A grenade explosion orchestrated by a militant group at a bus stand in the Indian occupied city of Jammu killed one person and wounded at least 32 on Thursday, police said.
The blast came three weeks after an attack that killed 40 Indian paramilitary police in Kashmir, escalating tensions between the nuclear-armed neighbours.
India accuses Pakistan of harboring militants, which Islamabad denies.
Police said Sajjad Bhat from the Hizbul Mujahideen militant group, carried out Thursday’s attack.
“He arrived in Jammu yesterday and carried out the attack this morning, and was fleeing back to Kashmir when he was arrested by police at a checkpoint,” Jammu police chief M.K. Sinha told reporters.
A senior government minister condemned the attack. “I wish the injured a speedy recovery,” added Indian Finance Minister Arun Jaitley on Twitter.
Regarding shooting down of Indian plane on Pakistani territory, purported videos of the incident circulating on social media showed injured people lying on the ground with locals trying to help them.
Vijay Keshav Gokhale, Indian foreign secretary, said that “a very large number of JeM terrorists, trainers, senior commanders and groups of jihadis who were being trained had been eliminated” in an attack on Balakot, which was found to be a hoax.
The Pakistani government said that no sites or targets had been hit, and on February 27 Islamabad launched its own air strike.
In an ensuing dogfight at least one Indian aircraft was shot down and the pilot captured by Pakistan.
Published in Daily Times, March 8th 2019.
