The daughter of a businessman from Pune, who was killed in the recent terror attack in Pahalgam, Jammu and Kashmir, has alleged that the terrorists specifically targeted male tourists after asking them to identify their religion. Asavari Jagdale, whose father Santosh Jagdale was killed in the attack, said the terrorists fired at her father and uncle after they failed to recite an Islamic verse. She also alleged that the terrorists blamed her family for supporting Prime Minister Narendra Modi.
The United Nations Secretary-General, Antonio Guterres, has called for de-escalation between India and Pakistan, expressing deep concern over rising tensions following a terrorist attack in Jammu and Kashmir. Guterres reiterated his condemnation of the attack and urged both sides to avoid a confrontation, which he described as catastrophic. The Secretary-General has also offered his good offices to support de-escalation efforts. The President of the UN General Assembly, Philemon Yang, has also expressed concern over the escalating violence and called for a resolution through diplomatic means. Meanwhile, Pakistan has denied any involvement in the attack and reiterated its commitment to fighting terrorism.
Pakistan military spokesperson Lieutenant General Ahmad Sharif Chaudhry told a hurriedly called press conference in Islamabad at around 4 am that th Pakistan air force's Nur Khan (Chaklala, Rawalpindi), Murid (Chakwal) and Rafiqui (Shorkot in Jhang district) airbases were targeted.
'India today feels enough is enough and we need to teach Pakistan a lesson.' 'Unless compelled, Mr Modi will think 10 times before taking the extreme step.'
The United Nations General Assembly, heeding to a call by Prime Minister Modi, had made a declaration in December 2014 to observe June 21 every year as IDY.
'The Pakistani State has to realise that the pigeons have come home to roost.'
People in several districts of Punjab, Jammu and Kashmir and Gujarat spent an anxious night as authorities enforced blackouts amid heightened tension between India and Pakistan.
Students had protested at the NIT in the Nigeen locality of Srinagar alleging the social media post hurt their religious sentiments.
Defence Minister Rajnath Singh has assured the nation that India will respond strongly to the recent terror attack in Kashmir's Pahalgam, which killed 26 people. He stated that India will not be intimidated by such acts and will take every necessary step to trace those responsible and those who conspired behind the scenes. Singh described the attack as "extremely inhuman" and reiterated India's zero-tolerance policy against terrorism.
'Unlike the surgical strikes and the Balakot air strikes across the LoC, we have gone further inside Pakistan and raised the bar of escalation.'
On Thursday, January 30, 2025, Akhil Bharatiya Vidyarthi Parishad students and other Kashmiri students held a Tiranga rally at the historic Ghanta Ghar at Lal Chowk in Srinagar to celebrate Republic Day.
A deadly terror attack targeting tourists in Jammu and Kashmir's Pahalgam on Tuesday drew strong condemnation and outrage. 26 people, including two foreigners and two locals, were killed in the attack, which is the deadliest in the Valley since the Pulwama strike in 2019. Prime Minister Narendra Modi asserted that the perpetrators will not be spared and their evil agenda will never succeed. Opposition leaders demanded accountability, claiming the government's claims of normalcy in Kashmir have fallen flat.
'Had Haji Pir and/or Skardu been taken, the message would have gone out not just to General Asim Munir and his cohort in the Pakistan army but to the Pakistani people that every terrorist incident in India would lead to substantial loss of territory in PoK.'
'It brings precarious peace because the red lines have shifted. 'The next Pahalgam attack would mean a full scale war.'
It is important for India to pay close attention to both the tone and substance of authoritative remarks coming out of Pakistan, explains former foreign secretary Shyam Saran.
Arathi Menon, a native of Kochi, recounts the terror attack in Kashmir's Pahalgam that killed her father, N Ramachandran, and 25 others. Menon, her father, and her six-year-old twin sons were walking through a fenced grassland in Baisaran when the attack happened. The family crawled under the fence to escape, but a man emerged from the woods and opened fire. Menon's father collapsed, and she fled with her sons into the forest. Despite the trauma, Menon found compassion from strangers who helped her, including her driver Musafir and another man, Sameer. Menon concealed the tragedy from her mother, pretending that Ramachandran was injured and receiving treatment. She only told her mother the truth after they landed in Kochi. The mortal remains of Ramachandran were brought to Kochi airport on Wednesday, and his final rites will be held at the Edappally public crematorium on Friday.
'We are too important to want to be paired with Pakistan but too intensely connected to it to successfully detach ourselves,' asserts Aakar Patel.
Srinagar recorded its third lowest December temperature in 133 years on Saturday.
Terrorists opened fire at a popular tourist spot near Kashmir's Pahalgam town on Tuesday afternoon, killing 26 people, mostly holidayers from other states, in what is the deadliest attack in the Valley since the Pulwama strike in 2019.
Hours after, however, firing from the Pakistani side was reported in Akhnoor sector in Jammu and Kashmir. Drones were also seen in the Pir Panjal area.
'You can be sure that the Pakistanis knew when the Indian Air Force aircraft took off, which type these were, and what their likely targets were.' 'The question was: How would they determine that the IAF wanted to fire, and when to bounce them?', notes Shekhar Gupta.
The last Friday prayers of Ramzan (Jumatul Vida) were not allowed to be held at the historic Jamia Masjid in Srinagar.
'Surgical strikes or air strikes, or both, are likely on the table.'
'...without massive amounts of force.'
Risking his own life, a Kashmiri tourist guide saved the lives of children from a group of tourists from Chhattisgarh when terrorists struck in Pahalgam on Tuesday.
A tale of terror, courage, and humanity -- one father's desperate escape, a mother's sacrifice, and Kashmiris who saved lives.
The launch of the first-ever direct train service from Delhi to Kashmir would be a big turning point in the Valley's mood and its integration with India. He had to thwart it at any cost, asserts Shekhar Gupta.
'Whatever we do, the purpose will be to re-establish deterrence.'
'There is no independently verified imagery or battlefield evidence to support Pakistan's claim.'
India on Thursday night swiftly foiled Pakistan's attempts to hit various key Indian installations including military stations at Jammu, Pathankot and Udhampur with drones and missiles, the defence ministry said.
Syed Adil Hussain Shah, a 29-year-old Kashmiri pony ride operator, was killed by terrorists in Pahalgam while trying to save tourists from an attack. Shah was the only Kashmiri and Muslim victim of the attack, which saw terrorists demand tourists recite Islamic prayers before shooting them. His brother, Syed Naushad Shah, described Adil as a "righteous" man who ran towards the terrorists to stop them from killing more people. The attack has left a pall of fear over Pahalgam, with tourists fleeing the area and businesses shuttered.
Swami Shivanand Saraswati, known as the world's 'oldest saint', claims to be 129 years old and has been attending the Kumbh Mela for 100 years.
The new Vande Bharat Express train is specially designed to operate seamlessly in Jammu & Kashmir's challenging winter conditions for the upcoming Katra-Srinagar rail route.
In his first visit to the valley after becoming the prime minister for the third consecutive term, Modi emphasised the importance of enabling the people of Jammu and Kashmir to elect their representatives for the assembly.
'It is typical of China's strategic deception of making virtue out of necessity,' observes Rup Narayan Das.
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.
'Right now, we have no relationship with Pakistan. And the relationship with China is not great.'
National Conference Srinagar MP Aga Ruhullah Mehdi, along with Peoples Democratic Party leaders Waheed-ur-Rehman Parra, Sheikh Khursheed and others, led a peaceful protest on Monday, December 23, 2024, outside Chief Minister Omar Abdullah's residence in Srinagar.
'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.'
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.
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