08:45 2 Kashmiri dry fruit sellers thrashed in Lucknow, attackers make video:
Two Kashmiri men selling dry fruits on a roadside were assaulted by members dressed in saffron robes in Lucknow on Wednesday.
The two men were abused, slapped and beaten with a stick because of their identity and were rescued by some locals. The locals also called the police.
A video of the incident, which took place in Daliganj area, has gone viral on social media sites. The Lucknow Police nabbed one of the attackers, Bajrang Sonkar, late Wednesday night. Meanwhile, the second perpetrator, Amar Mishra, who is also seen in the video clip is on the run.
When the two attackers were asked why they were beating up the Kashmiri men, they replied that they were Kashmiris. The Kashmiri men were also asked to produce Aadhar cards, but that did not stop the assault.
Kashmiris have also been attacked in other parts of the country in the aftermath of the Pulwama terror attack, in which a local youth rammed an explosive-laden car into a CRPF convoy, leading to the death of 40 soldiers. The attacker, Adil Ahmad Dar, was affiliated to Pakistan-based terror outfit Jaish-e-Mohammed.
08:34 1 terrorist killed by security forces in Handwara in J-K:
One terrorist was killed in an exchange of fire between terrorists and security forces in Handwara in Jammu and Kashmir, officials said on Thursday.
Another terrorist is believed to be trapped in the joint operation of security forces that is continuing in Handwara.
A search operation is underway.
Meanwhile, internet services have been snapped in the Valley.
Details are awaited.
— ANI
08:08 Pakistan identifies pilots who shot down 2 IAF fighter jets:
For the first time, Pakistan identified its two fighter pilots who were involved in an aerial combat with the Indian Air Force jets as Pakistan Foreign Minister Shah Mahmood Qureshi told Pakistani parliament that two Indian planes were shot down by them.
Tensions between India and Pakistan flared up after a suicide bomber of Pakistan-based Jaish-e-Mohammed killed 40 CRPF personnel in Jammu and Kashmir’s Pulwama district on February 14.
India launched a counter-terror operation in Balakot on February 26. The next day, Pakistan Air Force retaliated and downed a MiG-21 in an aerial combat and captured its pilot Wing Commander Abhinandan Varthaman, who was handed over to India on March 1.
Lauding the PAF pilots in the National Assembly, Qureshi said, “Pakistan Air Force shot down two Indian aircraft violating the Pakistani airspace. One Indian jet was shot down by Squadron Leader Hassan Siddiqui while other was downed by Wing Commander Nauman Ali Khan.”
Qureshi officially identified Wing Commander Nauman Ali Khan as the Pakistan Air Force pilot who shot down the second Indian fighter jet in the dogfight last week, Dawn news reported.
Pakistani military on February 27 claimed that two Indian IAF were hit. One plane crashed in Pakistan-occupied Kashmir while the other fell in Jammu and Kashmir after being hit.
India has maintained that Pakistan downed a MiG-21 aircraft of the IAF while Indian Air Force shot down an F-16 jet of the PAF during the dogfight.
The Pakistani foreign minister made the statement after Pakistan Peoples Party Chairman Bilawal Bhutto Zardari, during his speech, praised Squadron Leader Siddiqui for downing the IAF Wing Commander Abhinandan Varthaman’s MiG-21 jet on February 27.
“One clarification: Bilawal paid tribute to Hassan Siddiqui as he’s absolutely a national hero,” Qureshi said.
“But I would like to clarify that two Indian planes were shot down. The other one was shot down by Wg Cdr Nauman Ali Khan,” he added, asking that the second pilot also be given due credit.
— PTI
00:12 Pak used artillery guns to shell areas along LoC in J&K:
The Pakistan army on Wednesday targeted several forward posts and villages along the Line of Control (LoC) in Jammu and Kashmir’s Rajouri and Poonch districts with artillery guns and small arms, officials said.
The intense shelling and firing from across the border continued throughout the night in Sunderbani sector of Rajouri district, while it started in Krishna Ghati sector of Poonch in the early hours of Wednesday, they said.
The officials said Pakistan also targeted areas in the Nowshera sector in Rajouri.
However, the firing and shelling from across the border stopped this afternoon in the Sunderbandi, Nowshera and Krishna Ghati sectors, they said.
The Indian army retaliated strongly and effectively to the Pakistani firing and there was no report of any casualty on the Indian side, though some structures, including residential houses and cow sheds, were damaged, the officials said.
The firing in the Krishna Ghati took place from 6 pm to 8.15 pm.
Firing in the Sunderbani sector started at 8.30 pm on Tuesday and ended around 4.30 am on Wednesday, the officials said.
They said the unprovoked ceasefire violation by Pakistan took place from 6 am to 8 am in the Mankote area of the Krishna Ghati sector.
Minutes later, they said Pakistan fired on areas in the Nowshera sector.
The shelling lasted from 10.30 am to 12.30 pm on Wednesday.
There was no fresh report of ceasefire violation by Pakistan from anywhere later in the day, the officials said.
There has been a spurt in ceasefire violations by Pakistan after India’s preemptive air strike on a Jaish-e-Mohammad terror camp in Balakot on February 26 following the February 14 suicide bombing in Pulwama. — PTI
00:09 Air India’s Delhi-Frankfurt flight faces mid-air decompression:
An Air India flight from Delhi to Frankfurt on Wednesday suffered a mid-air decompression and consequently it returned to the airport ‘keeping safety of 220 passengers in mind’, said the national carrier in a statement.
According to airline officials, the flight faced decompression at the height of approximately 20,000 feet around 15 minutes after taking off.
“Air India flight AI121 operating from Delhi to Frankfurt today faced an issue of decompression and keeping safety of the 220 passengers in mind, the flight had returned to Delhi. No passenger has suffered any injury,” said the Air India spokesperson.
“The flight will now operate with a change of aircraft at 0600hrs on 7th March from Delhi. All passengers are safe and are being extended all assistance at Delhi. Air India is committed to maintaining highest standards of passenger comfort and safety,” the spokesperson added.
The standard time of departure of AI121 Delhi-Frankfurt flight is 1.35 pm daily.
At a higher altitude, the air is extremely thin due to low atmospheric pressure and low oxygen content.
Therefore, an aircraft has to maintain an internal cabin pressure so that passengers do not face ill-effects on their health. — PTI
Source: Rediff