Khundru

Senior army official among 15 dead in Kashmir arms depot fire Srinagar, Aug 14: The fire that broke out in an arms depot in Khundroo in Anantnag District of Jammu and Kashmir on Saturday have killed at least 15 people, including a senior rank army official. Among the fifteen bodies recovered so far one belongs to a Major and thirteen of the fire-fighters involved in dousing the flames. One dead body has not been identified. There is still no confirmation of the total number of casualties in the incident so far, and there are reports that 25 people were missing, including one Junior Commissioned Officer (JCO) and two army personnel. "Our main priority this time is to clear the orchards and the residential areas first," said Army spokesperson Lt. Col. A K Mathur. Most of the victims were killed by explosion triggered by the fire that sent shells and shrapnel ripping through dozens of nearby villages. Bomb squads from different parts of the country have reached here to clear the area of unexploded bombs. Meanwhile, the army has announced a relief of Rs 50,000 for those civilians who lost their lives in the incident. Army and civil administration are also organising medical and relief camps for the displaced residents of that area, who were evacuated when the fire broke out. KHUNDRU DECLARED ‘UNSAFE ZONE’ Kanganhar, (Islamabad), Aug 12: The area around Khundru has been declared ‘unsafe zone’ for an indefinite period as the ammunition depot continues to be on fire on Sunday. Un...

The security forces of India had cleared Anantnag and its environs off jihadi terrorists a few years ago. However, events of the last few days appear to indicate that grounds for the return of jihadi terror to Anantnag are being prepared. How should India’s security forces fight this threat? Lt Gen Syed Ata Hasnain (retd) weighs in. While the coalition government of the PDP and BJP is ensuring that political time bombs are handled without unnecessary passion and has generally shown a propensity towards working on issues concerning governance, the separatists way of response is also through spiraling acts of violence in which the Police forces find themselves the latest victims. Two policemen were killed on 4 June in Anantnag and three BSF men at Bijbehara on 3 June, preceded by three policemen in Srinagar in hit and run strikes. That makes a total of nine in three days; if that is not worrisome then nothing else can be. Two things should worry those handling the overall security of South Kashmir. First, in a fortnight’s time Anantnag assembly constituency goes to the polls to elect Chief Minister Mehbooba Mufti or her opposer. Second, the Amarnath Yatra commences on 2 July 2016 and that is an iconic annual event which has threat perceptions of every kind. Why is Anantnag so important and what place does it occupy in Kashmir’s security matrix? Lying just off the National Highway from Jawahar Tunnel to Srinagar, across the Jhelum, this is the second largest town of Kashmir. ...

KHUNDRU, Dec 14: India’s prime minister said on Sunday he wanted normalised relations with Pakistan amid rising tensions between the South Asian rivals following Mumbai attacks that left more than 160 people dead. Addressing an election rally in occupied Kashmir, Mr Manmohan Singh said he hoped relations between the neighbours could be “normalised,” but this could not happen until “our neighbour stops allowing its territory to be used for acts of terrorism against India.” Mr Singh travelled to Khundru town in Kashmir after a breakfast meeting with British Prime Minister Gordon Brown in New Delhi. The two leaders discussed the attacks on Mumbai, which have been blamed on a Pakistani-based Kashmiri militant group, Lashkar-e-Taiba. India has called on Pakistan to crack down on militant groups operating out of Pakistan. Pakistan has carried out raids on a charity linked to Lashkar, but also urged India to provide further evidence. Thousands of soldiers used barbed wire and metal barricades to seal off all approach roads to Khundru ahead of Mr Singh’s visit. The prime minister addressed the rally ahead of the sixth of seven rounds of voting in state elections. The elections for held Kashmir’s state legislature started on Nov 17 and end Dec 24. Voters cast their ballots in the fifth phase on Saturday as scattered clashes between protesters and government forces left one person dead. Khundru lies just south of Srinagar and it was largely deserted on Sunday in response to a strike...