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We can’t live like this: Women break down before NCW chief in riot-hit Murshidabad

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Kolkata, April 19: Women in Dhuliyan, one of the worst-affected areas in West Bengal’s minority-dominated Murshidabad district, have urged the Centre to set up permanent Border Security Force (BSF) camps in violence-hit pockets to ensure their safety following recent communal unrest over protests against the Waqf Act.

On Saturday, a delegation from the National Commission for Women (NCW), led by its chairperson Vijaya Rahatkar, visited Dhuliyan to meet those affected by last week’s violence, most of whom are Hindus.

Several women broke down during their interaction with the delegation and pleaded for the permanent deployment of central forces.

“We won’t survive without permanent BSF camps here. If needed, we are ready to offer our own land and homes for setting them up,” said a woman, sobbing and touching the feet of a delegation member.

The NCW team assured locals that their concerns would be conveyed to the Union Ministry of Home Affairs.

“We are here to stand with you in this moment of crisis. The whole country is watching and supporting you. We will submit a detailed report to the Centre and include the demand for permanent BSF presence in this region,” a delegation member told the women.

Even before Saturday’s visit, NCW member Archana Majumdar had stressed the need for permanent Central Armed Police Forces (CAPF) camps in the region.

“The women victims in Murshidabad have clearly expressed the need for permanent CAPF deployment to ensure their dignity and safety. We will raise the issue with the Union government,” Majumdar said on Friday.

Meanwhile, the Murshidabad district administration has prepared a preliminary report on property damage. According to initial estimates, over 250 houses and 100 shops — mostly owned by Hindus — were vandalized during the unrest.

“This is just the initial estimate. The actual figure may rise as we complete the detailed assessment,” said a senior district official.

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India hit 8 military bases in Pakistan, including Sialkot station: Centre

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New Delhi, May 10: India responded strongly to Pakistan’s repeated drone and missile attacks and hit at least eight military targets inside Pakistan on Friday night with precision, thereby causing significant damage, the Centre told the Media, as part of a special briefing on ‘Operation Sindoor’.

Six Pakistani military bases were targeted with precision while one radar site and one aviation base was targeted in Indian strikes, informed the special team led by Foreign Secretary Vikram Misri, flanked by two women officers Colonel Sofiya Qureshi and Wing Commander Vyomika Singh.

“Pakistan military bases at Rafiqui, Murid, Chaklala, Rahim Yar Khan, Sukkur and Chunian were targeted through air launch, precision ammunition and fighter jets. A radar site in Pasrur and an aviation base in Sialkot were also targeted with precision ammunition. During these actions, India ensured minimum collateral damage and losses,” Wing Commander Vyomika Singh told the Media.

She said that Indian armed forces resorted to retaliatory action and targeted technical installations, command and control centres, radar sites and arms store inside Pakistan after it deliberately targeted air bases last night.

“Pakistan attacked Indian bases in Udhampur, Pathankot and Bathinda among other stations last night,” the team admitted but dismissed reports that there were severe damages.

Wing Commander Vyomika Singh also displayed the time-stamp images of the military facilities to negate Pakistan’s false claims of having targeted these IAF bases.

The special team, helmed by the Foreign Secretary also spotlighted how Pakistan, a safe haven for terrorists was brazenly trying to escalate the situation. They said that they have ample information of Pakistan moving its troops to border areas.

“The Pakistani military has been observed as moving their troops into forward areas, indicating offensive intent to further escalate the situation. Indian armed forces remain in a high state of operational readiness. All hostile actions have been effectively countered and responded to appropriately,” the Wing Commander said.

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Pakistan Fires Fatah-II Missile Targeting Delhi, Intercepted And Destroyed By India Near Sirsa

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New Delhi: In a major escalation by Pakistan, Fatah-II long-range missile was reportedly fired targeting Delhi on Saturday. India’s air defence intercepted and destroyed the missile near Haryana’s Sirsa, reported Media. Notably, Fatah-II is a surface-to-surface missile reportedly having a range of 400 km.

Earlier, in the early hours of Saturday, India reportedly struck four Pakistan airbases, including Nur Khan in Rawalpindi, Murid in Punjab’s Chakwal and Rafiqi in Punjab’s Shorkot. Director General Inter-Services Public Relations (DG ISPR) Lieutenant General Ahmad Sharif Chaudhry admitted the attack on Pakistan airbases.

India launched these retaliatory strikes after Pakistan attacked 26 locations across India on Saturday, the sources told Media. Intermittent firing is still going on at several places along the Line of Control (LoC). All Indian Army and Air bases are safe.

“Drones have been sighted at 26 locations along the International Border and LoC with Pakistan. These include suspected armed drones. The locations include Baramulla, Srinagar, Avantipora, Nagrota, Jammu, Ferozpur, Pathankot, Fazilka, Lalgarh Jatta, Jaisalmer, Barmer, Bhuj, Kuarbet and Lakhi Nala. Regrettably, an armed drone targeted a civilian area in Ferozpur, resulting in injuries to members of a local family,” the Defence Ministry said in a statement as reported by Media.

Tensions between the two neighbours soared significantly after the Indian armed forces on Wednesday conducted precision strikes targeting terror launchpads in Pakistan and Pakistan-occupied Kashmir (PoK) in response to the April 22 Pahalgam attack that had cross-border linkages.

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Pakistan closes airspace temporarily after India accuses it of using civilian flights as shields

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New Delhi, May 10: Pakistan on Saturday shut down its airspace temporarily, hours after India accused the former of using commercial flights as shields amid drone attacks.

The decision, notified through a Notice to Airmen (NOTAM), came amid escalating tensions between the two nuclear-armed neighbours.

The move follows a night of intense drone activity along India’s northern and western borders after Pakistani drones were sighted at 26 locations ranging from Baramulla in the North to Bhuj in the South, along both the International Border and the Line of Control with Pakistan, the Defence Ministry said in a statement.

These include suspected armed drones posing potential threats to civilian and military targets, the Ministry added.

The locations include Baramulla, Srinagar, Avantipora, Nagrota, Jammu, Ferozpur, Pathankot, Fazilka, Lalgarh Jatta, Jaisalmer, Barmer, Bhuj, Kuarbet and Lakhi Nala.

Several of the targeted sites included key airfields, forward military bases, and civil aviation facilities. India successfully repelled each attack.

India accused Pakistan of endangering international air traffic by keeping its airspace open while executing drone and missile operations.

“Pakistan is using civil airliners as a shield, knowing fully well that its attack on India would elicit a swift air defence response. This is not safe for the unsuspecting civil airliners, including the international flights which were flying near the International Border between India and Pakistan,” Colonel Sofiya Qureshi of the Army said at a press briefing on Friday, alongside Wing Commander Vyomika Singh of the Indian Air Force (IAF) and Foreign Secretary Vikram Misri.

Pakistan deployed between 300 and 400 drones, identified preliminarily as Turkish-made Asisguard Songar models, on the night of May 8 and May 9. Many were intercepted using a combination of kinetic and electronic warfare systems, including the Barak-8 and S-400 Triumph missile defence platforms, Akash SAMs, and indigenous anti-drone technologies.

“The sheer scale suggests it was a deliberate military attempt to test our readiness. We responded proportionately,” Wing Commander Singh said at the briefing.

Among the locations targeted were Srinagar airport, the Awantipora airbase, Nagrota, Jammu, Pathankot, Fazilka, and Jaisalmer.

In Ferozpur, a drone attack on a civilian area injured three members of a local family. No Indian military installations were damaged.

Prime Minister Narendra Modi convened a high-level security review meeting late Friday night with Defence Minister Rajnath Singh, National Security Adviser Ajit Doval, and the service chiefs.

Earlier on Friday, PM Modi also met former Chiefs of the armed forces to take their views on the evolving crisis.

Home Minister Amit Shah reviewed the civil preparedness in states along the Pakistan border, particularly around airports and high-value targets.

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