J-K CM Omar Abdullah expresses grief after administrative officer Raj Kumar Thappa killed in Pakistani shelling
Srinagar (Jammu and Kashmir) [India], May 10 (ANI): Jammu and Kashmir Chief Minister Omar Abdullah expressed grief on the demise of J&K Administration Services officer Raj Kumar Thappa. The J-K CM offered his condolences to Thappa who lost his life aftern his home was targeted due to shelling from Pakistan in Rajouri.
'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', Omar Abdiullah's official 'X' post read.
Pakistan carried out cross-border shelling on Saturday, causing significant damage to civilian areas in Jammu's Rajouri district and heightening fears among residents.
A series of explosions damaged several houses and properties across the region, triggering panic among residents.
According to locals, smoke rose after loud explosions were reported in Rajouri. 'One injured person has been brought here. Doctors and the entire team are ready. His treatment began immediately,' said Farukh Ahmed Wani, the security in-charge at the hospital.
Authorities confirmed that the injured civilian was transported to the hospital shortly after the shelling. Strikes occurred near the Aap Shambhu Temple in Rajouri, prompting Jammu Police and other agencies to recover projectile fragments from the site.
Meanwhile, in Punjab, a drone-related explosion damaged a house in Kanganiwal village in rural Jalandhar.Surjeet Kaur, a local resident, described the moment of the attack:
'A red coloured flash came above our house and there was a huge explosion. We got scared. Everything was dark. We came out of our houses after a short while and saw that the water tank above our houses and our neighbours' houses had exploded. There was a blackout at that time, and all the lights were off.'
At least four airbases in Pakistan were hit by Indian strikes in the early hours of Saturday, top government sources said, as tensions between the two countries continue to escalate.
India launched the retaliatory strikes immediately after Pakistan attacked 26 locations across India on Saturday, the sources told ANI. Intermittent firing is still going on at several places along the Line of Control (LoC).
Drones have been sighted at 26 locations along the International Border and LoC with Pakistan. These include suspected armed drones. The locations include Baramulla, Srinagar, Avantipora, Nagrota, Jammu, Ferozpur, Pathankot, Fazilka, Lalgarh Jatta, Jaisalmer, Barmer, Bhuj, Kuarbet and Lakhi Nala. Regrettably, an armed drone targeted a civilian area in Ferozpur, resulting in injuries to members of a local family. The injured have been provided medical assistance, and security forces have sanitised the area. The Indian Armed Forces are maintaining a high state of alert, and all such aerial threats are being tracked and engaged using counter-drone systems. The situation is under close and constant watch & prompt action is being taken wherever necessary. Citizens, especially in border areas, are advised to remain indoors, limit unnecessary movement, and strictly follow safety instructions issued by local authorities. While there is no need for panic, heightened vigilance and precaution are essential,' the Ministry of Defence said in its statement.
On the night of May 7-8, Indian forces also successfully neutralised Pakistan's large-scale drone and missile attack aimed at several Indian military bases in northern and western parts of the country. An air defence system in Lahore was also taken out during those operations. (ANI)
Hashtags
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
Time of India
35 minutes ago
- Time of India
Kashmir parties condemn Israel's attack on Iran
File photo: J&K CM Omar Abdullah (Picture credit: ANI) SRINAGAR: Political parties in Kashmir, including the governing National Conference, condemned Israel's attack on Iran on Friday, saying 'the silence of influential countries like the US on this issue is alarming'. J&K CM Omar Abdullah said Iran had not provoked Israel in any manner to justify its offensive and this amounted to waging war against another nation. 'What Israel has done is very similar to what Russia did in Ukraine,' he told reporters here. 'The world raised its voice against Russia and launched campaigns condemning its actions. But when Israel attacks Iran, global powers, including the US and European countries, remain silent. If it is wrong for one country to invade another in Russia's case, then it is equally unjustified for Israel to attack Iran,' he said. Omar said there would be immediate repercussions of the attack. 'It affects our fuel prices, impacts the stock market, disrupts flight routes to the West, and more importantly, it stirs public sentiment.' Slamming Israel, NC MP Aga Ruhullah said: 'Iran, like any sovereign nation, now has every right to defend itself and take full, punishing revenge. by Taboola by Taboola Sponsored Links Sponsored Links Promoted Links Promoted Links You May Like Switch to UnionBank Rewards Card UnionBank Credit Card Apply Now Undo The Zionist regime should pay for its crimes in Gaza, for its bloodlust, for its massacres.' PDP president Mehbooba Mufti wrote on X that Israel's attack is yet another brazen act by a state that 'appears to have gone rogue'. 'The silence of the global community, particularly western powers led by the United States, is both alarming and telling. This silence amounts to tacit approval. In the case of India-Pakistan tensions, the US never fails to assert that its intervention has been crucial in preventing escalation. Yet, when it comes to Israel's relentless bombardment of Gaza or its latest strike on Iran, that same urgency is conspicuously missing,' Mehbooba said. She said equally disturbing is the 'deafening silence of the so-called Muslim countries, who remain shamelessly non-existent in the face of such grave injustice'. People's Conference's Imran Reza Ansari said the 'calculated act of aggression of Israel is not merely a political provocation but an assault on the very ideals of justice, sovereignty, and intellectual resistance'.
Mint
an hour ago
- Mint
India in anti-dumping crosshairs: US, Pakistan target Indian exports at WTO
New Delhi: The US, Brazil and Pakistan have initiated anti-dumping measures against India, which has been fighting its own battle against low-priced products flooding domestic markets. Trade experts suggest some of these measures may be strategic, signalling a growing wave of trade defense actions against India and aimed at influencing New Delhi's trade negotiations with key partners. Pakistan's anti-dumping charges against India are particularly baffling, as the two duelling neighbours have banned any trade between them. Yet, Pakistan has initiated an anti-dumping investigation against India over exports of sulfonic acid, which is used in manufacturing detergents, dyes, and catalysts, according to a World Trade Organization report released late on Thursday (12 June). The WTO document details preliminary and final anti-dumping measures undertaken by 11 members of the trade body, including major economies such as the US, Brazil, Pakistan, Indonesia, and the UK, against various countries. The report is based on notices submitted in May under Article 16.4 of the WTO Anti-Dumping Agreement. 'Such measures reflect the growing wave of trade protectionism aimed at shielding domestic industries," said Abhash Kumar, a trade economist and assistant professor of economics at Delhi University, referring to the anti-dumping charges against India. 'The repeated targeting of Indian products highlights the need for India to adopt a more proactive trade defense strategy." The commerce ministry didn't immediately reply to Mint's queries on the development. Amid India-US trade talks India and the US concluded a fifth round of face-to-face talks on 10 June on streamlining tariffs and reducing non-tariff barriers towards finalising a landmark bilateral trade agreement. But New Delhi also approached the WTO over the US's steep tariffs on Indian steel, aluminium and auto component exports. Washington has rejected India's notices at the WTO against the US's 25% tariff on steel and aluminium—both of which have since been increased to 50%—as well as the 25% duty on auto components. However, as per a Mint report on 10 June, the US has agreed to discuss both issues with India outside the WTO framework. Amidst this, the US has initiated a broad set of investigations into Indian exports across critical sectors, according to the WTO report. These include ceramic tiles, cold-drawn mechanical tubing of carbon and alloy steel, and corrosion-resistant steel products, which are central to India's manufacturing and infrastructure export strategy. Also read | US puts hard terms on table, presents a take-it-or-leave-it offer India's total exports of ceramic products to the US stood at $403.87 million in 2023-24, but declined to $361.44 million in FY25, according to commerce ministry data. In the chemical sector, Indian-origin epoxy resins, glycine, melamine, and granular polytetrafluoroethylene (PTFE) resins are facing trade restrictions. The US has also listed Indian exports of 2,4-D herbicide and raw honey under anti-dumping scrutiny, pointing to growing tensions over India's role in global agricultural commodity markets. Exports of Indian-origin resins to the US increased from $358.07 million in FY24 to $448.73 million in FY25, while India's honey exports to the US jumped from $176.29 million to $204.58 million. Pakistan's puzzling charges India's challenges are not limited to Washington. Brazil has named India in an investigation into pre-painted steel, raising concerns over competitive steel pricing from South Asia. Pakistan, meanwhile, has initiated an anti-dumping investigation into sulphonic acid imports from six countries, including India. This development is particularly puzzling given that India banned exports to Pakistan after the Pulwama attack in 2019, and Pakistan banned all trade with India in August 2019 following India's decision to revoke Article 370 in Jammu and Kashmir. With direct imports from India into Pakistan prohibited for nearly six years, analysts suggest that Islamabad's investigation may be aimed at Indian-origin sulphonic acid entering Pakistan through third countries such as the UAE, Singapore, or Malaysia. Also read | After US's 50% tariff blow, India now faces EU heat on steel quotas 'These shipments may have been relabelled to hide their Indian origin, raising concerns within Pakistan's domestic industry. It's also possible that the investigation is based on the injury caused by imports that took place before the trade ban came into effect," said Ajay Srivastava, co-founder of the Global Trade Research Initiative, a think tank. 'Alternatively, the move could be strategic, aimed at formally challenging India's pricing practices and laying the groundwork for future trade negotiations," he added. India's anti-dumping woes India's trade investigation body, the Directorate General of Trade Remedies (DGTR), has initiated 11 anti-dumping investigations and issued final findings in 13 cases—mostly targeting Chinese products—in FY25. In the past, India had launched an anti‑dumping probe on high‑speed steel imports from Brazil in 2018. In January this year, the DGTR launched anti-dumping investigations into imports of nylon filament yarn and sulphenamides accelerators originating from the US. 'As anti-dumping actions rise globally, including from key partners like the US, India will use both its legal rights at the WTO and the ongoing BTA negotiations to defend its exporters, push for fairer trade rules, and address protectionist barriers," a government official said. However, India did not file any new cases during the May reporting period.
Time of India
an hour ago
- Time of India
UK: Three British Hindus beaten up in London park in racially motivated attack
This is an AI-generated image, used for representational purposes only LONDON: Three British Hindu men were asked their ethnicity in a London park and, when they replied they were Indian and Sri Lankan, were viciously beaten up in an unprovoked attack by three older men who appeared to be Muslim, it has emerged. Two of the men suffered blows to the head and were left unconscious; all had to go to Northwick Park Hospital. They have all been left with cuts and bruises and two have been left with facial fractures. Tory MP Bob Blackman raised the case in the House of Commons on Thursday, describing it as 'religious hatred.' TOI has now tracked down the sister of one of the men, a British Indian Gujarati Hindu, aged 20, a first-year university student studying radiography. It turns out he had gone to Harrow Recreation Ground with two friends on May 30 to play cricket. The friends are British Hindus of Sri Lankan descent, aged 20 and 21. The three of them went to a shop at 6 pm, walking past a café where a group of around eight people were seated. It appeared to be a Muslim family, with some of the women wearing hijabs. They looked back at their other friends playing cricket when one of the men outside the café got up and confronted the three Hindus and asked them why they were looking at his family, his sister told TOI. They replied that they were not looking at his family and were looking at friends playing cricket. Then a slightly older man from the café group came over and asked: 'What is your problem? Why are you talking to my brother?' The three men tried to defuse the situation and the two men seemed to accept their answer. They went back to the park and sat on a bench. Around 30 minutes later, three men from the cafe group, in their mid to late 20s, came over and became very aggressive, asking, 'Where are you from? Are you Sri Lankan? Are you Indian?' To which one of the Sri Lankan-origin men replied: 'Yes, we are.' The three men then beat them up relentlessly, punching and kicking them until the British Indian and his friend were left lying unconscious on the ground, the sister said. 'My brother was wearing a sacred thread from a mandir on his wrist,' the sister said. One of the attackers was wearing a Moroccan football T-shirt with the number 2 and the word 'Hakimi'. Police and ambulances arrived and the British Indian was taken to the hospital. The other two had to make their own way there. 'My brother is struggling. He feels as if people are looking at him and is ashamed to step out of the house. He has never been involved in a fight before,' the sister told TOI on Friday. 'He has just done his first-year exams and was meant to resume his two-week clinical placement the week after the attack and that has been put on hold.' She also said she was unhappy with how the police investigation was progressing, as two weeks later, they still had not examined CCTV footage. The Met Police told TOI they were called to deal with a 'fight' and one man was taken to hospital 'with a head injury'. 'There is no evidence at this time that this attack was racially motivated. Our enquiries into the circumstances continue. No arrests have been made,' a spokesperson said.
