Bottom Line Up Front A group of four militants from Lashkar-e-Tayyiba (LeT), a Pakistani-based terrorist group, opened fire on civilians earlier this week in the tourist destination of Pahalgam, in the Indian-administered state of Kashmir. At least 26 individuals have been confirmed dead and 20 more seriously injured, in an attack where the gunmen allegedly singled out Hindus, asking for […]

Pakistani Army Chief, General Munir said recently which could the precursor to the Pahalgam Terror Attack killing 28 Hindus on April 22, after a shameful identification parade: “Our stance is absolutely clear – Kashmir is our ‘Jugular Vein’, we will not forget it. We will not leave our Kashmiri brothers in their heroic struggle.”

On 16 October 2024, Omar Abdullah was sworn in as the chief minister of the Union Territory (UT) of Jammu and Kashmir (J&K), a space marked by significant regional divisions in political preferences. This divide was evidenced by the considerable variance in the area-wise performance of political parties in the three-phase assembly election held during September-October 2024. The National Conference […]

Named ‘Azad’ [liberated] Jammu & Kashmir by Islamabad, this area of J&K under Pakistan’s illegal occupation [PoJK] since 1947 unfortunately doesn’t quite live up to its name as its people are anything but free. To begin with, Para 7 [3] of PoJK constitution criminalises freedom of expression by mandating that “No person or political party in Azad Jammu and Kashmir […]

At least 11 people were injured when militants threw a grenade at Indian security forces on Sunday in a crowded flea market in Srinagar, capital of India-administered Kashmir, a police official said. Militants missed their target and instead injured at least 11 people, the official told Reuters. The official wished to remain unnamed as he was not authorised to speak […]

The issue of sovereignty over Kashmir has remained a significant point of friction in the India–Pakistan relationship since 1947. The two states have fought several wars and have been involved in regular skirmishes in the region. The last major conflict fought between the two was the Kargil War in 1999, but there have been periodic clashes on the Line of […]

On 16 August 2024, India’s Election Commission announced the dates for Assembly polls in Jammu and Kashmir (J&K). The three-phase election will begin on 18 September 2024 with the counting of votes on 4 October 2024, along with those of Haryana, which will vote on 1 October 2024. What came as a surprise though was that the dates for Maharashtra, […]

Narendra Modi’s grand plan to tame the restive province masks the barren indifference, injustice and violence of the Indian state toward citizens it has long considered alien. In early March, Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi flew to the airport here in the capital of the Himalayan state of Kashmir and made his way by convoy to a 30,000-seat stadium close […]

The violent uprising in Pakistan occupied Jammu and Kashmir (PoJK), euphemistically called “Azad Jammu and Kashmir” by Pakistanis, has left Pakistan in shock and awe. The scale, spread, and ferocity of the insurrection took the Pakistani authorities by complete surprise. Efforts were made by Islamabad to impose an information blackout on PoJK—the internet was suspended, mainstream electronic mediacovered the widespread […]

Al-Badr is an Islamic militant group operating in the Jammu Kashmir region. The group was allegedly formed by the Pakistani Inter-Services Intelligence (ISI) in June 1998. It is believed the group was encouraged by the ISI to operate independently from their previous umbrella group, Hizb-ul-Mujahideen (HM). Prior to the group’s separation from HM, they participated in the fighting in Afghanistan […]