A Bangladesh court on Thursday sentenced deposed prime minister Sheikh Hasina to 21 years in jail in three corruption cases related to irregularities in allocations of land in a government housing project.
A massive controversy is raging in Jammu and Kashmir after a plaque with the Ashoka emblem was vandalised in the Hazratbal shrine as parties on Saturday accused Waqf Board chief Darakshan Andrabi of hurting religious sentiments by using the national emblem in the mosque and demanded registration of a criminal case and her immediate removal.
Bookstore owners were cautioned against keeping or distributing the books. Police personnel briefed the bookstore owners about the legal consequences of violating the ban.
Jammu and Kashmir Chief Minister Omar Abdullah has criticized BJP leaders for accusing the National Conference (NC) of insulting Maharaja Hari Singh, the last ruler of the state. Abdullah challenged the BJP to provide evidence of such insults, while highlighting their own actions that he claims have undermined the Maharaja's legacy. He also called on the BJP-led government to retrieve the part of Jammu and Kashmir under Chinese occupation if they are serious about reclaiming the territory under Pakistan's control.
Pressure is mounting for a resolution to be moved in the assembly when it meets next week for its maiden sitting to demand 'restoration of Article 370 and Article 35A' as committed in the National Conference's election manifesto, reveals Mohammad Sayeed Malik, the distinguished commentator on Kashmir affairs.
Every trick in the trade is being tried unabashedly.
In simple arithmetical terms every possible 'arrangement' is being made to deny a majority to its rivals. A split verdict would hand a vital advantage to the BJP which is adept at extracting the best out of such a situation, notes Mohammad Sayeed Malik, the distinguished commentator on Kashmir affairs.
The PDP looks a distant third in the race, observes Mohammed Sayeed Malik, the distinguished commentator on Kashmir politics.
PHF sacks entire coaching staff of Pakistan men's team ahead of Asian Games
Mufti said her father Sayeed was not power hungry and wanted to deliver Jammu and Kashmir from its problems and troubles.
"I will not be contesting for the post of president any longer. The elections for the post will be held on December 5. It is time for the new generation to take over the responsibilities," Abdullah told PTI.
Re-elected National Conference chief Farooq Abdullah on Monday said boycotting the panchayat polls in 2018 was "a huge mistake" and the party must contest every future election in Jammu and Kashmir.
In a break from past, there was no function at the martyrs' graveyard in Srinagar after the government dropped July 13 from the list of gazetted holidays last year, officials said.
'We are only saying that we will peacefully fight for its restoration. We will fight for it under the ambit of the Constitution, and legally as well'
The litigation in the present case relates to the existence of two birth certificates of Abdullah Azam who allegedly gave the wrong date of birth while filing his nomination papers for the 2017 poll.
Abdullah issued a white paper on development undertaken in Jammu and Kashmir during the rule of "Abdullah and Sons" -- as Shah referred the family in his speech at a rally in Baramulla district -- to counter the allegations of corruption.
On November 26 last year, the Allahabad High Court had rejected the bail pleas of Azam Khan and his son after which they moved the top court.
"The situation has become irretrievable", Azad, 73, said in his parting shot to Sonia Gandhi, whose trusted confidante he remained right from the time of Sitaram Kesri's unceremonious exit as the party's chief in 2000.
A special court in Srinagar on Monday framed charges against eight persons, including a prominent Hurriyat leader, for selling Pakistani MBBS seats in Jammu and Kashmir to fund terror activities.
The chargesheet, filed by the State Investigation Agency, has highlighted several instances where parents were taken across the border using valid travel documents but were later compelled to pay extra money for their wards' admission to universities and colleges there.
Mehbooba said Article 370 was a bridge between the Union and the state.
Restrictions continue to be imposed for the 66th consecutive day since the abrogation of the state's special status under Article 370 on August 5.
Main markets and other business establishments across the Valley remained shut and public transport was off the roads.
Congress General Secretary, Rahul Gandhi on Thursday asserted his Kashmiri origin saying his family came from Kashmir and he was also a Kashmiri.
Classes were not held in most schools across Kashmir as students did not turn up due to the prevailing situation, they said.
Though markets and commercial establishments remained shut and students stayed away from schools.
The Union minister for New and Renewable Energy, Dr Farooq Abdullah on Monday favoured reopening of cinemas and liquor shops in Kashmir Valley for expanding recreational facilities for visiting tourists.
A senior Democratic Nationalist Party leader escaped unhurt while three policemen, including his personal security officer, were killed in a militant attack on his house in Sopore town of north Kashmir, a police spokesman said on Wednesday.
The efforts to forge unity among the various Kashmiri separatist groups received a jolt after hardline separatist leader Syed Ali Shah Geelani rejected the unity move of the moderate, All Parties Hurriyat Conference on Wednesday.
A war of words has broken out between ruling National Conference and Opposition People's Democratic Party in Jammu and Kashmir over posting of pictures on a networking site, caricaturing Chief Minister Omar Abdullah, his father Farooq Abdullah and late grandfather Sheikh Mohammad Abdullah as characters of the film 3 Idiots.
The attack took place at 1:20 pm in Hari Singh High Street market area.
'We have lots of expectations from Omar Abdullah. He is dynamic, very sharp, intelligent and has the zeal to work for the people. He has a fire in him and he wants to do something concrete for the people. Besides, he is soft-spoken, not arrogant and has tonnes of patience,' says Abdul Rahim Rather
Three terrorists, including a serving soldier of the Pakistani army, have been arrested in the Kashmir Valley. State Director General of Police Kuldeep Khoda on Tuesday said the three terrorists, belonging to Pakistan-based Jaish-e-Mohammad, were to launch a suicide attack in Jammu during the ongoing assembly polls in the state.
The festering dispute over the accession of Jammu and Kashmir stands out as one of the world's most volatile fault lines that divides regions, countries, societies, communities and ethnic groups, notes Mohammad Sayeed Malik, the distinguished commentator on Kashmir affairs, on Sheikh Abdullah's 39th death anniversary.
Syed Mir Qasim was the last Congress Chief Minister from December 1971 to February 24, 1975.
The separatist groups had called for a march to Lal Chowk to protest civilian deaths during the unrest.
'You cannot achieve peace if your objective is not to make political accommodations,' notes Dr Nyla Ali Khan, Sheikh Abdullah's grand-daughter, Dr Farooq Abdullah's niece and Omar Abdullah's cousin.
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