'A man with a gun commanded respect. I thought if I also got a gun, I could save my family. With this thought, I went to Pakistan and got training there'
"I am proud of my husband. He laid down his life for the country," says Mandeep Kaur, wife of Naik Mandeep Singh, who was among the five soldiers killed in a fierce gunfight with terrorists in Jammu and Kashmir's Poonch district on Monday.
In the first ceasefire violation this month, Pakistani troops on Tuesday targeted Indian forward posts with small arms and automatic weapons along the Line of Control in Poonch district of Jammu and Kashmir, prompting Indian forces to retaliate.
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.
Pakistani troops resorted to unprovoked and indiscriminate firing amid rocket and mortar shell attacks on Line of Control posts injuring three army jawans and a civilian in Poonch sector of Jammu and Kashmir.
The father of Murali Naik, a soldier from Andhra Pradesh who died during cross-border shelling in Jammu and Kashmir's Poonch, said his son joined the Army despite his opposition as he wanted to serve the nation. Naik, a 23-year-old Agniveer, died in the line of duty on Friday. He was the primary breadwinner for his family, which has been living in Mumbai for the past 32 years. Naik's death has been mourned by politicians and officials, including Andhra Pradesh Chief Minister N Chandrababu Naidu and Maharashtra Chief Minister Devendra Fadnavis.
2017 has also seen a sharp increase in ceasefire violations at the LoC by Pakistan.
An armed guard of Qatal was also killed in the attack that took place on Saturday night.
According to officials, 46 deaths have been recorded in terrorism-related violence since January this year in the twin border districts of Rajouri and Poonch and nearby Reasi district.
The army foiled an infiltration bid along the Line of Control in Poonch district of Jammu and Kashmir.
An army captain and a junior commissioned officer (JCO) were killed in an accidental grenade blast along the Line of Control in Jammu and Kashmir's Poonch district, officials said on Monday.
An Army major was killed and Colonel and five troopers injured in a fierce encounter in the forest area in Beri Rakh forest near Mendhar on the Line of Control (LoC) in frontier Poonch district of Jammu region last night.
Meanwhile, a precautionary blackout has been enforfced in the multiple areas amid the esclating tensions between India and Pakistan.
However, Defence PRO Col Manish Mehta said there was no ceasefire violation.
An Army vehicle skidded off the road and fell into a gorge near SK Payen in the north Kashmir district, they said.
One person has been killed and seven injured after Pakistani troops pounded forward posts and civilian areas along the Line of Control in Saujian sector of Poonch district in Jammu and Kashmir with heavy shelling and firing, forcing the Army to retaliate.
Pakistani troops violated the ceasefire twice on Sunday by firing mortar shells, rockets and automatic weapons on forward Indian posts along the LoC in Poonch district, drawing retaliation from the Indian side.
Pakistani troops violated the ceasefire on Sunday along the Line of Control in Poonch district of Jammu and Kashmir but there was no casualty.
An alleged Pakistani intruder was killed on Monday when an improvised explosive device he was carrying exploded during an encounter with security forces along the Line of Control in Poonch district of Jammu and Kashmir.
The group of terrorists was attempting to infiltrate into the Indian territory from Pakistan-occupied Kashmir, a Defence Spokesman said in Srinagar.
A fresh exchange of fire took place on Thursday between terrorists and security personnel in Jammu and Kashmir's Rajouri district, where four Army personnel were killed and two others were injured in an encounter, officials said.
The chopper turned back after it was "engaged by air sentries".
Pakistani troops violated the ceasefire yet again in the Chakan-de-Bagh sector of the Line of Control in Poonch district Monday.
The defence spokesperson said the Pakistan Army also shelled posts with heavy mortars and opened fire with small arms and automatic weapons in the Poonch sector.
Militants engaged in an encounter with security forces in Poonch district escaped from the cordon on Thursday morning, the police said
A search is underway to track down another terrorist, who was his accomplice, in the area, they said.
In a joint operation, Rashtriya Rifles troops and police shot dead the self-styled commander Abu Umar and another unidentified ultra, police said. Umar, a close associate of self-styled LeT divisional commander Dawood, was injured in another encounter a week ago.
The nine targets struck under 'Operation Sindoor', four in Pakistan and five in Pakistan-occupied-Kashmir, were chosen by the IAF after receiving intelligence inputs about terror camps operating under the guise of health centres to evade detection at these sites, officials said on Wednesday.
An army major and two jawans were injured in a gun-battle with militants in Poonch district of Jammu and Kashmir as the operation against ultras in the region entered the fourth day on Friday.
Additional security men have been sent to lay a siege of the area in a bid to prevent terrorist from escaping, police officials said.
The exchange of fire, which occurred in the Mendhar sector of the district on Friday night, lasted several hours.
In the blast, 11 people were injured, one of them critically, he said. While 7 of the injured are locals, 4 others are outsiders.
"The operation has been called off. The possibility of terrorists having escaped cannot be ruled out," said Defence Spokesman S N Acharya, capping the futile search for the terrorists whom the security forces had engaged in a battle. The encounter, which has been going on since January 1, has claimed the lives of four terrorists and three security personnel, including a Junior Commissioned Officer.
Pakistani troops on violated the ceasefire again and resorted to firing along LoC in Poonch district in which one woman suffered injuries.
The operation to track down a group of hiding terrorists, who are responsible for the killing of nine soldiers, in Bhatti Durrian forest in Mendhar along with Surankote forest in Poonch and nearby Thanamandi in Rajouri district entered the 21st day on Sunday, the officials said.
Jammu and Kashmir BJP chief Ravinder Raina, seeking re-election from Nowshera assembly constituency of Rajouri district in Jammu and Kashmir, is facing a major challenge from his former party colleague Surinder Choudhary.
'We should not just react when a terror attack happens on our soil.' 'Our approach should be continuous and a launch pad should be destroyed the moment it comes up.'
The ceasefire violation coincides with Home Minister Rajnath Singh's four-day visit to the state.
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