Sticking to his demand for revocation of the Armed Forces Special Powers Act from those areas where normalcy has returned, Jammu and Kashmir Chief Minister Omar Abdullah on Wednesday said the move will ensure that benefits of peace in the state percolate to all sections of the society.
The first all-girl band of Kashmir on Monday decided to call it quits in the wake of a fatwa issued by Grand Mufti terming singing as un-islamic, a remark that came under all round attack.
Backing Chief Minister Omar Abdullah, Jammu and Kashmir interlocutor M M Ansari on Tuesday said the Centre must give "full support" to the plan for partial revocation of the Armed Forces Special Powers Act in the border state at the earliest to reduce any "trust deficit".
The crucial unified headquarters meeting that had been convened in J&K winter capital Jammu on Wednesday evening to discuss partial removal of the Armed Forces Special Powers Act (AFSPA) ended without any consensus.
In a significant gesture, the government on Thursday said it was ready to 'welcome' Kashmiris who had gone to Pakistan-occupied Kashmir if they were ready to return after giving up militancy.
The alleged custodial death of the ruling National Conference worker, Sayeed Mohammad Yusuf took a new turn on Tuesday when the state crime branch presented another NC activist Mohammad Yusuf Bhat in a local court to record his statement.
Armed Forces (special Powers) Act should not be revoked until the proxy war in Jammu and Kashmir is stopped and the state police machinery is able to handle the normal law and order situation. R S Chauhan reports.
After 11 days of strike that crippled the state machinery in Jammu and Kashmir, two government employee unions on Wednesday called off the stir as Chief Minister Omar Abdullah assured them to fulfil their demands within three months.
The announcement brought some relief to the state government, which has been reeling under the consequences of the strike by its 4.5 lakh employees for the past eleven days.
In a word of advice to Jammu & Kashmir Chief Minister Omar Abdullah, state Congress chief Saifuddin Soz on Tuesday said the National Conference leader should "not get emotional" over the allegation of him being involved in a sex scandal and press for his resignation.
The Jammu and Kashmir government on Tuesday sought to distance itself from the controversy about the Centre's decision to award the Padma Shri to Ghulam Mohammed Mir, a former militant.As a controversy raged over the selection of a former militant for the prestigious award, Chief Minister Omar Abdullah said, "I am not aware of the state government making any recommendations. There is unfortunately a lot of controversy over this year's award".
The army on Friday ordered an internal probe into allegations that its soldiers had abducted and raped a woman in Kulgam district, even as Chief Minister Omar Abdullah promised strict action against the guilty.
"I am free... Hope others political leaders would be released soon. Thank all parliamentarians who fought for my freedom. Will be able to take decision on future only after other leaders are released," Abdullah, the Lok Sabha member from Srinagar, told reporters from the terrace of his residence in Srinagar.
Congress general secretary Rahul Gandhi has advanced his trip to Jammu and Kashmir by a day. Earlier he was to visit the state on October 5 to take stock of the situation faced by the sarpanches, but now he is visiting the state on the night of October 4.
Chief Minister Omar Abdullah sprang a surprise by opting to keep his uncle Sheikh Mustafa Kamal out of the Cabinet. While this was a clever image-building exercise by the CM, several other stalwarts were left complaining about not being included in the Cabinet.
The social networking sites were abuzz with discussion over Osama bin Laden's end.
Teenager Faizan Rafiq, whose detention under the Public Safety Act for his alleged involvement in stone-pelting had created a furore in Jammu and Kashmir, was on Tuesday released from a jail in Kathua district on humanitarian grounds on the order of Chief Minister Omar Abdullah.
Jammu and Kashmir Chief Minister Omar Abdullah on Wednesday asked fire-brand separatist leader Syed Ali Shah Geelani not to make 'false claims' about being detained by the Delhi police.Rubbishing claims of separatists that Geelani had been detained in Delhi, he said the separatist leader was 'completely free' and even takes his morning walks."He has been told to not to leave the city until he records his statement in connection with the alleged hawala case.
Jammu and Kashmir Chief Minister Omar Abdullah on Sunday accused the Bharatiya Janata Party of trying to flare up the situation in Kishtwar to polarise the population with an eye on next year's elections to parliament and the assembly.
The map displayed by PDP during a power point presentation yesterday showed Aksai Chin and Karakoram region painted in red and part of China and Pakistan-occupied Kashmir (PoK) in green.
The Jammu and Kashmir government has finally decided to hold Panchayat elections in the state which were postponed last year in the aftermath of the deadly summer unrest, in March.
The Bajrang Dal has threatened to send a team of 100 volunteers to the Amarnath shrine on June 4 to take stock of the situation there. Earlier, a group of Bajrang Dal activists has tried to make their way to the shrine but were prevented by the Jammu and Kashmir police from doing so.
Lashing out at Abdullah and Mehbooba Mufti, Rashid on Wednesday alleged that they have "destroyed" Kashmir.
Jammu and Kashmir Chief Minister Omar Abdullah on Tuesday deplored the attacks on moderate Huriryat Conference chairman Mirwaiz Umar Farooq saying it was against the democratic traditions of the country.
Normal life was affected in Jammu on Saturday due to a three-hour 'chakka jam' called by Bharatiya Janata Party protesting the surrender policy for youths who went to PoK for arms training and demanding that Chief Minister Omar Abdullah withdraw his statement on accession of Jammu and Kashmir with India.
Jammu and Kashmir Chief Minister Omar Abdullah has said that the Kashmir issue was a political problem that could not be resolved by administrative or security measures.Calling for good relations between India and Pakistan as they directly impact peace in the state, he said his people's primary focus remains on a lasting solution to the Kashmir problem through political means, with participation of all stakeholders.
Jammu and Kashmir government on Tuesday started the process of removing 16 security bunkers from Srinagar city as part of the Centre's peace initiatives to reach out to the people of the Valley.
David Devadas, journalist, and author of In Search of a Future, the Story of Kashmir, was beaten by the police in Srinagar on last Monday. Devadas says that he is worried about his life after the incident.
Jammu and Kashmir Governor N N Vohra has written to Chief Minister Omar Abdullah, urging him to recommend the name of Rukhsana, who shot into the limelight after killing a Lashker-e-Tayiba terrorist, for the National Bravery Award, officials said in Jammu on Thursday. Vohra had lauded the exemplary courage of the girl who, along with her brother, killed the LeT militant in Kalsian area of Shahdra Shrief on September 27.
'We put the seed of BJP's ideology in Jammu, watered it, nurtured it for four decades and when it was time to reap the fruits of those efforts, the fruits are being sold out to the very same people who worked hard to uproot this tree.' 'Shockingly, our own people are letting this happen and nobody from Delhi bothers to even listen to us.'
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.
The Jammu and Kashmir government is likely to disallow the Bharatiya Janata Party yatra to Srinagar to hoist the national flag at Lal Chowk on Republic Day. Highly placed sources here said that the state government has decided to halt the yatra by the youth wing of the BJP in Jammu and not to allow it to proceed to Srinagar.
Breaking his silence on former army chief V K Singh's remarks that ministers in Jammu and Kashmir were given money by the Army, Chief Minister Omar Abdullah on Wednesday said the Centre should conduct a thorough probe as allegations made by Singh cannot be brushed aside.
The much-talked about surrender policy for youths who had exfiltrated from Jammu and Kashmir between 1989 and 2009 for arms training and have a change of heart now was cleared on Monday by the state cabinet.
Omar also said he would never prefer horse trading to end the stalemate.
As thousands of civilians affected by the Pakistani shelling in the RS Pura sector thronged to shelter camps, Jammu and Kashmir Chief Minister Omar Abdullah accompanied by his team went on to inspect the lodging facilities and quality of food provided to them.
Jammu and Kashmir Chief Minister Omar Abdullah on Thursday said there was no increased threat perception to this year's Amarnath yatra compared to previous years and fears of attack as reported in the media were "gross exaggeration".
In an exclusive telephonic interview with rediff.com from Srinagar, People's Democratic Party chief Mehbooba Mufti accused the governments of Pakistan and India for the present situation in Jammu and Kashmir.
Jammu and Kashmir Chief Minister Omar Abdullah on Friday expressed his extreme disappointment over army's decision to close the Pathribhal fake encounter case and said the state law authorities will be asked to examine options to address this "serious" matter.
People's Democratic Party MLA Waheed Para on Monday moved a resolution in the Jammu and Kashmir assembly opposing the abrogation of Article 370 and calling for the restoration of special status to the erstwhile state, leading to noisy scenes in the House.
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