'Saudi-Pak defence pact is to anchor the defence and security of Saudi Arabia and not Pakistan, per se, with Islamabad being the junior partner.'
The landmine exploded when the troops were patrolling in a forward area in Digwar sector this afternoon, the officials said.
The Indian Army has enhanced security along the Line of Control (LoC) in Jammu and Kashmir's Rajouri district by deploying state-of-the-art equipment, including smart fence systems, robotic mules, and all-terrain vehicles. These upgrades aim to counter infiltration and ensure peaceful Independence Day celebrations.
Jammu and Kashmir was peaceful last night with no hostilities between the Indian and Pakistani militaries along the Line of Control and the International Border.
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.
It sustained fatal bullet injuries on Monday while attempting to protect the troops from the terrorist assault.
Pakistani troops continued unprovoked small arms firing in different sectors along the Line of Control (LoC) in Jammu and Kashmir for the 10th consecutive night, prompting effective retaliation by the Indian army. The ceasefire violations, which started after the April 22 terror attack in Pahalgam, were reported from eight places across five districts in the Union Territory during the intervening night of Saturday and Sunday. Indian Army responded promptly and proportionately to the unprovoked firing, a defence spokesperson said.
Jain currently heads RAW's Aviation Research Centre (ARC), which deals with aerial surveillance, among others.
The security forces are on high alert after Tuesday's terror attack in Pahalgam left 26 people, mostly tourists, dead.
The Indian Army responded in a measured and effective manner to the provocation.
The Pakistan Army continued shelling along the Line of Control (LoC) in four sectors of Jammu and Kashmir, prompting a befitting response by the Indian Army, officials said on Thursday. The intensity of cross-border firing was less than Wednesday, when Pakistan Army carried out one of the most intense artillery and mortar shelling in years targeting the forward villages in J-K following missile strikes by India as part of 'Operation Sindoor'.
Villagers living near the International Border and Line of Control in Jammu are on high alert following the recent terror attack in Pahalgam, preparing underground bunkers and accelerating crop harvesting. The incident has heightened security concerns despite a renewed ceasefire agreement between India and Pakistan in 2021. Residents are demanding swift action against the perpetrators and their handlers.
In the last 11 years, India and the world witnessed what he stood for, what he promised and did not deliver, and what he actually stood for and practised without fearing how history would judge him. Modi's tenure has been punctuated with headline-grabbing decisions, symbolic gestures, and stage-managed moments that continue to define his leadership and India's politics, points out Ramesh Menon.
New Delhi looks to be testing Omar's endurance with unconcealed glee, never feeling shy to bite whenever a moment comes its way. After all, ruling the country's only Muslim-majority UT/state has been the BJP's burning desire, points out Mohammad Sayeed Malik, the distinguished commentator on Kashmir affairs.
BCCI secretary Devajit Saikia said that an invitation has been extended to chiefs of all three Armed forces, top-ranked officers and soldiers for the IPL 2025 final on June 3.
India's recent missile strikes on nine terrorist locations in Pakistan and Pakistan-occupied Kashmir (PoK), including Bahawalpur, mark a significant escalation in the long-standing military tensions between the two nations. This article provides a historical overview of the Indo-Pak military confrontations, tracing their roots back to the 1947 war following India's independence and the partition of the sub-continent, and highlighting key conflicts such as the 1965 war, the 1971 Bangladesh Liberation War, the 1999 Kargil War, the 2016 Uri attack, and the 2019 Pulwama attack.
While the Indian Army made no mention of any casualty on the Pakistan side, official sources said five enemy soldiers were injured in the explosion and the subsequent firing between the two sides.
Security agencies have gathered evidence, including Pakistani government documents and biometric data, confirming that the terrorists involved in the Pahalgam attack were Pakistani nationals.
We have nothing to gain by raising our concerns internationally as our narrative has got entangled with several controversial concepts in the United Nations, asserts Ambassador T N Sreenivasan.
The US has issued a 'Do Not Travel' advisory for Jammu and Kashmir citing potential for terrorist attacks and violent civil unrest. The advisory, issued on Wednesday, comes a day after a deadly terror attack in Pahalgam that killed 26 people, mostly tourists. The advisory also warns against traveling within 10 kilometers of the India-Pakistan border.
India has warned Pakistan against its unprovoked firings along the Line of Control (LoC) in Jammu and Kashmir as the directors general of military operations of the two armies spoke on the hotline amid the escalating tensions over the Pahalgam terror attack.
Meanwhile, a precautionary blackout has been enforfced in the multiple areas amid the esclating tensions between India and Pakistan.
The Border Security Force (BSF) is set to receive government approval for 16 new battalions, comprising around 17,000 personnel, and two forward headquarters for its western and eastern commands. The move aims to strengthen security along the India-Pakistan and India-Bangladesh borders, respectively. The new battalions and headquarters are part of a larger plan to address evolving security dynamics and challenges in the border regions.
A series of blasts took place in Srinagar city as the security agencies brought down a drone that was seen hovering over Batwara area of the city, close to an army installation, officials said.
Security forces on Tuesday morning gunned down two terrorists holed up in a forest area near a village in the Akhnoor sector in Jammu and Kashmir, taking the number of militants killed in the 27-hour-long gunfight near the Line of Control (LoC) to three, officials said.
Pakistan was waiting for an opportunity to bring the Jammu and Kashmir issue to the global agenda and resorted to the terrorism route to provoke India, observes Ambassador T P Sreenivasan.
Pakistani troops continued to violate the ceasefire along the Line of Control (LoC) by resorting to unprovoked firing in Jammu and Kashmir's Poonch and Kupwara districts, army officials said. This was the fourth consecutive night that Pakistan resorted to unprovoked firing along the LoC and came amid heightened tension between New Delhi and Islamabad following last week's terror attack in Pahalgam. Indian troops responded swiftly and effectively.
In a post on X, the additional directorate general of public information posted: "Pakistan again violates the Ceasefire Agreement by firing artillery in Bhimber Gali in the Poonch-Rajouri area. Indian Army is responding appropriately in a calibrated manner."
Two terrorists were killed on Wednesday as an infiltration bid was foiled along the Line of Control in Jammu and Kashmir's Baramulla district, officials said. The Army said the infiltration bid was foiled in Uri Nala of the north Kashmir district. The troops on the LoC challenged and intercepted the infiltrators, resulting in a "heavy" firefight, the army said. Large quantity of weapons, ammunition and other war-like stores have been recovered from the terrorists, it said, adding, the operation is in progress.
People in several districts of Punjab, Jammu and Kashmir and Gujarat spent an anxious night as authorities enforced blackouts amid heightened tension between India and Pakistan.
In a statement on Thursday, the Indian Army said that the ceasefire on the LoC is intact.
India expects Turkiye to strongly urge Pakistan to end its support to cross-border terrorism, said ministry of external affairs spokesperson, Randhir Jaiswal during the weekly briefing on Thursday.
India's strikes on Pakistan damaged runways and structures across at least six airfields, according to a visual analysis by The Washington Post, which experts said were the most significant attacks of their kind in decades of simmering conflict between the two nations.
A new book reveals that India and Pakistan discussed a communal division of Jammu & Kashmir along the Chenab river before the Kargil war in 1999.
Authorities in Jammu and Kashmir on Sunday asked border villages residents, who were evacuated to safer places in view of cross border shelling by Pakistan, not to rush back to homes as they are yet to sanitise and clear these areas of any unexplored shells.
Following the Pahalgam terror attack, the Indian Army launched Operation Sindoor, targeting Pakistani terror infrastructure and posts in the Poonch sector of Jammu and Kashmir. Over 600 artillery shells were fired in three days, decimating 20 Pakistani posts used for infiltrating terrorists into India. The precision strikes crippled enemy logistics, material, and morale, prompting retaliatory attacks by Pakistan on civilian areas. Despite the retaliation, Indian Army officers described the operation as a success, highlighting the high morale of the troops and the effective coordination between artillery and air defense units. The article details the intensity of the artillery shelling and the impact on both sides, highlighting the strategic significance of the Poonch sector and the ongoing tension between India and Pakistan.
The officials said dozens of unexploded explosives were destroyed by the experts along the Line of Control in Rajouri and Poonch districts and along the International Border in Jammu and Samba which witnessed intense cross-border shelling and drone attacks from May 7 to May 10.
It is considered one of the most crucial appointments within the Indian Army, according to an official statement from the Ministry of Defence.
Abdullah, who visited the shelling-affected areas of Uri, including Salamabad, Lagama, Bandi and Gingal in north Kashmir's Baramulla district, also said that he would take up the demand for building individual bunkers in these areas with the Centre.
The troops returned fire and reinforcements were rushed to neutralise the terrorists, the officials said, adding that a search operation is underway in the area.
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