Firstpost Editor's Picks: Pulwama attack aftermath, eyewitness accounts and possible strategies for India

Pulwama attack aftermath: Saner counsel must prevail; Narendra Modi should isolate Pakistan globally In the aftermath of the Pulwama IED blast that killed 42 CRPF soldiers, saner counsels at the top-most levels of political and military hierarchy need to prevail. The element of surprise in executing surgical strikes is over. The statement by the Chief of the Army Staff (CoAS) that a retaliatory action across the border is needed would have further alerted Pakistan, if indeed such ‘alerting’ was needed. Adil Ahmed Dar, a lethal example of how Imran Khan's softness has allowed Jaish-e-Mohammad to embrace global jihad The Jaish-e-Mohammad, the consistent author of the most spectacular terrorist attacks in Kashmir, has shaken off the shackles placed on it by prime minister Nawaz Sharif’s government in Pakistan. This sunrise will have consequences in Kashmir, and beyond. Pulwama attack ominous sign for Valley as US withdrawal from Afghanistan may mean advantage Pakistan India’s security planners are not oblivious to what is happening just across the border. Pakistan is being rewarded by the Donald Trump administration for sponsoring cross-border terrorism. The deal with the Afghan Taliban is not possible without Rawalpindi’s support. 'Both vehicles completely charred': Two CRPF jawans from Assam recall the horrors of Pulwama terror attack Pabitra Barman, attached to 115 Battalion of CRPF, one of 2,500 soldiers traveling in the convoy, said, “We were just an hour away from our destination when the convoy came under attack: a blast rocked the bus right behind mine. Those who witnessed it from afar thought my bus had exploded. Soon, news that I died in the attack went viral.” Pulwama massacre: India grapples with security threats from 3 directions; Fidayeen in the north, Khalistanis in the west, China in the east While in the north, India faces the apparently unsolvable problem of Kashmir, Punjab in the northwest is riddled with a gradually resurfacing Khalistani movement. In the North East, India faces the advancing footsteps of a very insistent China.