People's Alliance for Gupkar Declaration (PAGD) leaders, including three former chief ministers, were put under house arrest on Saturday before a protest against the proposals of Jammu and Kashmir Delimitation Commission, prompting angry reactions from political parties which said such steps will only 'incentivise and facilitate' violent agitations.
Peeved over the silence of leaders of separatist groups, their factions in Pakistan and in occupied-Kashmir are making desperate attempts to foment trouble in Jammu and Kashmir by giving calls from across the border for 'bandhs' and strikes to mark the death anniversary of Mirwaiz Farooq and Abdul Gani Lone, officials said.
Earlier, a delegation of 23 EU MPs was taken on a two-day visit to assess the situation in the union territory by International Institute for Nonaligned Studies, a Delhi-based think tank.
The expert panel, set up by the home ministry to find an alternative to pellet guns, is believed to have zeroed in on 'PAVA shells', a chilli-based ammunition, which is less lethal and immobilises the target.
The delegation will comprise envoys mainly from the European Union as well as from Gulf countries.
As a spate of targeted killings of minorities rock Kashmir, a Kashmiri Pandits' organisation on Friday said some employees from the community, who were provided government jobs under a rehabilitation package in 2010-11, have started moving to Jammu quietly fearing for their life, alleging the administration was unable to provide then a secure environment.
The 68-year-old Bindroo, who ran Bindroo Medicate, was shot at by the assailants point blank at his pharmacy, a police official said, adding he was rushed to a hospital where he was declared brought dead.
The terrorists holed up in the Kashmir valley have been facing acute shortage of arms and ammunition and they are desperately looking for some help from across the border for the same.
The services were stopped last evening as a precautionary measure.
The epicentre of the quake, measuring 6.1 on the Richter scale, was Afghanistan-Tajikistan border and it occurred at 4.01 pm.
Earlier this week, the Centre cleared the decks for people from across the country to buy land in the union territory by amending several laws. Most shops, petrol pumps and other business establishments were shut in Srinagar, the summer capital of Jammu and Kashmir, the officials said.
Lieutenant General Syed Ata Hasnain (retd), former general officer in commanding, 15 Corps, explains what may have happened during the Indian Army's anti-terrorist operation in Kashmir in which four soldiers and one policemen, including the commanding officer 21 Rashtriya Rifles, made the supreme sacrifice for the Motherland.
A set of new standard operating procedures have been issued by the force headquarters in Delhi for vehicle-mounted movement of troops in Jammu and Kashmir, and it has also been ordered that the 'passenger manifest discipline' for each vehicle in the convoy be strictly adhered to.
Releasing the manifesto at the party office, NCP general secretary and chief spokesperson D P Tripathi said the party's endeavour will be to bring radicalised youth of Kashmir Valley into the mainstream and take stern action against those involved in 'brainwashing' them.
Prime Minister Narendra Modi is likely to chair a meeting with all political parties from Jammu and Kashmir on June 24 as part of the Centre's initiatives to bolster political processes, including holding assembly elections, in the union territory, officials said in New Delhi.
Jamaat-ud-Dawa chief Hafiz Saeed's account 'HafizSaeedLive' has been suspended by online social networking service Twitter for posting about the ongoing protests in Kashmir valley and the killing of Hizbul Mujahideen commander Burhan Muzaffar Wani frequently.
'Please get them back into mainstream. This one life is the most beautiful gift from God, live it well with your family and remain happy'
918 terrorists were gunned down by security forces during the same period.
Use of chilli-filled grenades as an alternative to pellet shotguns, which will be used in rarest of rare cases, was cleared on Saturday by Union Home Minister Rajnath Singh for crowd control ahead of the visit of an all-party delegation led by him to restive Kashmir on Sunday.
"Prime Minister Narendra Modi is squandering an opportunity to find a solution for Kashmir," former Research and Analysis Wing chief A S Dulat said.
'It is not about trusting the governor but the ground situation not matching with what he has said,' Jammu and Kashmir People's Movement chief Shah Faesal, who was one of the leaders to meet the governor tells Rediff.com's Prasanna D Zore.
This assurance was given by home minister Amit Shah to a delegation of sarpanch and panch from Jammu and Kashmir who met him on Tuesday.
The officials said the scattered remains of the bus, reduced to blackened bare frames after the blast, does not reflect that an improvised explosive device (IED) was used to target it.
The economy of Jammu and Kashmir is largely based on agriculture and tourism. The state produced 19.56 lakh MT of fresh fruits in 2018-19.
The state police recently floated tenders for purchasing 50 PBLGs and two RoVs with water jet disruptors and weapon mounts for their use in security situation.
The People's Alliance for Gupkar Declaration (PAGD) on Monday said assembly elections should be held only after restoration of statehood to Jammu and Kashmir and asked the Bharatiya Janata Party-led central government to honour its commitment made on the floor of Parliament.
Opposition National Conference on Wednesday accused the state government of discriminating against the Kashmir Valley over the distribution of power sector funds as they disrupted the proceedings of the Assembly, forcing the Speaker to marshal them out and adjourn the House for 10 minutes.
'My son says I am a coward for not going out to protest. He is not afraid. He is a typical Kashmiri youth.'
Panzoo alias Fayaz Ahmad Thokar alias Hanzulla Bai was a "co-conspirator" of the Pulwama terror attack in which 40 Central Reserve Police Force personnel were killed by a terrorist who used a vehicle-borne improvised explosive device to trigger the deadly blast.
From Jammu and Kashmir to Andhra Pradesh, consumers are facing power cuts ranging from 2 hours to 8 hours.
He said the Modi government was trying to take forward the initiatives taken by previous governments.
If the air pollution is not brought under control, tourism to Kashmir will be affected, warns Colonel Anil A Athale (retd), who has been visiting the valley for 50 years.
The accused, identified as Tariq Mir, a resident of Maldoora of Shopian district in south Kashmir, was the fifth person arrested in the case which came to light when Singh was arrested along with three terrorists including a most wanted Hizbul Mujahideen commander in January this year.
'Public spirited individuals and organisations should commemorate May 10 as Kashmir Solidarity Day by taking out candlelight marches and gathering at war memorials all over the country.'
'The occasion is not just to remember Lieutenant Fayaz, but also all those who have lost their lives in Kashmir defending the Republic,' says Colonel Anil A Athale (retd).
'The Kashmiri identity and its unique blend of Sufi Islam, its culture and language can best survive in a plural and secular India.' 'Neither independence nor merger with Pakistan can achieve that objective.' 'Peace will return to Kashmir only when Kashmiris realise this, else they will be part of the 1,000- year war,' says Colonel Anil A Athale (retd).
While the world marks Eid-al-Adha, the Kashmir Valley remains silent and there are no signs of celebrations. All 10 districts in the Kashmir Valley are under strict curfew on Eid on Tuesday to prevent any outbreak of violence, making it the 67th day of the lockdown.
Drama heightened on Friday when the army said that Pakistan-based terrorists are planning to target the ongoing Amarnath Yatra followed by the Jammu and Kashmir administration issuing an advisory, asking the yatris and tourists to "curtail" their stay in the Valley and leave immediately.
Threats were often communicated to Pandit homes through notes tied to stones chucked through a window, or a notice pasted on a wall. Those sometimes came from neighbours eyeing that Pandit family's property. Those threats often worked in the atmosphere of terror during that awful season of vacuous exercise of State authority, writes David Devadas, longtime Kashmir watcher and author of two books on the Valley.
Restoration of road and tele-communication network in the Kashmir Valley, ravaged by floods, will take three to five days. The Centre has directed free flow of transport via Manali and Leh to Srinagar, the only available surface network, a top central government official said on Monday.
'Elements like the LeT may see the fight against the coronavirus as an opportunity of a lifetime,' warns Colonel Anil A Athale (retd).
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