The State Investigation Agency (SIA) has reopened investigation into the 1998 Wandhama massacre in Jammu and Kashmir's Ganderbal district, where 23 Kashmiri Pandits were shot dead by terrorists, officials said on Tuesday.
The Jammu and Kashmir government reports that over 3,000 schools have experienced low or zero enrolment since 2022, prompting school closures and mergers. The report details the financial implications and district-wise breakdown of the affected schools.
The change in Anantnag's demographic after delimitation has added layers of political complexities to the constituency with Pahari-Gujjar, Jammu versus Kashmir dimensions.
She defeated her nearest rival, Hilal Ahmad Shah of the Congress party by 12,085 votes. Mehbooba polled 17,701 votes.
'There is no link between Article 370 abrogation and a rise in voting percentage.'
With 19 border polling stations along the Line of Control in Rajouri and Poonch, a contingency plan has been worked out to deal with cross-border shelling though chances are negligible given the ongoing ceasefire between India and Pakistan that came into effect in February 2021, officials said.
Indian authorities have uncovered a Jaish-e-Mohammad (JeM) terror plot involving doctors from south Kashmir, a Faridabad university, the recovery of 2,900 kg of explosives, and a car bomb near the Red Fort. Eight people have been arrested in connection with the plot.
The Election Commission on Monday said the voter turnout in Jammu and Kashmir this time was the highest in a Lok Sabha election in the last 35 years with the Kashmir Valley witnessing a 'massive' 30 percentage point jump in poll participation compared to 2019.
An approximate voter turnout of 59.06 per cent was recorded in the sixth phase of the Lok Sabha elections on Saturday in 58 constituencies across six states and two Union territories with the polling percentage in the Jangal Mahal region of West Bengal touching 78.19.
The bypoll assumes significance as Chief Minister Mehbooba Mufti is seeking her election to the assembly from the constituency.
Jammu and Kashmir Lieutenant Governor Manoj Sinha announced that the terrorists responsible for the Pahalgam attack have been identified and will soon face consequences. He highlighted the progress in the region, including development projects and improved security, since the removal of Article 370.
The former chief minister said if there was any danger of his losing from Budgam, then his party colleagues would not have allowed him to contest from Budgam.
A turnout of about 59 percent -- the highest in the past seven elections -- was recorded in the first phase of assembly polls in Jammu and Kashmir on Wednesday, Chief Electoral Officer P K Pole said, adding polling passed off peacefully.
So far 14 Kashmiri Pandits have filed nominations to contest from the valley for the upcoming Jammu and Kashmir assembly elections, aiming to ensure the return and rehabilitation of their fellow community members, whose number run up to 3 lakh.
The nomination papers of 35 candidates including that of jailed separatist Sarjan Barkati were on Wednesday rejected during scrutiny for the first phase of assembly polls in Jammu and Kashmir, leaving 244 contestants in the fray.
The bypoll, earlier slated to be held on April 12, was postponed for May 25 due to poor law and order situation.
The EC notification said the state administration apprehends that "violent attempts" can be made by miscreants to thwart the poll process.
'Me contesting elections from two seats is not a proof of weakness, it is a proof of the strength of the National Conference.'
'If Pakistan has fired one bullet at us then we have to respond by firing 10 bullets at them. It is our right to do so.'
The incoming facility on prepaid connections has also been restored, but the outgoing calls are barred.
'Whether she is in power or not, she always makes it a point to visit us. This is her best quality as a leader.'
This will be first foray into electoral politics for Hussain, who officially joined the PDP on January 7.
'Right now, we have no relationship with Pakistan. And the relationship with China is not great.'
Jammu and Kashmir Chief Minister Mehbooba Mufti will on Wednesday file her nomination papers from the Anantnag assembly segment which fell vacant on the demise of her father and chief minister, Mufti Mohammad Sayeed.
The Congress and the National Conference on Monday announced they will fight the Lok Sabha polls in Jammu and Kashmir, and Ladakh, in alliance, with both parties contesting three seats each.
More than 40 per cent of the 908 candidates contesting the assembly elections in Jammu and Kashmir are Independents, leading to claims that a large number of them have been propped up by the Bharatiya Janata Party to divide votes.
'Who are Omar Abdullah and Mehbooba Mufti to issue certificates?'
A government middle school in Shopian's Padarpora was set ablaze by unidentified people and on Sunday. The government high school in Pulwama was razed to the ground in a similar manner.
Mehbooba Mufti-led PDP accused National Conference vice president Omar Abdullah of leaving them "no option".
Tral, the former hotbed of terrorism, rocks to the music of democracy.
The EC said polling percentage in the Anantnag-Rajouri seat in Jammu and Kashmir is the highest in 40 years.
'The Congress backstabbed us and the BJP frontstabbed us.' 'This is the only difference between the two parties.'
The People's Democratic Party and the National Conference -- the two Indian National Developmental Inclusive Alliance (INDIA) partners in Jammu and Kashmir -- will be taking on each other on the three Lok Sabha seats in the valley.
The Congress was fighting the elections in a pre-poll alliance with National Conference and had fielded 32 candidates, mostly in Jammu region, compared to 51 by the regional party.
A gazette notification was issued after the panel, headed by retired Supreme Court judge Ranjana Prakash Desai, signed the final order giving Jammu six additional seats and one more to Kashmir.
'With all outlets of public expression virtually choked for the last five years, suppressed anger and frustration is looking for an opening via the ballot box.' 'There is no escape from the inevitability of the 'Engineer Rashid' factor surfacing in a big enough way to upset everyone's applecart,' alerts Mohammad Sayeed Malik, the veteran commentator on Kashmir affairs.
Every trick in the trade is being tried unabashedly.
In simple arithmetical terms every possible 'arrangement' is being made to deny a majority to its rivals. A split verdict would hand a vital advantage to the BJP which is adept at extracting the best out of such a situation, notes Mohammad Sayeed Malik, the distinguished commentator on Kashmir affairs.
The withdrawal of the candidature by DPAP leaders on the last day on August 30 is seen as a boost to the NC-Congress alliance.
'Everyone is unhappy with the lieutenant governor's administration, which is ignorant, high-handed, and inaccessible.'
'We want to ensure that no government in J&K will be formed without our support.'
