Pakistani Rangers on Thursday indulged in heavy firing and mortar shelling on five border outposts and some villages in Jammu district which left four persons injured, a day after a woman was killed in the ceasefire violations prompting India to lodge protest with Pakistan.
Several households along the IB sustained damages in the overnight mortar-shelling from across the border, local residents said.
The Bangladeshis were trying to cross into Pakistan through the RS Pura sector of the border.
Bettering the promise of monthly payouts to homemakers by the All India Anna Dravida Munnetra Kazhagam and the DMK, Kamal Haasan's Makkal Needhi Maiam on Friday assured Rs 3,000 "value rights assistance" to them in its manifesto for the April 6 assembly polls, but maintained it was not a dole.
The Border Security Force on Tuesday lodged a strong protest with the Pak Rangers over its "unprovoked" cross-border firing which killed one civilian and injured 14 in Jammu and Kashmir over past few days and warned that such acts or any other misadventure will not be tolerated at any cost.
Till August 5 last year, except for parliamentary elections, these refugees were barred from voting in Jammu and Kashmir's assembly, panchayat and urban local body polls.
When asked to stop, the intruders fired on BSF troops who retaliated in self-defence. Subsequently, five intruders were shot dead, a BSF officer said.
A villager was injured as Pakistani Army violated the ceasefire four times overnight by pounding civilian hamlets and posts with 120 mm and 82 mm mortar bombs along the International Border and the Line of Control and LoC in Jammu and Poonch districts, drawing retaliation from the Army and BSF.
The by-elections are being held to fill the vacancies caused by the disqualification of 17 rebel Congress and Janata Dal-Secular MLAs, whose rebellion led to the collapse of the H D Kumaraswamy-led coalition government in July and paved the way for the BJP to come to power.
In the second instance of ceasefire violation within 24 hours, Pakistani troops resorted to small arms firing on a Border Out Post
Border dwellers in Bobiya and adjoining hamlets in Hiranagar sector in Kathua district have been experiencing sleepless nights due to the intensified shelling and firing by Pakistan.
Residents of border villages in Jammu who were displaced because of the recent Pakistani shelling say they are too scared to return home despite de-escalation in firing from across the border.
In the first week, there shall be a cap of 2,000 pilgrims each day, of which 1,900 would be from Jammu and Kashmir and the remaining 100 from outside.
Pakistani troops on Friday fired on Indian forward posts along the International Border in Jammu and Kashmir, said an officer of the Border Security Force. Pak Rangers fired on Border outposts along IB in Pindi forward area along IB of R S Pura belt of Jammu district around 9.35 am, the officer said.
Dr Kalam continues to live in the imagination of the people of this nation and remains a role model for the youth and missile and space scientists who are diligently following his vision to achieve new laurels for India, notes S M Khan, who served as President Kalam's press secretary.
In the frontier areas of Jammu district, the number of people staying in the safe camps has also dwindled as the people want to tend to their standing crops.
At least two terrorists are believed to be hiding in the area. No casualties have been reported so far.
The home minister said people must have faith in security forces who are foiling the evil designs of enemies.
After a series ceasefire violations by Pakistan troops in the past six days, guns fell silent on Friday along the Indo-Pak Border in Jammu region of J&K.
Pakistan army again violated bilateral ceasefire in the Mendhar sector of the Line of Control in Jammu region on Sunday.
The cross-border firing has forced many to take shelter in government-run camps.
Pakistani border guards opened fire on a BSF posts, critically injuring a jawan and sparking an exchange of fire along the International Border (IB) in Jammu sector on Thursday.
Trains were set afire and blocked, and public vehicles attacked as protests over 'Agnipath' swept across several places in Bihar, Uttar Pradesh, Rajasthan, Haryana, Madhya Pradesh, Delhi and Jammu on Thursday amid partisan political voices in favour and against the new recruitment scheme for the defence forces that has set off a firestorm.
Karnam Malleshwari's bronze at the 2000 Olympics raised the profile of Indian weightlifting by several notches but little is expected of London-bound Soniya Chanu and the lifter does not mind it one bit as she is keen on springing a surprise at the mega-event.
In the shelling, a BSF jawan and a 17-year-old girl were killed while five civilians and a BSF jawan were injured and have been hospitalised.
Streets were waterlogged near the Civic Centre at Minto Road and also in Civil Lines area where various cars were seen half-submerged in water.
Srinagar witnessed two terror attacks on Monday morning in the very heart of the city; three policemen were killed. The attackers remain missing.
A youth was killed and six people, including two policemen, were injured as clashes erupted on Thursday between the police and a group of Sikh youth who were protesting against removal of posters of slain Khalistani militant leader Jarnail Singh Bhindranwale in Jammu city.
'Who decides what is jingoistic?' 'What is patriotic?' 'Who decides Lagaan is patriotic and Gadar is jingoistic?'
The Pakistani troops were seen firing mortars and missiles from civilian houses, using villagers as human shields. The Pakistani army used heavy weaponry, firing 120-mm mortar targeting civilian hamlets.
Scores of people in violence-hit areas of northeast Delhi have been spending their nights in the dark as power lines damaged during the riots remain unrepaired and dangle precariously outside their houses.
'Ek ghante ke andar humare paas 78,000 calls aaye.' '78,000!'
Kejriwal said the government has set up 9 shelters for the riot-affected people and is distributing food among them.
Heavy rains lashed the capital again on Friday, leading to waterlogging in several parts of the city and throwing traffic out of gear besides leaving people stranded on the roads during the morning rush hours.
India's leading private airport developers, GMR and GVK groups, are planning to bid for the modernisation of Ngurah Rai International Airport in Bali, Indonesia. Both are currently undertaking feasibility studies and preparing to participate in the tender process, sources said.
'Interestingly in spite of slightly more than half (52%) the respondent farmers opposing the three new agri laws, almost 44% respondent farmers said the Modi government was 'pro-farmer'
If you're planning to visit Bali this year, you're on the right track; the recent TripAdvisor survey has listed it as a hot favourite vacation destination among Indian travellers.
The former President also predicted that the conflict between India and Pakistan would be resolved by people power where "the people are going to force the nations to work for the prosperity of the nation and the peace of the nation."
"The government of India did not do anything to secure my release. But for my elder brother Anand Vir, advocate Arvind Kumar Singh and the honourable Supreme court of India, I would have still be rotting in Pakistani jails. The agencies, which hire you, disown you the moment you are arrested. The Indian high commission in Pakistan did not help either. They took their own sweet time for giving me temporary travel documents," he said.
