Heavy shelling by Pakistan on LoC, Srinagar airport closed
May 07, 2025 04:59 AM IST
Srinagar: Pakistan began targeting Indian posts along the Line of Control (LoC) in the early hours of Wednesday with heavy artillery shelling, hours after Indian forces carried out precision missile strikes on nine terror targets in retaliation to the Pahalgam attack that killed 26 people. An Indian army observation post is seen along the Line of Control (LoC) Kashmir on May 2, 2025. (AFP)
Since the April 22 terror attack at Baisaran, the worst strike on civilians in nearly two decades, Pakistan has repeatedly flouted the ceasefire along the LoC and the international border for 12 consecutive days. But Wednesday morning saw the first instance of heavy shelling along the de-facto border in these two weeks.
Srinagar airport will remain closed for civilian flights on Wednesday, said the director of the airport. Anti-aircraft firing was heard in the Valley with sirens blaring at the 15 Corps headwaters in Srinagar, said people aware of developments. 'First time heavy artillery shelling been used in Uri and Kupwara,' said an official.
Pakistani troops violated the February 2021 ceasefire agreement around 15 times between January and early April 2025. But the repeated targeting of Indian posts along the LoC, and the IB last week, has sparked the most extensive cross-border exchange since the 2021 ceasefire.
Unlike isolated, brief exchanges that were quickly resolved through established channels, the current pattern involves simultaneous salvos at multiple points and has persisted with increasing frequency after the Pahalgam terror attack.
The extensive ceasefire violations were seen as a deliberate attempt by Pakistan to escalate tensions along the LoC where it has rushed reinforcements to bolster its posture.
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
Hindustan Times
26 minutes ago
- Hindustan Times
Indian govt report in 2022 foresaw China rare earth export crisis
As Indian manufacturers are scrambling to deal with supply-chain disruptions caused by China's restrictive policies on the export of rare earth metals, in many of which it has a near monopoly, experts are pointing to an early warning of this — in a 2012 strategy paper prepared by a steering committee headed by the then mines secretary Vishwapati Trivedi after a similar crisis caused after Beijing restricted supplies of the critical materials that are needed in the auto, space and clean energy industries. Also Read: 'China deal done': US to lower tariffs to 55%, allow Chinese students for higher ed Back then, they added, India felt the heat of Chinese squeeze and on August 9, 2011, the government set up an 11-member steering committee to develop a strategy paper on status and availability of rare earth elements (REE) and energy critical elements (ECE). The committee was chaired by the mines secretary and co-chaired by chairman of the Centre for Study of Science Technology (C-STEP). Members included senior officials and experts from the Department of Science & Technology (DST), the Geological Survey of India, the Bhabha Atomic Research Centre (BARC), the Department of Atomic Energy, the Defence Research & Development Organization (DRDO) and the chairman of India Rare Earth Ltd. Also Read: China can't afford double standards in fight against terror: S Jaishankar The forward of the committee's report titled ''Rare Earths and Energy Critical Elements: a Roadmap and Strategy for India', published in July 2012, said: 'In view of the increased demand of REE and near monopoly of supply from China, there is a need to develop national policies and implementation strategies for ensuring indigenous supply of REE… A Steering Committee was constituted by the ministry of mines with the ultimate intention of preparing a strategy paper for the government, providing short, medium and long term options along with proposals for specific policy & legislative interventions.' Also Read: 'Gratitude to Indian Navy': China on rescue of crew aboard cargo ship which caught fire off Kerala coast The report was blunt about Beijing's approach. 'China has been the major supplier of rare earths all over the world. Even though it has only 37% of global RE resources, it has captured the worldwide market to the extent of 97%. The low cost and efficient production process enabled China to monopolize the rare-earth market, forcing rare earth operations around the world to close down. Indian Rare Earths Ltd (IREL), which was once a leader in export of rare earth compounds had to shut down its operation in 2008,' the report added. 'Over the last couple of years China has imposed restrictions and curtailed its export by over 30% citing domestic demands as the reason. This unexpected decline has restarted rare earth operations once again throughout the world,' the report said. The same thing is happening again. Indian industries are suffering due to shortage of the critical minerals. According to a Reuters report published in Hindustan Times on Wednesday, automobile majors such as Maruti Suzuki have cut near-term production targets because of rare earth shortages. 'Government departments, particularly the ministry of commerce and industry, are holding hectic meetings with industry and other stakeholders to resolve the supply crisis. Government is using diplomatic channels asking Beijing to relax supply curbs for the Indian industries,' one of the people mentioned in the first instance said. The ministries of mines, commerce and external affairs did not respond to an email query on this matter. China's curbs on exports of rare earth materials have been officially raised through diplomatic channels by India, especially in view of the impact on manufacturers of electric vehicles, people familiar with the matter said. The issue reportedly figured in a meeting between Indian ambassador Pradeep Rawat and China's vice foreign minister Sun Weidong in Beijing on June 5. 'China's move was primarily aimed at the US and the impact on India was collateral damage. We are hopeful that the matter will be resolved soon,' one of the people said. It is not clear how China's deal with the US —the two countries reached a framework agreement that will now have to be approved by their respective Presidents —will affect this. The matter is expected to figure in discussions during a visit to India by Sun Weidong, a former Chinese ambassador to New Delhi, beginning on Thursday, the people said. Sun is visiting India to continue discussions with foreign secretary Vikram Misri aimed at normalising bilateral ties following the end of the military face-off in the Ladakh sector of the Line of Actual Control (LAC) last October. Auto manufacturers affected by the curbs on rare earth exports too have sought to reach out to Chinese authorities but without much success so far, the people said. Two days after India and China reached an understanding on withdrawing forces from the two remaining 'friction points' on the LAC last October, Prime Minister Narendra Modi and President Xi Jinping met in the Russian city of Kazan and agreed to revive several mechanisms to restore normalcy in ties and to address the long-standing border dispute.
Time of India
an hour ago
- Time of India
SC junks Pakistani Christian's plea for citizenship ignoring CAA cut-off
Supreme Court NEW DELHI: The Supreme Court on Wednesday refused to entertain the plea of a Goa-born Pakistani Catholic man, who sought a direction to the Centre to allow him citizenship under Citizenship Amendment Act , 2019 citing religious persecution in Pakistan even though he arrived in India six years after the Jan 2014 cutoff date. Jude Mendes, who was born in Goa to a Pakistani national in 1987 but completed his studies at Karachi in Pakistan, arrived in India in 2016 on a long-term visa which has been extended till June this year and even got his Aadhaar card made in 2020. He married an Indian woman in February this year. Three days after the Pahalgam terror attack on tourists by Pak-backed terrorists, India on April 25 cancelled all kinds of visas given to Pakistani nationals. However, long term visas, which Mendes has, have not been revoked. Mendes' visa expires on June 20. Advocate Raghav Awasthi told a partial working day bench of Justices Prashant Kumar Mishra and Manmohan that "the Petitioner is born in India and is a Roman Catholic which being a minority community is heavily persecuted in Pakistan. He cannot travel to Pakistan to renew his passport which is expiring on 20.06.2025 due to the threat to his life and that therefore, he ought to be granted extension of his long-term visa. " The petitioner said in the event of his deportation to Pakistan, the petitioner who was born in India and now lawfully married to an Indian citizen, would face imminent threat to his life because of extreme religious persecution in Pakistan. At present he works as a chef in Goa. But the bench said that he would have to move the Bombay HC for the relief he is seeking. The petitioner's lawyer withdrew the plea to move the HC. Under CAA, India had resolved to grant citizenship to those individuals from minority communities who have been persecuted in neighbouring countries on the ground of religion. However, the law stipulated that they should have entered India prior to Jan 1, 2014.
Time of India
an hour ago
- Time of India
How Manusmriti Will Guide DU Students
New Delhi: Students in Delhi University will now be taught how the varna or caste system organises society, how marriage helps build a "civilised" social order, and how morals regulate individual behaviour. These lessons form the core of a new Sanskrit course titled Dharmashastra Studies, which has Manusmriti as a primary text. Manusmriti, whose proposal for inclusion in the law and history honours syllabus was earlier held back by the administration amid backlash, has made a comeback, this time as essential reading in this discipline-specific course. Alongside it, other Hindu religious texts that had drawn similar objections, such as the Ramayana, Mahabharata, and Puranas, have also been included in this course. The paper, introduced as a core course under the discipline in the current academic session, carries four credits and is open to undergraduate students with working knowledge of Sanskrit. DSC or Discipline Specific Core refers to courses within a student's chosen field of study that are mandatory for their programme. According to the stated objective of the course, "Ancient Indian society, in terms of whole and its parts, has been depicted in the texts compiled in Sanskrit known as 'Dharmashastra'. The 'Dharmashastra Studies' course aims to make students acquainted with the rich tradition of Indian Social, Political, Economical, Legal thoughts." Regarding the learning outcomes for the course, DU says that "students will know that Indians were not anarchic, they evolved well-structured society where normative institutions were established. They will understand the real meaning of the term 'Dharma'. Students will find the great aim for the life of an individual. They will be acquainted with Indian methods of regularising Society." The course is divided into four units. Unit I, titled "Concept of Dharma", covers how society was structured through normative institutions in ancient India. It will explore "Dharma as a normative and ethical element" and includes a survey of key texts such as the Sutra and Smriti literature, commentaries, the Kautilya Arthashastra, Ramayana, Mahabharata and Puranas. Unit II delves into the content of Dharmashastra, which is categorised into Achara, Vyavahara and Prayashchitta. The unit introduces students to the concept of Achara or behavioural codes — focusing on how the varna and ashrama systems organise society and individual life, how marriage and education contributed to a "civilised" order, and how practices like yajna and daana helped build social cohesion. Unit III is focused on Vyavahara and polity. It explains the ancient Indian legal system, including types of disputes, civil and criminal law, courts and evidence procedures. It also discusses governance structures such as monarchies, qualifications of rulers and ministers, and political theories like the Mandala theory and Shadgunya. Unit IV covers Prayashchitta, or penance. It includes lessons on different types of sins and prescribed penances like fasting, donation (daana), ritual sacrifices (yajna), pilgrimages, and post-death rites like shraddha. Primary readings for the course include texts such as Apastamba Dharmasutra, Boudhayana Dharmasutra, Vashistha Dharmasutra, Manusmriti, Yajnavalkya Smriti, Narada Smriti, and the Kautilya Arthashastra. This canon of ancient Hindu religious and philosophical texts — particularly the Manusmriti — has long been the subject of academic and public debate for its social prescriptions, especially concerning caste and gender. Last year in July, Delhi University vice-chancellor Yogesh Singh rejected the proposal to include Manusmriti and Baburnama (Memoirs of Babur) in the university's history curriculum. The university also stated that no such proposals will be entertained in the future. TOI reached out to Om Nath Bimali, head of the department of Sanskrit, to seek his comment on the inclusion of Manusmriti but did not receive any response. A request seeking vice-chancellor Singh's reaction also did not elicit any response.
