Teams at crime scene collecting evidence, checking entry-exit points

Tribune News Service

The National Investigation Agency (NIA) has begun the process of formally taking over the Pahalgam terror attack case, in which 26 tourists were killed, following orders from the Union Ministry of Home Affairs.

The NIA teams, which have been camping at the terror attack site since Wednesday, have intensified the search for evidence.

The teams, overseen by an IG, a DIG and an SP from the anti-terror agency, are examining the eyewitnesses, who are being questioned in minute detail to piece together the sequence of events.

The entry and exit points are being closely scrutinised for clues to the modus operandi of the terrorists. The teams, aided by forensic and other experts, are checking the area thoroughly for evidence.

1.Full list of names of Pahalgam terror attack victims: 26 people, all men, killed in Jammu and Kashmir

2. Tributes paid to Army man killed in Udhampur encounter

3.Houses of two Pahalgam attackers ‘demolished’

4.Viral video: Pahalgam tourist alleges pony operator asked her religion; police arrest him

5.IAF plane accidentally drops non-explosive ammunition over house in MP

6.How suspending Indus Waters Treaty will affect Pakistan

7.–10K troops surround 500 Naxals in major Chhattisgarh operation

8.–3 days on, no clarity on identity, count of ultras involved in Pahalgam killings

9.Army Chief in Srinagar, reviews security with Sinha, top officers

10.Transit freeze leaves women married across border stranded

11.Bring perpetrators to justice: UN Security Council on Pahalgam terror attack

12.Pakistan violates ceasefire again along LoC in Kashmir; Indian Army retaliates

Pahalgam terror attack: 26 people, all men, were killed in a grusome terror attack in Jammu and Kashmir on Tuesday. Here is a full list of names of Pahalgam terror attack victims.

Pahalgam terror attack: The names of 26 people killed in terror attack in Jammu and Kashmir’s Pahalgam have been released.

The deceased, including tourists, were from Indore, Mumbai, Haryana, Uttarakhand, Kolkata, Nepal, Kanpur, Bihar, Bangalore, Pune, Bhavnagar and other places.

On Tuesday, terrorists struck at a prime tourist location in Pahalgam in Kashmir’s Anantnag district, killing at least 26 people and injuring several others.

Two foreigners and two locals were also among those killed.

Full list of people injured in terror attack.

Navy, IB and IAF officers among those killed

— Lieutenant Vinay Narwal, the Indian Navy officer lost his life in Tuesday’s terrorist attack in Pahalgam. The 26-year-old, a native of Haryana, had been serving at the Southern Naval Command in Kochi for the past one and a half years after joining the Navy in 2022.

— An Intelligence Bureau employee posted in Hyderabad was killed in an attack by terrorists. Manish Ranjan from Bihar, working as Section Officer at the IB office in Hyderabad died in the terrorist attack Ranjan’s wife and children are safe.

— The Indian Air Force (IAF) mourned the loss of life of one of its personnel. “All air warriors of the #IndianAirForce mourn the loss of Cpl Tage Hailyang in the terror attack at Pahalgam and convey heartfelt condolences to his family in this moment of immense grief,” the IAF posted on X.

Meanwhile, Union Defence Minister Rajnath Singh vowed that the government would respond with firm action and reiterated India’s uncompromising stand against terrorism.

According to the reports, government sources released an official list of the deceased and injured, confirming that 26 people have lost their lives in the Pahalgam terror attack so far. As per the list, 25 of the victims were non-Muslims, while one was a local Muslim resident, Syed Adil Hussain Shah. Adil Hussain was reportedly killed while attempting to stop a terrorist.

The Army, CRPF, BSF, and Jammu and Kashmir Police on Friday paid tributes to paratrooper Jhantu Ali Sheikh, who laid down his life while fighting terrorists in Udhampur district. 36 –year-old Havaldar Sheikh, a trooper of the special forces (6…

The Army, CRPF, BSF, and Jammu and Kashmir Police on Friday paid tributes to paratrooper Jhantu Ali Sheikh, who laid down his life while fighting terrorists in Udhampur district.

36 –year-old Havaldar Sheikh, a trooper of the special forces (6 Para), was killed on Thursday in the encounter that broke out following a search operation in the Dudu-Basantgarh area of the district. The operation was launched after specific information was received by the security forces about present of terrorists.

A wreath-laying ceremony for the soldier was held at the 166 Military Hospital in Jammu.

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Senior Army, police, Central Reserve Police Force, and Border Security Force officials, led by the Chief of Staff of the White Knight Corps, Major General Shailender Singh, laid wreaths on the body of the trooper and saluted his sacrifice.

Later, his body was dispatched to his native place — Pathar Ghata village in Nadia district, West Bengal, for burial, officials said.Meanwhile a search operation has been launched in Basantgarh area to eliminate the terrorists behind the killing. Sources informed that the terrorists are likely equipped with M4 carbine and thermal imaging scopes. Security forces have cordoned off the forest area and were searching the area with the help of sniffer dogs and unmanned aerial vehicles.

The residential houses of two local militants, whom Jammu and Kashmir Police allege were involved in this week’s Pahalgam attack, were destroyed in South Kashmir’s Anantnag and Pulwama districts during the intervening night of Thursday and Friday. According to the…

Adil Akhzer

A girl cries as she stands in front of the family house of Asif Shiekh which was demolished by the Indian authorities at Monghama village in Tral, south Kashmir.

The residential houses of two local militants, whom Jammu and Kashmir Police allege were involved in this week’s Pahalgam attack, were destroyed in South Kashmir’s Anantnag and Pulwama districts during the intervening night of Thursday and Friday.

According to the police, Asif Ahmad Sheikh of Tral in Pulwama and Adil Ahmad Thoker of Guree village in Anantnag, conspired with two Pakistani nationals to carry out Tuesday’s assault in Pahalgam that left 25 tourists and one local dead.

Locals claimed that security forces destroyed both houses during late-night operations. Family members of Sheikh alleged that explosives were planted inside their joint family home before it was blown up. “Our family has a joint house with our relatives. The security forces came and demolished the house,” a family member said on Friday. He added that the family “had nothing to do with Sheikh’s activities.”

In neighbouring Anantnag, Thoker’s home was also flattened. His mother claimed to have not seen him for years and said she had no idea of his current whereabouts. She said, “If he has done anything wrong and he is involved, they(security forces) should take action against him,” he said.

Meanwhile, J&K Police have yet to issue an official statement on these demolitions. However, a senior police official informed The Tribune that during searches in Tral, security forces “sensed danger and swiftly retracted for safety but there was a huge blast in which the house got badly damaged. It seems that some suspicious explosive material was present.”

Jungal was seen in a video shared on social media, where the woman said he asked her personal questions

The Ganderbal Police have arrested a man named Aiyaz Ahmad Jungal, from Gohipora Raizan, after a woman tourist claimed he asked her about her religion during the terrorist attack in Baisaran, Pahalgam, on Tuesday.

Aiyaz works as a pony service provider at Thajwas Glacier in Sonamarg. He was seen in a video shared on social media, where the woman said he asked personal questions.

Police acted quickly and took him into custody on Thursday. He is now being questioned, and the police are following the proper legal steps.

At the same time, security forces have increased their efforts to find the terrorists responsible for the attack.

n view of prevailing scenario so as to liquidate the threat perceptions, Ganderbal Police alongwith Army, Para, CRPF and SSB started combing operations especially in those areas where ANEs can possibly take refuge or had connection with the OGWs and other supporters.

IAF regrets, orders probe

An Indian Air Force plane on a sortie, accidently dropped non-explosive ammunition that damaged a house in Pichhore town in Madhya Pradesh.

The IAF in a statement said, it regrets the damage caused to property on ground, near Shivpuri, by the inadvertent drop of a non-explosive store from an IAF aircraft, and has instituted an inquiry into the incident.

The ammunition of this type is carried by planes when practicing. The ammunition weighs like an actual ammunition to allow the pilot to judge the aerodynamics. Since it weighs the same as ammunition, it is cased in heavy metal. The non-explosive ammunition, which dropped on a house, caused severe damage. However, nobody was injured in the accident.

News agencies reported that the ammunition fell on the roof of the house of Manoj Sagar, a teacher, around 11 am, completely damaging two rooms. The debris fell on a car parked nearby.

Sagar was having food inside the house with his children and his wife was in the kitchen when the roof burst open with a loud explosion and an 8-10 feet deep pit was formed in the courtyard. Vibrations caused by the explosion were felt in neighbouring houses too.

IWT “is the most important treaty, a question of life and death, for Pakistan,” says Himanshu Thakkar of the South Asia Network on Dams, Rivers and People

Vibha Sharma Tribune News Service

In 2018, a study by the European Commission’s Joint Research Centre (JRC) painted a rather disturbing picture of a nearby future with people fighting over access to water. According to the study, “five most vulnerable hotspots included the Nile, Ganges-Brahmaputra, Indus, Tigris-Euphrates, and Colorado rivers”.

Effects of climate change, combined with an ever-increasing number of people, are expected to only increase the competition for the scarce resource, according to the study.

“The paper pointed to several hotspots in the world where ‘hydro-political issues’ are more likely to flare up. Not surprisingly, these are areas having problems with accessing fresh water and where a ‘trans-boundary’ to water exists. That means the people in that area share some body of water, like a lake or a river. So in times of scarcity due to environmental factors and growing population, the water resources become thin and tensions result,” said the World Economic Forum.

Water wars      

According to experts, wars over oil shaped the 20th century history. However, most 21st century conflicts will be over water.

“I ask (myself) if in this piecemeal third world war that we are living through, are we not moving towards a great world war for water?” late Pope Francis was also quoted as saying.

Water is vital for survival, preserving healthy ecosystems, socio-economic growth, energy, food, practically every aspect of life.

Worries over the most precious natural resources have been increasing due to climate change and global warming. Given the value of the finite, non-substitutable natural resource, the Indus Waters Treaty assumes even greater significance.

For Pakistan (a downstream country) “it is the most important treaty, a matter of life and death,” says Himanshu Thakkar of the South Asia Network on Dams, Rivers and People.

After the horrific terrorist attack in Pahalgam on Tuesday, India on Wednesday suspended the treaty governing water sharing of six rivers in the Indus basin between the two countries.

According to provisions of the treaty — that has survived wars and decades of conflicts and cross-border terrorism against India by Pakistan — all water of “eastern rivers” of the Indus system — Sutlej, Beas and Ravi — shall be available for the “unrestricted use” of India.

Pakistan, meanwhile, shall receive water from the “western rivers” — Indus, Jhelum, and Chenab.

What happens now? 

Thakkar says the “strategic and symbolic” decision to suspend the IWT will give more options on how to use the waters of the Indus river system in future.

For starters, India can immediately stop sharing water flow/flood data with Pakistan.

The treaty requires India to share hydrological data with Pakistan. The data is crucial for flood forecasting and planning for irrigation, hydropower, drinking water etc.

It can also stop visits by Pakistani officials to hydroelectric projects currently under construction in J&K — the Kishenganga HEP on Kishenganga, a tributary of Jhelum, and the Ratle HEP on Chenab.

The two projects have been a bone of contention between the two countries. India is also seeking “modification” of the treaty in mind for future needs.

Even though they are “run-of-the-river” projects generating electricity without obstructing the natural flow, Pakistan is objecting to the two projects.

The suspension of the treaty may not have an immediate impact on the flow of water to Pakistan as India currently does not have the infrastructure to stop the flow or divert it for its own use. However, now there is no stopping it from planning in future, say experts.

“India can create storage on the Western rivers and also revive the Tulbul project, it can stop sharing data on project and documents, do silt flushing anytime instead of designated months,” explains Thakkar.

The Tulbul project was suspended in 1987 after Pakistan raised objections. Also known as the Wular Barrage, Tulbul is a navigation lock-cum-control structure located on the Jhelum at the mouth of Wular Lake.

Pakistan claims that it violates the Indus Water Treaty; India, however, says the project is a navigation facility and permitted under the treaty.

India has also been pushing for a review and modification of the treaty, citing changing needs from irrigation and drinking water to hydropower, according to reports.

Being upstream, India also has the geographic advantage but it is not easy to block huge amounts of water during high-flow periods.

The existing hydropower plants are mostly run-of-the-river projects for generating electricity without holding back huge volumes of water. Some say that India is not even fully utilising even its 20 per cent share of the Jhelum, Chenab and Indus waters permitted under the treaty.

But it can begin controlling the flow with existing and potential infrastructure, the impact of which can be felt during the dry season. It can also flush silt from reservoirs without prior warning, potentially causing damage downstream.

However, if an upstream country does not treat a downstream country well, it should remember that it too may be downstream for another country as in the Brahmaputra basin. But given the situation, the issue (IWT) is only expected to escalate, says Thakkar.

A massive operation against Naxalites involving about 10,000 security personnel in a hilly region along the Chhattisgarh-Telangana border continued for the fifth day on Friday, a senior official said. It is believed that some 500 cadres of the banned CPI…

A massive operation against Naxalites involving about 10,000 security personnel in a hilly region along the Chhattisgarh-Telangana border continued for the fifth day on Friday, a senior official said.

It is believed that some 500 cadres of the banned CPI (Maoist) including top leaders are holed up in the area, and Telangana Police are assisting in the exercise, said the official who is monitoring the action on the ground.

The operation, one of biggest counter-insurgency actions launched in the Bastar region, involves personnel of different units including the District Reserve Guard, Bastar Fighters and Special Task Force of the Chhattisgarh police, the Central Reserve Police Force and its elite Commando Battalions for Resolute Action (CoBRA).

On Thursday, three women Naxalites were killed on Karregutta hills, and a huge cache of weapons, explosives and other materials was recovered.

The operation was launched on Monday in the densely forested hills of Karregutta and Durgamgutta along the inter-state border. Parts of the area fall in the Bijapur district of Chhattisgarh, over 450 km away from state capital Raipur.

It is believed to be the base of the PLGA (People’s Liberation Guerilla Army) battalion No. 1, the strongest military formation of the Maoists, an official said.

Intelligence inputs suggest more than 500 Naxalites belonging to PLGA battalion No 1, Telangana state committee and Dandakaranya Special Zonal Committee of Maoists led by senior Maoists such as Hidma and Damodar are holed up in the area, he said.

“It is a crucial operation because it would be a battle to finish off the military strength of outlawed CPI (Maoists) by targeting PLGA battalion no 1 and the Maoists think tank in Dandakaranya special zonal committee (DKSZC) and Telangana state Committee,” the official said.

Three days after the Pahalgam terror attack, the security agencies are unsure whether the three terrorists — whose sketches were released — were actually the ones involved in the incident. Besides, the investigators are not yet clear about the exact…

Animesh Singh Tribune News Service

Three days after the Pahalgam terror attack, the security agencies are unsure whether the three terrorists — whose sketches were released — were actually the ones involved in the incident. Besides, the investigators are not yet clear about the exact number of terrorists involved in the attack.

Sources, involved in investigations, informed The Tribune that the sketches of three terrorists, suspected to have been involved in the April 22 terror attack, in which 26 civilians were gunned down in the Baisaran meadow, were prepared on the basis of descriptions given by eyewitnesses.

The eyewitnesses were then shown pictures of terrorists available with the J&K police, whose descriptions matched the sketches. Subsequently, on the basis of confirmation by the eyewitnesses, three sketches of Hashim Musa, Ali Bhai and Adil Hussain Thoker were released.

Musa and Ali are Pakistani terrorists belonging to Lashkar-e-Taiyyaba (LeT), Thoker is reportedly a Kashmir resident, who acted as a guide to the two terrorists.

However, sources said there was no certainty whether the three aforementioned terrorists were actually the ones seen by eyewitnesses during the attack. According to certain accounts, the attackers simply looked similar as they sported beards.

“Moreover, the sketches are based on descriptions given by eyewitnesses on whatever they might have seen in moments of fear and anxiety. Additional attempt to match them with pictures of terrorists available in police records, may not guarantee accuracy,” they added.

Meanwhile, houses of two suspected terrorists — namely Asif Sheikh at Tral in Pulwama district and Adil Thoker in Bijbehara, Anantnag — were razed on Friday. Only one of these houses belonged to one of the three suspected terrorist, Adil Hussain Thoker, whose sketches were released by the J&K Police.