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.
Chief Minister Omar Abdullah on Sunday said that the 'unelected nominees of New Delhi locked up the elected representatives' of the people of Jammu and Kashmir after prominent leaders from ruling and opposition parties were not allowed to leave their houses to prevent them from visiting the graveyard of 1931 martyrs in Srinagar.
The Jammu and Kashmir assembly unanimously passed a resolution on Monday expressing shock and anguish over the terrorist attack in Pahalgam and resolved to fight resolutely to defeat the nefarious designs to disturb communal harmony and hinder progress.
Security forces on Saturday extended the ongoing search operation to new areas after the body of the fourth policeman and two slain terrorists were recovered from the scene of a gunfight in a remote forested area in Kathua district of Jammu and Kashmir, officials said.
Jammu and Kashmir Chief Minister Omar Abdullah has said that India and Pakistan came closer to resolving the Kashmir issue during the Manmohan Singh-led UPA government. He added that he does not expect a return to that situation in his lifetime. Abdullah lauded Singh's efforts on Kashmir, including the setting up of working groups on the issue, and said he practically initiated measures for the return of displaced Kashmiri Pandits. The chief minister also praised Singh's contribution to India's economic development.
BJP members, including the Leader of Opposition Sunil Sharma, opposed the resolution, saying it was not part of the listed business.
In a significant political development, National Conference president Farooq Abdullah announced on Thursday that an alliance with the Congress was finalised for all 90 assembly seats in Jammu and Kashmir, which is going for its maiden assembly polls after being reorganised into a Union Territory.
All parties in Jammu and Kashmir said the assembly election should be held with the parliamentary polls, but the entire administrative machinery said it cannot be done simultaneously
A boat carrying mostly school children capsized in the Jhelum river on the outskirts of the city on Tuesday, leaving six people dead, officials said.
A civilian was killed on Wednesday in Pulwama district of Jammu and Kashmir in alleged accidental firing by a policeman who has been arrested, officials said.
The political parties including the People's Democratic Party, the National Conference, and the Congress had opposed this order.
The Jammu and Kashmir administration on Saturday announced compensation and jobs to the kin of the three civilians who were found dead in Poonch district as a massive search operation was underway to track down terrorists behind the recent ambush on two Army vehicles that left five soldiers dead.
Any decision to include "non-locals" in electoral rolls in Jammu and Kashmir is unacceptable and would be contested by all means, including in court, Nation Conference president Farooq Abdullah said on Monday after a meeting of nine parties over the issue.
In his petition, Tarigami said despite the fact that the challenge to the constitutional validity of orders by the Centre on August 5, 2019 as well as the J-K (Reorganisation) Act, 2019 is pending before the Supreme Court, the central government has taken some 'irreversible actions'.
Gupkar Alliance, which includes mainstream political parties of Jammu and Kashmir, has accepted the invitation of the all-party meeting called by Prime Minister Narendra Modi on June 24.
The victim was identified as Sanjay Sharma, a resident of the Achan area in the south Kashmir district, they said, adding that the incident took place at around 11 am.
Founder of Jammu and Kashmir National Panthers Party Prof Bhim Singh passed away in Jammu on Tuesday after being unwell for about a month. He was 81.
Bharatiya Janata Party MLA Kavinder Gupta was elected unanimously as Speaker of the 12th Assembly of Jammu and Kashmir.
The cabinet normally meets on every Wednesday and the reasons for convening a meeting on Monday has not been disclosed by the government yet.
National Conference president Farooq Abdullah, reading out a resolution adopted at the meeting, said the parties have decided to send delegations to meet President Ram Nath Kovind, Prime Minister Narendra Modi and leaders of political parties to apprise them about the consequences of any attempt to abrogate Article 370 and Article 35A of the Constitution, or carry out delimitation of constituencies or trifurcating the state.
With the bodies of all the missing workers recovered, the two-day rescue operation ended late on Saturday evening.
The deceased policeman was identified as assistant sub-inspector Mushtaq Ahmad.
The PDP led by former chief minister Mehbooba Mufti has decided to stay away from the delimitation process, saying the body lacks 'constitutional and legal mandate' and is part of the overall process of political disempowerment of people of Jammu and Kashmir.
Authorities in Kashmir have decided not to allow 'Shab-e-Qadr' and 'Jumat-ul-Vida' congregational prayers at the historic Jamia Masjid in Sringar, a move denounced by mainstream and separatist parties.
The appeal by the Peoples Alliance for Gupkar Declaration (PAGD) came after a delegation led by its president Farooq Abdullah met Jammu and Kashmiri Lieutenant Governor Manoj Sinha at the Raj Bhavan in Srinagar.
A PAGD leader said the meeting was held at the residence of alliance chairperson and National Conference president Farooq Abdullah at the Gupkar locality of Srinagar.
Clashes broke out between supporters of the ruling National Conference and Opposition Peoples Democratic Party on Thursday during filing of nominations by their candidates at Kulgam district election office in south Kashmir, the police said.
Besides Azad, two PDP and one BJP candidate won.
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.
The killing of a Rajput driver by a terrorist has generated a sense of fear and uncertainty among members of the tiny community in Kakran village in Kulgam district who have stayed on in Kashmir Valley despite decades of militancy but are now considering leaving for a safer place.
The polling was slated for March 5, March 7, March 9, March 12, March 14, March 16, March 18 and March 20.
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.
The government imposed restrictions under Section 144 CrPC in Srinagar district.
The National Conference, the People's Democratic Party and the Congress on Saturday said they will take a call on attending a meeting with the prime minister in Delhi after deliberations within their respective parties, while the Bharatiya Janata Party expressed hope that all invitees will take part in the all-party deliberations.
The Lok Sabha member from Srinagar was elected chairman of the PAGD after the first meeting of the amalgam at the residence of Peoples Democratic Party president Mehbooba Mufti.
The announcement came after PAGD leaders met at Abdullah's Gupkar Road residence in Srinagar to discuss the Centre's invitation.
The PDP has 28 MLAs, followed by NC's 15 and the Congress's 12. The three parties together will have majority in the 87-member House. The Bharatiya Janata Party is the second largest party in the state with 25 members.
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.
The bus, which way on its way to Kishtwar from Keshwan, skidded off the road at Sirgwari and rolled down into the gorge around 7:30 am.
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