This year, the monsoon was above normal in almost all parts, except in North-West India, which comprises the major grain producing states of Uttar Pradesh, Punjab, Haryana, Rajasthan, along with states such as Himachal Pradesh, the NCR, Uttarakhand, and J&K.
Under the provision of Section 92 of the Jammu and Kashmir Constitution, governor's rule is imposed for six months.
The defence minister conducted an aerial survey of northern glacier Siachen and interacted with troops at the base camp.
'A nation can take a quick decision in a fit of passion or excitement that can be damaging to itself in the long term,' says Aakar Patel.
'That cannot be done till they roam around free, get money from Pakistan and seek attention.' 'The cycle of violence was very cleverly generated.' 'During night patrolling when it was discovered that dumper trucks were unloading heaps of stones in various places, it was the first indicator that there would be trouble.' 'Wherever stones were dumped, the stones were taken by the police to construction sites.' 'It was a laborious task, but we did it rigorously.' 'We had to use some smart tactics and soft skills to defeat the cycle of violence.''
China has been using Pakistan to counter India by arming it with nuclear weapons, missiles and conventional weapons, says K Subrahmanyam
The newly-introduced direct train to Katra, the base camp of Vaishno Devi shrine in Jammu and Kashmir, was stuck in a tunnel for an hour on Wednesday morning due to suspected wheel slip caused by heavy rains when it was about to reach the Katra railway station.
The defence minister clearly asserted that there will be no budgetary constraints to enhance the capability of the Army and meeting its other requirements.
'India has to prepare for future warfare where kinetic use of force at the border will be limited. War will take place in the realms beyond the border.'
The Jammu and Kashmir government has sought sanction from the Centre for the prosecution of armymen under the Armed Forces Special Powers Act in 41 cases of human rights violation in the state. "The Jammu and Kashmir home department has sought sanction from the central government for the prosecution of army personnel under AFSPA in 41 cases since 1990," a senior army officer of Northern Command told PTI. A total of 41 cases have been received by the central government.
'The picture only looks worse from where Bajwa sits.' 'He sees a domineering India to the east, an unravelling Afghanistan and a complex Iran to the west, an overbearing China on the north and a US which is no longer an ally,' observes Shekhar Gupta.
Triggering a major diplomatic row, China has refused to permit an Indian army general to visit that country as he is in-charge of "sensitive" Jammu and Kashmir, prompting an angry retaliation by India which put all defence exchanges with it on hold till the matter was sorted out.
'Initiatives taken by the government and security forces had resulted in a drop in the number of local youths being radicalised and taking to insurgency over the last few months.'
He said around 500 infiltrators were waiting to infiltrate into the country.
Railways will be transporting relief material free of charge to flood-ravaged Jammu and Kashmir and has taken a slew of measures including special trains and help desks for the stranded passengers.
The statement came after Owaisi courted controversy by saying that five out of the seven martyrs in the Sunjuwan terror attack were Muslims.
The 24-year-old Jammu and Kashmir all-rounder talks about his journey, his selection and areas he needs to improve on as a cricketer.
'All the government needs to do is to identify clear political and strategic objectives and to give the military planners a free hand,' asserts Ajai Shukla.
Any defeat for the BJP now would imply that anti-incumbency against Modi has set in, says N Sathiya Moorthy.
Armed forces and the police can only ensure that violence is kept under control but for any kind of lasting peace, politicians will have to find an answer to the perception that the Indian State is anti-Islam. Therein lies the biggest challenge to the Modi government, says Colonel Anil A Athale (retired).
The killing of Naik Rajib Thapa, 34, raised the death toll in the cross-border firing in the past week to four -- three soldiers and one civilian.
Indian Army Chief General Bikram Singh on Monday hit out strongly at Pakistan over the killing of two Indian soldiers and continuous ceasefire violation.
Nine security force personnel were injured in the firing by the terrorists, they said adding five of them succumbed to injuries.
'The potential of one such LAC engagement going out of control and leading to heavy casualties cannot be ruled out,' warns Lieutenant General Syed Ata Hasnain (retd).
An Army Captain lost his life while 15 other soldiers were rescued after an avalanche struck a patrol party in Siachen Glacier in Ladakh sector of Jammu and Kashmir.
Jammu and Kashmir Governor N N Vohra was Wednesday briefed about Tuesday's shooting incident by Pakistani troops along the Line of Control in Mendhar in Poonch district.
Calling the FIR against the army as 'unfortunate', Lt Gen Anbu said that there should have been generic FIR in the matter.
'Keeping Kashmir out of the informal summit does not mean that they have given up their strategic interest.'
Defence minister A K Antony on Sunday visited a forward post in north Kashmir's Kupwara sector.
The bodies of two terrorists had been recovered on Sunday.
Army's Northern Command has issued a global tender for procuring latest miniature unmanned aerial vehicles for gathering intelligence and carry out reconnaissance of areas along Line of Control with Pakistan and Sino-India border.
'This Ram Navami -- the birth anniversary of Lord Ram -- presents the majority community an opportunity to shed its minority complex and offer an olive branch and discrimination- free society to the minority,' suggests Colonel Anil A Athale (retd).
Indian troops guarding the border, retaliated resulting in exchanges.
"With a view to further consolidate the confidence building initiatives already taken, it has been planned to liberalise the entry permit system for cross-LoC travel by bringing in features like triple entry permits valid for one year and completion of the verification process within six weeks," Home Minister Shivraj Patil said.
"We will fight our case in court against Pak govt's illegal action," said Saeed.
Remember the US withdrawal agreement was signed in February 2020. In the intervening period, a proper evacuation plan ought to have been in place. It was not. Consequently, tens of thousands of Afghans who had worked as interpreters, drivers, suppliers of goods and services, etc, face brutal retribution from the Taliban, Virendra Kapoor points out.
" ...the military (is) being increasingly drawn into the political discourse, it's being used to win political arguments"
'There is a sense of realism in the Pakistan army that if they needled India during the Ladakh standoff, they would have seen a strong retaliation.' 'Pakistan was hoping that India would come out looking weaker in the region and get embarrassed, but that obviously has not happened.'
A patrol party came under the avalanche at Turtuk area of Siachen, the highest battleground in the world
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