The Kashmir Valley remained cut-off from rest of the country for the second consecutive day on Saturday, but improvement in weather has raised hopes of early restoration of traffic on the Srinagar-Jammu national highway.
The 270-km Jammu-Srinagar highway reopened on Sunday after a day-long closure due to heavy snowfall, allowing stranded vehicles to proceed to their destinations. However, several other important inter-district routes, including the Mughal Road, Sinthan Pass, Sonamarg-Kargil inter-UT road, and Bhaderwah-Chamba inter-state road, remained closed for vehicular traffic due to heavy snowfall.
India needs to be technologically and militarily prepared to defend itself from both Pakistan and China, alerts Ramesh Menon.
A report from Baramulla said a complete shutdown was observed in all major towns in north Kashmir in support of \nthe strike call
In a post on X, the additional directorate general of public information posted: "Pakistan again violates the Ceasefire Agreement by firing artillery in Bhimber Gali in the Poonch-Rajouri area. Indian Army is responding appropriately in a calibrated manner."
After occupying it for over two decades, paramilitary Central Reserve Police Force vacated the Firdous Cinema located in the old city, thereby meeting a long pending demand of the locals.
Authorities in Jammu and Kashmir on Sunday asked border villages residents, who were evacuated to safer places in view of cross border shelling by Pakistan, not to rush back to homes as they are yet to sanitise and clear these areas of any unexplored shells.
Pakistan's troops have engaged in unprovoked firing along the Line of Control (LoC) and International Border (IB) in five districts of Jammu and Kashmir, prompting retaliation from the Indian Army. This marks the eighth consecutive night of such incidents, following heightened tensions stemming from a recent terror attack in Pahalgam. Civilians residing along the LoC and IB are preparing their bunkers in anticipation of potential escalation.
Javed Munshi, suspected to be a member of the outlawed 'Tehreek e Mujahideen' outfit in Kashmir Valley, was picked up from near Canning Hospital by a joint team of Jammu and Kashmir Police and West Bengal Police's Special Task Force, the officer said.
Curfew was on Sunday lifted from many parts of Kashmir Valley while authorities announced relaxation of curfew in Srinagar city, where curbs had been re-imposed in the wee hours of Sunday, following incidents of stone pelting. Curfew has been lifted from Anantnag, Pulwama, Kulgam, Shopian and Awantipora towns in south Kashmir and Handwara town in north Kashmir, a police spokesman said. While curfew has been lifted from Budgam district in central Kashmir.
Suspected drones were observed along the International Border in Samba district of Jammu region on Monday, while armed forces downed a 'surveillance drone' in Punjab's Jalandhar district.
Curfew was lifted from the entire Kashmir Valley on Sunday following improvement in the situation after days of violence, prompting people to come out in large numbers to buy essentials.
The two women -- Seema Koul and Vishalni Koul -- had moved the high court in 2018 after their provisional selection to the post of legal assistant in the department of disaster management relief, rehabilitation and re-construction under the PM package for Kashmiri migrants in December 1, 2017 forfeited on the ground that they have lost their migrant status having married non-migrant persons.
'We in Kashmir will ensure that this kind of incident does not happen again.'
Union Home Minister Amit Shah announced that two more constituents of the Jammu and Kashmir-based Hurriyat Conference, J&K Tahreeqi Isteqlal and J&K Tahreek-I-Istiqamat, have abandoned separatism and pledged allegiance to the new India envisioned by Prime Minister Narendra Modi. This development follows similar declarations from the Jammu and Kashmir People's Movement (JKPM) and the Jammu and Kashmir Democratic Political Movement (JKDPM) on Tuesday. Shah stated that under Modi's leadership, separatism is on the decline and the unity of India is growing stronger in Kashmir.
Lieutenant General Shakti Gurung deserves to be complimented in telling his life story and that of his people, as subaltern communities within this vast and diverse nation of ours clamour for recognition and a plea for their voices to be heard and their aspirations to be met, notes Lieutenant General Gautam Moorthy.
Curfew was relaxed for three hours in parts of north Kashmir's Sopore town, 55 km from Srinagar, on Friday morning, a police spokesman said.
A fresh avalanche hit Kashmir Valley on Tuesday, killing an army jawan in Kupwara district; a day after 17 armymen met a similar fate during a winter warfare training exercise.
A moderate intensity earthquake measuring 5.7 on the Richter scale shook the Kashmir Valley on Thursday but there were no reports of any damage due to it.
The students were happy to be back at the schools after remaining home all these months.
Curfew was imposed on Tuesday night in 10 police station areas of KashmirValley as a precautionary measure with the authorities apprehending law and order problem following the killing of a youth in firing allegedly by security forces in Baramulla district.
Arathi Menon, a native of Kochi, recounts the terror attack in Kashmir's Pahalgam that killed her father, N Ramachandran, and 25 others. Menon, her father, and her six-year-old twin sons were walking through a fenced grassland in Baisaran when the attack happened. The family crawled under the fence to escape, but a man emerged from the woods and opened fire. Menon's father collapsed, and she fled with her sons into the forest. Despite the trauma, Menon found compassion from strangers who helped her, including her driver Musafir and another man, Sameer. Menon concealed the tragedy from her mother, pretending that Ramachandran was injured and receiving treatment. She only told her mother the truth after they landed in Kochi. The mortal remains of Ramachandran were brought to Kochi airport on Wednesday, and his final rites will be held at the Edappally public crematorium on Friday.
Normal life was disrupted in Kashmir Valley on Thursday due to a strike called by hardline Hurriyat Conference led by Syed Ali Shah Geelani to protest killings in Gaza and to mourn the death of seven persons in an accident involving an army vehicle.
A round-the-clock curfew was imposed in Kashmir Valley in the wee hours of Sunday to foil the Monday's separatist march to city centre, Lal Chowk. Hours before the imposition of curfew, police swooped on the pro-Independence Jammu and Kashmir Liberation Front headquarters in Maisuma locality near Lal Chowk and detained the outfit's chairman, Mohammad Yasin Malik.
In Jammu region, three districts of Jammu, Samba and Kathua are in red zone.
Union Home Minister Amit Shah has stated that Naxalism, currently confined to just four districts in India, will be completely eradicated by March 31, 2026. He emphasized the crucial role of the Central Reserve Police Force (CRPF), particularly its CoBRA battalion, in achieving this goal. Shah lauded the CRPF's contributions to national security, highlighting their efforts in combating terrorism in Kashmir, maintaining peace in the Northeast, and significantly reducing Naxal violence. He also paid tribute to the CRPF's sacrifices, acknowledging the loss of 2,264 personnel in the line of duty.
Zahoor Ahmad Mir, an army porter, was murdered by terrorists.
Cold wave conditions continued unabated in Kashmir Valley with minimum temperatures remaining several degrees below the freezing point.
The Border Security Force (BSF) remains on high alert along the International Border (IB) and has not let its guard down, BSF Inspector General, Jammu Frontier, Shashank Anand said on Tuesday. Operation Sindoor, aimed at preventing infiltration attempts, continues as Pakistan cannot be trusted, he added. Anand highlighted the BSF's robust response after the April 22 Pahalgam terror attack, including destroying multiple terror launch pads and thwarting infiltration attempts.
Villagers living near the International Border and Line of Control in Jammu are on high alert following the recent terror attack in Pahalgam, preparing underground bunkers and accelerating crop harvesting. The incident has heightened security concerns despite a renewed ceasefire agreement between India and Pakistan in 2021. Residents are demanding swift action against the perpetrators and their handlers.
Prime Minister Narendra Modi held a meeting with National Security Advisor Ajit Doval and External Affairs Minister S Jaishankar upon his arrival from Saudi Arabia to take stock of the situation following the terror attack in Pahalgam, Kashmir. The meeting also included Foreign Secretary Vikram Misri. The attack, which killed at least 26 people, including tourists from the UAE and Nepal, has sparked nationwide shock and outrage.
A senior doctor at the Soura medical institute confirmed this after relevant tests were carried out at the state's only tertiary medical facility.
Srinagar recorded its third lowest December temperature in 133 years on Saturday.
Imran Khan has said that the Indian foreign ministry has cleared his visit to Kashmir Valley next year.
The snowfall has set in cold wave like conditions in the Valley as electricity supply in many areas was snapped as a precautionary measure, they said, adding that dewatering pumps were made operational in the city to avoid waterlogging.
Normal life was disrupted in Kashmir Valley on Friday due to a strike called by hardline Hurriyat Conference to protest the encounter killing of seven men by the Army in Kupwara district.
After remaining disrupted for 11 days, Railways today partially resumed train services in Kashmir Valley following restoration of tracks damaged by flood waters.
Eid shopping and festivities took over Kashmir Valley on Thursday as the fasting month of Ramadan is closing and paving the way for Eid-ul-fitr which will be celebrated on Friday.
The local recruitment of terrorists in the Pakistan-sponsored terror groups is also very low as only four locals have joined these groups this year, Army officials told ANI.
A British MP has tabled a parliamentary motion in the House of Commons to commemorate the 35th anniversary of the "genocide of Kashmiri Pandit Hindus from Jammu and Kashmir in India." The motion, which calls for recognition and justice for the events of January 1990, has been met with support from other MPs. The motion condemns the attacks on the Hindu population of Kashmir Valley and calls for the Indian government to enact a bill to punish the perpetrators.
