Uttarakhand has become the first state in India to implement the Uniform Civil Code (UCC), fulfilling a key promise made by the ruling BJP ahead of the 2022 Assembly elections. Chief Minister Pushkar Singh Dhami unveiled the UCC notification and launched a portal for mandatory online registration of marriages, divorces, and live-in relationships. The UCC aims to create equal laws for all citizens regardless of their religion, marking a historic moment in the state's legal landscape.
President Pezeshkian on Saturday said that Iran unequivocally denounces such "inhumane acts", Iran's embassy in New Delhi said in a post on X.
Assam Chief Minister Himanta Biswa Sarma announced the arrest of six individuals, including an opposition MLA, for allegedly expressing support for Pakistan following a terrorist attack in Jammu and Kashmir. The arrests come as part of a crackdown on individuals promoting pro-Pakistan sentiments on social media. The chief minister stated that Assam will not tolerate any support for Pakistan in connection with the attack in Pahalgam, where 26 people were killed.
It said a "sudden rise" in terrorist-financing investigations was seen in 2023 and this was attributed to events arising out of incidents in Manipur that led to such probes in more than 50 cases.
Reciting Islamic verse 'Kalma' saved the life of Assam University Professor Debasish Bhattacharya by a whisker from the terrorists' bullets in Jammu and Kashmir's Pahalgam where he was holidaying with his family.
Iranian Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi visited Pakistan and called on both India and Pakistan to "exercise restraint" amid rising tensions between the two countries following the Pahalgam terror attack. Araghchi, who is scheduled to travel to India on Thursday, emphasized the importance of easing tensions and preventing further escalation. During his talks with Pakistani officials, Araghchi and Pakistani Foreign Minister Bilawal Bhutto Zardari reaffirmed their commitment to strong Pakistan-Iran ties and agreed to boost cooperation in trade, energy, and connectivity. Both sides also exchanged views on the situation in South Asia and the US-Iran talks, while agreeing that complex regional issues could be resolved through diplomacy and negotiations.
Former Pakistani Foreign Minister Bilawal Bhutto has acknowledged the country's tango with terror operatives, saying that Pakistan has a past.
'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.'
Terrorists opened fire at a popular tourist spot near Kashmir's Pahalgam town on Tuesday afternoon, killing 26 people, mostly holidayers from other states, in what is the deadliest attack in the Valley since the Pulwama strike in 2019.
The reality is that far from being friendless, India is better positioned in the world than at any point post-Cold War, asserts Shekhar Gupta.
He added, "You can never trust Pakistan as long as the Pakistani deep state, Pakistani ISI, Pakistani military's objective is to destabilise Bharat."
A total of nine terror sites in Pakistan, including five in Pojk, linked to Lashkar-e-Taiba (Let) and Jaish-e-Mohammed (Jem), were targeted with meticulous planning to avoid civilian casualties.
According to a notification issued by the ministry, the JKGF has been involved in infiltration bids, narcotics and weapon smuggling, terror attacks in the Union territory, and threats to security forces.
Union Home Minister Amit Shah said Prime Minister Narendra Modi government's message is loud and clear that anyone acting against the unity, sovereignty, and integrity of the nation will not be spared and face the full wrath of the law.
It is time we buried the mantra of 'peaceful and stable Pakistan is in our interest'. It is not, simply because Pakistan's existence -- that is synonymous with its army -- means peace has no chance, asserts Colonel Anil A Athale (Retd). It is time we buried the mantra of 'peaceful and stable Pakistan is in our interest' asserts Colonel Anil A Athale (Retd).
A British MP has tabled a parliamentary motion in the House of Commons to commemorate the 35th anniversary of the "genocide of Kashmiri Pandit Hindus from Jammu and Kashmir in India." The motion, which calls for recognition and justice for the events of January 1990, has been met with support from other MPs. The motion condemns the attacks on the Hindu population of Kashmir Valley and calls for the Indian government to enact a bill to punish the perpetrators.
'Muslims need to work according to strategy and not fall into the trap of Opposition parties.'
"Liberty is granted to newly-added respondents (states) to file a response within 15 days from the date of service, and rejoinder if any be filed after 15 days. The interim order to continue and will equally apply to the cases mentioned in the amended writ petition. We direct no further cases be registered without the permission of this court," the bench's order said.
'The new Waqf bill sows the seed for conflict in every town and village of India.'
Javed Munshi, suspected to be a member of the outlawed 'Tehreek e Mujahideen' outfit in Kashmir Valley, was picked up from near Canning Hospital by a joint team of Jammu and Kashmir Police and West Bengal Police's Special Task Force, the officer said.
Aijaz Ahmad, presently based in Afghanistan, is one of the chief recruiters of Islamic State Jammu and Kashmir.
She said the encounter in Jammu's Sidhra area in the morning, where four terrorists were killed, belied the government claims of uprooting terrorism in J and K.
The official said digital devices seized from the house during the search are being examined and further investigations are in progress.
Shah said stringent actions would be taken against any individual who jeopardises the nation's security.
A terrorist belonging to the Islamic State Jammu and Kashmir (ISJK) outfit, who was involved in the killing of a police officer, was killed in an encounter with security forces in Anantnag, police said on Sunday.
Any curious mind, the court observed, can access and download such content from the internet, which, by itself, is not a crime.
As controversy raged over Yati Narsinghanand's objectionable remarks against Prophet Muhammad, his supporters on Sunday alleged that the Dasna temple head priest is being illegally kept in detention by police, which denied the claim.
The Organisation of Islamic Cooperation voiced concern over the human rights situation in Kashmir.
Terror group Al Qaeda is "shaping" its regional affiliate in the Indian subcontinent to spread its operations into Jammu and Kashmir, Bangladesh and Myanmar, according to a UN report.
Parvez, a resident of the downtown area in Khanyar, was 21 when he was rescued from Ankara, after his parents claimed he had been misguided by some people to join the terror ranks.
The group was banned for five years under anti-terror law on grounds that it was "in close touch" with militant outfits and is expected to "escalate secessionist movement" in the state.
Panjwar, 63 was involved in drug and weapons smuggling and was designated as a terrorist under the Unlawful Activities (Prevention) Act in July 2020.
The mass exodus of the Kashmiri Pandit community changed the very cultural ethos of Kashmir and there has been little turnback despite three decades having gone by since it got triggered by growing fundamentalism fuelled from across the border, Supreme Court judge Justice Sanjay Kishan Kaul said on Monday.
On the controversial AFSPA, the home minister said, "We will also think of revoking AFSPA."
Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Friday said the Agnipath scheme is an example of necessary reforms undertaken by the Army and accused the opposition of playing politics over the recruitment process aimed at keeping the average age in armed forces young.
The boy, identified as Nihan Yawar, a resident of neighbouring Kulgam district, was travelling with his father for some personal work when he was hit by bullets fired by the terrorist at Padshahi Bagh bridge in Anantnag's Bijbehara area.
There were eight such cases in 2015, 31 cases in 2016 and five cases in 2017.
The best, wisest, and fairest next step in strengthening our own cause is to restore statehood to Jammu & Kashmir and allow the resumption of robust political activity. That's a box that remains unchecked on the Modi government's report card as we approach the fourth anniversary of Kashmir's Constitutional shift, notes Shekhar Gupta.
'It is time to not merely assert that Kashmir is an internal problem, but begin to act on it,' argues Colonel Anil A Athale (retd).
Four terrorists, including a Pakistani national, were killed in two separate encounters in Jammu and Kashmir's Srinagar and Kulgam districts during the past 24 hours, a senior police official said on Sunday.