Pulwama attack LIVE: India hit out at Pak PM, says he ignored JeM claims

Prime Minister Imran Khan questioned India's allegations against Pakistan over Pulwama attack, says Islamabad wants stability not terror

9:57 AM

Indian Americans to protest outside Chinese, Pak diplomatic missions in US

The Indian American community will hold peaceful protests outside the Pakistani and Chinese diplomatic missions in the US over the Pulwama terrorist attack, alleging China provides tacit support to Pakistan which uses non-State actors against its neighbours.

 

A candlelight protest will be held outside the Pakistan Consulate in Chicago after which the protesters will march to the Chinese consulate on Thursday, February 21, the organisers have said.


 

9:26 AM

Strategies for Pulwama-like attacks trace back to ISI HQ: Christine Fair

In the wake of the Pulwama terrorist attack, India needs a discussion about what is in its best interest — should it continue with its strategy of restraint or change its behaviour — says C Christine Fair, author of In Their Own Words: Understanding Lashkar-e-Tayyaba and Fighting to the End: The Pakistan Army's Way of War. Fair tells Bhaswar Kumar in an interview that terrorist attacks like Pulwama will continue because this is the only way Pakistan can show India that it is not defeated, no matter how powerful India becomes.


Click here to read full interview

11:44 PM

'Don't mess with my country', says Imran on Facebook page

Soon after Pakistan Prime Minister Imran Khan's address to the nation on the Pulwama terror attack in India's Jammu and Kashmir, an image on his official Facebook page was posted with the caption: "Don't mess with my country." 

 

The post with Khan's image and a Pakistani flag in the background included some quotes from his address.

 

"If India thinks it will attack Pakistan then we will not just think but retaliate," said the quote written in Urdu.

11:42 PM

Pakistan army violates ceasefire along LoC in J-K's Rajouri sector

Pakistani army on Tuesday evening violated ceasefire along the Line of Control (LoC) in Nowshera sector of Rajouri district in the bordering state of Jammu and Kashmir.

 

The violation took place at around 7 pm. No casualties have been reported so far

11:36 PM

Indian armed forces ready for counter-attack: Sitharaman

The Indian armed forces are ready for counter-attack as their morale is high despite the terror attack in Jammu and Kashmir's Pulwama district on February 14, said Defence Minister Nirmala Sitharaman on Tuesday.

 

"The terror attack has not affected their morale at all. It is our duty to keep their morale high. We are here to stand by them," said Sitharaman at a press meet ahead of the biennial "Aero India 2019" air show in this aerospace hub from Wednesday.

 

"We cannot disclose what we are planning to do to avoid similar attacks in the future," Sitharaman said in response to a query by IANS.

11:34 PM

'Vehicle-borne IED separates Pulwama attack from earlier fidayeen strikes'

The Pulwama terror attack was different from earlier 'fidayeen' strikes as it involved a vehicle-borne bomb with a "phenomenal" amount of explosives, a senior Army officer said Tuesday.

 

Lieutenant General S K Saini, General Officer Commander-in-Chief, Southern Command, also said that the strategy to deal with suicide attacks is continuously revised.

 

Lt Gen Saini said there had been fidayeen (suicide) attacks involving local youth earlier.

 

"But there was not a vehicle-borne IED (improvised explosive device) except in an incident in which a vehicle IED was used in 2005 in the Valley... However, that did not cause much damage," he said.

 

In the last week's attack, the amount of explosives in the vehicle was "phenomenal" which caused so much damage, Saini added.

11:32 PM

Pakistan summons Indian diplomat over anti-Pak protest in New Delhi

Pakistan Tuesday summoned India's Acting High Commissioner Gaurav Ahluwalia to lodge a protest against a demonstration held close to its High Commission in New Delhi following the Pulwama terror attack.

 

It also condemned a move by Rajasthan's Bikaner district officials directing the Pakistani citizens to leave the district in 48 hours as it may create law and order problem in the wake of the attack by Pakistan-based terror group Jaish-e-Mohammed in which 40 CRPF personnel were killed.

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8:27 PM

Pulwama fallout: Illegal Pakistani visitors in Bikaner asked to leave within 48 hours

The authorities here have issued an order asking Pakistani nationals staying illegally to leave the border district within 48 hours, citing a threat to law and order.

 

The order issued by the Bikaner district collector days after the Pulwama terror attack that killed 40 CRPF jawans has also banned the use of any phone sim card issued in Pakistan.

 

 

It appears to be directed against Pakistani citizens who overstay their visa, or fail to register themselves with the Foreigners Registration Office (FRO) if they are on a long visit.

 

Bikaner collector Kumarpal Gautam said the order, issued on Monday, does not apply to Pakistani nationals who have registered themselves with the FRO.

8:25 PM

Pulwama attack: CRPF's 'Madadgaar' helps 250 Kashmiri students reach home

The CRPF's Srinagar-based helpline 'Madadgaar' has helped 250 students studying and working in various cities of the country to safely reach their homes in the Kashmir Valley, in the wake of purported threats made to them after the Pulwama terror attack, a senior official of the force said Tuesday.

 

The students largely hail from towns in south Kashmir and were brought home by CRPF personnel after they gathered in Jammu Monday night, he said.

 

 

More than 250 Kashmiri students from Dehradun, Chandigarh, Delhi and others, who had reached Jammu on Monday, were provided food and then transported to Kashmir, the helpline posted on its Twitter handle.

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7:03 PM

Security agencies have strong evidence on Pak's involvement in Pulwama attack: Rathore

Security agencies have "strong evidence" on Pakistan's involvement in the Pulwama terror attack and this has clearly been conveyed to the neighbouring country, Union minister Rajyavardhan Singh Rathore said on Tuesday.

 

His remarks came after Pakistani Prime Minister Imran Khan assured India that action would be taken against the perpetrators of the Pulwama attack if New Delhi shared "actionable intelligence".

 

"Now, as the prime minister has said, the security forces have been given full freedom, they will work further in a planned manner," the Union minister said.

 

"We are still waiting for action on the (26/11) Mumbai terror attack, for which evidence was given to it (Pakistan)," he told reporters.

7:00 PM

Funeral of CRPF trooper killed in Pulwama attack held in Ghaziabad

The last rites of Central Reserve Police Force's (CRPF) Ajay Chaudhary, killed in the Pulwama terror attack on February 14, were held in Ghaziabad district on Tuesday with full state honours.

 

As Chaudhary's body was being brought to the grounds of the Chaudhary Charan Singh ITI where it was to be cremated, a huge crowd assembled at the spot to pay homage. Union Minister Satya Pal Singh, Rashtriya Lok Dal leader Jayant Chaudhary and local legislators Somendra Dhaka, K.P. Malik and Manju Siwach were also present. 

 

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6:41 PM

Pulwama encounter: All credit goes to our security forces, says Rajnath Singh

A day after three Jaish-e-Mohammad (JeM) terrorists were gunned down in an encounter in Pulwama, Union Home Minister Rajnath Singh on Tuesday called the killing "a big achievement for India".

 

"This is all because of our determined security forces in the Indian Army and it comes as a big achievement for all of India and us," the Union minister told ANI.

 

"The Army has been given a free hand to punish the perpetrators," the Union minister added.

6:39 PM

Pak PM 'deserves a chance', says Mufti post Khan's statement on Pulwama attack

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5:46 PM

Major Dhoundiyal cremated

Thousands of people turned up on the banks of river Ganga in Haridwar Tuesday to bid a tearful farewell to Major Vibhuti Shankar Dhoundiyal, who died fighting terrorists in Pulwama district of Jammu and Kashmir.

 

The mortal remains of Major Dhoundiyal were consigned to flames with full state honours at Kharkhari cremation ground. The funeral pyre was lit by the young officer's uncle Jagdish Dhoundiyal in presence of his father-in-law M K Kaul, whose daughter he had married less than a year ago.

 

Before the last rites of the slain Major were performed in Haridwar, a huge crowd gathered at his residence on Nashville road in Dehradun in the morning to pay homage.

 

His mother Saroj, a heart patient, his wife Nikita Kaul and a number of relatives and friends were crying inconsolably as the Major's coffin was kept for people to pay their last respects at his residence.

 

Chief Minister Trivendra Singh Rawat placed a wreath on the coffin to pay tribute to the martyr as chants of "Shaheed Dhoundiyal Amar Rahein" and "Vande Mataram" rent the air.

 

The mortal remains were brought home in a coffin wrapped in the national flag late on Monday night.

5:42 PM

Protests rock Jammu amid curfew

Protests were held Tuesday in Jammu city against the Pulwama terror attack even as curfew remained in force here following massive demonstrations.

 

Led by Jammu West Assembly Movement (JWAM) president Sunil Dimple, the activists gathered on road in New plot area of the city and held protest demonstrations.

 

The protesters took out a rally and raised slogans against Pakistan and terrorists as they carried posters denouncing that country and Jaish-e-Mohammed (JeM), the terror group which had claimed responsibility for the attack in Pulwama.

 

Defying curfew, the protesters took out the rally in Dogra Hall area of the city.