Page 20 - Jammu And Kashmir

People wake up to blast-like sounds as sirens wail across Jammu region

People across Jammu on Saturday woke up to blast-like sounds as sirens rang out in the city amid a fresh wave of suspected drone attacks by Pakistan, officials said. Artillery and mortar shelling were also reported from the twin border districts of Rajouri and Poonch and the Akhnoor sector of Jammu district, they said. Deafening sounds of explosions started rattling Jammu and Udhampur towns around 5 am with officials confirming a fresh wave of drone attack from across the border, triggering panic among the people. On Friday night, drones were sighted at 26 locations, ranging from Jammu and Kashmir's Baramulla in the north to Gujarat's Bhuj in the south, along both the International Border and the Line of Control (LoC) with Pakistan, according to defence officials. "These included suspected armed drones posing potential threats to civilian and military targets, the officials said. The locations include Baramulla, Srinagar, Avantipora, Nagrota and Jammu in J-K, Ferozpur, Pathankot a

IMF 'reimbursing' Pak for ordnance used to devastate border areas: Abdullah

Jammu and Kashmir Chief Minister Omar Abdullah on Saturday hit out at the IMF for granting a billion dollar loan to Pakistan, saying the global financial organisation was "essentially reimbursing" Islamabad for the ammunition used to devastate border areas of the Union territory. The International Monetary Fund on Friday approved the disbursement of around USD 1 billion to Pakistan under the Extended Fund Facility (EFF). "I'm not sure how the 'International Community' thinks the current tension in the subcontinent will be de-escalated when the IMF essentially reimburses Pakistan for all the ordnance it is using to devastate Poonch, Rajouri, Uri, Tangdhar & so many other places," Abdullah said in a post on X. India abstained from the vote at the IMF, pointing out that rewarding continued sponsorship of cross-border terrorism sends a dangerous message to the global community, exposes funding agencies and donors to reputational risks, and makes a mockery of global values.

Govt official killed, two staff members injured in Pak shelling in J&K

A senior government official was killed and his two staff members were critically injured in Pakistani shelling in Rajouri district of Jammu and Kashmir early Saturday, officials said. Additional Deputy Commissioner, Rajouri, Raj Kumar Thapa and his two staff members were seriously injured when an artillery shell hit his residence in Rajouri town, the officials said. They were rushed to the Government Medical College. Thapa succumbed to his injuries while the condition of his staff members is stated to be critical, according to the officials. Chief Minister Omar Abdullah condoled Thapa's death. "Devastating news from Rajouri. We have lost a dedicated officer of the J&K Administration Services. Just yesterday he was accompanying the Deputy CM around the district & attended the online meeting I chaired. "Today the residence of the officer was hit by Pak shelling as they targeted Rajouri town killing our Additional District Development Commissioner Sh Raj Kumar Thappa. I've no ...

J&K CM reviews relief measures, urges communication, contingency planning

Jammu and Kashmir Chief Minister Omar Abdullah on Friday night chaired a meeting to review relief efforts and preparedness in border districts following intense cross-border shelling. The meeting was attended by his advisor Nasir Aslam Wani, Minister Satish Sharma, divisional commissioners from Jammu and Kashmir, deputy commissioners of affected districts, and the Principal Government Medical College and Hospital, Jammu, a spokesperson said. Abdullah was briefed on evacuation efforts, relief camp arrangements, and security measures. Officials informed him that food, medicines, shelter, and even recreational activities for children are being provided in camps, the spokesperson said. Nodal officers have been deployed to coordinate facilities, and control rooms are operational in affected areas. Deputy commissioners reported on ground assessments, identification of vulnerable villages, and dissemination of public alerts through video and audio messaging. Abdullah stressed the need fo

BHISHM medical cubes deployed in J&K hospitals under Aarogya Maitri project

BHISHM cubes, the indigenous portable modular medical facility, are being deployed at prominent hospitals such as AIIMS Jammu and SKIMS Srinagar near India's border under the government's Aarogya Maitri project to bolster medical readiness, officials said on Friday. The development comes on the heels of Union Health Minister J P Nadda on Friday reviewing health infrastructure preparedness across hospitals in the country amid the ongoing Operation Sindoor and the ongoing India-Pakistan military conflict, official sources said. These BHISHM cubes are also being stationed in other Institutes of National Importance (INIs) across India, including AIIMS in Rishikesh, Bilaspur and Delhi, they said. "We are also providing operational training to the respective medical institutes where BHISHM cubes have been deployed. So far two BHISHM cubes have been deployed at AIIMS, Jammu and more are being diverted to this centre. "Besides, around 35 other BHISHM cubes so far have been deployed across

Shadows of war: How blackouts are impacting life in India's border towns

India-Pakistan tensions: Indian border towns plunge into darkness as blackouts are enforced amid escalating hostilities along the Line of Control

BSF kills 7 terrorists in Jammu, destroys Pak Rangers post: Reports

The Border Security Force on Friday said it has killed seven terrorists who were trying to infiltrate from across the India-Pakistan International Border in Jammu, and also destroyed a Rangers post. The incident took place in the Samba sector on the intervening night of May 8-9 after a "big group" of terrorists was detected by the surveillance grid. This infiltration bid was supported by fire from Pakistan Rangers post Dhandhar, a BSF spokesperson said. He said the troops neutralised the infiltration bid, killing at least seven terrorists and caused extensive damage to the Dhandhar post It also shared a thermal imager clip of the destruction of the said post. The force is on high alert in the wake of the current hostilities between the two countries following the Pahalgam terrorist attack of April 22 and India's strike on terror targets in Pakistan and Pakistan-occupied Kashmir in retaliation.

As India-Pak border heats up, here's all you need to know about blackouts

Due to the escalation by Pakistan, several border towns were plunged into darkness as authorities enforced blackouts as a tactical defensive move

J&K Cong slams Pakistan for targeting Jammu, says it will pay for its sins

The Jammu and Kashmir Congress on Friday condemned Pakistan for targeting Jammu and other areas in the region with missiles and drones on Thursday night, saying the neighbouring country will have to pay for its sins. J-K Pradesh Congress Committee strongly condemns the provocative and escalatory actions of Pakistan by launching drone and missile attacks in Jammu city and other parts last night, the party's chief spokesperson Ravinder Sharma said. "Pakistan will pay for its sins," he added. India on Thursday night thwarted Pakistan's fresh attempts to strike military sites with drones and missiles including in Jammu, Pathankot and Udhampur after foiling similar bids at 15 locations across the northern and western regions of the country, as tensions soared between the two nations amid fears of a wider conflict. In a swift and precise response, Indian armed forces successfully thwarted attacks launched from across the border by intercepting and neutralising all incoming missiles and

Woman killed, two injured in Pakistani shelling near LoC in Uri sector

A woman was killed and two of her family members injured after Pakistani troops resorted to heavy shelling in areas near the Line of Control (LoC) in Uri sector of Jammu and Kashmir, officials said on Friday. They said the Indian Army has responded proportionately to the Pakistani aggression. Officials said the Pakistani troops violated the ceasefire along the LoC and resorted to heavy shelling in civilian areas in Uri sector of north Kashmir's Baramulla district on Thursday night. Pakistan targeted many areas of Uri, including Silikot, Boniyar, Kamalkote, Mohra and Gingle. The heavy shelling caused damage to several structures, forcing the people to flee, the officials added. They said three members of a family were injured when a shell hit their car near Mohra while they were trying to escape the shelling. The injured were rushed to a hospital where a woman, identified as Nargis Begum, succumbed to injuries, the officials said.

Govt debunks claims of suicide attack on Army brigade in J-K's Rajouri

The government on Friday dismissed claims of a suicide attack on an Army brigade in Jammu and Kashmir's Rajouri and a drone attack in Punjab's Jalandhar by certain social media handles as "fake news". The Press Information Bureau's (PIB) Fact Check Unit found that there was no "fidayeen" or suicide attack on any Army cantonment in Jammu and Kashmir, while the video claiming to be that of a drone attack in Jalandhar pertained to a farm fire. The district collector of Jalandhar has confirmed it to be disinformation, the PIB said. "A total of seven videos were fact-checked between 22:00 hours on May 8, 2025, and 06:30 hours on May 9. A list of the fact-checked videos, along with their links, has been compiled," the PIB said. It found that an old video shared on social media claiming to be of Pakistan's missile attack on India was actually of an explosive attack that took place in Beirut, Lebanon, in 2020. In another case, a video claiming the destruction of an Indian Army post by ...

'Operation Sindoor' reflection of India's unbending resolve: Mahindra group

Operation Sindoor reflects the resolve of a nation which refuses to bend in the face of terror, Mahindra Group said on Thursday. "We at the Mahindra Group stand in admiration and deep respect for the bravery and precision demonstrated by the Indian Armed Forces during Operation Sindoor," the Mumbai-based business group said on X. The mission reflects the unwavering resolve of a nation that refuses to bend in the face of terror, it added. "Under the decisive leadership of Hon'ble Prime Minister Shri Narendra Modi, India has sent a clear and powerful message: our nation will not tolerate acts of terror on our soil or threats to our people," the diversified group said. Operation Sindoor is a proud reaffirmation of India's strength, sovereignty, and spirit, it added.

Schools, colleges shut in Punjab, Haryana, Rajasthan, J-K amid Pak tensions

Educational institutes in border states shut amid escalating Indo-Pak tensions, following Islamabad's attempted drone and missile strikes on key Indian sites

Nikki Haley supports Operation Sindoor, says 'Pakistan can't play victim'

Former US ambassador to the UN Nikki Haley has backed India's military response to the Pahalgam terror attack that killed 26 tourists, saying India had every right to retaliate and that Pakistan can't

Singapore issues advisory, asks citizens to defer travel to J&K, Pakistan

Singapore has advised its citizens to defer all non-essential travel to Jammu and Kashmir in India, and to Pakistan, amid tensions between the two neighbours. Singapore's Ministry of Foreign Affairs (MFA) on Wednesday asked travellers to exercise caution, particularly in border regions between Pakistan and India. "Singaporeans in India and Pakistan are advised to remain vigilant and take all necessary precautions for personal safety, including avoiding large gatherings, monitoring local news closely, heeding instructions of local authorities, and eRegistering with MFA," the ministry said in a statement. The latest advisory is an update on the one issued on April 30, which only cautioned travelling to "high-risk areas" in Pakistan. The advisory added that Singaporeans in India and Pakistan can also seek consular assistance. Travel agencies in Singapore are re-evaluating tours to Jammu and Kashmir, and Pakistan. The tension in the region has disrupted travel, with more than 50 flig

Israel revises advisory urging its citizens to leave Kashmir immediately

Amid escalating tensions between India and Pakistan, Israel has updated the existing travel advisory for its nationals urging those in the Kashmir region to leave immediately. The revised advisory came on Wednesday after the Indian military carried out strikes against terror targets in Pakistan-occupied Kashmir (PoK) and Pakistan's Punjab province earlier in the day. Pakistan army carried out one of the most intense artillery and mortar shelling in years targeting forward villages along the LoC in Jammu and Kashmir. The Israeli Foreign Ministry called on Israelis to avoid visiting the Jammu and Kashmir region, with the exception of Ladakh. Israelis currently in Kashmir should leave immediately and obey the instructions of local security forces, the ministry said. This is in line with the existing travel advisory issued by the National Security Council, it added. India launched Operation Sindoor early Wednesday hitting nine terror targets in Pakistan-occupied Kashmir (PoK) and Punj

Cabinet approves expansion of 5 new IITs, including IIT Jammu and Kashmir

Under this expansion project, five advanced research parks will also be built to strengthen partnerships between industry and academia

Operation Sindoor: A look at India's past military conflicts with Pakistan

'Operation Sindoor' is the latest in the long history of military and diplomatic tensions between India and Pakistan, rooted in the dispute over Jammu and Kashmir

TRF head Sheikh Sajjad Gul identified as mastermind behind Pahalgam attack

Sheikh Sajjad Gul, a 50-year-old Kashmiri and head of Lashkar-e-Taiba proxy The Resistance Front (TRF), has emerged as the mastermind of the Pahalgam terror attack, which claimed the lives of 26 people, mostly tourists, on April 22, officials said Wednesday. Holed up in the Cantonment town of Rawalpindi, Pakistan, under the patronage of Lashkar-e-Taiba (LeT), Gul, who also goes by the alias of Sajjad Ahmed Sheikh, has been a planner of a number of terror attacks, including targeted killings between 2020 and 2024 in Central and South Kashmir, grenade attacks in Central Kashmir in 2023, ambush of J&K police personnel in Bijbehra in Anantnag, Gagangir, Z-Morh Tunnel attack in Ganderbal. The NIA had designated him a terrorist in April 2022 and kept a reward of Rs 10 lakh on his head. The official said that during the investigation into the deadly April 22 Pahalgam attack, links and some communications have been traced back to Gul. The TRF had claimed responsibility for the attack. The

Do not travel to Pakistan: US government issues advisory to its citizens

This latest travel advisory for US citizens came after India launched strikes on nine terror sites in Pakistan on Wednesday