(Deccan chronicle)
Union Defence Minister Rajnath Singh on Thursday arrived in Srinagar, where he will interact with Army personnel. “Raksha Mantri Rajnath Singh has reached Srinagar this morning. He will interact with troops,” the Office of the Raksha Mantri posted on X. The Defence Minister was accompanied by Jammu and Kashmir Lieutenant Governor Manoj Sinha.
This is the first Jammu and Kashmir visit of the Union Defence Minister following the Pahalgam terror attack and the cessation of hostilities agreement between India and Pakistan.
At Badami Bagh Cantonment, Defence Minister Rajnath Singh says, “…First of all, I would like to bow to the supreme sacrifice of the brave jawans while they fought terrorism and terrorists. I pay respect to their memory. I also pay respect to the innocent civilians who were killed in Pahalgam. I also salute the valour of the injured soldiers and pray to God that they may recover at the earliest.”
Meanwhile, following Operation Sindoor and the ceasefire agreement between India and Pakistan, life has started to return to normal in Jammu and Kashmir.
The Directorate of School Education, Jammu, announced on Wednesday that schools in certain border areas of Jammu and Kashmir will reopen on May 15.
In relief for students and parents, schools in several areas of Jammu, Samba, Kathua, Rajouri, and Poonch districts will reopen tomorrow after being closed due to hostilities between India and Pakistan.
In Jammu, schools in Chowki Choura, Bhalwal, Dansal, Gandhi Nagar, and Jammu zones will reopen. In Samba, the Vijaypur zone will reopen schools tomorrow.
In Kathua, schools in Barnoti, Lakhanpur, Sallan, and Ghagwal zones will reopen. Likewise, in Rajouri, schools will open in Peeri, Kalakote, Thanamandi, Moghla, Kotranka, Khawas, Lower Hathal, and Darhal areas.
In Poonch, the Surankote and Buffliaz areas will reopen schools.
Meanwhile, helicopter services from Katra to the Shri Mata Vaishno Devi shrine resumed on Wednesday after being suspended for a week due to the hostilities between India and Pakistan.
Also, the Indian Army has intensified its operations against terrorists in Jammu and Kashmir following the Pahalgam attack.
India launched Operation Sindoor in response to last month’s Pahalgam terror attack, in which 26 people were killed. India’s precision strikes in Pakistan and Pakistan-occupied Jammu and Kashmir (PoJK) on May 7 reportedly killed over 100 terrorists.
