
Pakistan air force, army on high alert; lines border with F-16 fighters, troops
Two weeks after India’s air strike on a Jaish-e-Mohammed camp in Balakot, the Pakistan Air Force (PAF) is on full operational alert with an entire squadron of F-16 fighters deployed along its eastern front even as independent American satellite imagery with the Indian Air Force (IAF) has confirmed direct hits on the camp, top defence and government officials said on condition of anonymity.
According to them, while Pakistani air space restrictions continue along the country’s borders with India, the Rawalpindi headquartered 10 Corps along with a Special Forces brigade from Sialkot of the Pakistan Army have been deployed all along the Line of Control (LoC) in Jammu and Kashmir.
“We have confirmed reports that PAF’s F-16 acquired from both US and Jordan are on high alert all along India-Pak border—from Hyderabad in Sindh to Skardu in Northern Areas. The Pak Army deployment including radars and air defence system along the LoC was strengthened immediately after the February 14 Pulwama attack as they expected Indian retaliation similar to that of the surgical strike,” said one of the officials, referring to India’s 2016 counterstrike on terror installations within Pakistan after the terror strike on Uri, also by JeM.
Also Watch: Pulwama key conspirator killed in encounter in Kashmir’s Tral
The officials say Pakistan’s immediate reaction to the February 26 strike was to intensify shelling on that day itself. According to the collated data, the Pakistan Army targeted Sunderbani, Naushera, Poonch, Bhimber Gali and Krishnaghati sectors repeatedly through heavy mortars and 120 mm artillery guns after the air strike. Data accessed by Hindustan Times shows that there were 19 ceasefire violations on February 26, 16 on the day PAF retaliated and 26 on February 28, 2019. There have been a total of 467 ceasefire violations in the past two months with February accounting for as many as 251. While there were 971 violations in 2017, the number rapidly increased to 2140 in 2018.
Senior South Block officials said that Pakistan Director General Military Operations (DGMO) did not pick up the routine Tuesday telephone call from his Indian counterpart on February 26. The Indian DGMO unsuccessfully tried to call his Pakistani counterpart the following day also after Islamabad dramatically accused India of launching nine missiles.
The first DGMO level conversation took place only on March 5 with the Pakistan DGMO asking for de-escalation along the LoC as the Indian side had replied in equal measure to cross-LoC firing. Since then, there has been a lull in cross-LoC firing.
The officials did not provide details of the Indian deployment along the LoC but said that the Indian military is also not taking any chances and is ready to response to any exigency.

Disagreeing with govt is not sedition, says SC
- India’s sedition law has an interesting past — it was introduced by the British in 1870, decided to be dropped from the Constitution in 1948 after discussions of the Constituent Assembly.

Centre plans tourism push to mark 75 years of Independence
- India will also promote tourism by celebrating 2022 as the Visit India Year through a promotion campaign highlighting India’s strengths like heritage, culture, art, wellness and yoga.

2 held for murder of sexual assault survivor’s father
- The ADG has constituted teams of police personnel from Aligarh to assist the Hathras police.

Teen held for murder of girl after rape bid
- The incident took place on Sunday afternoon, when the girl went to a wheat field, owned by the family of the accused, to collect fodder and water.

Only Centre can enforce new digital media rules: I&B ministry to states
- The provisions under the new rules relate to the code of ethics for digital news publishers, setting up of a grievance redressal system and the requirement of disclosure of information to Centre, the ministry said.

Spectrograph designed for Uttarakhand telescope
- The instrument will support the 3.6 metre Devasthal Optical Telescope (DOT) in Uttarakhand, an official release from the department of science said on Wednesday.

‘Ceasefire need of the hour... desirable for both India, Pak’: Lt-Gen BS Raju
- Lt-Gen BS Raju said a quiet LoC will allow us to address the challenge of terrorism in a focused manner.

ED begins probe against Franklin Templeton
- The central agency has registered a case on the basis of an FIR registered by Chennai Economic Offences Wing in September last year.

Experts slam claim that human activity not behind Chamoli disaster
- Dhyani added that the burden on the ecology due to construction on Himalayan slopes made the region prone to disasters.

Supreme Court issues notice on Gautam Navlakha’s plea for default bail
- Navlakha claimed in his petition filed through advocate Shadan Farasat that the 90-day period for filing of charge sheet was over and he was entitled to default bail under Section 167(2) of the Code of Criminal Procedure (CrPC).

GJM leader close to Bimal Gurung arrested under POCSO in Sikkim
- Lama was being considered as the GJM candidate for the Kalimpong assembly seat in the coming polls later this month.

Centre differs with SC on additional courts for cheque bounce cases
- Unhappy with the response, the bench headed by Chief Justice of India (CJI) SA Bobde asked Solicitor General Tushar Mehta to appear in the case along with Additional Solicitor General (ASG) Vikramjeet Banerjee, who presented the note to the Court.

Man in Maharashtra wanted to ride horse to office to overcome spinal problem
- The officer withdrew his request after an orthopaedic surgeon said his purpose would not be served by buying a horse.

India signs pact with Philippines for supply of BrahMos missile
