News Analysis India

Tag: Kashmir

  • Emotional scenes at cremation of slain Kashmiri pandit in Jammu

    By PTI

    JAMMU: Emotions ran high as the mortal remains of a slain Kashmiri pandit were consigned to flames here on Sunday with the grief-stricken community expressing anger against the alleged failure of the government to stop selective killings by terrorists in the Valley.

    Puran Krishan Bhat was gunned down by terrorists on Saturday outside his ancestral house in the Chowdhary Gund area of south Kashmir’s Shopian district, where he had gone to look after his orchards.

    The body of the deceased was received by the wailing relatives at his Muthi residence in Jammu late Saturday night.

    Amid chants of high-pitch sloganeering against Pakistan, thousands of mourners joined Bhat’s two children — Shriya (daughter) and Shanu (son) — and other relatives at the Ban Talab crematory Sunday to bid a tearful adieu to him.

    They also demanded adequate compensation to the family, including Rs 50 lakh ex-gratia and a government job for the wife of the deceased, besides immediate relocation of Hindu employees outside the valley till the security situation becomes normal.

    As the body reached the cremation ground, several of Bhat’s relatives broke down. Shriya was seen kissing the body profusely to say goodbye to her father with her younger brother, a Class 5 student, staring at the corpse.

    The mourners also raised slogans against the administration for its alleged failure to stop targeted killings in the valley, soon after Divisional Commissioner Ramesh Kumar, along with other senior police and civil officers, reached the cremation ground.

    “It is very unfortunate that one more Kashmiri pandit fell to the bullets of terrorists, exposing the false claims of the government about improvement in the security situation.

    ALSO READ | Kashmiri Pandit gunned down by militants in Valley, third in last five months

    He is the 18th minority community member shot dead over the past two years,” Satish Kumar, a relative of the deceased, said.

    He said a police post and an army camp are located nearby where Bhat was assassinated, indicating that the security situation in the valley has limped back to the early 1990s.

    Another relative of Bhat, who had come from Shopian accompanying the body of the deceased, said they feel it was their biggest mistake not to leave the valley after the eruption of terrorism.

    Vikram Koul, a member of Kashmiri Pandit volunteers, said the government must immediately announce a compensation of Rs 50 lakh and a job for the family of the deceased.

    “We also request the government to immediately relocate all the Hindus from the valley as it has failed to provide security to them,” he added.

    Chairman of Panun Kashmir Ajay Chrungoo castigated the government for the continued killing of Hindus in Kashmir and said they are caught between genocidal war unleashed on them by jihadi forces with the state of Pakistan as its prime abettor and the denial of genocide by government of India.

    The government must pass the ‘Prevention of Genocide and Atrocities Bill’ as proposed by the Panun Kashmir, he said.

    Panun Kashmir convener Agnishekhar said all claims of normalcy in Kashmir have fallen flat in view of the continued killings of the members of the minority community.

    “Tourist arrivals and shooting of films are no signs of normalcy. The real normalcy will be when we (Kashmiri pandits) are able to move freely and re-settle there without any fear,” he said.

    JAMMU: Emotions ran high as the mortal remains of a slain Kashmiri pandit were consigned to flames here on Sunday with the grief-stricken community expressing anger against the alleged failure of the government to stop selective killings by terrorists in the Valley.

    Puran Krishan Bhat was gunned down by terrorists on Saturday outside his ancestral house in the Chowdhary Gund area of south Kashmir’s Shopian district, where he had gone to look after his orchards.

    The body of the deceased was received by the wailing relatives at his Muthi residence in Jammu late Saturday night.

    Amid chants of high-pitch sloganeering against Pakistan, thousands of mourners joined Bhat’s two children — Shriya (daughter) and Shanu (son) — and other relatives at the Ban Talab crematory Sunday to bid a tearful adieu to him.

    They also demanded adequate compensation to the family, including Rs 50 lakh ex-gratia and a government job for the wife of the deceased, besides immediate relocation of Hindu employees outside the valley till the security situation becomes normal.

    As the body reached the cremation ground, several of Bhat’s relatives broke down. Shriya was seen kissing the body profusely to say goodbye to her father with her younger brother, a Class 5 student, staring at the corpse.

    The mourners also raised slogans against the administration for its alleged failure to stop targeted killings in the valley, soon after Divisional Commissioner Ramesh Kumar, along with other senior police and civil officers, reached the cremation ground.

    “It is very unfortunate that one more Kashmiri pandit fell to the bullets of terrorists, exposing the false claims of the government about improvement in the security situation.

    ALSO READ | Kashmiri Pandit gunned down by militants in Valley, third in last five months

    He is the 18th minority community member shot dead over the past two years,” Satish Kumar, a relative of the deceased, said.

    He said a police post and an army camp are located nearby where Bhat was assassinated, indicating that the security situation in the valley has limped back to the early 1990s.

    Another relative of Bhat, who had come from Shopian accompanying the body of the deceased, said they feel it was their biggest mistake not to leave the valley after the eruption of terrorism.

    Vikram Koul, a member of Kashmiri Pandit volunteers, said the government must immediately announce a compensation of Rs 50 lakh and a job for the family of the deceased.

    “We also request the government to immediately relocate all the Hindus from the valley as it has failed to provide security to them,” he added.

    Chairman of Panun Kashmir Ajay Chrungoo castigated the government for the continued killing of Hindus in Kashmir and said they are caught between genocidal war unleashed on them by jihadi forces with the state of Pakistan as its prime abettor and the denial of genocide by government of India.

    The government must pass the ‘Prevention of Genocide and Atrocities Bill’ as proposed by the Panun Kashmir, he said.

    Panun Kashmir convener Agnishekhar said all claims of normalcy in Kashmir have fallen flat in view of the continued killings of the members of the minority community.

    “Tourist arrivals and shooting of films are no signs of normalcy. The real normalcy will be when we (Kashmiri pandits) are able to move freely and re-settle there without any fear,” he said.

  • Kashmiri Pandit shot dead by militants in J-K’s Shopian

    By Associated Press

    SRINAGAR: Assailants on Saturday fatally shot a Kashmiri Hindu man in violence police blamed on militants fighting against Indian rule in the disputed region.

    Police said militants fired at Puran Krishan Bhat, who is from the minority community of Kashmiri Hindus, at his home in the southern Shopian district. He was taken to a hospital where he died, police said in a statement.

    Police and soldiers cordoned off the area and launched a search for the attackers. In August, a local Hindu man was killed and his brother was injured in Shopian in a shooting that police also blamed on insurgents. Kashmir is divided between India and Pakistan and is claimed by both in their entirety.

    ALSO READ | Angry Kashmiri Pandits block Jammu road to protest latest target killing by terrorists

    Rebels in the Indian-controlled portion of Kashmir have been fighting New Delhi’s rule since 1989. Most Muslim Kashmiris support the rebel goal of uniting the territory, either under Pakistani rule or as an independent country.

    WATCH:

    India insists the Kashmir militancy is Pakistan-sponsored terrorism. Pakistan denies the charge, and most Kashmiris consider it a legitimate freedom struggle. Tens of thousands of civilians, rebels and government forces have been killed in the conflict.

    Kashmir has witnessed a spate of targeted killings since October last year. Several Hindus, including immigrant workers from Indian states, have been killed. Police say the killings — including that of Muslim village councillors, police officers and civilians — have been carried out by anti-India rebels.

    The spate of killings comes as Indian troops have continued their counterinsurgency operations across the region amid a clampdown on dissent and press freedom, which critics have likened to a militaristic policy. Kashmir’s minority Hindus, who are locally known as Pandits, have long fretted over their place in the region.

    Most of an estimated 200,000 of them fled Kashmir in the 1990s when an armed rebellion against Indian rule began. Some 4,000 returned after 2010 as part of a government resettlement plan that provided them with jobs and housing.

    SRINAGAR: Assailants on Saturday fatally shot a Kashmiri Hindu man in violence police blamed on militants fighting against Indian rule in the disputed region.

    Police said militants fired at Puran Krishan Bhat, who is from the minority community of Kashmiri Hindus, at his home in the southern Shopian district. He was taken to a hospital where he died, police said in a statement.

    Police and soldiers cordoned off the area and launched a search for the attackers. In August, a local Hindu man was killed and his brother was injured in Shopian in a shooting that police also blamed on insurgents. Kashmir is divided between India and Pakistan and is claimed by both in their entirety.

    ALSO READ | Angry Kashmiri Pandits block Jammu road to protest latest target killing by terrorists

    Rebels in the Indian-controlled portion of Kashmir have been fighting New Delhi’s rule since 1989. Most Muslim Kashmiris support the rebel goal of uniting the territory, either under Pakistani rule or as an independent country.

    WATCH:

    India insists the Kashmir militancy is Pakistan-sponsored terrorism. Pakistan denies the charge, and most Kashmiris consider it a legitimate freedom struggle. Tens of thousands of civilians, rebels and government forces have been killed in the conflict.

    Kashmir has witnessed a spate of targeted killings since October last year. Several Hindus, including immigrant workers from Indian states, have been killed. Police say the killings — including that of Muslim village councillors, police officers and civilians — have been carried out by anti-India rebels.

    The spate of killings comes as Indian troops have continued their counterinsurgency operations across the region amid a clampdown on dissent and press freedom, which critics have likened to a militaristic policy. Kashmir’s minority Hindus, who are locally known as Pandits, have long fretted over their place in the region.

    Most of an estimated 200,000 of them fled Kashmir in the 1990s when an armed rebellion against Indian rule began. Some 4,000 returned after 2010 as part of a government resettlement plan that provided them with jobs and housing.

  • Trucks stranded on highways, fruit growers staring at huge losses in J&K

    Express News Service

    SRINAGAR: The fruit growers of Kashmir are staring at heavy losses as about 7,000 fruit trucks carrying nearly 7 lakh apple boxes are stranded on the Srinagar-Jammu national highway for a week and there are apprehensions that the fruit may have rotten. 

    The fruit growers shut all the major fruit markets in Kashmir, including Asia’s second largest fruit mandi at Sopore in north Kashmir on Monday, to protest halting of apple trucks, especially from Qazigund to Banihal on strategic Srinagar-Jammu highway. Bashir Ahmad Basheer, chairman Kashmir Valley Fruit Growers-cum-Dealers Union said that 6000-7000 apple-laden trucks are stranded on the highway for about a week and they are not being allowed to move on the highway. 

    Every truck, he said, has an average 1,000 apple boxes worth Rs 7 to 8 lakh and “if we go by the average about 6 to 7 lakh apple boxes are stranded on the highway”. “It is a perishable item and if the fruit is not transported immediately, there is apprehension that the apple may rot, thus incurring heavy losses on the apple growers in the Valley,” Basheer said.

    The fruit growers staged a protest in Press Colony Srinagar to demand smooth passage of fruit trucks on the highway. The problem, according to Basheer, has arisen due to mismanagement by the officials on Qazigund-Banihal stretch the on Srinagar-Jammu national highway. The fruit growers said the prices of Kashmir apples have dropped by 30-40 per cent this year due to the entry of Iranian apples in the markets and halting of apple trucks on the highway would add to their losses and worries.

    There has been a bumper apple crop this year and production is likely to cross 21 lakh metric tons. Kashmir Chamber of Commerce and Industry (KCCI) president, Sheikh Ashiq said any further delay in solving the problem can badly hit the Kashmir economy, mostly dependent on apple trade.

    SRINAGAR: The fruit growers of Kashmir are staring at heavy losses as about 7,000 fruit trucks 
    carrying nearly 7 lakh apple boxes are stranded on the Srinagar-Jammu national highway for a week and there are apprehensions that the fruit may have rotten. 

    The fruit growers shut all the major fruit markets in Kashmir, including Asia’s second largest fruit mandi at Sopore in north Kashmir on Monday, to protest halting of apple trucks, especially from Qazigund to Banihal on strategic Srinagar-Jammu highway. Bashir Ahmad Basheer, chairman Kashmir Valley Fruit Growers-cum-Dealers Union said that 6000-7000 apple-laden trucks are stranded on the highway for about a week and they are not being allowed to move on the highway. 

    Every truck, he said, has an average 1,000 apple boxes worth Rs 7 to 8 lakh and “if we go by the average about 6 to 7 lakh apple boxes are stranded on the highway”. “It is a perishable item and if the fruit is not transported immediately, there is apprehension that the apple may rot, thus incurring heavy losses on the apple growers in the Valley,” Basheer said.

    The fruit growers staged a protest in Press Colony Srinagar to demand smooth passage of fruit trucks on the highway. The problem, according to Basheer, has arisen due to mismanagement by the officials on Qazigund-Banihal stretch the on Srinagar-Jammu national highway. The fruit growers said the prices of Kashmir apples have dropped by 30-40 per cent this year due to the entry of Iranian apples in the markets and halting of apple trucks on the highway would add to their losses and worries.

    There has been a bumper apple crop this year and production is likely to cross 21 lakh metric tons. Kashmir Chamber of Commerce and Industry (KCCI) president, Sheikh Ashiq said any further delay in solving the problem can badly hit the Kashmir economy, mostly dependent on apple trade.

  • Jammu and Kashmir at crossroads today where people don’t have any right, says Mehbooba

    By PTI

    JAMMU: Lambasting the Lieutenant Governor administration for alleged public discontent, PDP chief Mehbooba Mufti on Monday said Jammu and Kashmir today stand at crossroads where people have neither any right nor any forum to project their grievances.

    She also hit out at the BJP for allegedly weaponising the pain and sufferings of the Kashmiri Pandits to garner support for its political objectives.

    “While the public anger is simmering, the LG administration is busy showcasing its phony achievements in order to justify what ruling Bharatiya Janata Party has done with Jammu and Kashmir,” Mehbooba said while meeting various deputations which called on her here on the second day of her tour to Jammu.

    The former Jammu and Kashmir chief minister said the administration has only compounded the issues of the general masses with its “red tapism, inertia and public discontent”.

    “As a result of this, Jammu and Kashmir today stands at crossroads where citizens have neither any right nor a forum to project their grievances,” she said.

    Talking to a deputation of Kashmiri migrant employees, Mehbooba said while the BJP and its run administration were weaponising the pain and sufferings of the community to garner support for its political objectives, it ignores their issues and grievances.

    “It’s unfortunate that the community faced one of the worst times after migration during the last few years right under the rule of those who criminalised their sufferings and politicised their pain in furtherance of their own communal agenda,” she said.

    Mehbooba said the administration has miserably failed to instil a sense of security among the Kashmiri migrant community.

    She said the issues of Kashmiri Pandits need a companionate and humanitarian approach. Instead, an arm-twisting approach is being adopted to muzzle their voice, she alleged.

    The deputation while highlighting their grievances and said the administration has selectively transferred some employees from Kashmir while others have been left at the mercy of god.

    “Most of the families are without ration for several months and the new relief cases are pending approval. The employees are protesting seeking transfer to safer places while the administration has withheld salaries of migrant employees in order to pressure them to return,” a delegation member said.

    Responding to other deputations, Mehbooba said, “Corruption has touched new heights, while the competent and honest officers are pushed to walls to ensure that the dictates from party headquarters of BJP are followed without any query or justification.

    “Even the local governance institutions, which the LG administration is showcasing its one of the greatest achievements, have been made reductant,” she added.

    Employees, unemployed youths, traders, industrialists, transporters, farmers and every section of the society is facing the brunt of political blunder committed by the ruling dispensation just to satisfy its political ego, the PDP chief said.

    “We have to collectively fight back and struggle for the restoration of our identity and dignity,” she said.

    A deputation of Small Scale and Micro Industries Unit holders apprised the PDP chief about the administration’s claims to bring industrial revolution in Jammu and Kashmir.

    But the reality is that most of the industries were either being closed or seized by the banks due to non-payment of dues, it said.

    JAMMU: Lambasting the Lieutenant Governor administration for alleged public discontent, PDP chief Mehbooba Mufti on Monday said Jammu and Kashmir today stand at crossroads where people have neither any right nor any forum to project their grievances.

    She also hit out at the BJP for allegedly weaponising the pain and sufferings of the Kashmiri Pandits to garner support for its political objectives.

    “While the public anger is simmering, the LG administration is busy showcasing its phony achievements in order to justify what ruling Bharatiya Janata Party has done with Jammu and Kashmir,” Mehbooba said while meeting various deputations which called on her here on the second day of her tour to Jammu.

    The former Jammu and Kashmir chief minister said the administration has only compounded the issues of the general masses with its “red tapism, inertia and public discontent”.

    “As a result of this, Jammu and Kashmir today stands at crossroads where citizens have neither any right nor a forum to project their grievances,” she said.

    Talking to a deputation of Kashmiri migrant employees, Mehbooba said while the BJP and its run administration were weaponising the pain and sufferings of the community to garner support for its political objectives, it ignores their issues and grievances.

    “It’s unfortunate that the community faced one of the worst times after migration during the last few years right under the rule of those who criminalised their sufferings and politicised their pain in furtherance of their own communal agenda,” she said.

    Mehbooba said the administration has miserably failed to instil a sense of security among the Kashmiri migrant community.

    She said the issues of Kashmiri Pandits need a companionate and humanitarian approach. Instead, an arm-twisting approach is being adopted to muzzle their voice, she alleged.

    The deputation while highlighting their grievances and said the administration has selectively transferred some employees from Kashmir while others have been left at the mercy of god.

    “Most of the families are without ration for several months and the new relief cases are pending approval. The employees are protesting seeking transfer to safer places while the administration has withheld salaries of migrant employees in order to pressure them to return,” a delegation member said.

    Responding to other deputations, Mehbooba said, “Corruption has touched new heights, while the competent and honest officers are pushed to walls to ensure that the dictates from party headquarters of BJP are followed without any query or justification.

    “Even the local governance institutions, which the LG administration is showcasing its one of the greatest achievements, have been made reductant,” she added.

    Employees, unemployed youths, traders, industrialists, transporters, farmers and every section of the society is facing the brunt of political blunder committed by the ruling dispensation just to satisfy its political ego, the PDP chief said.

    “We have to collectively fight back and struggle for the restoration of our identity and dignity,” she said.

    A deputation of Small Scale and Micro Industries Unit holders apprised the PDP chief about the administration’s claims to bring industrial revolution in Jammu and Kashmir.

    But the reality is that most of the industries were either being closed or seized by the banks due to non-payment of dues, it said.

  • Terror financing case: Police raids underway in J-K’s Poonch

    By PTI

    JAMMU: The police on Saturday raided multiple locations in Jammu and Kashmir’s Poonch in connection with a hawala racket that was unearthed with the arrest of two people who were allegedly routing money to terror outfits Lashkar-e-Taiba and Al Badr, officials said.

    Abdul Hamid Mir, a resident of Poonch, and Delhi-based garment trader Mohammad Yaseen were arrested from Jammu bus stand and the national capital on Wednesday and Thursday, respectively. Hawala money worth Rs 24 lakh was recovered from them.

    The officials said police have been carrying out searches at multiple locations in Poonch since early this morning. “The raids are going on and further details are awaited,” an official said.

    According to police, Yaseen, a resident of Delhi’s Turkman Gate, revealed that the hawala money was being routed to India through South Africa and collected in Surat and Mumbai.

    He ran a garments business in Meena Bazaar and was the Delhi link to send this money to terror operatives in Jammu and Kashmir through couriers, the police had said earlier.

    JAMMU: The police on Saturday raided multiple locations in Jammu and Kashmir’s Poonch in connection with a hawala racket that was unearthed with the arrest of two people who were allegedly routing money to terror outfits Lashkar-e-Taiba and Al Badr, officials said.

    Abdul Hamid Mir, a resident of Poonch, and Delhi-based garment trader Mohammad Yaseen were arrested from Jammu bus stand and the national capital on Wednesday and Thursday, respectively. Hawala money worth Rs 24 lakh was recovered from them.

    The officials said police have been carrying out searches at multiple locations in Poonch since early this morning. “The raids are going on and further details are awaited,” an official said.

    According to police, Yaseen, a resident of Delhi’s Turkman Gate, revealed that the hawala money was being routed to India through South Africa and collected in Surat and Mumbai.

    He ran a garments business in Meena Bazaar and was the Delhi link to send this money to terror operatives in Jammu and Kashmir through couriers, the police had said earlier.

  • 75 years of tensions in India-Pakistan relations

    By AFP

    NEW DELHI: India and Pakistan, born 75 years ago out of the bloody division of the British Raj, are deeply troubled neighbours, at odds over the disputed territory of Kashmir.

    Here are key dates in the fraught relations of the nuclear-armed rivals:

    1947: Bloody partition

    Overnight on August 14-15, 1947, Lord Louis Mountbatten, the last viceroy of India, brings the curtain down on two centuries of British rule. The Indian sub-continent is divided into mainly Hindu India and Muslim-majority Pakistan.

    A poorly prepared partition throws life into disarray, displacing some 15 million and unleashing sectarian bloodshed that kills possibly more than a million people.

    1949: Kashmir divided

    Late in 1947, war breaks out between the two neighbours over Kashmir, a Muslim-majority region in the Himalayas.

    A UN-backed, 770-kilometre (478-mile) ceasefire line in January 1949 becomes a de facto frontier dividing the territory, now known as the Line of Control and heavily militarised on both sides.

    Some 37 per cent of the territory is administered by Pakistan and 63 per cent by India, with both claiming it in full.

    1965-72: Second war

    Pakistan launches a war in August-September 1965 against India for control of Kashmir. It ends inconclusively seven weeks later after a ceasefire brokered by the Soviet Union.

    1971: Bangladesh is born

    The neighbours fight a third war in 1971, over Islamabad’s rule in then East Pakistan, with New Delhi supporting Bengali nationalists seeking independence for what would in March 1971 become Bangladesh. Three million people die in the short war.

    1974: Marking nuclear territory

    India detonates its first atomic device in 1974, while Pakistan’s first public test will not come until May 1998. India carries out five tests that year and Pakistan six. Respectively the world’s sixth and seventh nuclear powers, they stoke global concern and sanctions.

    1989-90: Rebellion

    An uprising breaks out in Kashmir against New Delhi’s rule in 1989, and thousands of fighters and civilians are killed in the following years as battles between security forces and Kashmiri militants roil the region.

    Widespread human rights abuses are documented on both sides of the conflict as the insurgency takes hold.

    Thousands of Kashmiri Hindus flee to other parts of India from 1990 fearing reprisal attacks.

    1999-2003: Kargil conflict

    In 1999, Pakistan-backed militants cross the disputed Kashmir border, seizing Indian military posts in the icy heights of the Kargil mountains. Indian troops push the intruders back, ending the 10-week conflict, which costs 1,000 lives on both sides.

    The battle ends under pressure from the United States.

    A series of attacks in 2001 and 2002, which India blames on Pakistani militants, leads to a new mobilisation of troops on both sides.

    A ceasefire is declared along the frontier in 2003, but a peace process launched the following year ends inconclusively.

    2008-2016: Mumbai attacks

    In November 2008, Islamist gunmen attack the Indian city of Mumbai and kill 166 people. India blames Pakistan’s intelligence service for the assault and suspends peace talks.

    Contacts resume in 2011, but the situation is marred by sporadic fighting.

    Indian troops stage cross-border raids in Kashmir against separatist positions.

    Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi makes a surprise visit in December 2015 to Pakistan.

    2019-22: Crackdown

    India vows retaliation after 41 paramilitary members are killed in a 2019 suicide attack in Kashmir claimed by a Pakistan-based militant group.

    Tit-for-tat air strikes between the two nations take them to the brink of war.

    Later that year, India suddenly revokes Kashmir’s limited autonomy under the constitution, detaining thousands of political opponents in the territory.

    Authorities impose what becomes the world’s longest internet shutdown and troops are sent to reinforce the estimated half a million security forces already stationed there.

    Tens of thousands of people, mainly civilians, have been killed since 1990 in the insurgency.

    NEW DELHI: India and Pakistan, born 75 years ago out of the bloody division of the British Raj, are deeply troubled neighbours, at odds over the disputed territory of Kashmir.

    Here are key dates in the fraught relations of the nuclear-armed rivals:

    1947: Bloody partition

    Overnight on August 14-15, 1947, Lord Louis Mountbatten, the last viceroy of India, brings the curtain down on two centuries of British rule. The Indian sub-continent is divided into mainly Hindu India and Muslim-majority Pakistan.

    A poorly prepared partition throws life into disarray, displacing some 15 million and unleashing sectarian bloodshed that kills possibly more than a million people.

    1949: Kashmir divided

    Late in 1947, war breaks out between the two neighbours over Kashmir, a Muslim-majority region in the Himalayas.

    A UN-backed, 770-kilometre (478-mile) ceasefire line in January 1949 becomes a de facto frontier dividing the territory, now known as the Line of Control and heavily militarised on both sides.

    Some 37 per cent of the territory is administered by Pakistan and 63 per cent by India, with both claiming it in full.

    1965-72: Second war

    Pakistan launches a war in August-September 1965 against India for control of Kashmir. It ends inconclusively seven weeks later after a ceasefire brokered by the Soviet Union.

    1971: Bangladesh is born

    The neighbours fight a third war in 1971, over Islamabad’s rule in then East Pakistan, with New Delhi supporting Bengali nationalists seeking independence for what would in March 1971 become Bangladesh. Three million people die in the short war.

    1974: Marking nuclear territory

    India detonates its first atomic device in 1974, while Pakistan’s first public test will not come until May 1998. India carries out five tests that year and Pakistan six. Respectively the world’s sixth and seventh nuclear powers, they stoke global concern and sanctions.

    1989-90: Rebellion

    An uprising breaks out in Kashmir against New Delhi’s rule in 1989, and thousands of fighters and civilians are killed in the following years as battles between security forces and Kashmiri militants roil the region.

    Widespread human rights abuses are documented on both sides of the conflict as the insurgency takes hold.

    Thousands of Kashmiri Hindus flee to other parts of India from 1990 fearing reprisal attacks.

    1999-2003: Kargil conflict

    In 1999, Pakistan-backed militants cross the disputed Kashmir border, seizing Indian military posts in the icy heights of the Kargil mountains. Indian troops push the intruders back, ending the 10-week conflict, which costs 1,000 lives on both sides.

    The battle ends under pressure from the United States.

    A series of attacks in 2001 and 2002, which India blames on Pakistani militants, leads to a new mobilisation of troops on both sides.

    A ceasefire is declared along the frontier in 2003, but a peace process launched the following year ends inconclusively.

    2008-2016: Mumbai attacks

    In November 2008, Islamist gunmen attack the Indian city of Mumbai and kill 166 people. India blames Pakistan’s intelligence service for the assault and suspends peace talks.

    Contacts resume in 2011, but the situation is marred by sporadic fighting.

    Indian troops stage cross-border raids in Kashmir against separatist positions.

    Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi makes a surprise visit in December 2015 to Pakistan.

    2019-22: Crackdown

    India vows retaliation after 41 paramilitary members are killed in a 2019 suicide attack in Kashmir claimed by a Pakistan-based militant group.

    Tit-for-tat air strikes between the two nations take them to the brink of war.

    Later that year, India suddenly revokes Kashmir’s limited autonomy under the constitution, detaining thousands of political opponents in the territory.

    Authorities impose what becomes the world’s longest internet shutdown and troops are sent to reinforce the estimated half a million security forces already stationed there.

    Tens of thousands of people, mainly civilians, have been killed since 1990 in the insurgency.

  • Government employees duty-bound to participate in Independence Day function: J&K administration

    By Express News Service

    SRINAGAR: The Jammu and Kashmir administration has directed government officials to attend the Independence Day function in twin capital cities of Srinagar and Jammu saying all government employees are duty-bound to participate in the I-Day functions

    “Independence Day is an important national event celebrated on August 15 every year. All government employees are duty-bound to participate in commemorating such an important turning point in the history of our nation,” reads a circular issued by Principal Secretary to Government Manoj Kumar Dwivedi.

    In the circular, all the officers above the rank of Under Secretaries stationed at Srinagar or Jammu were enjoined upon to attend the main function of the Independence Day at the Jammu & Kashmir Cricket Stadium, Sonawar, Srinagar or Maulana Azad Stadium, Jammu respectively, as part of their official duty.

    “Any absence shall be only permissible with prior permission of their immediate superior,” it stated.

    All the Administrative Secretaries, Heads of the Departments, Managing Directors/Chief Executives of the Public Sector Undertakings have also been directed to ensure that all officers working under their administrative control, and stationed at Srinagar or Jammu, attend the function at their respective places.

    The government is expecting an attendance of 15,000 people at the Bakshi Stadium in Srinagar, where the main Independence Day function would be held in the Union Territory. This where Lt Governor Manoj Sinha will unfurl the tricolor.

    SRINAGAR: The Jammu and Kashmir administration has directed government officials to attend the Independence Day function in twin capital cities of Srinagar and Jammu saying all government employees are duty-bound to participate in the I-Day functions

    “Independence Day is an important national event celebrated on August 15 every year. All government employees are duty-bound to participate in commemorating such an important turning point in the history of our nation,” reads a circular issued by Principal Secretary to Government Manoj Kumar Dwivedi.

    In the circular, all the officers above the rank of Under Secretaries stationed at Srinagar or Jammu were enjoined upon to attend the main function of the Independence Day at the Jammu & Kashmir Cricket Stadium, Sonawar, Srinagar or Maulana Azad Stadium, Jammu respectively, as part of their official duty.

    “Any absence shall be only permissible with prior permission of their immediate superior,” it stated.

    All the Administrative Secretaries, Heads of the Departments, Managing Directors/Chief Executives of the Public Sector Undertakings have also been directed to ensure that all officers working under their administrative control, and stationed at Srinagar or Jammu, attend the function at their respective places.

    The government is expecting an attendance of 15,000 people at the Bakshi Stadium in Srinagar, where the main Independence Day function would be held in the Union Territory. This where Lt Governor Manoj Sinha will unfurl the tricolor.

  • Migrant labourer killed, two injured as terrorists lob grenade in J&K’s Pulwama

    By PTI

    SRINAGAR: A labourer from Bihar was killed and two others injured in a grenade attack by terrorists in Jammu and Kashmir’s Pulwama district on Thursday, police said.

    The terrorists lobbed a grenade at a tent housing labourers at Gadoora village in Pulwama, a police spokesman said.

    He said one labourer died in the blast while two others sustained injuries.

    “The deceased outside labourer has been identified as Mohammad Mumtaz, a resident of Sakwa Parsa, Bihar. The Injured have been identified as Mohammad Arif and his son Mohammad Majbool, residents of Rampor, Bihar,” the spokesman said.

    He said the condition of the injured persons is stable.

    The labourers were manufacturing cotton bedding, police said.

    Terrorists had stepped up attacks on non-locals earlier this year but there was a halt in such targeted killings for the past nearly two months.

    SRINAGAR: A labourer from Bihar was killed and two others injured in a grenade attack by terrorists in Jammu and Kashmir’s Pulwama district on Thursday, police said.

    The terrorists lobbed a grenade at a tent housing labourers at Gadoora village in Pulwama, a police spokesman said.

    He said one labourer died in the blast while two others sustained injuries.

    “The deceased outside labourer has been identified as Mohammad Mumtaz, a resident of Sakwa Parsa, Bihar. The Injured have been identified as Mohammad Arif and his son Mohammad Majbool, residents of Rampor, Bihar,” the spokesman said.

    He said the condition of the injured persons is stable.

    The labourers were manufacturing cotton bedding, police said.

    Terrorists had stepped up attacks on non-locals earlier this year but there was a halt in such targeted killings for the past nearly two months.

  • Fighting terror: J&K Police gets bullet-resistant vehicles, 40-ft long containerized shooting range

    By Express News Service

    SRINAGAR: Director General of Police Dilbag Singh on Thursday inaugurated a Containerized Shooting Range and flagged off bullet-resistant Marksman Tactical Intervention Light Motor Vehicles at a function held at Armed Police Complex, Humhama, Srinagar.

    The DGP, after inaugurating the Bullet Resistant Light Motor Vehicles, said that these vehicles with high safety requirements would be deployed with Central Reserve Police Force (CRPF) for special duties. He appreciated the Additional Director General of Police, Assistant Inspector General (AIG) and their team for working in fast track mode for procuring these vehicles. “A large number of vehicles have come and a lot more will follow”, the DGP added.

    The vehicles with enhanced safety measures have a RunFlat Tyre system with Pan-Tilt-Zoom (PTZ) cameras installed. Induction of the bullet resistant LMVs would further increase effectiveness of police during counter militancy operations and encounters with militants, according to police.

    DGP and Special DG, CRPF fired some practice rounds on the occasion. The 40-feet-long Containerized Shooting Range (CTSR) meets all international standards of safety with software capable of decreasing and increasing firing range of upto 300 metres. The air-conditioned shooting range can be utilized 24×7 and can also be easily transported to any other location.

    The shooter can fire in standing, kneeling and lying positions and it has electronic multi-function targets and virtual targets systems. The CTSR has one control station each, outside the Container and a monitoring tab near the shooter to monitor the firing and the control station which is capable of printing the firing result of the shooter.

    The ISO-certified system is capable of displaying and recording shot location on the target, possible score, the aggregate score, indicating the mean point of impact, indicating the type of exercise in progress, show group size and MPI etc.

    ADGP Headquarters and AIG Provision & Transport PHQ briefed the DGP about the features of Containerized Shooting Range (CTSR) and its monitor control system. They also briefed about the safety measures of the Bullet Resistant Vehicles.

    The DGP was received by senior officers of Police & CRPF and was presented guard of honour on his arrival.

    SRINAGAR: Director General of Police Dilbag Singh on Thursday inaugurated a Containerized Shooting Range and flagged off bullet-resistant Marksman Tactical Intervention Light Motor Vehicles at a function held at Armed Police Complex, Humhama, Srinagar.

    The DGP, after inaugurating the Bullet Resistant Light Motor Vehicles, said that these vehicles with high safety requirements would be deployed with Central Reserve Police Force (CRPF) for special duties. He appreciated the Additional Director General of Police, Assistant Inspector General (AIG) and their team for working in fast track mode for procuring these vehicles. “A large number of vehicles have come and a lot more will follow”, the DGP added.

    The vehicles with enhanced safety measures have a RunFlat Tyre system with Pan-Tilt-Zoom (PTZ) cameras installed. Induction of the bullet resistant LMVs would further increase effectiveness of police during counter militancy operations and encounters with militants, according to police.

    DGP and Special DG, CRPF fired some practice rounds on the occasion. The 40-feet-long Containerized Shooting Range (CTSR) meets all international standards of safety with software capable of decreasing and increasing firing range of upto 300 metres. The air-conditioned shooting range can be utilized 24×7 and can also be easily transported to any other location.

    The shooter can fire in standing, kneeling and lying positions and it has electronic multi-function targets and virtual targets systems. The CTSR has one control station each, outside the Container and a monitoring tab near the shooter to monitor the firing and the control station which is capable of printing the firing result of the shooter.

    The ISO-certified system is capable of displaying and recording shot location on the target, possible score, the aggregate score, indicating the mean point of impact, indicating the type of exercise in progress, show group size and MPI etc.

    ADGP Headquarters and AIG Provision & Transport PHQ briefed the DGP about the features of Containerized Shooting Range (CTSR) and its monitor control system. They also briefed about the safety measures of the Bullet Resistant Vehicles.

    The DGP was received by senior officers of Police & CRPF and was presented guard of honour on his arrival.

  • SCO meet: Jaishankar unlikely to hold bilateral talks with Bilawal Bhutto

    Express News Service

    NEW DELHI: External Affairs Minister Dr S Jaishankar is attending the Shanghai Cooperation Organisation (SCO) meeting in Tashkent on Friday where he will have bilateral talks with the other members. However, it is unlikely for him to have any such talks with his Pakistani counterpart Bilawal Bhutto.

    “Diplomatic relations with Pakistan have been downgraded at the moment after Bilawal Bhutto’s statements in support of Yasin Malik and other Kashmiri separatists. Therefor, it unlikely for Dr Jaishankar to have any bilateral talks with him,” say sources.

    However, there is every possibility of the foreign minister holding talks with his Chinese counterpart Wang Yi and Russian foreign minister Sergei Lavrov. Iran is joining as the ninth member of SCO and Dr Jaishankar is likely to have talks with his Iranian counterpart Hossein Amir-Abdollahian.

    It may be recalled that during the Commonwealth Heads of Government Meeting (CHOGM) held last month in Kigali (Rwanda), Dr Jaishankar and Pakistan’s Minister of State for Foreign Affairs Hina Rabbani Khar didn’t pose for any photos nor did they shake hands.

    Meanwhile, Pakistan has decided to call back its chess team from India (who had come to take part in the Chess Olympiad in Chennai). They had objected to India taking the torch for the event in Srinagar.

    “Jammu and Kashmir (including Pakistan-occupied Kashmir) and Ladakh are an integral part of India. So we are free to do what we want over there. No country should have any reason to object. It is unfortunate that Pakistan is politicizing a sporting event – especially after they have sent in their team,” said Ministry of External Affairs (MEA) spokesperson Arindam Bagchi.

    More recently India was miffed and vehemently opposed China-Pakistan Economic Corridor (CPEC)’s suggestion of including a third country in their projects. CPEC has some projects coming up in Pakistan occupied Kashmir (POK) and India has criticized this. “Any activities undertaken in the POK will be against our territorial integrity. We reject the idea of any third country being a part of it,” says MEA.

    NEW DELHI: External Affairs Minister Dr S Jaishankar is attending the Shanghai Cooperation Organisation (SCO) meeting in Tashkent on Friday where he will have bilateral talks with the other members. However, it is unlikely for him to have any such talks with his Pakistani counterpart Bilawal Bhutto.

    “Diplomatic relations with Pakistan have been downgraded at the moment after Bilawal Bhutto’s statements in support of Yasin Malik and other Kashmiri separatists. Therefor, it unlikely for Dr Jaishankar to have any bilateral talks with him,” say sources.

    However, there is every possibility of the foreign minister holding talks with his Chinese counterpart Wang Yi and Russian foreign minister Sergei Lavrov. Iran is joining as the ninth member of SCO and Dr Jaishankar is likely to have talks with his Iranian counterpart Hossein Amir-Abdollahian.

    It may be recalled that during the Commonwealth Heads of Government Meeting (CHOGM) held last month in Kigali (Rwanda), Dr Jaishankar and Pakistan’s Minister of State for Foreign Affairs Hina Rabbani Khar didn’t pose for any photos nor did they shake hands.

    Meanwhile, Pakistan has decided to call back its chess team from India (who had come to take part in the Chess Olympiad in Chennai). They had objected to India taking the torch for the event in Srinagar.

    “Jammu and Kashmir (including Pakistan-occupied Kashmir) and Ladakh are an integral part of India. So we are free to do what we want over there. No country should have any reason to object. It is unfortunate that Pakistan is politicizing a sporting event – especially after they have sent in their team,” said Ministry of External Affairs (MEA) spokesperson Arindam Bagchi.

    More recently India was miffed and vehemently opposed China-Pakistan Economic Corridor (CPEC)’s suggestion of including a third country in their projects. CPEC has some projects coming up in Pakistan occupied Kashmir (POK) and India has criticized this. “Any activities undertaken in the POK will be against our territorial integrity. We reject the idea of any third country being a part of it,” says MEA.