&w=3840&q=100)
Govt official killed, two staff members injured in Pak shelling in J&K
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
Press Trust of India Jammu
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 words to express my shock & sadness at this terrible loss of life. May his soul rest in peace," the chief minister said in a post on X.
Hashtags

Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles


NDTV
an hour ago
- NDTV
Is This How India Will 'Dehyphenate' Itself From Pakistan?
"The enemy is anybody who's going to get you killed, no matter which side he's on," said Yossarian, the 'hero' of Joseph Heller's 1961 cult classic Catch-22. This absurdly dark and hilarious novel, set during the Second World War, contains some of the most astute observations on war and peace, a theme for our times. Or all times. Apart from one's own commanders, like Colonel Cathcart of Catch-22, the enemy could also be suboptimal actions driven by fallacious estimations of self. While our armed forces, as commanded, demonstrated their professionalism and precision, the same has been seen as lacking from other quarters in the aftermath of Operation Sindoor. Despite India's consistent attempts at keeping the Kashmir issue out of the arena of international interference, Pakistan has doubled down on its efforts to the contrary and achieved at least some degree of success. India, regrettably, has also got 're-hyphenated' with Pakistan despite our government's forceful iterations that the victims and perpetrators of terrorism cannot be treated at par by the international community. Pak Is No Match The irony of the current situation is that India may have played some part in bringing this rehyphenation upon itself. Rather than setting the paradigm, India is seen as playing catch-up in its diplomatic oeuvre. Immediately after the high offices of the Pakistani government, including Prime Minister Shahbaz Sharif, embarked on their international mission to convince the world about India's alleged aggression, seven all-party committees were dispatched by India to different parts of the world. We are yet to see what such delegations have achieved for the long run, apart from generating newsy moments. As the world's fourth-largest economy, India has a stature that Pakistan can only aspire to achieve. Sharif's statement about India being more wary of the cost of war than Pakistan because the latter is still in a struggling phase is darkly humorous and unintentionally ingenious. It doesn't behove a superpower like India to be following Pakistan's diplomatic footsteps. The soon-to-retire chief of the Florida-based United States Central Command, General Michael E. Kurilla, has recently called Pakistan a "phenomenal partner" whose value "will only increase as the Taliban continues to face security challenges within its borders". President Donald Trump, too, has been underscoring how the US values its "beautiful" relationship with both India and Pakistan, which have "great" leaders. Rather than dismissing this 'both-siding' as classic Trump balderdash, India should devise a robust plan to offset Pakistan's geopolitical arm-twisting of the West. Pak's Sneaky Ways The Afghanistan-Pakistan hyphenation is what has been driving the West's response to Islamabad's backing of the terror outfits in Kashmir and other parts of India. Pakistan has managed to convince the West, especially the US, of its indispensable status in eliminating actors that pose a direct threat to people and property in the Global North. India's renewed engagement with the Taliban, short of recognising them, has only limited potential to counter Pakistan's perceived value as a partner of the West to counter terrorist threats originating from Central and South Asia. The spectre of ISIS-K looms large on any Western attempt at holding Pakistan responsible for terror activities in India. Pakistan has utilised multilateral platforms, such as the UN, to its utmost benefit. Currently, as a non-permanent member of the UNSC, Pakistan serves as the Chair of the 1988 Taliban Sanctions Committee, Vice Chair of the 1373 Counter-Terrorism Committee, and Co-Chair of two informal working groups. It is also set to become the rotational president of the UNSC in July. While these positions do not hold any substantive powers, Pakistan can be expected to initiate meetings and debates to internationalise the Kashmir issue. The Kashmir Question India may have brushed these concerns away in the past, upholding its policy of keeping Kashmir as an internal matter, but it will appear a little hypocritical now. Once you reach out to the world with an aim to share your side of the story, you cannot accuse the other party of doing the same. There has been a spirit of tentativeness with which multilateral platforms have treated India-Pakistan tensions. A large number of nations are not even aware of Kashmir and the eight-decade-long dispute over it. All they have perhaps seen is a half-hearted inscription on UN maps showing the border between the two countries. More importantly, India can no longer claim that it does not care for the "opinion" of the international community, particularly the US, when it was a foreign commander in chief of the armed forces who "announced" - however unwarrantedly - the ceasefire or the "pause" during Operation Sindoor. Classical Greek playwright and master of comedies Aristophanes said, "Men of sense often learn from their enemies. It is from their foes, not their friends, that cities learn the lesson of building high walls and ships of war; and this lesson saves their children, their homes, and their properties". While it may be important to learn from Pakistan the art of conning everyone all the time, India must continue to act like the regional power and global arbiter that it posits itself as.


Time of India
an hour ago
- Time of India
Japan and China trade blame over Chinese fighter jets flying close to Japanese planes
Japan and China blamed each other on Thursday after Tokyo raised concern that a Chinese fighter jet came dangerously close to Japanese reconnaissance planes. The Chinese fighter jets took off from one of two Chinese aircraft carriers that were operating together for the first time in the Pacific, Japan's Defence Ministry said. Tired of too many ads? go ad free now Chief Cabinet Secretary Yoshimasa Hayashi told reporters that Japan conveyed its "serious concern" to China that such close encounters could cause accidental collisions. According to Japan, a Chinese J-15 fighter jet took off from the Shandong aircraft carrier on Saturday and chased a Japanese P-3C aircraft on reconnaissance duty, coming within an "abnormally close distance" of 45 meters (50 yards) for about 40 minutes. A Chinese jet also crossed 900 meters (980 yards) in front of a Japanese P-3C for about 80 minutes on Sunday, the ministry said. Chinese Foreign Ministry spokesperson Lin Jian defended China's activities as being fully consistent with international law and practices, and blamed Japanese vessels and airplanes for conducting close reconnaissance of China's military activities. The incidents occurred in the Pacific, where Japan's Self-Defence Force spotted the two carriers, the Shandong and the Liaoning, almost simultaneously operating near southern Japanese islands for the first time. Aircraft carriers are critical to projecting power at a distance. China routinely sends coast guard vessels, warships and warplanes around disputed East China Sea islands, but now they also reach as far as Guam, a U.S. Pacific territory with military bases. Both Chinese carriers operated in waters off Iwo Jima, about 1,200 kilometres (750 miles) south of Tokyo. The Liaoning also sailed inside Japan's exclusive economic zone near Minamitorishima, the country's easternmost island, Japan's Defence Minister Gen Nakatani said. There was no violation of Japanese territorial waters, he said.


Indian Express
2 hours ago
- Indian Express
Japan raises concern after China deploys aircraft carriers in Pacific: ‘Abnormally close'
Japan has raised concerns after confirming this week that two Chinese aircraft carriers operated together in the Pacific for the first time — a significant expansion of Beijing's military presence beyond its usual reach. The development comes amid growing tensions over China's assertive naval activities near disputed territories, and as Tokyo accelerates its own military preparations in response. According to Japan's Defense Ministry, the Liaoning and the Shandong were spotted conducting nearly simultaneous operations near Iwo Jima, roughly 1,200 kilometre south of Tokyo. Defense Minister Gen Nakatani said the Liaoning also entered Japan's exclusive economic zone near Minamitorishima, though it did not breach territorial waters. Both carriers launched and landed fighter jets during the exercises. On Saturday, a J-15 jet from the Shandong approached a Japanese P-3C reconnaissance plane within 45 metre, a maneuver which Tokyo described as 'abnormally close.' A similar incident occurred Sunday. Japan lodged a formal protest, urging Beijing to prevent such high-risk encounters. Chief Cabinet Secretary Yoshimasa Hayashi said on Thursday Japan would maintain communications with China and step up its surveillance capabilities. China's growing naval footprint is a cause of mounting concern for Japan. Traditionally active within the so-called first island chain — stretching from Japan to Taiwan and the Philippines — China is now extending its reach to the second island chain, which includes US territory Guam. 'China apparently aims to elevate its capability of the two aircraft carriers, and to advance its operational capability of the distant sea and airspace,' Nakatani said. Japan, in turn, is boosting its own defense posture, including deploying long-range cruise missiles and enhancing counter-strike capabilities. China's navy confirmed the dual-carrier deployment on Tuesday, calling it routine training in accordance with international law and not targeted at any country. The exercises are part of a broader effort to develop a 'blue-water' naval force capable of long-distance, sustained operations, the Chinese naval force said. Despite having the largest navy in the world by number of vessels, China still trails the US significantly in aircraft carriers — three versus eleven. One of the US carriers, the USS George Washington, is permanently deployed in Japan. The Pentagon has previously warned that China's aircraft carriers extend the range of its air defense and power projection capabilities far from its shores. The Liaoning, China's first aircraft carrier, is a refitted Soviet ship, while the Shandong is a domestically built version based on the same design. Both use a 'ski-jump' launch system for aircraft. China's third carrier, the Fujian, launched in 2022, is undergoing final sea trials and is expected to be operational later this year. Unlike its predecessors, it features an advanced electromagnetic catapult system similar to US carriers. However, all three remain conventionally powered — unlike America's nuclear-powered fleet, which offers greater range and endurance. Japan has cited repeated incidents involving Chinese vessels and aircraft in its surrounding waters. In August, a Chinese surveillance plane violated Japanese airspace over Nagasaki, while a Chinese research ship intruded into Japanese waters off Kagoshima. In September, the Liaoning and two Chinese destroyers passed between Japan's westernmost island and Taiwan, skirting Japan's controlled maritime zone. Tokyo is also wary of increasing Chinese military cooperation with Russia, including joint naval and air patrols near northern and southwestern Japan. (With inputs from AP)