J-K: FIR against missing soldier for claiming Pahalgam attack was 'inside job'
Srinagar, May 14 (PTI): An FIR was registered on Wednesday against a missing soldier after a video appeared on social media in which he had claimed that the Pahalgam terror attack was an "inside job".
The soldier, Dlhair Mushtaq Sofi, is a sepoy of 29 Rashtriya Rifles and a resident of the Tral area of Jammu and Kashmir's Pulwama district, according to police.
"The missing report... was lodged on 11.03. 2025. (It) has been converted into an FIR after a video showing him surfaced on social media," a police official said.
In the video, Sofi claims that he is aware of "each and everything and how fake encounters are being done."
"Indian government, RAW, IB and Army were involved in the Pahalgam attack. I wanted to stay silent, but my conscience does not allow me to remain silent anymore," says the soldier in the video.
The soldier also mentions that his parents had committed a mistake by making him join the armed forces.
The police official said the video, verified by Sofi's father and uncle, prompted the registration of FIR No. 75/2025 under Sections 197(d), 152 BNS at Police Station Ganderbal.
Section 197 of the BNS deals with offences related to imputations, assertions or communications prejudicial to national integration. The section covers making false or misleading statements that could endanger India's sovereignty, unity, or integrity.
Section 152 deals with the acts endangering India's sovereignty, unity and integrity.
The police official said preliminary enquiry has revealed the soldier was involved in online gambling and had debts exceeding Rs 10 lakh.
An investigation has been initiated, the official added.
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Cong takes swipe at PM over India not being part of US-led 'Pax Silica' grouping
New Delh (PTI) The Congress on Saturday said it is perhaps not very surprising that India is not part of a US-led strategic initiative to build a secure silicon supply chain, given the "sharp downturn" in the Trump-Modi ties, and asserted that it would have been to "our advantage if we had been part of this group".
Congress general secretary in charge of communications Jairam Ramesh took a swipe at Prime Minister Narendra Modi, saying the news of India not being part of the group comes after the PM had enthusiastically posted on social media about a telephone call with his "once-upon-a-time good friend and a recipient of many hugs in Ahmedabad, Houston, and Washington DC".
In a lengthy post on X, Ramesh said, "According to some news reports, the US has excluded India from a nine-nation initiative it has launched to reduce Chinese control on high-tech supply chains. The agreement is called Pax Silica, clearly as a counter to Pax Sinica. The nations included (for the moment at least) are the US, Japan, the Republic of Korea, Singapore, the Netherlands, the United Kingdom, Israel, the United Arab Emirates, and Australia."
"Given the sharp downturn in the Trump-Modi ties since May 10th, 2025, it is perhaps not very surprising that India has not been included. Undoubtedly, it would have been to our advantage if we had been part of this group."
"This news comes a day after the PM had enthusiastically posted on his telephone call with his once-upon-a-time good friend and a recipient of many hugs in Ahmedabad, Houston, and Washington DC," the Congress leader asserted.
The new US-led strategic initiative, rooted in deep cooperation with trusted allies, has been launched to build a secure and innovation-driven silicon supply chain.
According to the US State Department, the initiative called 'Pax Silica' aims to reduce coercive dependencies, protect the materials and capabilities foundational to artificial intelligence (AI), and ensure aligned nations can develop and deploy transformative technologies at scale.
The initiative includes Japan, South Korea, Singapore, the Netherlands, the United Kingdom, Israel, the United Arab Emirates, and Australia. With the exception of India, all other QUAD countries -- Japan, Australia and the US -- are part of the new initiative.
New Delhi will host the India-AI Impact Summit 2026 on February 19-20, focusing on the principles of 'People, Planet, and Progress'. The summit, announced by Prime Minister Narendra Modi at the France AI Action Summit, will be the first-ever global AI summit hosted in the Global South.
Prime Minister Modi and US President Trump on Thursday discussed ways to sustain momentum in the bilateral economic partnership in a phone conversation amid signs of the two sides inching closer to firming up a much-awaited trade deal.
The phone call between the two leaders came on a day Indian and American negotiators concluded two-day talks on the proposed bilateral trade agreement that is expected to provide relief to India from the Trump administration's whopping 50 per cent tariffs on Indian goods.
In a social media post, Modi had described the conversation as "warm and engaging".
"We reviewed the progress in our bilateral relations and discussed regional and international developments. India and the US will continue to work together for global peace, stability and prosperity," Modi had said without making any reference to trade ties.
