Jammu and Kashmir Congress minister Peerzada Mohammad Sayeed will continue in the council of ministers, Chief Minister Omar Abdullah said on Saturday, a day after he divested him of education portfolio in the wake of examination scandal involving his step-son.
The Jammu and Kashmir government has rubbished allegations by the Opposition Peoples Democratic Party about the death of a worker of the ruling National Conference allegedly in police custody. PDP has demanded the resignation of Chief Minister Omar Abdullah and Minister of State for Home Nasir Aslam Wani so that the "judicial probe can proceed impartially'.
The outgoing Lok Sabha had 23 Muslim MPs, the most being from Congress and TMC. The highest number of Muslim MPs were in 1980 when as many as 49 MPs from the community which constitute nearly fifth of Indian population present in the Lok Sabha.
External Affairs Ministry Spokesperson Raveesh Kumar said India will continue to extend all support to the Afghanistan as a contiguous neighbour, in a clear reference that the Pakistan-occupied-Kashmir belongs to India.
An anti-corruption court on Tuesday rejected the plea of the family of the ruling National Conference activist Sayeed Mohammad Yusuf, who allegedly died in police custody on September 30, for a Central Bureau of Investigation probe.
Raja Ijaz, inspector general crime of Jammu and Kashmir police, has denied comments attributed to him by Syed Talib about his father Syed Mohammad Yousuf, who died under mysterious circumstances after a meeting with Jammu and Kashmir Chief Minister Omar Abdullah.
With political stalemate continuing in Jammu and Kashmir, National Conference's working president Omar Abdullah on Monday held a meeting with top party leaders where it was decided that it will have no tie-up with the Bharatiya Janata Party but was ready to support the Peoples Democratic Party in the government-formation.
A man of perseverance and great survivor, Mufti Mohammed Sayeed had an astute political sense honed by decades of experience in Kashmir politics that has stood him in good stead in crafting a delicate alliance with Bharatiya Janata Party to return as chief minister for the second time.
'The biggest danger is that majoritarianism is getting normalised, insidiously and overtly... We are bringing the worst, not the best in us... We are looking for new enemies - Muslims, urban Naxals, tukde tukde gang, some enemy or the other which keeps this majoritarian wheel turning,' says journalist Rajdeep Sardesai.
The Peoples Democratic Party on Wednesday virtually turned down the offer of support from its arch rival National Conference for government formation, dimming the prospects of an early resolution to the political stalemate resulting from the hung verdict in last month's assembly polls.
Afghanistan caused a major upset in the ICC U19 Cricket World Cup when it defeated three-time champion and last edition runner-up Australia by 36 runs at Abu Dhabi Oval 2 on Monday.
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.
The fourth phase of polling in Jammu and Kashmir ended peacefully on Sunday recording a turnout of 49 per cent, the lowest compared to the earlier three phases.
The President's rule imposed in undivided Jammu and Kashmir was revoked on Thursday following the state's bifurcation into Union Territories, but the central rule will continue for an indefinite period through the Lieutenant Governor (LG) in the UT of Jammu and Kashmir.
With the Islamic State and Pakistani flags being repeatedly displayed in Kashmir, National Conference chief Farooq Abdullah on Friday said it was an expression of "anger" and "frustration" by the youth who want to "wake up the nation".
"If the defence minister thinks that by examination and change in currency (demonetisation), the storm, which has erupted here, will die down, then he has a misconception. This storm will not die down. Whatever they do, this storm is there and after exams, they will see that the storm will rise once again."
When he was chief minister, Mufti Mohammad Sayeed was able to blunt inter-regional and inter-communal tensions which Farooq and Omar Abdullah could not do. Whether he can repeat it with the BJP by his side would have to be seen, says Mohammad Sayeed Malik.
With uncertainty looming large over the continuance of Peoples Democratic Party-Bharatiya Janata Party alliance, National Conference leader Farooq Abdullah on Saturday said his party is ready to consider a tie-up with the saffron party for government formation if such an offer is received.
"There are differences in the (PDP-BJP) coalition, no body can deny that. If you need evidence, just look at chief minister's iftaar party in Delhi yesterday where no Central BJP leader was present," said Omar Abdullah
The Central Bureau of Investigation on Tuesday said the name of Jammu & Kashmir Chief Minister Omar Abdullah never figured in the 2006 sex scandal case in which two ministers of the then Peoples Democratic Party regime were arrested.
As the deadlock over government formation in Jammu and Kashmir continued, the state unit of Congress on Thursday backed Peoples Democratic Party patron Mufti Mohammad Sayeed to lead the new dispensation to respect the people's verdict in the just-concluded assembly elections.
The decision comes in the aftermath of the Pulwama terror attack, besides another attempt to target a Central Reserve Police Force convoy with a car bomb on the highway near Banihal in Ramban district on March 30.
Chief Minister of Jammu and Kashmir Mufti Mohammad Sayeed, who died at a hospital in Delhi on Thursday, was laid to rest with full state honours in his ancestral graveyard of Bijbehara town in Anantnag district.
The release of Lashkar-e-Tayiba chief Hafeez Muhammad Saeed, hardcore Lal Masjid cleric Maulana Abdullah Aziz, and now Tehrik-e-Nifaz-e-Shariat-e-Mohammed chief Sufi Mohammad has cast serious doubts over Pakistan's claims that it is seriously acting against the Taliban and other home grown terror outfits, a senior US intelligence official has said.
Keeping trusted men in key positions at Lahore, Rawalpindi and Peshawar has become vital for Bajwa, notes Rana Banerji, who headed the Pakistan desk at the Research and Analysis Wing, India's external intelligence agency.
As suspense over government formation in Jammu and Kashmir continued, Peoples Democratic Party on Monday said the idea of a grand alliance with the National Conference and Congress was an option for forming a stable government in the state.
On that day, Sheikh Abdullah, political anchor of J&K's accession with the Indian Union, was unceremoniously removed from power and put behind bars; causing a tectonic emotional breach and setting off disastrous fault lines between Srinagar and New Delhi and its effects continue to this day, says Mohammad Sayeed Malik.
A PDP-BJP alliance would have been formed on the evening of December 28 had the BJP agreed to let Mufti Mohammad Sayeed become chief minister for the first three years and allow the BJP to nominate its chief minister for the next three years.
Hitting back at the Peoples Democratic Party, Jammu and Kashmir Chief Minister Omar Abdullah on Thursday accused its leader Mufti Mohammad Sayeed of "shutting his eyes" to the sex scandal when it first surfaced in 2006 as his own people were involved.
Clashes erupted in Srinagar on Sunday between the youth and security forces near the venue of the first-ever international half marathon in Kashmir valley.
Mufti's political graph shows his fondness for courting unpopular, politically hazardous ventures in pursuit of his ultimate objective to vindicate his leadership. Towards the end of his life, Mufti's public profile had come to assume the dimensions of statesmanship. One reason being his willingness to learn from his experience, says Mohammad Sayeed Malik.
The Central Bureau of Investigation on Tuesday said the name of Jammu & Kashmir Chief Minister Omar Abdullah never figured in the 2006 sex scandal case in which two ministers of the then Peoples Democratic Party regime were arrested.
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In first signs of ending the over a month-long impasse with regard to government formation in Jammu and Kashmir, Bharatiya Janata Party leader Ram Madhav on Wednesday held formal talks with Peoples Democratic Party chief Mehbooba Mufti during a brief visit in Srinagar.
With talks between the Bharatiya Janata Party and the Peoples Democratic Party on government formation in Jammu and Kashmir making no headway, the state seems to be headed for a spell of governor's rule.
The road ahead will be long and winding and much resistance can be expected from the high-flying 'hawks' in our skies. But that should not deter the policymakers from planning a road map with the 'big picture' in mind, observes Ambassador M K Bhadrakumar.
The policemen were patrolling the area in view of a separatist-sponsored strike.
But he maintained that the cases against his son for attacking officials was as conspiracy against him.
Jammu and Kashmir Chief Minister Omar Abdullah on Thursday threw a challenge to Bharatiya Janata Party's prime ministerial candidate Narendra Modi, saying he was ready for a debate on Article 370 "anytime, anywhere".
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