India-Pakistan Tensions : Pak Shelling Continues To Hit J&K Districts; All-Party Meeting On ‘Op Sindoor’ Today
The Indian government on Wednesday said that the Indian military carried out a “measured, non-escalatory, proportionate, and responsible” strike to dismantle terrorist infrastructure in Pakistan to “deter and to pre-empt” any further terrorist strikes to retaliate the Pahalgam attack. The Pahalgam terror attack was carried out by a group of terrorists on April 22 as they targeted civilians, mostly tourists visiting the Baisaran Valley in Anantnag district of Jammu and Kashmir. Pakistan Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif slammed India for launching a direct assault on Pakistan’s sovereignty and declared that retaliation is inevitable, saying “We resolve that we will avenge the blood of our innocent martyrs.”
Top US Army General Says, ‘Watching Situation Very Closely’
A top American military commander has said that the US is “watching the situation very closely” after Indian military strikes on terror targets in PoK and Pakistan’s Punjab province.
India launched Operation Sindoor early Wednesday, hitting nine terror targets in Pakistan-occupied Kashmir (PoK) and Pakistan’s Punjab province in retaliation for the April 22 terror attack that killed 26 people in Jammu and Kashmir’s Pahalgam.
“It’s right now too early to opine on any of that. We’re watching the situation very closely. We’re nested with our higher headquarters and USINDOPACOM as the information about these strikes becomes more clear,” US Army Pacific Commanding General, General Ronald Clark said during a digital press briefing Wednesday.
The United States Indo-Pacific Command (USINDOPACOM) is one of six geographic Unified Combatant Commands of the United States Armed Forces, headquartered in Hawaii.
Clark was responding to a question on the US view of the developing situation after the strikes by India.
Schools Shut Across Six Border Districts In Punjab
Amid soaring tension between India and Pakistan, all schools in six border districts of Punjab remained shut on Thursday, officials said.
The schools were closed in Ferozepur, Pathankot, Fazilka, Amritsar, Gurdaspur and Tarn Taran districts, they said.
The Tarn Taran deputy commissioner issued an order that said all schools in the district will remain closed from May 8 till 11.
In Ferozepur, the authorities ordered closure of schools for the next 72 hours till further orders, officials said.
Schools in Fazilka would also remain closed till further orders, they said.
Drone Wreckage Found In Pakistan’s Chakwal
A drone crashed near the village of Diwalian in the Dhman area of Chakwal on Tuesday, according to police. No casualties were reported in the incident. Law enforcement agencies arrived at the scene and secured the drone’s debris, police confirmed. The cause of the crash remains unclear, and an investigation is currently underway.
Educational Institutions Across 5 J&K Districts To Remain Closed Today
In view of the escalating tension, the authorities have ordered that all educational institutions in five border districts of Jammu region will remain closed for the second day on Thursday.
In a post on X, Divisional Commissioner Ramesh Kumar said that all schools, colleges and educational institutions in Jammu, Samba, Kathua, Rajouri and Poonch districts will remain closed for the second day on Thursday in view of the prevailing situation.
The administration in Jammu division has also set up 24×7 control rooms in all the 10 districts of the region.
Thursday’s shelling was the 14th consecutive night of firing along the borders in Jammu and Kashmir amid heightened tension following the Pahalgam attack.
Ceasefire violations along the LoC and the International Border have been very rare after India and Pakistan renewed the ceasefire agreement on February 25, 2021.