Authorities in Pakistan-occupied Kashmir released the four detained workers of the Lashkar-e-Tayiba's front organisation and also withdrew police guards posted at the home of the group's regional head, Maulana Abdul Aziz Alvi.
A suicide bomber struck an army barracks in Pakistan-occupied Kashmir on Wednesday, killing at least four soldiers and injuring 10 others, near the Line of Control. The bomber targeted barracks close to an army hospital at Tararkhal, over 90 kms from PoK capital Muzaffarabad, police said. There were over 35 soldiers in the facility located near the LoC when the attacker struck at 6.50 am local time. Police said the attacker detonated his explosives.
Lakhvi's reported arrest, if confirmed, speaks of the intense pressure on Pakistan from the US to act against the Lashkar. India, the US and the rest of the international community should ensure that this is not a cosmetic step like similar steps in 2002 and that the LeT infrastructure in Pakistan is dismantled and those involved in the Mumbai terrorist strike against Indians, Israelis, Americans and others are brought to justice.
"Pakistan is committed to the pursuit, arrest, trial and punishment of anyone involved in these heinous attacks," says Pakistan President Asif Ali Zardari in an oped in the December 8 issue of the New York Times.Cautioning against 'hasty judgments and inflammatory statements', Zardari says that the raids of December 7 in Pakistan-occupied Kashmir, which resulted in the arrest of some wanted Lashkar-e-Tayeba terrorists, demonstrates that 'Pakistan will take action.'
Terrorist groups banned by Pakistan, including the Lashkar-e-Tayiba and Jaish-e-Mohammed, are expanding operations and recruitment in Pakistan-occupied Kashmir, according to a secret government report.
Taking exception to China's involvement in several projects in Pakistan-occupied Kashmir, India, on Sunday, described it as "illegal" and said it has conveyed its concern over this as well as supply of Chinese weapons to Pakistan. Despite differences on a host of issues with China, External Affairs Minister S M Krishna who is expected to visit Beijing in April this year, said the country did not see it in "antagonistic terms".
Investigators on Friday told a Delhi court that Mohammad Omar Madni, a suspected terrorist, has disclosed about the links between Pakistan-based terror outfit Lashkar-e-Tayiba and Maoists in Jharkhand.
The delimitation commission will visit Jammu and Kashmir between July 6-9 and interact with political parties, public representatives and officials of the UT to gather 'first hand' information of the mega exercise to carve out new constituencies, the EC said.
An official statement quoted Gillani as saying that "the resolution of (the) Kashmir issue in accordance with the wishes of the people of Kashmir could ensure lasting peace in the region and bring about much needed progress and prosperity for the people." He also said that Pakistan "believes in the peaceful resolution of the Kashmir issue through dialogue" and expressed "confidence that India would also reciprocate positively in this regard."
Earlier, Pakistani military spokesperson Major General Asif Ghafoor claimed that two Indian Air Force pilots were arrested. One pilot is injured and has been shifted to a hospital, while another one is unhurt, the spokesman had said.
In an address at the Raisina Dialogue, Foreign Secretary S Jaishankar took strong objection to the China-Pakistan Economic Corridor which passes through Pakistan-occupied-Kashmir, saying there should have been some reflection on India's unhappiness over it.
A Pakistani military helicopter carrying 11 foreigners crashed in the Pakistan occupied Kashmir on Friday, killing ambassadors of the Philippines and Norway and at least five others as the Taliban claimed responsibility for the downing of the chopper and said Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif was the target.
Home Minister P Chidambaram on Wednesday said fake currency business was "not a cottage industry" and pointed out that "an organised effort in Pakistan and Pakistan-occupied Kashmir" was behind it.
The recent infiltration bids in Jammu and Kashmir came in for some surprise for security agencies when they found Muzamil, one of the main Lashker-e--Taiba mastermind of the Mumbai terror attack, as the brain behind large-scale intrusion from Pakistan-occupied Kashmir.
The Lashkar, which also calls itself the Jamaat-ud-Duwah, held an open meeting at Pakistan-occupied Kashmir last week allegedly to discuss the Kashmir issue. During the meeting, the JuD had made it clear that their battle would largely revolve around Kashmir, but in the coming days they wanted to make a mark in cities such as Pune and New Delhi.
Intelligence Bureau sources told rediff.com that earlier there were 180 camps in and around PoK, but at the moment it has come down to just 40. While some of the camps have been busted by security agencies, the rest have been voluntarily closed down with a purpose.
In the first of the series of recruitment drives launched in Kupwara and neighbouring areas in 20 years, the response has been overwhelming, an army official said. It may be recalled that during the height of militancy from 1990 to 2005, security forces were unable to hold or even think of any recruitment camps.
The medium-lift helicopter, which was carrying Musharraf's spokesman Rashid Qureshi and other security and staff officials, was following the President's aircraft when it crashed near Gari Dupata town after catching fire
Amidst rising tensions with India, Pakistan has moved fresh army troops to the Line of Control in Pakistan-occupied Kashmir and the international border with India to protect "vital points" along the frontier, a media report said on Friday.
"At least 15 terrorists are being specially trained in POK for an attack on Baghliar dam across Chenab at Chanderkote-Ramban, 150 kms from Srinagar", Mohammad Shafakat and Mohammad Adnan, the two Lashkar-e-Tayiba miltants arrested on Saturday told media-persons.
Briefing leaders from PoK on its Kashmir policy ahead of crucial meetings with India to review the composite dialogue process, Foreign Minister Shah Mehmood Qureshi noted that the issue had remained "unresolved despite several attempts at bilateral and multilateral levels" over the last six decades. Pakistan "was ready to engage with India in a constructive dialogue to find a solution that is acceptable to all parties, in particular the people of Kashmir," he was quoted.
Lashkar-e-Tayiba terrorist Zakiur Rehman Lakhwi, accused of masterminding the Mumbai attacks, is among over 20 members of the group arrested by Pakistani security forces during a crackdown in Pakistan occupied Kashmir. The security forces, including the army, on Sunday launched a crackdown on the Lashkar and its front organisation, the Jamaat-ud-Dawah, in PoK and other parts of Pakistan. Helicopters were used in the operation in Muzaffarabad, the capital of PoK.
Lashkar-e-Tayiba terrorist Zakiur Rehman Lakhwi, accused of masterminding the Mumbai attacks, is among over 20 members of the group arrested by Pakistani security forces during a crackdown in Pakistan occupied Kashmir. The security forces, including the army, on Sunday launched a crackdown on the Lashkar and its front organisation, the Jamaat-ud-Dawah, in PoK and other parts of Pakistan. Helicopters were used in the operation in Muzaffarabad, the capital of PoK.
"The bridge collapsed in the middle into the river. The labourers working on the bridge were washed away into the Jhelum, which had swollen because of the recent heavy snowfall and rains," a senior police officer said.
Central agencies had been monitoring certain leads, which said a group of people hailing from Kerala along with Lashker-e-Tayiba's support were trying to enter Pakistan-occupied-Kashmir through North Kashmir.
Traders in Sopore say that not only were they cheated in fixing the price, but the buyers in PoK also did not pay the Rs 14 lakh (Rs 1.4 million) that they had arbitrarily decided as the price for the supplies they received.
"I can never let down the Kashmiris, (I) can never forget Kashmir. A solution for Kashmir is closest to my heart and I will take it forward towards a resolution," he said.
After two decades, the SCO appears to be at a cross-roads with the US withdrawal from Afghanistan, asserts Srikanth Kondapalli, the leading China expert.
It is also concerned at report of torture, mistreatment, discrimination and corruption in Pakistan-occupied Kashmir.
The bus service was suspended on August 14 in the wake of violence in the Valley after five persons, including Hurriyat leader Sheikh Abdul Aziz were killed in police firing on a rally marching towards Muzaffarabad to end the 'economic blockade' enforced by Sri Amarnath Yatra Sangarsh Samiti in Jammu.
Prime Minister Manmohan Singh on Wednesday said there was no possibility of Pakistan winning any war against India in his "lifetime".
Addressing a Defence Research and Development Organisation event in Leh, Singh asked how can India talk to Pakistan when it keeps trying to destabilise India using terror.
When the heat is high there is an immediate ceasefire by these outfits. They do not carry out any training programme or attempt any attack. During this period all militants are directed to lie low and continue undercover operations or live like normal people. But this is an extremely busy time for men who recruit cadres.
Central intelligence agencies have picked up intercepts that militants groups such as the Lashkar-e-Tayiba have come up with a new plan to target cities in the south of India.
The weekly service was suspended on August 19 after authorities in PoK did not respond to a call from their Indian counterparts to let a bus get across the LoC.
"India should understand that it cannot resolve the Kashmir issue by keeping pro-freedom groups away from the dialogue process."
China dismissed the reports as groundless.
India has voiced its strong opposition to China's Belt and Road Initiative and its flagship project -- the CPEC -- at the just concluded second UN Sustainable Transport Conference where the Indian diplomat's mike curiously went silent while she was highlighting New Delhi's objection to the controversial projects.
Before the weapons could be retrieved, investigators say Shehzad was arrested. As a result, the attack on the Bombay Stock Exchange was averted, but the Mumbai attacks were moved from September to November.
'Neither India nor others deserve this unsolicited lecture on human rights from a country that has consistently persecuted its ethnic and religious minorities, is an epicenter of terrorism'