&w=3840&q=100)
Pakistan Is Terrorist Nation And Wants To Derail Situation In Kashmir: LG Manoj Sinha
Addressing the gathering, Sinha said, 'Pakistan is a terrorist country and is attempting to destabilise Jammu and Kashmir by derailing its development and creating communal rifts.' Referring to the Pahalgam attack, he said it is a recent example of Pakistan's efforts to disrupt peace and progress in the region.
He urged the people of Jammu and Kashmir to remain united to counter Pakistan's 'nefarious designs,' maintain communal harmony, and cooperate with the police and security forces to ensure peace and resist terrorism. He emphasised that India is committed to ensuring justice for the victims of Pakistan-sponsored terrorism.
Sinha highlighted the development achieved in Jammu and Kashmir over the past five years, contrasting it with Pakistan's role in fostering violence.
He also noted India's significant economic progress on the global stage.
Referring to the annual worship of Maa Siddhalakshmi, the Amarnath Yatra and Muharram, the Lieutenant Governor said that these events provide an opportunity to spread awareness about the spiritual heritage of Kashmir, which promotes tolerance and acceptance of all religious traditions, viewing them as different paths leading to the same ultimate truth.
'We should spread the message of compassion, selflessness, and the divinity inherent in all beings. We must encourage our youth to treat everyone with respect and dedicate themselves to building a just and humane society,' he added.
The Lieutenant Governor also noted that there is a festive atmosphere throughout Kashmir today. Devotees of Baba Amarnath have arrived, Muharram was observed just yesterday, and today marks the worship of Mata Siddhalakshmi. 'This is Kashmiriyat, where everyone participates in each other's festivals and supports one another. It reflects the restoration of a peaceful and joyous environment in Kashmir,' he said.

Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles


India.com
4 hours ago
- India.com
When India Considered Giving Poonch To Pakistan: New Delhi's Secret Offer To Islamabad Revealed After Decades
New Delhi: Old papers never age. Some gather dust; some resurface with the weight of unsaid history. On July 29, during a three-day debate on Operation Sindoor in Parliament, Prime Minister Narendra Modi opened up a forgotten chapter of India's past again. He walked down the memory lane and highlighted how the Government of India, led by the then Prime Minister Jawaharlal Nehru, once considered handing over parts of Jammu and Kashmir (Poonch, Uri, Neelam Valley and Kishanganga) to Pakistan. The year was 1955. Conversations between Nehru and then Pakistani leaders Mohammad Ali and Interior Minister Iskander Mirza turned uncomfortably real. Documents and transcripts preserved in India-Pakistan Relations 1947–2007, edited by Avtar Singh Bhasin, now confirm what many never imagined. Serious proposals were once on the table, involving territorial adjustments in Jammu and Kashmir. Some involved potential transfers. Some suggested joint control. All unfolded behind closed doors. Inside the Nehru-Mirza Talks It was mid-May, and New Delhi was warm. Leaders from both nations sat across each other from May 15, 16 and 17. Among them were then Union Education Minister Maulana Abul Kalam Azad and Home Minister Govind Ballabh Pant. On May 15, Iskander Mirza floated the idea of common defence. He warned of the Persian Gulf falling under the grip of a hostile power. He believed India and Pakistan needed to face that risk together. Nehru listened. He disagreed. 'Presumably against the Soviet Union… I could not conceive of the Soviet Union attacking Pakistan or India,' Nehru said. He did not see a threat in the Gulf justifying such defence pacts. 'The major theatres of war would be Europe and the Far East,' he explained. Then came the real crux. He acknowledged Pakistan's past proposal from the then Governor General Ghulam Mohammad. That idea had called for control of the Kashmir valley by a joint Indo-Pakistani military and for large swathes of Jammu (north of the Chenab) to be handed to Pakistan. Nehru stood firm. 'Completely impractical. No one on our side could possibly think of this,' he said. He feared chaos, migrations and deep unrest. However, he did not walk away. 'It might be possible to consider the transfer of a certain part of the Poonch area,' he offered. But there was no definite lines, no commitments. It was only a hint. The reasoning was strategic. 'Poonch was a major recruiting ground for the Pakistan Army,' Nehru pointed out. Giving it up, though painful, might offer a path to resolution. He estimated that nearly 50,000 people could be affected by such a transfer. More Maps, More Shock On May 16, earlier suggestions resurfaced. Pakistan had previously pushed for parts of Jammu (Poonch, Reasi and Udhampur) to be given to them. In return, they were willing to let go of Skardu. There was even talk of attaching Kargil to Kashmir and leaving its fate to a future plebiscite. Nehru was blunt. 'Quite impossible for us to transfer these large areas. No government in India could do it,' he said. He rejected the idea of joint control too. 'Unthinkable. Such a thing had not happened anywhere before with success,' he said. A Narrow Offer on the Table By May 17, Maulana Azad introduced a more specific suggestion, which was a part of Poonch or maybe even a bit of Mirpur. He said it would cause a marginal shift on the map and turn out to be a gesture toward peace. There was some confusion. Nehru admitted he had discussed Mirpur with Azad and Pant but had not brought it up with the Pakistanis. 'This had not been previously referred to by the United Nations either,' he said. Still, he was ready to include it in the conversation, but only if it meant a final settlement. The two sides tried to make sense of each other's positions. Maps were pulled out, and boundaries were traced. Talks remained open but nothing moved. A formal joint statement followed on May 18, 1955. It said that the Kashmir problem had been 'discussed fully in all its aspects' and that the talks would continue at a 'later stage'. The Map Talks Resurface Years passed, but the wounds did not. In February 1963, the two sides met again. This time, a meeting between India's Swaran Singh and Pakistan's Zulfikar Ali Bhutto was held in Karachi. The discussion moved to maps. Singh offered slices of land in forest-rich regions near the Kishanganga. Bhutto's counteroffer for India was Kathua district. The rest of the area, including Kashmir, Ladakh and Jammu, would belong to Pakistan. Singh called it absurd. Bhutto refused to move unless the Valley itself was put on the table. The back-and-forth dragged on, but there was no breakthrough. Nehru's Final Word in Parliament Months later, on August 13, 1963, Nehru addressed Parliament. He said India had shown 'great patience and restraint' and had 'offered generous concessions' to win friendship and cooperation. He did not hide his disappointment. 'There is little possibility of a settlement so long as Pakistan persists in its irrational animus against India,' he said. A Forgotten Moment The documents have always been there, buried in volumes and shelved away from public memory. But in those three days in May and again in the winter of 1963, the future of Jammu and Kashmir dangled on a knife's edge. Offers were made, maps were drawn and names like Poonch and Mirpur floated in the silence of diplomatic rooms. However, none of it led to a final deal. Once so real, the possibility remains one of the most overlooked turning points in the story of Kashmir.
&w=3840&q=100)

Business Standard
10 hours ago
- Business Standard
Reconciliation only solution to India-Pak tensions: Mehbooba Mufti
PDP president Mehbooba Mufti on Sunday called for the revival of ties between India and Pakistan, stating that "reconciliation" is the only way forward to ease tensions. Responding to questions about the current situation in Jammu and Kashmir and the recent encounter in Kulgam, Mufti said, "Encounter used to happen and will always happen, but such a huge war took place before that. The ceasefire had to be declared later. Unless reconciliation, dialogue, debate and discussions are done, such encounters will go on, and we will always stay on the verge of war. Reconciliation is the only way forward." Terrorists killed 26 civilians in Jammu and Kashmir's Pahalgam on April 22 in a brutal and heinous attack. India launched Operation Sindoor on May 7, targeting terror infrastructure in Pakistan and Pakistan-occupied Jammu and Kashmir (PoJK) in response. Meanwhile, security forces continue their operation in the Akhal Devsar area of south Kashmir's Kulgam district. One terrorist has been neutralised so far in the joint operation by the Indian Army, Jammu and Kashmir police, CRPF, and the Special Operations Group (SOG). The encounter began on Saturday and continued overnight. A day earlier, ahead of the sixth anniversary of the revocation of Article 370, Mufti launched a sharp attack on the BJP-led Central government, saying the policy to strip Jammu and Kashmir of its special status has "completely failed." "Six full years have passed since August 5, 2019. At that time, Jammu and Kashmir's special status was taken away, and Article 370 was revoked with the claim that everything would be fine in Jammu and Kashmir. But we have seen that the policy has completely failed," she told reporters. Mufti alleged that the internal situation in the region has deteriorated rather than improved, pointing to ongoing security crackdowns. "Internally, the situation in Jammu and Kashmir is bad. For the past six years, arrests have been made daily. The situation in Jammu and Kashmir has become worse than before, although people are silent today. This is why our country has come into confrontation with Pakistan. What is Pakistan's stature? Their economy is not even a tenth of our economy, but today the whole world is comparing us with them," she said. The former Chief Minister also criticised what she termed the BJP's "aggressive policy" and its broader impact on regional diplomacy. "Unfortunately, the BJP has created such an atmosphere in the country that today all groups are saying, why did you agree to a ceasefire? This is the BJP's aggressive policy.


India.com
11 hours ago
- India.com
No Consensus, Just Conflict: Operation Sindoor Debate Sinks Into Bitter Blame Game Between Govt And Opposition
New Delhi: The brief political unity witnessed in the aftermath of the Pahalgam terror attack and the subsequent military conflict with Pakistan seems to have unravelled following the surprise ceasefire announcement on May 10. This week's marathon three-day debate in Parliament on Operation Sindoor laid bare the widening gulf between the government and the Opposition. It reinforces the notion that in today's India, consensus is the exception, not the norm. The debate gave an opportunity to the leaders of both the government and the Opposition to show unity against terrorism coming from Pakistan. While many speakers across party lines called for a common stance, their speeches exposed deep divisions. The Opposition left no stone unturned to corner the lawmakers and pressed for answers on critical issues such as security and intelligence lapses preceding the Pahalgam attack, accountability for those failures, losses suffered by the Indian Air Force, and the true nature of US involvement. Notably, Prime Minister Narendra Modi chose not to respond in the Rajya Sabha, delegating the reply to Union Home Minister Amit Shah, which triggered an Opposition walkout. From the government's perspective, the needle moved favourably, for instance, Union Home Minister Amit Shah confirmed the elimination of the Pahalgam terrorists, and Prime Minister Modi asserted that "no global leader" had urged India to halt its military operation. Meanwhile, External Affairs Minister S Jaishankar put a full stop to speculations regarding New Delhi's differences with Washington, including issues of deportations, visas, and student concerns, aimed at closing talks around Trump's role in India-Pakistan ceasefire. However, the Opposition remained unsatisfied. Congress MP and Leader of Opposition Rahul Gandhi challenged the Prime Minister to publicly refute US President Donald Trump's claims of brokering the ceasefire, labeling the challenge 'political rhetoric.' While the PM skipped any mention of Trump and his repeated assertions of having brokered the ceasefire, Defence Minister Rajnath Singh sidestepped questions regarding the fighter jets lost on the first day of conflict, instead urging a results-focused perspective, saying, 'In any exam, the result matters. We should see whether a student is getting good marks and not focus on whether his pencil was broken or his pen was lost.' Congress's Nationalist Strategy In an uncharacteristic move, the Congress party adopted a nationalist stance to continue putting pressure on the government. This approach aimed to score political points by portraying the government as weak on defense. However, the tables turned with former Home Minister P. Chidambaram's suggestion that the Pahalgam attackers might have been "homegrown terrorists", rather than Pakistan-backed. This offered the government an opportunity to criticise the grand old party's inconsistent position. Rahul Gandhi's speech was notably combative, alongside his sister, Wayanad MP Priyanka Gandhi Vadra recalled the resignations of Vilasrao Deshmukh as Maharashtra Chief Minister and Shivraj Patil as Union Home Minister after the 2008 Mumbai terror attacks, to emphasise government accountability. Gandhi accused the Prime Minister of prioritising his image over the armed forces' freedom to operate, warning that 'the forces should be used with freedom and for the national interest' and urged a decisive military effort to 'defeat terrorism once and for all.' 'It is dangerous at this time for the Prime Minister to use the forces to protect his image. It is dangerous for the country. The forces should only be used in the national interest, and the forces should be used with freedom. If you want them to be used … then go all the way, fight properly and defeat them once and for all," he said. Historical Echoes In Debate The discussion frequently revisited historical parallels. The Congress party members highlighted Indira Gandhi's role in the creation of Bangladesh despite US pressure, contrasting it with the current ceasefire announcement influenced by the US. Meanwhile, the government drew attention to the Congress's perceived failings during critical moments, such as Partition, the wars of 1947–48 and 1965, the Indus Waters Treaty, and the 1962 war with China, to question the Opposition's credibility on national security. While the Congress remains burdened by its political legacy, this debate underscored the broader polarisation within Indian politics. Despite shared concerns over terrorism, the parties remain entrenched in mutual recriminations. With other INDIA bloc parties siding with the Congress in criticism of the government, the opposition front remains fragmented under intense BJP scrutiny.