familiar with the development said Chief of Army Staff General M M Naravane and the top commanders will review the country's combat readiness in eastern Ladakh where Indian and Chinese troops have been locked in a bitter standoff for 17 months.
Violating the ceasefire for the 14th time in the past 12 days, Pakistani troops on Friday targeted two border out posts along the International Border in Jammu sector drawing retaliation from Indian troops.
Union Home Minister Amit Shah on Monday said the government has no other option but to extend President's Rule in Jammu and Kashmir as the Election Commission wants to hold assembly elections in the state by the end of 2019.
In a surprise military shake-up, the Pakistan Army on Wednesday announced that the powerful spy agency ISI chief Lt Gen Faiz Hameed has been appointed as Peshawar Corps Commander -- a crucial position in view of the Taliban's takeover of neighbouring Afghanistan.
With Pakistan continuing to violate the ceasefire, Defence Minister Manohar Parrikar has directed security forces not to hold back and retaliate with "double the force".
The Border Security Force has been put on high alert along the India-Bangladesh border in Assam and Tripura following intelligence inputs of Islamic terrorists planning to infiltrate the country.
The opposition Peoples Democratic Party on Sunday called for urgent de-escalation of tension along the Line of Control.
It is often alleged that half the Indian Army is based in J&K. It is bewildering why there has been no rebuttal or clarification of this issue from the central or state governments, or from the army itself, wonders Ajai Shukla.
The seventh round of military talks between India and China held on Monday was "positive and constructive", and both sides agreed to earnestly implement the understanding reached by their leaders to not turn differences into disputes, a joint statement by the two armies said on Tuesday.
'If you behave like a nail, the adversary will behave like a hammer.'
On the occasion of the 5th International Yoga Day, troops from the Armed Forces and the paramilitary performed asanas all around the country. Take a look!
Pakistan troops once again violated the bilateral ceasefire along the Line of Control in the Hamirpur sector of Poonch district in Jammu region late Tuesday night.
The sprawling warship building facility caters to the combat vessel requirements of not only the Navy, but also the Coast Guard.
Indo-Tibetan Border Police director general S S Deswal said that the force is putting together the manpower for the facility that was first operationalised in June-July last year when COVID-19 cases in Delhi were witnessing a steep rise.
The stand by China spelt out by its foreign ministry insisting that it takes the 1959 line on perception of the LAC amid a nearly five-month-long border standoff in eastern Ladakh triggered a strong reaction from India.
An Air India flight was sent to Wuhan on Friday to bring back the Indian students stuck in Hubei province, the epicentre of coronavirus.
In a strong response to China's objection to development of infrastructure on the Indian side of the LAC, New Delhi also asserted that Beijing has no locus standi to comment on India's internal matters.
Worried over the "increased infiltration" this year in Jammu and Kashmir, Home Minister Sushilkumar Shinde on Tuesday said Lashkar-e-Tayiba founder Hafiz Saeed could be training terrorists on the other side of Indo-Pak border for infiltration.
'The killings are a worrisome escalation of tensions, but little is known about the immediate causes or results of the fight in Galwan and it is not possible, at this point, to assign blame'
The development comes on the same day that Home Minister Rajnath Singh held a second meeting to review security in the area.
Mahindra and Mahindra was the top gainer in the Sensex pack, advancing over 7 per cent, followed by Bajaj Finance, Reliance Industries, Maruti, TCS, HDFC Bank and Tata Steel. On the other hand, Bajaj Auto, HDFC, Bharti Airtel and HUL were among the laggards.
India's blunt message followed a series of ceasefire violations along the LoC in Jammu and Kashmir by Pakistan which resorted to mortar shelling of Indian areas.
The sources said intelligence-based targeted strikes are being conducted by the Indian Army to neutralise mostly Pakistani and foreign terrorists, and the collateral damage has been very negligible in these operations.
Seventy army installations, including camps, bunkers and posts, have been hit by the devastating floods in the Kashmir Valley but security forces have swiftly relocated the damaged and washed out posts to plug the gaps in the sensitive border areas.
Wang said the two sides should follow the important consensus reached by the leaders of the two countries and strengthen the communication and coordination on the proper handling of the border situation through the existing channels so as to jointly maintain peace and tranquility in the border area, the Chinese foreign ministry said in a statement.
'Whether it was a habitual expression of post truth or an open offer to India and Pakistan, even Imran Khan could not have believed it,' says Ambassador T P Sreenivasan.
Pakistan dropped weapons and some cash in Indian currency using a drone in Jammu and Kashmir's Rajouri district, Director General of Police Dilbag Singh on Saturday said, announcing the arrest of three Lashkar-e-Tayiba terrorists who had picked up the consignment near the Line of Control.
Pakistan Prime Minister's Adviser on Foreign Affairs Sartaj Aziz on Friday wrote to External Affairs Minister Sushma Swaraj, protesting the killing of soldiers in BSF firing and seeking an immediate probe into the incident.
This is the sixth time in over two weeks that the Indian Deputy high commissioner has been summoned to the FO in Islamabad.
'The Pakistani denial was the greatest triumph of this strategy.' 'From now onwards Pakistan will always have to factor in the Indian reaction when it decides to back non-State actors like LeT,' says Colonel Anil A Athale (retd).
'Employment of dedicated lightweight special forces aircraft may provide the answer for repeat anti-terror air strikes with surprise elements intact, the cost benefit assured and attrition minimal,' says Group Captain Murli Menon (retd), India's former air adviser in Pakistan.
This is the second ceasefire violation by Pakistan in as many days.
The border guarding force is also moving its mechanised column assets like SUVs, all-terrain vehicles, snow scooters and trucks to forward locations in the midst of the projected increase in the number of troops at border units and fresh directives to undertake 'additional' patrols.
Reacting sharply, India on Saturday dismissed Pakistan's allegation of 'breach of trust' over the killing of Pakistan Rangers and asked it to adhere to the mechanisms that have been evolved to ensure peace and tranquility on the International Border and Line of Control.
Indian Army sources said Pakistan Army is using Kashmiris in PoK as cannon fodder and Indian security forces are ready to deal with any eventualities along the LoC.
'The loss of Chinese internet company Byte Dance, mother company of TikTok, could be as high as USD 6 billion after the Indian government banned 59 Chinese apps, including TikTok following deadly border clash between India and Chinese troops last month,' reported Global Times citing sources.
Top commanders of the Indian Army on Monday carried out a comprehensive review of the country's security challenges, including in eastern Ladakh and other sensitive areas along the Line of Actual Control (LAC) with China, on the opening day of a four-day conference, people familiar with the developments said.
'The incidents have remained confined to the paramilitary forces on both sides with both the armies scrupulously avoiding getting involved. While this incident has been going on, the LOC has been reasonably quiet. Cross border firing achieves no tactical or strategic aims and is more a symptom of hostility. Unfortunately, India has to learn to live with this. Like Israel, we must construct shelters for the border populations and be ready to retaliate in kind,' says Colonel Anil A Athale (retd).
'Fearful of losing strategic advantage, the only option for Pakistan is to rattle its nuclear sabre!' 'Pakistan thereby hopes to play on the worldwide fear of an outbreak of nuclear war in South Asia,' says Colonel Anil A Athale (retd).
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