Mehbooba welcomes Rajnath's statement on dialogue
Srinagar, May 26: Jammu and Kashmir Chief Minister Mehbooba Mufti on Saturday welcomed Union Home Minister Rajnath Singh's announcement that the Central government is ready to talk to every stakeholder including the separatist Hurriyat conference.
In a statement, she described Rajnath Singh's remarks, made during an interactive session with a TV channel, as a welcome step to initiate dialogue and reconciliation in the state, adding that given the positive outcome from the ground on the Ramadan ceasefire, the peace constituency in the country and the state should feel encouraged to start the much-needed process of peaceful engagement with all stakeholders.
The Chief Minister hoped that parties and groups like Hurriyat Conference will seize the opportunity and show their responsibility towards the people of the state by displaying the much needed maturity so that the opportunity is not wasted.
She said a peaceful engagement among all the stakeholders in the State is urgently needed to get Jammu and Kashmir out of the unending cycle of violence and provide its people, a secure, prosperous and peaceful future.
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IAF to hold 2-day wargame along frontier with Pakistan: NOTAM issued
New Delhi, May 6 (PTI): The Indian Air Force will carry out a two-day mega military exercise along the border with Pakistan from Wednesday that will involve all the frontline fighter jets including Rafale, Su-30 and Jaguar aircraft, sources in the defence establishment said on Tuesday.
The exercise is taking place amid heightened tensions between India and Pakistan over the April 22 Pahalgam terror attack that killed 26 people.
India's civil aviation authorities have already issued a Notice to Airmen (NOTAM) for the major air exercise that will largely take place along the southern and western section of the Indo-Pakistan border.
India's frontline fighter jets including the Rafale, Su-30 MKI, MiG-29, Mirage-2000, Tejas and AWACS (Airborne Warning and Control System) aircraft are set to feature in the exercise, the sources said.
In the course of the exercise, the IAF will simulate enemy targets on ground and in the air with deadly precision, they said.
The militaries of both India and Pakistan are on a high alert following rising tensions between the two nations.
Soon after the Pahalgam terror attack, India, citing "cross-border linkages" to the strike, promised severe punishment to those involved in it.
In a high-level meeting with the top defence brass on April 29, Prime Minister Narendra Modi said the armed forces have "complete operational freedom" to decide on the mode, targets and timing of India's response to the terror attack.
Air Chief Marshal A P Singh met Prime Minister Modi on Sunday and the Chief of Air Staff briefed him about the IAF's operational readiness.
On Saturday, Navy Chief Admiral Dinesh K Tripathi apprised the prime minister on the overall situation in the critical sea lanes in the Arabian Sea.
