The PDP looks a distant third in the race, observes Mohammed Sayeed Malik, the distinguished commentator on Kashmir politics.
Days before the deadly terror attack in Pahalgam, intelligence agencies had flagged the potential targeting of tourists especially those staying in hotels on the outskirts of Srinagar in the foothills of the Zabarwan range, officials in the know said Saturday.
Restoration of Article 370 and Jammu and Kashmir's statehood as well as implementation of the autonomy resolution passed by the erstwhile assembly in 2000 are among the National Conference's 12 guarantees announced in its manifesto for the upcoming polls.
Dr Abdullah Abdullah, erstwhile foreign minister of Afghanistan and a candidate in the 2009 Presidential election, has lauded India's role in Afghanistan in terms of infrastructure development and institutional capacity building as significant and dismissed Pakistan's paranoia and deep suspicions about New Delhi's involvement in his country as totally misplaced.
'Is it right and proper for the US authorities to allow people like Subrahmanya Swamy [sic] go round the country preaching murder, violence, overthrow of the duly elected Government of India?' A fascinating excerpt from Sugata Srinivasaraju's The Conscience Network: A Chronicle of Resistance to a Dictatorship.
"I'm amazed channels are bothering with exit polls especially after the fiasco of the recent general elections. I'm ignoring all the noise on channels, social media, WhatsApp etc. because the only numbers that matter will be revealed on the 8th of Oct. The rest is just time pass," Abdullah, a former chief minister, wrote on X.
Jammu and Kashmir Chief Minister Omar Abdullah on Monday ruled out post-poll alliance with the Bharatiya Janata Party given its stand on issues like Article 370, Uniform Civil Code and Babri Masjid as also with any other party.
Maharashtra Navnirman Sena (MNS) chief Raj Thackeray launched a scathing attack on the ruling Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP), questioning the outcome of the recent Maharashtra assembly elections and alleging hypocrisy in the BJP's stance on corruption. He also hinted at internal changes within the MNS, emphasizing the need for discipline and a renewed focus on the party's goals.
The last Friday prayers of Ramzan (Jumatul Vida) were not allowed to be held at the historic Jamia Masjid in Srinagar.
Suspended BJP MP Kirti Azad targeted more politicians, including party MP and BCCI secretary Anurag Thakur, involved in cricket governance.
Social media influencer Orhan Awatramani, known as Orry, and seven others were booked for allegedly consuming alcohol at a hotel in Katra, the base camp for the pilgrimage to Mata Vaishno Devi shrine. The FIR was registered for violating the law and hurting religious sentiments. The hotel reportedly prohibits alcohol and non-vegetarian food due to its proximity to the shrine.
After the Congress' shock defeat in Haryana, the opposition Indian National Developmental Inclusive Alliance (INDIA) parties flexed their muscles on Wednesday, accusing the grand old party of ignoring them.
Voting for this crucial phase, covering 40 assembly segments across seven districts -- Jammu, Udhampur, Samba and Kathua in the Jammu region and Baramulla, Bandipora and Kupwara in north Kashmir -- is scheduled for October 1.
Congress leader Rahul Gandhi visited Poonch in Jammu and Kashmir, offering condolences to families affected by cross-border shelling and encouraging students who lost two classmates to the violence. During an hour-long visit, Gandhi met with students at the convent school that lost the twins, and visited families whose homes were damaged in the shelling.
United States President Barack Obama on Tuesday welcomed as 'constructive action' his Afghan counterpart Hamid Karzai agreeing for a runoff after electoral authorities invalidated tens of thousands of votes in his favour, reducing his vote share in the presidential election to less than 50 per cent.
In the first targeted killing of the year, terrorists on Wednesday shot dead a worker from Punjab while another sustained injuries in Habba Kadal area of Srinagar, officials said.
Pakistan have made four changes to the side for the second Test against England after resting senior cricketers including former captain Babar Azam from the rest of the series.
Following the meeting, Abdullah tweeted that Modi assured him of India's continued support for the peace process in Afghanistan.
The Abdullah camp had said recently that it will not accept a Karzai victory as a legitimate outcome.
The city of Shahjahanpur in India celebrates Holi with a unique procession called "Laat Saheb," where revellers hurl footwear at a man impersonating a British Lord. The tradition dates back to the 18th century and has evolved over time. The procession involves a seven-kilometer route, prayers at a temple, and a symbolic bribe offered to the police. The event is marked by strict security measures, including barricades, CCTV cameras, and the covering of mosques with tarpaulins. The procession is seen as a way to commemorate the city's history of freedom fighters and to discourage the British colonizers.
IMAGES from Day 1 of the 2nd Test played between Pakistan and England in Multan on Tuesday.
Prime Minister Narendra Modi has concluded his visit to France, which included co-chairing an AI summit and bilateral talks with French President Emmanuel Macron. He is now headed to the US for a bilateral meeting with President Trump. Modi's visit to France included discussions on trade, defense, energy, and cultural linkages. He also inaugurated India's new consulate in Marseille. During his visit to the US, Modi will also interact with business leaders and members of the Indian community.
Abdullah Abdullah and Ashraf Ghani -- the two presidential candidates in Afghanistan -- are good friends of India and the country will work very closely with whoever wins the election, a top Indian diplomat said.
The chief adviser's decision to stay in office came two days after he told student-led National Citizen Party (NCP) leaders that he was mulling resignation as he felt "the situation is such that he cannot work", citing difficulties in working amid the failure of political parties to find common ground for change.
Basit didn't hold back while criticising the Pakistan opener and pinpointed Shafique's wicket as the reason behind the team's loss.
The terrorists opened fire on the camp housing labourers of a private company working on construction of a tunnel Gund area in the district, officials said.
Just eight months after its good showing in the Lok Sabha polls, the Indian National Developmental Inclusive Alliance (INDIA) seems to be running out of steam with internal bickering and conflicting ambitions resulting in diminishing electoral returns that have once again put the Bharatiya Janata Party in the driver's seat in national politics.
Modi is the fourth foreign leader hosted by Trump in the weeks after his inauguration last month.
Real outclass Majorca, to meet Barca in Super Cup final
A remote village in Jammu and Kashmir's Rajouri district has been declared a containment zone after 17 people from three families died under suspicious circumstances. Prohibitory orders have been imposed on all public and private gatherings in the area. The village has been divided into three containment zones with varying levels of restrictions. The incident follows a visit by Chief Minister Omar Abdullah to the village on Tuesday.
Afghanistan presidential challenger, Abdullah Abdullah, who forced Hamid Karzai to go to a second round in the election, has described his triumph as "history in the making" and helped save the country's fragile democracy.
The Delhi High Court has ordered Jammu and Kashmir MP Abdul Rashid Sheikh, alias Engineer Rashid, to deposit Rs 4 lakh with the prison authorities as travel expenses for attending Parliament. The court allowed Rashid to attend the ongoing Parliament session "in-custody" till April 4, but the NIA had raised concerns about him being a flight risk. Rashid has been lodged in Delhi's Tihar Jail since 2019 after the NIA arrested him in a 2017 terror-funding case.
The fact that 44 people have decided to stand in the presidential election on August 20 and challenge the incumbent, Hamid Karzai, means the times are slowly a-changing in Afghanistan.
Mohammed Rizwan said that the win is a special moment for him and lauded his bowlers for their performances.
A delegation of diplomats from 16 countries, including the United States, Norway and Singapore, on Wednesday observed the ongoing assembly polls in Jammu and Kashmir.
Doval also met his Afghan counterpart Hamdullah Mohib and discussed issues of mutual interest, according to Tahir Qadiry, the charge d'affaires in Afghan embassy in New Delhi.
It also directed him to pay Rs 60,000 each for the education of his two sons every month.
Army troops in Bangladesh intensified their patrols on the streets of Dhaka as the country witnessed rising tensions with the newly formed student-led National Citizen Party (NCP) accusing the military of political interference. The NCP staged protest rallies at the premier Dhaka University campus vowing to thwart at any cost a military-backed plot to rehabilitate deposed prime minister Sheikh Hasina's Awami League which was toppled seven months ago in a student-led violent street protest in July-August last year. A key leader of NCP, which was floated last month with widely assumed blessings of Professor Muhammad Yunus, accused the military of political interference over a proposal for inclusiveness that would allow Awami League to participate in the next elections. The military, which is now entrusted with maintaining nationwide law and order with magistracy power, however, did not enter the campus but continued their intensified patrol, particularly in the capital. The NCP convenor Nahid Islam said at the Muslim fast-breaking iftar party that the army or any other state institution had no "authority to propose or make decisions" about politics. He added that in no way "we will allow installation of another 1/11 government" in the country.
Bangladesh interim government's Law Adviser Asif Nazrul has condemned Prime Minister Narendra Modi's post on X commemorating Victory Day saying, "India was merely an ally in this victory, nothing more."
