Latest news with #Indian-administeredKashmir
The Sun
7 days ago
- Business
- The Sun
India's Modi to visit Kashmir to unveil strategic railway
SRINAGAR: Prime Minister Narendra Modi is to make his first visit to contested Kashmir since a conflict between India and Pakistan last month, inaugurating a strategic railway to the mountainous region, his office said Wednesday. The Muslim-majority Himalayan region of Kashmir is at the centre of a bitter rivalry between India and Pakistan, divided between them since independence from British rule in 1947. Modi is set to visit on Friday to open the Chenab Bridge, a 1,315-metre-long (4,314-foot-long) steel and concrete span that connects two mountains with an arch 359 metres above the river below. 'The project establishes all-weather, seamless rail connectivity between the Kashmir Valley and the rest of the country,' the Prime Minister's Office said in a statement. Modi is expected to flag off a special train. Last month, nuclear-armed India and Pakistan fought an intense four-day conflict, their worst standoff since 1999, before a ceasefire was agreed on May 10. More than 70 people were killed in missile, drone and artillery fire on both sides. The conflict was triggered by an April 22 attack on civilians in Indian-administered Kashmir that New Delhi accused Pakistan of backing -- a charge Islamabad denies. Rebel groups in Indian-run Kashmir have waged a 35-year-long insurgency demanding independence for the territory or its merger with Pakistan. The 272-kilometre (169-mile) Udhampur-Srinagar-Baramulla railway -- with 36 tunnels and 943 bridges -- has been constructed 'aiming to transform regional mobility and driving socio-economic integration', the statement added. Its dramatic centrepiece is the Chenab Bridge, which India calls the 'world's highest railway arch bridge'. While several road and pipeline bridges are higher, Guinness World Records confirmed that Chenab trumps the previous highest railway bridge, the Najiehe in China. Indian Railways calls the $24-million bridge 'arguably the biggest civil engineering challenge faced by any railway project in India in recent history'. The bridge will facilitate the movement of people and goods -- as well as troops -- that was previously possible only via treacherous mountain roads and air. The train line could slash travel time between the town of Katra and Srinagar, the region's key city, by half, taking around three hours. The bridge will also revolutionise logistics in Ladakh, the icy region in India bordering China. India and China, the world's two most populous nations, are intense rivals competing for strategic influence across South Asia. Their troops clashed in 2020, killing at least 20 Indian and four Chinese soldiers, and forces from both sides today face off across contested high-altitude borderlands. The railway begins in the garrison city of Udhampur, headquarters of the army's northern command, and runs north to Srinagar.
Yahoo
26-05-2025
- Politics
- Yahoo
Branded a terrorist: Media adds agony to Kashmiri family's grief
Farooq Ahmed still bristles with anger when he talks about his brother's death. Mohammad Iqbal, a resident of Poonch city in Indian-administered Kashmir, died in cross-border shelling on 7 May, the morning after India launched a series of air strikes in Pakistan and Pakistan-administered Kashmir in retaliation to a militant attack in the town of Pahalgam that killed 26 people. Pakistan has denied having any role in the attack. Mr Ahmed says that Iqbal died where he had worked for more than two decades - Zia-ul-Uloom, a madrassa, or a religious centre focused on Islamic teachings, in Poonch. But his death, it turned out, was just the beginning of the family's troubles. As the news spread, several media channels falsely accused Iqbal of being a terrorist, following which the police put out a statement refuting the claim. "My brother was a teacher but they saw his beard and skullcap and branded him a terrorist," Mr Ahmed says. "It was like having salt rubbed into our wounds. We had lost Iqbal and then the media defamed him. The dead can't defend themselves." Indian officials say that a total of 16 people, including Iqbal, were killed in the cross-border shelling during the four-day military conflict that broke out between India and Pakistan following the airstrikes. Pakistan has claimed 40 civilian deaths, though, it remains unclear how many of these were directly caused by the shelling. The two nuclear-armed countries have shared a tense relationship for decades, as both administer the Himalayan region of Kashmir in part, but claim it in full. They have fought three wars over Kashmir since independence from Britain in 1947 and came back from the brink of another one earlier this month. But as the military conflict escalated, another battle played out on social media - a disinformation war of claims and counterclaims that circulated online and on TV. Just like rumours about Iqbal's identity, other misleading and inaccurate information also found its way into some mainstream news channels and websites. This included claims such as India having destroyed Pakistan's Karachi port, which was later debunked by the Indian government. Some of the other fabrications were harder to spot, like an AI-generated video of a Pakistan army general claiming that his country had lost two aircraft in combat. "The scale of misinformation and fact-free assertions being broadcast by the media was shocking," says Manisha Pande, managing editor at Newslaundry, an independent news platform. She notes that while a degree of sensationalism is expected as channels compete for viewership, "the jingoistic and irresponsible coverage" of the conflict was unprecedented in its intensity — and unlike anything she had witnessed before. No one knows this better than Mr Ahmed. "I don't know where news channels got the information about my brother from," Mr Ahmed says. "Who did they speak to? What kind of evidence did they have that my brother was a terrorist?" he asks. Weeks later, the family is still reeling from the tragedy. Mr Ahmed says that on 7 May, his brother left home for the madrassa in the morning as usual, but it was his body that returned home. By noon, they had buried him in a nearby cemetery. For some time, the family had no idea about the misinformation that was being shared by some news outlets. They were busy performing Iqbal's last rites. It was only hours later that a relative received a WhatsApp forward - a video clip of a prominent news channel claiming that the Indian army had killed a terrorist, with Iqbal's photo flashing on the screen. "We were shocked. Soon, we began getting more calls from people asking us what was going on and why was the media calling Iqbal a terrorist," Mr Ahmed says. The claim was shared by some prominent channels, including Zee News, ABP and News18. The BBC has reached out to the channels for comment. One channel claimed that Iqbal was killed in an "Indian strike on a terrorist camp" in Pakistan-administered Kashmir, and that he was a terrorist with Pakistan-based terror group Lashkar-e-Taiba. "Our family members have been staying in Poonch for generations. How can they say my brother was living in Pakistan? They [the media] should be ashamed," Mr Ahmed says. The accusation against Iqbal was circulated so widely and swiftly that on 8 May, the Poonch police put out a statement, clarifying that Iqbal had died in cross-border shelling in the madrasa. "Poonch Police strongly refutes such false narratives. The deceased, Maulana Mohd Iqbal, was a respected religious figure in the local community and had no affiliation with any terror outfit," the statement said, adding that legal action would be taken against any media outlet or individual who circulated the fake news. But for Mr Ahmed, the statement was too little too late. "By then, the false claim would've already reached millions of people in India," he says. He adds that except for one channel, News18, no one else had publicly apologised to him or their viewers for the mistake. Mr Ahmed says he wants to take legal action against the channels, but the process would have to wait as the family is struggling to make ends meet. Iqbal is survived by his two wives and eight children. He was the only earning member in his family. Mr Ahmed says that the compensation given by the government, which amounts to a few million rupees, will last only for a year or two and they must start planning for the future now. "The whole family depended on my brother. He was a quiet and gentle man who loved teaching children," Mr Ahmed says. "But who's going to tell this to the world? For many people, my brother is still a terrorist whose killing is justified. How will they understand our pain?" Additional reporting by Auqib Javeed in Srinagar in Indian-administered Kashmir Follow BBC News India on Instagram, YouTube, Twitter and Facebook.
Daily Tribune
22-05-2025
- Politics
- Daily Tribune
Bomb Blast Targets School Bus in Pakistan, Killing Five
At least five people, including three children, were killed and dozens injured after a school bus was targeted in a bomb blast early Monday morning in Pakistan's southwest. According to police, the explosion occurred around 7:40 a.m. local time near the remote town of Khuzdar. The bus was carrying approximately 40 schoolchildren when the device detonated. Images shared on social media show the scorched remains of the bus, with schoolbags and personal items scattered around the site. No group has yet claimed responsibility for the attack, but the region has long been a center of separatist violence, political unrest, and human rights controversies. Interior Minister Mohsin Naqvi condemned the bombing, describing it as 'sheer barbarism' and calling the perpetrators 'beasts who target children.' He said the act was intended to destabilize the country and vowed that those responsible would be brought to justice. Pakistan's military accused India and its alleged proxies in the area of being behind the attack—though no public evidence has been provided to support the claim. The accusations come amid rising tensions between the two nuclear-armed neighbors, following a two-week-long conflict sparked by an attack on tourists in Indian-administered Kashmir. India responded with military strikes inside Pakistan and Pakistan-administered Kashmir, escalating fears of broader conflict. Violence in the southwest has been intensifying. Earlier in March, at least 25 people, including 21 civilians and 4 military personnel, were killed in a train station siege in a remote district. That attack was claimed by the Balochistan Liberation Army (BLA), a separatist group designated as a terrorist organization by Pakistan, the UK, and the United States. Pakistan has previously accused the BLA of being backed by India—a claim the group denies. Human rights organizations and local activists have repeatedly accused Pakistan's security forces of committing abuses in the region, including the forced disappearance of thousands of people over the past two decades. The bombing of a school bus has once again drawn attention to the ongoing humanitarian and security crisis in Pakistan's southwest, with children and civilians caught in the crossfire of a complex and deadly conflict.
The Star
21-05-2025
- Politics
- The Star
11 ‘Pakistan spies' nabbed
Contested land: An Indian army soldier keeping a vigil from one of the forward post along the line of control between India and Pakistan in Kashmir. — AP AUTHORITIES here have arrested nearly a dozen nationals for allegedly spying for Pakistan following their most serious conflict in decades, local media reported citing police. At least 60 people died in fighting earlier this month triggered by an April 22 attack on tourists in Indian-administered Kashmir that New Delhi accused Islamabad of backing – a charge Pakistan denies. Muslim-majority Kashmir is claimed in full by both countries, which have fought multiple wars over the Himalayan territory since their 1947 independence from Britain. Broadcaster NDTV reported Monday that authorities had arrested nine alleged 'spies' in the northern states of Haryana, Punjab and Uttar Pradesh. Punjab's director general of police Gaurav Yadav said on Monday that his team had arrested two people 'involved in leaking sensitive military information'. Police had received 'credible intelligence inputs' the two men were involved 'in sharing classified details' related to New Delhi's strikes deep into Pakistan's territory on the night of May 6-7. A preliminary investigation showed they were in 'direct contact' with handlers from Pakistan's intelligence agency Inter-services Intelligence (ISI) and 'had transmitted critical information concerning the Indian Armed Forces,' Yadav added. In Haryana, police arrested a travel blogger last week on similar charges. Police say the accused woman travelled to Pakistan at least twice and had been in contact with an official from the country's embassy, local media reported. Others reportedly arrested include a student, a security guard and a businessman. The India Today news outlet reported 11 such arrests. It said the accused were 'lured into the spy network through social media, monetary incentives, false promises, messaging apps and personal visits to Pakistan'. The arrests come after the worst flare-up in violence between the nuclear-armed rivals since their last open conflict in 1999. A ceasefire was agreed after four days of missile, drone and artillery attacks that sparked fears of a descent into full-blown war. — AFP
Yahoo
20-05-2025
- Politics
- Yahoo
Pakistan, India agree to pull back troops to peacetime positions
Pakistan and India have agreed to withdraw troops deployed during their recent clash to peacetime positions, in a step towards de-escalation following a ceasefire deal, Pakistani intelligence sources told dpa on Tuesday. The withdrawal was agreed during the latest round of "hotline" communication between senior military officials from both sides. According to sources, the two countries will return to peacetime deployment positions along their border and the Line of Control — the de facto frontier dividing Kashmir — by the end of May. On May 10, nuclear-armed rivals agreed to the ceasefire after days of tit-for-tat drone, missile and airstrikes, targeting each other's military installations and airbases. The trigger for the latest tensions was the militant attack on April 22 in Indian-administered Kashmir, which killed 26 people, mostly Indian tourists. New Delhi pointed the finger at Islamabad, accusing it of supporting militants, and then launched attacks on both Pakistan and Pakistan-administered Kashmir in the early hours of May 7, killing dozens of people and igniting fears the region was on the brink of an all-out war. Pakistan denied having any role in the attack on the holidaymakers and asked for independent investigations.
