24 hours after the killing of tourists in Pahelgam in Indian-administered Kashmir, the country’s army has found a group of militants. Clashes have been going on between the two sides in the mountainous and forested Tangmarg area of Kulgaon district in south Kashmir since Wednesday afternoon. Quoting military sources, Anandabazar Patrika reported that a group of militants has been surrounded.
Earlier, 26 tourists and a local pony rider were killed in an attack by the Resistance Front, a shadow organization of Pakistani militant group Lashkar-e-Taiba, in the Baisaran Valley of the tourist center of Pahelgam in Anantnag district on Tuesday afternoon. The distance from the attack site to Kulgaon is about 60 kilometers. It is initially believed that the group that infiltrated across the Line of Control (LoC) carried out Tuesday’s killing.
Anandabazar says that the distance from the district headquarters Anantnag to the clash site in the Tangmarg area of Kulgaon is around 20 kilometers. The distance to Shopian is also almost the same. There are several Lashkar launch pads across the LoC nearby. There have been several attempts to infiltrate militants from there in the past. Citing intelligence sources, the media claimed that after the assembly elections, militants have started operating again at the launch pads along the LoC with the aim of disrupting the status quo in Kashmir and challenging India’s sovereignty.
In addition, arrests have started across Kashmir after the attack. More than 1,500 people from the valley have been detained for questioning, a report by ABP News claimed. The report said that many of those detained were involved in militant activities in the past.
Meanwhile, New Delhi has already assured the countrymen that a swift response to the killings will be given. Meanwhile, the Union Cabinet Committee on Security (CCS) will hold an emergency meeting at Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s residence on Wednesday evening.
According to Anandabazar information, Union Home Minister Amit Shah, Defense Minister Rajnath Singh and External Affairs Minister S Jaishankar are present in the meeting. Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman, one of the members of the CCS, is cutting short her US-Peru tour after receiving the news of the killings in the valley. However, she was not seen at the meeting at Modi’s residence on Wednesday evening.
Modi met National Security Advisor Ajit Doval on Wednesday morning after returning to New Delhi from Saudi Arabia. He also held discussions with External Affairs Minister Jaishankar. Apart from this, Defense Minister Rajnath also held a separate meeting with Doval on Wednesday. Air Chief Marshal AP Singh and other officials were present at the meeting. Sources said that the security situation in the Kashmir Valley was discussed in the meeting.
Defence Minister Rajnath Singh has already warned that the culprits will be given a swift response. In a statement after the meeting on Wednesday afternoon, he assured the countrymen that the culprits will soon get a strong and clear response. Rajnath assured that not only the murderers, but also those who have been behind the attack will be given a response.