'It was inspired by the Hamas attack and was like their attack -- well planned and well executed.'
The National Investigation Agency (NIA) has started interviewing eyewitnesses, including tourists, in connection with the deadly terrorist attack in Pahalgam, south Kashmir. The attack, carried out by terrorists from the Pakistan-based Lashkar-e-Taiba (LeT), claimed the lives of 26 people on April 22. Initial investigations suggest that five to seven terrorists were involved, aided by local militants trained in Pakistan. Security forces are conducting massive operations to hunt down the terrorists in the dense jungles of the Pir Panjal range.
Emotional scenes were witnessed across the country as the last rites of those killed in shelling by Pakistan during the recent military conflict with India were performed on Sunday.
China appears determined to upgrade Pakistan's military capabilities, sufficient to ensure local parity with India, alerts former foreign secretary Ambassador Shyam Saran.
Wing Commander Vyomika Singh's role at the press briefing for Operation Sindoor is consistent with her experience as a helicopter pilot in Jammu and Kashmir during the course of her career.
General Asim Munir becomes Pakistan's 17th Chief of the Army Staff.
So, will the members discuss the possibility of placing India and Pakistan in different groups in the league stage of the tournament to avoid Men in Blue's travel to the neighbouring country?
'If they aim to remain aligned with the public sentiment, as any democratic government should, then they must respond. Why else would the prime minister have cut short his visit to Saudi Arabia? And why would he have instructed the home minister himself to travel to Srinagar to assess the situation firsthand? This suggests that something is indeed being planned. I am quite certain of that, although the exact form it will take remains to be seen.'
Lt Gen Abbas -- commissioned in 1987 by Pakistan Military Academy (PMA) in the 41 Baloch Regiment -- has formerly served as the personal secretary to the chief of former army chief Gen Raheel Sharif.
Pakistan's drone strikes and mortar shelling targeted six locations in Jammu, including the densely populated Rehari Colony, leaving one person injured and causing widespread damage. Residents described scenes of devastation and expressed fear, while others voiced defiance and called for action against Pakistan. The attacks, which occurred early Saturday, have been condemned by Jammu and Kashmir's Chief Minister Omar Abdullah as the "worst targeting of civilians in Jammu city since 1971."
Pakistan Army chief Gen Ashfaq Parvez Kayani on Thursday met Prime Minister Yousuf Raza Gilani shortly before the foreign ministers of India and Pakistan called on the premier.
The ISI strategy has been to use its proxies to target Hindus in India. They want an outrage and counter-targeting of India's minorities. Further, even the whiff of it restores the Pakistan army's popularity, especially when it's in the dumps, like now, points out Shekhar Gupta.
The Congress on Sunday demanded answers from the government on whether it has accepted third-party mediation on Kashmir after the United States made announcements on behalf of India and Pakistan, and slammed attempts to 'internationalise' the issue and 'hyphenate' the two countries.
Union Home Minister Amit Shah arrived in Srinagar to review the security situation in Kashmir following a deadly terror attack in Pahalgam that killed 26 people, including tourists. Shah chaired a high-level meeting of security officials, including those from the Army, CRPF, and police. The attack, claimed by The Resistance Front (TRF), a shadow group of the banned Pakistan-based Lashkar-e-Taiba (LeT) terror group, is the deadliest in the valley since the 2019 Pulwama strike.
According to recent media reports, a portrait capturing what one general called India's greatest military achievement in 1,000 years -- Pakistan's surrender on December 16, 1971 -- has been removed from the army chief's lounge and been replaced by another painting.
The dastardly dimensions of the attack are gradually sinking in even as the Government of India announced its immediate diplomatic and other retaliatory measures. It is generally expected to be followed up with punitive military action across the LoC, sooner than later, observes Mohammad Sayeed Malik, the distinguished commentator on Kashmir affairs.
Pakistan President Asif Ali Zardari and army chief Ashfaq Parvez Kayani met on Friday. This is their second meeting since the memo scandal that sparked off a tense stand-off between the civilian and military leadership. The informal meeting between Zardari and Kayani at the presidency took place after the ceremony to award Nishan-e-Imtiaz to Admiral Asif Sandila.
The tragedy struck the family on May 7 when they found themselves in the middle of intense Pakistani shelling at their rented accommodation in Poonch which was badly hit by the cross-border shelling.
The Pahalgam massacre highlights the evolution of terrorism into a multi-domain challenge. India's response must similarly evolve -- from tactical retaliation to comprehensive strategic deterrence. To establish a credible and sustained deterrent, India must also carry out continuous kinetic operations, both overt and covert, suggest Sakshit Raina and Rahul Mishra. To establish a credible and sustained deterrent, India must also carry out continuous kinetic operations, both overt and covert, suggest Sakshit Raina & Rahul Mishra.
'I needed a lot of elements for this character, and I realised that Kartik definitely had the raw material to play Chandu Champion.'
He said his biggest takeaway from the Kargil war is that the enemy cannot be trusted even if there is "political show" of friendship.
Another extension for General Bajwa in office at this juncture looks unlikely at this juncture, observes Rana Banerji, who headed the Pakistan desk at the Research and Analysis Wing, India's external intelligence agency.
For the first time, the Data Security Council of India assembled a joint task force to source threat intelligence at the origin and ensure coordinated action across the cybersecurity spectrum.
'Diplomatic and economic responses are first announced and then implemented. A military response is announced only after it is done.'
He said around 500 infiltrators were waiting to infiltrate into the country.
The military establishment is in no mood to forgive or forget Imran's anti-military utterances, observes Rana Banerji, who headed the Pakistan desk at RAW, India's external intelligence agency.
General Bajwa, who commanded the 10 Corps that looks after Pakistan's border with India, is unlikely to change his army's and nation's policy on Kashmir,' says Ambassador M K Bhadrakumar.
A triumphant Khan returned to his Lahore home on Saturday after having locked himself in the Islamabad high court premises for hours for fear of re-arrest despite being granted bail on Friday.
'The last thing he would want is new tensions with India.'
Everybody talks of China as the real threat, but we aren't even building a decisive capability against Pakistan, asserts Shekhar Gupta.
Rajya Sabha MP Kapil Sibal has congratulated both the previous UPA government and the current dispensation for the extradition of Tahawwur Hussain Rana, the mastermind behind the 2008 Mumbai attacks. Sibal expressed confidence that the extradition will shed light on the involvement of individuals within Pakistan's establishment in the attacks. Rana is being questioned by the National Investigation Agency (NIA) to uncover the full extent of the conspiracy behind the deadly 2008 terror strikes. Sibal highlighted the efforts of the UPA government in establishing the NIA and pursuing Rana's extradition, and also acknowledged the current government's success in bringing him back to India. The interrogation is expected to focus on Rana's potential ties to the Lashkar-e-Taiba (LeT) and his role in the Mumbai attacks.
'And this will persist given the two-and-a-half-front threat we face.'
Pakistan's ISI chief Lt Gen Nadeem Ahmed Anjum said on Thursday that Army chief Gen Qamar Javed Bajwa was given a "lucrative offer" in March by the then government amidst the political turmoil, as the powerful top spy launched a veiled attack on ousted premier Imran Khan at an unprecedented press conference.
'The present generation, either due to historical amnesia or political propaganda, has been fed a narrative that paints India as an adversary rather than an ally.'
Khan had been at loggerheads with Bajwa ever since his ouster from power in April by a no-confidence motion.
Pakistan on Saturday reacted angrily to the Indian army chief's remarks describing the country as a major irritant for India's security and about the possibility of a war in a nuclear scenario, saying they were 'jingoistic' and 'unwise.'
Only experienced investors with a high risk appetite, a grasp of market cycles, and comfort with volatility and timing risk should invest.
As many as 17 three star generals will retire before General Bajwa hangs his boots, says Rana Banerji, who headed the Pakistan desk at the Research and Analysis Wing, India's external intelligence agency.
"There was neither any talk of dismissing the army chief nor was this on the cards," Khan told journalists after chairing an emergency Cabinet meeting.
Major General Abdulla Shamaal, chief of the Maldives National Defence Force, called on General Manoj Chandrashekar Pande, chief of the army staff, in New Delhi on Thursday, July 28, 2022.
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