After a number of events jolted Kashmir for 24 hours as the border tension between India and Pakistan escalated, it finally saw some semblance of normalcy being restored although the overall environment remained uncertain.

The Pakistan Air Force on Wednesday violated the Indian air space in retaliation to the air strike carried out by the Indian Air Force on Tuesday on terror group Jaish-e-Mohammad's camps in Pakistan's Balakot and subsequently arrested an Indian pilot after his plane crashed across the Line of Control.

While social media users reported long, serpentine queues for petrol at different pumps across Srinagar, the tourist population that had been stranded following the cancellation of flights out of the state began exiting as flight services resumed today.

Mohammed Mir of the Kashmir Hotel & Restaurant Association (KHARA), which had offered free accommodation to the tourists, said that most tourists had exited the Valley and yesterday's situation had eased. He added, however, that it would take another 2-3 days of continuous supplies to the state before things normalised and that the suspension of the Samjhauta Express had led to further uncertainty.

Key roads like the Srinagar-Kargil road and the Jammu-Srinagar highway remained closed due to the accumulation of snow and resulting landslides. The J&K Traffic Police tweeted that subject to fair weather, stranded vehicles would be allowed to proceed towards Jammu tomorrow.

A ceasefire was reported across at least four sectors along the LoC this afternoon and schools within a 5 km radius had been evacuated, reports from CNN-News18 suggested. However, with Pakistani PM Imran Khan's announcement to release captured IAF Wing Commander Abhinandan Vartaman, hopes of a de-escalation are high.

First Published:Feb 28, 2019 8:00 PM IST