[🇮🇳] Jammu & Kashmir

[Saif]

National Conference-Congress alliance back to power in Jammu and Kashmir

BJP wins third successive term in Haryana

www.thedailystar.net

National Conference-Congress alliance back to power in Jammu and Kashmir
BJP wins third successive term in Haryana

The National Conference-Congress alliance today stormed back to power in Jammu and Kashmir, India's only Muslim-majority region, securing a majority.

Meanwhile, the ruling Bharatiya Janata Party overcame anti-incumbency to form government for a third successive tenure in Haryana.

The NC-Congress alliance secured 48 of 90 seats in Jammu and Kashmir assembly, while its nearest challenger, the BJP, bagged 29 seats in the Jammu and Kashmir assembly polls. Meanwhile, Congress was able to secure only six seats while the numbers lowered to three for the People's Democratic Party led by former chief minister Mehbooba Mufti .

The polls, held in three phases in September-October, were the first of its kind since the abrogation of Article 370 in August 2019, when the region was divided into two separate federally ruled territories.

NC vice president Omar Abdullah, who won from the Budgam and Ganderbal constituencies, said there should be no "fiddling" with the mandate of the people in Jammu and Kashmir.

"Transparency should be there… If the people's mandate is against the BJP, then the BJP should not indulge in any 'jugaad' [machinations] or something else," he told reporters in Srinagar.

NC President Farooq Abdullah said his son Omar will be the new chief minister of Jammu and Kashmir.

Speaking about the party's performance, Farooq said, "After 10 years, people have given their mandate to us. It will not be a police rule here but the people's rule."

Promising efforts to release innocent prisoners, he said, "We have to develop trust between Hindus and Muslims. I hope India's alliance partners will fight with us to restore Jammu and Kashmir's statehood."

Mehbooba Mufti's daughter, Iltija Mufti, who made her debut in electoral politics, conceded defeat to NC leader Bashir Ahmad Veeri in Srigufwara-Bijbehara constituency.

Jammu and Kashmir Communist Party of India (Marxist) leader Yusuf Tarigami said the trends showed the people's votes are against the central government and its policies.

"The writing is on the wall, and the vote of the people is against the BJP government and its policies," Tarigami said in his first reaction as the trends show NC-Congress alliance, of which CPI(M) is a part of, on the way to a clear majority.

"With a new secular government in place, the people of Jammu and Kashmir will surely heave a sigh of relief," he added.

In Haryana, BJP bagged 48 of the total 90 seats and was poised to form a government for the third time, while Congress secured 36 seats.

The victory in Haryana is likely to help the BJP in the coming assembly elections in Maharashtra, India's most industrialised state, where it is caught in a bitter seat tussle with allies in Delhi and in Jharkhand in the next few months, reports our New Delhi correspondent.

In both Haryana and Jammu and Kashmir, the BJP's direct battle was against Congress. The saffron party ending on top is expected to give an added edge in national politics after it failed to get majority on its own in national elections earlier this year.

Prime Minister Narendra Modi said BJP's win in Haryana was a "victory of the politics of development and good governance," while Congress described the defeat in the state as "totally unexpected".​

 

[Saif]

Kashmir assembly demands restoration of partial autonomy

Indian-administered Kashmir’s assembly passed a resolution on Wednesday demanding New Delhi restore the disputed Muslim-majority territory’s partial autonomy, cancelled in...

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Kashmir assembly demands restoration of partial autonomy
Agence France-Presse . Srinagar 07 November, 2024, 00:09

Chief Minister of India's Jammu and Kashmir state Omar Abdullah (R) attends a state legislative assembly session in Srinagar on November 6, 2024. | AFP photo

Indian-administered Kashmir’s assembly passed a resolution on Wednesday demanding New Delhi restore the disputed Muslim-majority territory’s partial autonomy, cancelled in 2019 by prime minister Narendra Modi’s Hindu nationalist government.

New Delhi cancelled Jammu and Kashmir’s special status in 2019, a sudden decision accompanied by mass arrests and a months-long communications blackout.

It has been ruled by a governor appointed by New Delhi since.

But last month the territory also elected its local legislative assembly, with voters choosing a government in opposition to Modi’s Hindu-nationalist Bharatiya Janata Party.

‘This assembly calls upon the Government of India to initiate dialogue with elected representatives of people of Jammu and Kashmir for restoration of special status,’ the resolution read, passed by a majority vote.

The 29 BJP members in the 90-seat house opposed the non-binding resolution, which requires the approval from the federally appointed governor.

‘The assembly has done its job,’ chief minister Omar Abdullah told reporters.

The resolution said it ‘reaffirms the importance of the special and constitutional guarantees, which safeguarded the identity, culture and rights of the people of Jammu and Kashmir’.

Kashmir has been divided between nuclear-armed rivals India and Pakistan since their partition at the chaotic end of British rule in 1947, and both countries claim the territory in full.

About 5,00,000 Indian troops are deployed in the region, battling a 35-year insurgency in which tens of thousands of civilians, soldiers and rebels have been killed, including dozens this year alone.

The 2019 constitutional amendment imposing direct rule also downgraded Kashmir from a federal state to a ‘union territory’.

Modi has promised to restore that, without giving a timeline.​

 

[Saif]

Indian soldier, suspected rebel killed

An Indian soldier was killed in Jammau and Kashmir (J&K) yesterday, the army said, as troops battled gunmen in the disputed Muslim-majority territory.

www.thedailystar.net

Indian soldier, suspected rebel killed

An Indian soldier was killed in Jammau and Kashmir (J&K) yesterday, the army said, as troops battled gunmen in the disputed Muslim-majority territory.

The army said an operation had been mounted "based on specific intelligence" about the presence of suspected rebels in Kishtwar where gunmen last week shot dead two village defence guards.

The gunmen were from "the same group" behind the killing of the village defence guards. On Saturday evening the army killed a suspected rebel in a separate gunfight.​

 

[Saif]

Five killed as Indian soldiers battle rebels in J&K

Indian security forces in Kashmir yesterday killed at least five suspected gunmen in ongoing clashes, the army said, the latest outbreak of violence in the disputed Muslim-majority Himalayan region.

www.thedailystar.net

Five killed as Indian soldiers battle rebels in J&K

Indian security forces in Kashmir yesterday killed at least five suspected gunmen in ongoing clashes, the army said, the latest outbreak of violence in the disputed Muslim-majority Himalayan region.

"Five terrorists have been neutralised by the security forces in the ongoing operation", the Indian army's Chinar Corps said, adding that two soldiers had been wounded in the firefight.

Half a million Indian troops are deployed in the far northern region, battling a 35-year insurgency in which tens of thousands of civilians, soldiers and rebels have been killed, including at least 120 this year.​

 

[Saif]

https://thefinancialexpress.com.bd/world/asia/more-than-20-killed-after-gunmen-open-fire-on-tourists-in-indian-administered-kashmir

More than 20 killed after gunmen open fire on tourists in Indian-administered Kashmir
Published :
Apr 22, 2025 22:58
Updated :
Apr 22, 2025 22:58

At least two dozen people have been killed after gunmen opened fire on a group of domestic tourists visiting a popular beauty spot in Indian-administered Kashmir.

The attack took place in Pahalgam, a picturesque town in the Himalayas often described as the "Switzerland of India".

The region's chief minister, Omar Abdullah, said the attack was "much larger than anything we've seen directed at civilians in recent years". Reports suggest that there are a large number of wounded, with some in critical condition, UNB reports citing the BBC.

India's Prime Minister Narendra Modi said the perpetrators would "be brought to justice".

"Our resolve to fight terrorism is unshakeable and it will get even stronger," Modi wrote in a statement on X.

Modi added that Home Minister Amit Shah would travel to Srinagar, Kashmir's largest city, to hold an emergency security meeting.

The region's Lieutenant Governor, Manoj Sinha, said the army and police had been deployed to the scene.

No group has claimed responsibility for the attack. There has been a long-running insurgency in the Muslim-majority region since 1989, although violence has waned in recent years.

The attack took place in Baisaran, a mountain-top meadow three miles (5km) from Pahalgam.

Vehicles are unable to reach the area where the shooting occurred, Inspector General of Jammu and Kashmir Police Vidi Kumar Birdi told BBC Hindi.

A tourist from Gujarat, who was part of a group that was fired upon, said that chaos broke out after the sudden attack, and everybody started running, crying and shouting.

Video footage shared by Indian media outlets appears to show Indian troops running towards the scene of the attack, while in other footage victims can be heard saying that the gunmen had singled out non-Muslims.

Footage on social media, which has not been verified by the BBC, appears to show bodies lying on a meadow with people crying and asking for help.

Police said multiple tourists had been taken to hospital with gunshot wounds. The area has been cordoned off with soldiers stopping vehicles at checkpoints while a search is underway to find the perpetrators.

Since the 1990s, an armed separatist insurgency against Indian rule in the region has claimed tens of thousands of lives, including those of civilians and security forces.

The Himalayan region was divided following India's independence from Britain, partition and the creation of Pakistan in 1947.

The two nuclear-armed states both claim the region in its entirety and have fought two wars and a limited conflict over it in the decades since.

Some 500,000 Indian soldiers are permanently deployed in the territory.

While fighting has decreased since Modi revoked Kashmir's partial autonomy in 2019, there are still incidents of violence.

The last major attack on civilians occurred in June 2024 when nine people were killed and 33 injured after militants opened fire on a bus carrying Hindu pilgrims.

In 2019, a suicide bombing in Indian-administered Kashmir killed at least 46 soldiers and prompted Indian airstrikes on targets in Pakistan.

Pahalgam is a popular tourist destination, both domestically and internationally, and in recent years the government has attempted to encourage further tourism to the region.

Around 3.5 million tourists visited Kashmir in 2024, according to official figures.​

 

[Saif]

India arrests two for harbouring Kashmir attackers

New Delhi’s counter-terrorism agency said Sunday it has arrested two men in India-administered Kashmir for allegedly harbouring Pakistani gunmen behind a deadly attack on civilians that sparked a days-long conflict between the two countries.

www.newagebd.net

India arrests two for harbouring Kashmir attackers
Agence France-Presse . Srinagar 22 June, 2025, 23:04

New Delhi’s counter-terrorism agency said Sunday it has arrested two men in India-administered Kashmir for allegedly harbouring Pakistani gunmen behind a deadly attack on civilians that sparked a days-long conflict between the two countries.

India’s National Investigation Agency said the two suspects were from the Pahalgam area, where gunmen killed 26 people two months ago.

‘The two men had provided food, shelter and logistical support to the terrorists, who had selectively killed the tourists on the basis of their religious identity,’ a statement by NIA said. The majority of those killed were Hindu men.

The agency identified the two men as Parvaiz Ahmad Jothar and Bashir Ahmad Jothar, claiming the duo ‘have disclosed the identities of the three armed terrorists involved in the attack’, and have confirmed they were Pakistani nationals affiliated to the proscribed Lashkar-e-Taiba group.

New Delhi has accused Pakistan of backing the attack without making public any evidence, and Islamabad has denied the charge.

The April 22 killings triggered a series of tit-for-tat diplomatic measures by the nuclear-armed countries and led to intense exchanges of missile, drone and artillery fire.

The four-day conflict left more than 70 people dead on both sides.

Muslim-majority Kashmir has been divided between the South Asian rivals — claimed by both in full — since their independence from British rule in 1947, and the neighbours have fought two wars over its control.

Rebel groups, demanding the divided region’s independence or merger with Pakistan, have waged an insurgency since 1989.​

 

[Saif]

How India lost the War? Confessions of Indian General

 

[Saif]

Defence minister denies India bowed to pressure to end fighting with Pakistan

India's defence minister said on Monday that New Delhi had ended its military conflict with Pakistan in May as it had met all its objectives and had not responded to pressure, rejecting US President Donald Trump's claim that he brokered the truce. Defence Minister Rajnath Singh was speaking at the

thefinancialexpress.com.bd

Defence minister denies India bowed to pressure to end fighting with Pakistan

REUTERS
Published :
Jul 28, 2025 18:45
Updated :
Jul 28, 2025 18:45

India's Defence Minister Rajnath Singh attends the Shanghai Cooperation Organisation (SCO) Defence Ministers' Meeting in Qingdao, Shandong province, China June 26, 2025. Photo : REUTERS/Florence Lo/Files

India's defence minister said on Monday that New Delhi had ended its military conflict with Pakistan in May as it had met all its objectives and had not responded to pressure, rejecting US President Donald Trump's claim that he brokered the truce.

Defence Minister Rajnath Singh was speaking at the opening of a discussion in parliament on the April 22 attack on Hindu tourists in Indian Kashmir in which 26 men were killed.

The attack led to a fierce, four-day military conflict with Pakistan in May, the worst between the nuclear-armed neighbours in nearly three decades.

"India halted its operation because all the political and military objectives studied before and during the conflict had been fully achieved," Singh said.

"To suggest that the operation was called off under pressure is baseless and entirely incorrect," he said.

Singh's comments came as the Indian Army said that it had killed three men in an intense gun battle in Indian Kashmir on Monday.

Indian TV channels said the men were suspected to be behind the April attack. Reuters could not immediately verify the information.

The Kashmir attack was the worst assault on civilians in the country since the 2008 Mumbai attacks. New Delhi said Pakistani nationals were involved in the killings and blamed Islamabad for backing them. Pakistan denied involvement and sought an independent investigation.

In the latest conflict, the two sides used fighter jets, missiles, drones and other munitions, killing dozens of people, before Trump announced they had agreed to a ceasefire.

Pakistan thanked Trump for brokering the agreement but India said Washington had no hand in it and that New Delhi and Islamabad had agreed between themselves to end the fighting.

Indian opposition groups have questioned what they say is the intelligence failure behind the Kashmir attack and the government's inability to capture the assailants - issues they are expected to raise during the parliament discussion.

They have also criticised Prime Minister Narendra Modi for coming under pressure from Trump and agreeing to end the fighting, along with reports that Indian jets were shot down during the fighting.

Pakistan claimed it downed five Indian planes in combat, and India's highest ranking general told Reuters that India suffered initial losses in the air, but declined to give details.

The Himalayan region of Kashmir has been at the heart of the hostility between old rivals India and Pakistan, both of whom claim the region in full but rule it in part, and have fought two of their three wars over it.

India accuses Pakistan of helping Islamist separatists in its part of Kashmir, but Pakistan denies this and says it only provides diplomatic and moral support to Kashmiris seeking self-determination.​

 

[Saif]

2 killed in J&K encounter as ‘Operation Akhal’ continues

Two terrorists were killed in an ongoing encounter with security forces in Jammu and Kashmir’s Kulgam district, the Indian army said on Saturday...

www.newagebd.net

2 killed in J&K encounter as ‘Operation Akhal’ continues
New Age Desk 03 August, 2025, 01:47 New Age specials

Two terrorists were killed in an ongoing encounter with security forces in Jammu and Kashmir’s Kulgam district, the Indian army said on Saturday.

Security forces launched a search operation in Akhal’s forest area on Friday after receiving intelligence about terrorist presence. The operation turned into a gunfight after the terrorists opened fire at the forces, reported NDTV.

‘Intermittent firing continued through the night [Friday]. Alert troops responded with precision, neutralising one terrorist. Operation [Akhal] continues,’ the army’s Chinar Corps posted on X in the morning.

Hours after, a second terrorist was confirmed dead, and another was injured.

‘We suspect one or two more terrorists are hiding. The operation continues,’ said senior police officer VK Birdi.

The encounter follows the recent killing of three terrorists linked to the April 22 Pahalgam attack in ‘Operation Mahadev’ near Srinagar.

The security forces gunned down Sulieman alias Asif, the alleged mastermind of the attack, along with two of his associates, in an encounter at Mulnar in the Harwan area near Dachigam National Park on July 28.

The other terrorists killed in the action are Jibran, who was involved in the Sonamarg Tunnel attack last year, and Hamza Afghani.

Twenty-six people, mostly tourists, were shot dead by terrorists at Baisaran meadows in Pahalgam, which prompted the armed forces to launch Operation Sindoor on May 7 against the terror infrastructure in Pakistan.

On Thursday, two more terrorists were killed near the Line of Control in Poonch.

Police said that the duo had infiltrated from Pakistan and were intercepted soon after they entered the Indian side.​

 

[Saif]

Pakistanis hold anti-India rallies to mark 6th anniversary of revocation of Kashmir's special status

Chanting anti-India slogans, hundreds of people rallied Tuesday in Pakistan-administered Kashmir to mark the sixth anniversary of India's revocation of the disputed region's semi-autonomous status. The rallies came nearly three months after Pakistan and India exchanged military strikes over a

thefinancialexpress.com.bd

Pakistanis hold anti-India rallies to mark 6th anniversary of revocation of Kashmir's special status

AP
Published :
Aug 05, 2025 18:06
Updated :
Aug 05, 2025 18:06

Supporters of India's opposition Congress party hold placards as they demand the ruling government restore the statehood of the disputed region, in Srinagar, Indian-controlled Kashmir, Tuesday, Aug 5, 2025. Photo : AP Photo/Mukhtar Khan

Chanting anti-India slogans, hundreds of people rallied Tuesday in Pakistan-administered Kashmir to mark the sixth anniversary of India's revocation of the disputed region's semi-autonomous status.

The rallies came nearly three months after Pakistan and India exchanged military strikes over a mass shooting in the Indian-controlled part of Kashmir, which New Delhi blamed on Islamabad, a charge Pakistan denied. The confrontation raised fears of a potential nuclear conflict before global powers defused the crisis.

The protesters denounced the August 5, 2019, revocation of Kashmir's special status by Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi and demanded the restoration of statehood for the Himalayan region, which has been split between India and Pakistan and claimed by both in its entirety.

The region has sparked two wars between the nuclear-armed neighbors since 1947, when the nations gained independence from Britain.

The main protest Tuesday in Muzaffarabad, the capital of Pakistan-administered Kashmir, drew hundreds of members of civil society and political parties.

Mazhar Saeed Shah, a leader of the All Parties Hurriyat Conference - an alliance of pro-freedom Kashmiri political and religious groups - at the rally urged the international community to help ensure Kashmiris are granted the right to self-determination, as called for in U.N. resolutions decades ago.

Similar anti-India demonstrations were held in Islamabad, where Deputy Prime Minister Ishaq Dar reaffirmed Pakistan's moral and diplomatic support for Kashmiris seeking what he called "freedom from India's illegal occupation."

Meanwhile in Srinagar in Indian-controlled Kashmir, supporters of India's opposition Congress party rallied to demand that the government restore the statehood of the disputed region.​

 

[Saif]

India accuses Pakistan of cross-border drone incursions in Kashmir

India’s army chief accused Pakistan on Tuesday of flying drones into Indian-administered territory in disputed Kashmir, where the nuclear-armed rivals fought a four-day clash last year.

www.newagebd.net

India accuses Pakistan of cross-border drone incursions in Kashmir
Agence France-Presse . New Delhi, India 14 January, 2026, 01:53

India’s army chief accused Pakistan on Tuesday of flying drones into Indian-administered territory in disputed Kashmir, where the nuclear-armed rivals fought a four-day clash last year.

‘They have been told that this is unacceptable to us, and please put a stop to it,’ General Upendra Dwivedi told reporters in New Delhi in an annual briefing to the media.


Heads of military operations of both countries spoke to each other earlier on Tuesday, he said.

India’s army reported sighting multiple drones flying over Indian-controlled border villages last week.

‘These drones, I believe, were defensive drones, which want to come over our territory to see if any action is being planned against them,’ Dwivedi said.

There was no immediate response from Pakistan’s army.

Muslim-majority Kashmir has been divided between India and Pakistan since their independence from British rule in 1947, and both claim the Himalayan territory in full.

The neighbours fought for four days in May 2025, weeks after New Delhi accused Islamabad of backing a deadly attack on tourists in Indian-administered Kashmir, claims Pakistan denied.

The ensuing conflict killed at least 70 people, and saw both sides make extensive use of drones as well as intense missile and artillery barrages.

‘We are fully alert along the Line of Control,’ Dwivedi added, referring to the heavily fortified de facto border.

Dwivedi said several low-flying drones entered Indian-controlled airspace with their lights switched on — as many as seven on Saturday, and another two or three on Sunday.

‘It’s possible they wanted to see if there were any gaps, laxity in our defence, any gaps through which they could send terrorists,’ he added.

Rebel groups in Indian-run Kashmir have waged an insurgency for 35 years demanding independence for the territory or its merger with Pakistan.​