Bodies of three missing persons found near waterfall in J-K’s Kathua
Jammu, Mar 8 (PTI): Bodies of a teenager and his two relatives were recovered near a waterfall in the higher reaches of Jammu and Kashmir’s Kathua district on Saturday, three days after they were reported missing during a marriage function at their home, officials said.
The bodies of Varun Singh (15) of Dehota, his uncle Yogesh Singh (32) and maternal uncle Darshan Singh (40) were sighted in Ishu Nallah in Malhar area by drones during a joint search operation by police and the Army late this afternoon, the officials said.
The bodies were later retrieved from the scene after a hectic effort as the area was steep, the officials said, adding preliminary investigation ruled out terror angle as there were no visible marks of injury on the bodies. The exact cause of their death would be known only after a postmortem, they said.
The officials said Darshan’s brother Brijesh was getting married and the trio had left in advance for the bride’s home at Lohai Malhar in the Billawar Tehsil at around 5.30 pm on the fateful day.
However, Darshan made the last call to his home around 8.30 pm, informing them that they had lost their way.
As they failed to return home, a search operation by police and the Army was launched to trace them as the area witnessed several terror incidents, including an attack on an Army vehicle that left five soldiers dead, last year.
BJP legislator Satesh Sharma had raised the issue in the Jammu and Kashmir Assembly on Friday.
"I want to inform the House about three missing civilians. We seek answers from the government," Sharma said.
On February 16, bodies of two villagers -- Shamsher (37) and Roshan (45) -- were found at village Kohag in Billawar and their postmortem revealed they were strangled to death.
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Trump pauses Project Freedom, claims great progress for final agreement with Iran
Washington (PTI): President Donald Trump has suspended “Project Freedom,” to escort ships through the Strait of Hormuz, claiming progress in negotiations with Iran toward an agreement to end the war.
In a post on Truth Social on Tuesday, Trump said, “Great progress has been made toward a complete and final agreement with representatives of Iran.”
“Based on the request of Pakistan and other Countries, the tremendous Military Success that we have had during the Campaign against the Country of Iran and, additionally, the fact that Great Progress has been made toward a Complete and Final Agreement with Representatives of Iran, we have mutually agreed that, while the Blockade will remain in full force and effect, Project Freedom (The Movement of Ships through the Strait of Hormuz) will be paused for a short period of time to see whether or not the Agreement can be finalized and signed," Trump said.
Project Freedom was launched on Monday to escort ships, stranded due to the closure of the Strait of Hormuz, out to safety. Trump had announced the operation on Sunday and the US Central Command began implementing it the next day.
However, the Project led to friction in the vicinity of the narrow seaway, a key route for transporting one-fifth of the global oil supplies, with the UAE claiming that its ships were attacked by Iran. The US also claimed to have destroyed several Iranian small boats.
Trump’s statement on Truth Social came hours after US Secretary of State Marco Rubio announced that Operation Epic Fury, launched on February 28, had concluded as its objectives have been achieved.
"Operation Epic Fury is concluded. We achieved the objectives of that operation. We're not cheering for an additional situation to occur. We would prefer the path of peace. What @POTUS would prefer is a deal... that is, so far, not the route that Iran has chosen," Rubio told a press conference at the White House on Tuesday.
On Project Freedom, Rubio said the goal was to rescue almost 23,000 civilians from 87 different countries who were trapped inside the Persian Gulf and left for dead by the Iranian regime.
"This is not an offensive operation. This is a defensive operation, and what that means is very simple: there’s no shooting unless we're shot at first. We’re not attacking them, but if they're attacking us or they’re attacking a ship, you need to respond to that," Rubio said.
