Pakistani villagers in the area where Indian jets struck what officials in New Delhi said was a militant training camp said they heard four loud bangs in the early hours of Tuesday but reported only one person wounded by bomb shards, International News gathering agency Reuters reported.
“We saw trees fallen down and one house damaged and four craters where the bombs had fallen,” said Mohammad Ajmal, a 25-year-old who visited the site, the report said.
Courtesy Reuters
Jammu, Feb 26 : Chief Secretary BVR Subrahmanyam has urged poeple to be calm and not to believe rumours circulating on WhatsApp or other social media.
He said the Governor Satya Pal Malik has made the same appeal on Sunday.
It is necessary that people remain stress free and go about their normal activities.
In case there is anything to be communicated regarding people’s safety & security, the Government will do so directly, through media.
The DivComs and Deputy Commissioners will be communicating as and when needed.
Amid tension in valley, Forces on Tuesday afternoon launched a cordon and search operation (CASO) in Quimoh area of South Kashmir’s Kulgam District.
Reports said a joint team of forces including Army, CRPF and Jammu Kashmir Police launched a search operation in Matlhama area of Quimoh in South Kashmir’s Kulgam District and conducted house to house search operation in the area.
Official sources told following inputs about militants movement in the area, searches launched in the area.
Searches in the area was on when last reports came in.
Deputy Commissioner Srinagar Dr Shahid Iqbal Choudhary conducted a review meeting for fast tracking transportation of LPG, Diesel, Patrol and petroleum products in view of frequent disruptions on National Highway.
Addl DC K K Sidha, Dy Director FCS&CA Zahoor Ahmed, heads of HPCL, BPCL, IOCL and distributor heads attended the meeting. Discussion was also held with Deputy Commissioner Ramban and Deputy Commissioner Udhampur regarding delays on part of NHAI for prompt clearance of fleets of tankers.
It was informed that 1500 trucks and tankers are engaged for supplies in entire Kashmir valley including defence, institutional and civilian supplies and all out efforts are being made by the Oil companies for augmentation of stocks in valley in view of 830 trucks stranded along the supply chain. More than 100 trucks/ tankers carrying fuel and LPG have been cleared while around 250 tankers stuck at Magarkote are expected to move ahead later today.
A monitoring cell has been established in the office of Deputy Commissioner, Srinagar to coordinate with District Administration of Udhampur/Ramban, Traffic Police, NHAI, BPCL, HPCL, IOCL and stakeholders involved in transportation of fuel stocks to Kashmir. The monitoring cell will track real movement of trucks / tankers and take up issues related to coordination wherever the fleets are stranded.
It is pertinent to mention that average monthly requirement in Kashmir valley is 5.25 Lakh cylinders, 9300KL of motor spirit and 16500KL of diesel.
Harun Hamid Sr Manager HPCL, Idrees Wani (LPG-HPCL), Rizwan Ahmed Dar (BPCL), Umar Manzoor (IOCL), Syed Faizan ( LPG-BPCL) and other heads of organisations briefed the issued involved in transportation along NH which were subsequently taken up by the district administration with concerned authorities and the Monitor Cell will be coordinating 24#7 for movement of supplies to Kashmir.
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Bhuj, Feb 26 (PTI) A Pakistani unmanned aerial vehicle (UAV) was on Tuesday shot down near the International Border in Kutch district of Gujarat, police sources said.
Debris of the UAV was seen near Nanghatad village in Abdasa taluka of Kutch, they said.
On hearing a loud sound around 6 am, villagers went to the spot and found the debris of the UAV, the sources said.
Asked if a Pakistani UAV had been shot down by the Indian armed forces, a police official, on condition of anonymity, said, “Such an incident has happened, we are investigating the matter.”
The official, however, refused to elaborate further.
Earlier, government sources said that in a pre-dawn strike, combat jets of Indian Air Force bombed terror camps at multiple locations across the Line of Control on the Pakistani side, 12 days after Pakistan-based Jaish-e-Mohammed terror group carried out the dastardly Pulwama attack in Kashmir.
They said the IAF’s Mirage 2000 fighter jets pounded the terror camps in Balakot, Muzaffarabad and Chakoti in the well-planned strike destroying Jaish-e-Mohammed terror camps.
Defence Minister Nirmala Sitharaman briefed Prime Minister Narendra Modi on the operation.
Srinagar
National Conference vice president Omar Abdullah Tuesday said that one cannot possibly speculate on what will happen next following the Indian Air Force (IAF) strike across the Line of Control (LoC) as there was no information about the damage caused.
“Unless we know which Balakote is being talked about by the Pakistani generals it’s pointless speculating about what we may have hit and what fallout the airstrike will have,” Abdullah tweeted.
He was reacting after Pakistan claimed that IAF jets crossed the LoC, and dropped a payload in haste before returning as the Pakistan Air Force (PAF) scrambled its war planes.
“If this is Balakote in KPK (Khyber Pakhtunkhwa) it’s a major incursion and a significant strike by IAF planes.
However, if it’s Balakote in Poonch sector, along the LoC it’s a largely symbolic strike because at this time of the year forward launch pads and militant camps are empty and non-functional,” Omar wrote.
The former chief minister also spoke of a possible fallout over the air strikes.
“The problem now becomes Prime Minister Imran Khan’s commitment to his country — ‘Pakistan will not think about responding, Pakistan will respond’.
“What shape will response take? Where will response be? Will India have to respond to Pakistan’s response?,” Omar Abdullah asked, voicing his concern about what happens next.
Abdullah’s tweets came as the Cabinet Committee on Security (CCS) was meeting at Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s residence.
While Pakistan’s Foreign Minister Shah Mehmood Qureshi has also called an ” emergency meeting after the air strikes across the LoC.
Pakistan army claimed that Indian fighter jets were forced to retreat after they crossed the LoC in Muzaffarabad sector.
“Indian Air Force violated Line of Control, following which Pakistan Air Force immediately scrambled and Indian aircraft went back,” Director-General Inter-Services Public Relations, Major-General Asif Ghafoor, said in a tweet.
In another tweet, Ghafoor said that the aircraft faced “timely and effective response from Pakistan Air Force” and ended up releasing “payload in haste while escaping which fell near Balakot”.
No casualties or damage occurred, the military spokesman said.
Tensions hightened between India and Pakistan since the suicide attack on CRPF in Pulwama on February 14 that killed 40 troops were killed.
On 14 February 2019, a suicide terror attack was conducted by a Pak based terrorist organization Jaish-e-Mohammad, leading to the martyrdom of 40 brave jawans of the CRPF. JeM has been active in Pakistan for the last two decades, and is led by MASOOD AZHAR with its headquarters in Bahawalpur.
This organization, which is proscribed by the UN, has been responsible of a series of terrorist attacks including on the Indian Parliament in December 2001 and the Pathankot airbase in January 2016.
Information regarding the location of training camps in Pakistan and PoJK has been provided to Pakistan from time to time. Pakistan, however, denies their existence. The existence of such massive training facilities capable of training hundreds of jidhadis could not have functioned without the knowledge of Pakistan authorities.
India has been repeatedly urging Pakistan to take action against the JeM to prevent jihadis from being trained and armed inside Pakistan. Pakistan has taken no concrete actions to dismantle the infrastructure of terrorism on its soil.
Credible intelligence was received that JeM was attempting another suicide terror attack in various parts of the country, and the fidayeen jihadis were being trained for this purpose. In the face of imminent danger, a preemptive strike became absolutely necessary.
In an intelligence led operation in the early hours of today, India struck the biggest training camp of JeM in Balakot. In this operation, a very large number of JeM terrorists, trainers, senior commanders and groups of jihadis who were being trained for fidayeen action were eliminated. This facility at Balakot was headed by MAULANA YOUSUF AZHAR (alias USTAD GHOURI), the brother-in-law of MASOOD AZHAR, Chief of JeM.
The Government of India is firmly and resolutely committed to taking all necessary measures to fight the menace of terrorism. Hence this non-military preemptive action was specifically targeted at the JeM camp. The selection of the target was also conditioned by our desire to avoid civilian casualties. The facility is located in thick forest on a hilltop far away from any civilian presence. As the strike has taken place only a short while ago, we are awaiting further details.
The Government of Pakistan had made a solemn commitment in January 2004 not to allow its soil or territory under its control to be used for terrorism against India. We expect that Pakistan lives up to its public commitment and takes follow up actions to dismantle all JeM and other camps and hold the terrorists accountable for the actions.
ISLAMABAD, FEB 26 (PTI) Pakistan Foreign Minister Shah Mahmood Qureshi called an “emergency meeting” Tuesday after India carried out air strikes across the LoC and destroyed terror camps in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa province.
Qureshi will meet Prime Minister Imran Khan after the meeting in which he will discuss the security situation with high-level officials.
Sources here said that Qureshi summoned the “emergency meeting” at the Foreign Office for consultations.
In New Delhi, sources said that India is believed to have carried out air strikes inside Pakistan early Tuesday and targeted terror camps.
The strikes involving several fighter jets of the Indian Air Force successfully destroyed camps belonging to Pakistan-based terror outfits in Balakot in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa province, the sources told PTI.
Earlier, the Pakistan Army alleged that the Indian Air Force (IAF) violated the Line of Control (LoC) in Muzafarabad sector.
“Indian aircraft intruded from Muzafarabad sector. Facing timely and effective response from Pakistan Air Force released payload in haste while escaping which fell near Balakot. No casualties or damage,” Major General Asif Ghafoor, Director General of Inter-Services Public Relations (ISPR), the media wing of the Pakistan Army, said in a tweet.
“Indian Air Force violated Line of Control Pakistan. Pakistan Air Force immediately scrambled. Indian aircraft gone back,” he tweeted.
Meanwhile, Pakistani media was reporting that the Indian government has staged a symbolic intrusion due to domestic pressure.
Prime Minister Khan has not commented on the issue.
India woke up to the big news that the Indian Air Force (IAF) had launched an airstrike in the Pakistan-occupied Kashmir (PoK) across the Line of Control (LOC) in a pre-dawn operation on Tuesday. Former India cricketers Virender Sehwag and Gautam Gambhir took to social media applaud the Indian Air Force for the massive operation.
Sehwag, in his quintessential style, mocked Pakistan by using the line, which is regularly spoken by Pakistani cricketers after matches. Sehwag applauded the Indian Air Force along with mocking Pakistan by saying, “The boys have played really well”.
He further warned Pakistan about mending their ways or India will teach them a lesson.
Gautam Gambhir also took to Twitter to applaud the airstrike with just three words, “JAI HIND, IAF”.
Indian Air Force jets crossed the Line of Control and destroyed a major militant camp in Balakote sector, sources said.
The airstrike took place at 3.30 am, the sources said.
Several Mirage 2000 aircraft dropped 1,000 kg bombs on militant camps across the LoC.
Sources said militant launchpads in Balakot, Chakothi and Muzaffarabad were completely destroyed in the IAF air strikes, and that Jaish-e-Mohammed control rooms were also destroyed.
Earlier, a spokesperson for the Pakistan Armed Forces claimed that the IAF violated the LoC, and that the Pakistan Air Force responded immediately, after which the Indian aircraft went back.
India’s airstrikes come days after Jaish-e-Mohammed, a Pakistan-based militant group, carried out a suicide bombing in Jammu and Kashmir, killing 49 CRPF soldiers.
India vowed to take revenge for the attack, and has already killed its mastermind in an encounter in Pulwama.
It has gone on a diplomatic offensive to isolate Pakistan on the world stage, increased basic customs duty on Pakistan exports, and reiterated plans to stop its share of Indus water from flowing to Pakistan.
Courtesy India Today
Srinagar, 26 Feb : In pursuance to Government order no. 249-GAD of 2019, dated: 22.02.2019, the 2nd half of winter vacation sanctioned vide office order no. SIMS 1391 (per) of 2018, dated: 31.12.2018, is hereby cancelled.
Director SKIMS & EOSG directed all the faculty members that they shall report to their duties by today 26th February, 2019 positively and shall remain available at their place of posting w.e.f 26.02.2019.
Further, leave of any kind sanctioned to the staff members fo SKIMS (except leave sanctioned on medical grounds, Child Care Leave or for Study purpose) shall also stand cancelled w.e.f 26.02.2019.