More than 40 per cent of the 908 candidates contesting the assembly elections in Jammu and Kashmir are Independents, leading to claims that a large number of them have been propped up by the Bharatiya Janata Party to divide votes.
'Surgical strikes or air strikes, or both, are likely on the table.'
'Every decision India makes along the LoC, it must also consider implications along the LAC.'
India has reached out to key global powers, including members of the UN Security Council, and apprised them about the reasons behind its military strikes on nine terror targets in Pakistan and Pakistan-occupied-Kashmir in retaliation for the Pahalgam terror attack. New Delhi also conveyed to the countries that it will retaliate if Islamabad escalates the already tense situation.
'Fears in Washington began to intensify when it was realised that subsequent Pakistani and Indian attacks on major military facilities -- which were significant in terms of geographic scope and intensity -- could rapidly take both sides to where neither actually wanted to go.' 'The US objective was to stop the fighting as soon as possible. Everything else was secondary.'
Javed Munshi, suspected to be a member of the outlawed 'Tehreek e Mujahideen' outfit in Kashmir Valley, was picked up from near Canning Hospital by a joint team of Jammu and Kashmir Police and West Bengal Police's Special Task Force, the officer said.
>The Indian Army still uses old British-era names and recruits soldiers based on caste or region, which hurts national unity, argues Colonel K Thammayya Udupa (retd).
'Where are the safer zones in Kashmir? We have to move out, drop our children at local schools and attend to our duties'
Ahead of a crucial meeting on Jammu and Kashmir, National Security Advisor Ajit Doval on Thursday met Union Home Minister Amit Shah and is believed to have discussed the security situation in the Union territory which has witnessed a spate of targeted killings since May 12.
Once identified, these individuals are drawn into private groups where they are exposed to manipulative content, including fabricated videos depicting atrocities allegedly committed by security forces, the officials said.
The AFSPA, often criticised as a draconian law, gives armed forces operating in disturbed areas sweeping powers to search, arrest and open fire if they deem it necessary.
The incident took place at Tumchi Nowpora of Pulwama district in South Kashmir when the labourer, Mukesh Kumar, was in the market to buy some vegetables.
As per one of the arrested persons, the slain terrorists were Pashto-speaking either from a village in Pakistan bordering Afghanistan or from Afghanistan itself, the Jammu police chief told reporters in Jammu in the evening.
The number of active terrorists in the valley is at its lowest in the last 34 years, General Officer Commanding of Chinar Corps Lieutenant General A D S Aujla said.
Kashmir is currently under the grip of 'Chillai-Kalan' -- the 40-day harshest winter period when a cold wave grips the region
'It is typical of China's strategic deception of making virtue out of necessity,' observes Rup Narayan Das.
The anti-encroachment drive by Jammu and Kashmir administration intensified on Saturday as the land illegally occupied by 'influential persons' was retrieved at many places in the valley, officials said.
All-party parliamentary delegations on Friday met leaders and diplomats from several countries to galvanise international action against terrorists and decisively counter the tactics of those who perpetrate, support and sponsor cross-border terror activities against India.
'Unfortunately, India and Pakistan could learn a 'lesson' from this conflict that will make them more likely to use these weapons against each other in the future.' 'Rounds of missile and drone attacks could be more routine features of their hostility, just like artillery fire has become a familiar fact of life along the Line of Control.'
'If there is a military standoff eyeball to eyeball on the western border, the Chinese could create problems by making movements in the north, in our northeast, which could involve us tying down some forces there so that could stretch our military actions.'
During this summer, Indian travel buffs are opting for destinations that provide an escape from the ominous heat, along with coastal regions within the country and countries offering visa-free travel.
Pakistan has warned the international community that any military moves by India shall be 'responded to assuredly and decisively... onus of any escalatory spiral and its consequences shall squarely lie with India.' Implicit in the statement is a veiled threat that even a nuclear threshold may be reached if push comes to shove, warns Ambassador M K Bhadrakumar.
While acknowledging that they needed strong allies for a chance in the assembly polls, AIADMK cadres seemingly prefer actor-politician Vijay's Tamilaga Vettri Kazhagam to the BJP, owing to the latter's 'communal agenda' and consequent hardline Hindutva image, explains N Sathiya Moorthy.
Srinagar recorded the maximum temperature of 35.6 degrees Celsius on Wednesday, the highest temperature in the month of July in 25 years since 1999 when the mercury had settled at 37 degrees Celsius, the officials said.
The meeting came after terrorists carried out a series of targeted killings in the Kashmir Valley that include non-Muslims, security personnel, an artist and local civilians.
Narayan Dutt, a resident of Katra in Udhampur district, was fired upon by the militants in the evening in the Kanilwan area of Bijbehara in the south Kashmir district, a police official said.
With 19 border polling stations along the Line of Control in Rajouri and Poonch, a contingency plan has been worked out to deal with cross-border shelling though chances are negligible given the ongoing ceasefire between India and Pakistan that came into effect in February 2021, officials said.
'I am worried that Pakistan will still feel compelled to take substantive military action beyond this apparent drone activity.' 'If so, the crisis could persist for a while more and dangerous days are still ahead.'
Iltija said the PDP suffered defeat and could manage only three seats in the valley because there was an "assault" on the party.
'It is important India to stay focussed on its primary national objectives: Combating terrorism; not losing sight of other security and strategic concerns (on the Sino-Indian front for instance); ensuring a strong economy and registering growth which includes improving the lot of common people; and finally making certain that the social fabric remains intact and harmony among people is not jeopardised, at least any further,' asserts Nilanjan Mukhopadhyay.
The India Today report claimed that Jaiswal's relationship with Mumbai Captain Ajinkya Rahane had become 'untenable'.
A flood alert was sounded on Thursday in Srinagar city as River Jhelum was flowing four feet above the danger mark after incessant rain, while 23 villages have been inundated by floods in south Kashmir districts of Anantnag and Kulgam.
The United Nations Security Council held closed-door consultations on rising tensions between India and Pakistan, with envoys calling for restraint and dialogue. The consultations, requested by Pakistan, lasted for about an hour and a half. UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres expressed concern over the tensions, urging both countries to avoid a military confrontation. India's former Permanent Representative to the UN, Syed Akbaruddin, said that no consequential outcome could be expected from the discussion.
To curb the spread of violence, authorities on Wednesday clamped a curfew on more areas in south Kashmir, where three youths were killed when Central Reserve Police Force troopers allegedly opened fire during clashes with protestors on Tuesday.
Basit Mukhtar was injured by a tear gas shell in clashes on September 5.
This spell is most likely to give good snow/rain in the Pirpanjal area Gulmarg, Ramban-Banihal, Shopian, Poonch-Rajouri and Zojila especially during November 24-25 and decrease thereafter significantly.
The money was being transported from Punjab to South Kashmir.
Suspected terrorists on Wednesday targeted two banks in south Kashmir's Pulwama district within a span of two hours and decamped with several lakh rupees.
According to the officials, fresh batches of pilgrims were not allowed to leave Jammu to embark on their yatra due to closure of the Srinagar-Jammu National Highway.
The attacks against the Pakistani air force have taken them at least five years back and caused great damage to them and their Chinese and Turkish inventory of weapons.
