'When there are two hostile armies operating in close proximity, moral ascendancy is very important -- and that is something, I think, we achieved.' 'What is important is the will and determination of a country.' 'That you are willing to do something about terror that is coming from across the border and that is the message that was sent out.'
The state government last week announced the schedule for holding elections to local bodies and panchayats in the state.
'We have made no effort in recent years to build a national opinion on Kashmir amongst political parties.' 'At least we should speak as one country.' 'It has been a failure of our foreign policy that we have not been able to convince world opinion that something needs to be done about Pakistan.'
'How can Kashmir be demilitarised if the terrorist threat remains and Pakistan continues to incite elements in Kashmir to keep the internal situation unstable?' asks former foreign secretary Kanwal Sibal.
'Abrogation of Article 370 is not legal because it is the legal basis of Kashmir's accession to India.'
'We are certainly disappointed by our inability to win a single seat in the valley... We will analyse what led to this kind of dismal -- in terms of seats -- non-performance by the BJP.' 'I certainly don't want to attribute any religious or so-called communal reasons for it; for the simple reason, that even in Ladakh, a Buddhist majority area, we failed to win seats.' BJP General Secretary Ram Madhav, the man in charge of the party's election campaign in J&K, discusses the verdict with Sheela Bhatt/Rediff.com
Sources in New Delhi say senior PDP leader Muzaffar Hussain Baig is likely to meet Prime Minister Narendra Modi, which could signal the launch of formal negotiations between the two political parties
In a statement, the MEA said, "The latest brutal killings of our security personnel by Pakistan-based entities and the recent release of a series of 20 postage stamps by Pakistan glorifying a terrorist and terrorism confirm that Pakistan will not mend its ways."
"Our handshake with Indian Union was subject to certain conditions," he said.
Apart from taking stock of the political situation in the country, the CWC discussed the upcoming presidential and vice presidential elections.
Reaching a consensus might also get tougher, as already seen with issues like inclusion of natural gas in GST and imposition of a sugar cess, both central proposals being resisted.
The escalating situation in the Kashmir valley is the vanguard actions of global jihad, says Brigadier S K Chatterji (retd). And in this battle, he believes, perception management operations will be just important as operations to neutralise the terrorists.
'No amount of digression can hide deflect the fact that the PM's visit was badly conceived, planned and executed,' argues Ambassador M K Bhadrakumar.
The incident took place at Bhatindi on Saturday morning when the man, hailing from Mendhar in Poonch district, drove at a high speed and banged his car against the main gate, they said.
'The Indian government spent Rs 506 crore on security of the separatists in the last five years.' 'These separatist leaders must know how ordinary people live. Have you ever seen Geelani's son throwing stones?' 'The separatists have encouraged people into this stone throwing business. They have destroyed Kashmir.' Jammu BJP MLA Rajesh Gupta on why separatists must not be given security.
The positivity over Narendra Modi's election speech in Jammu is unanimous, but it comes with guarded optimism as many would like to wait and watch to see how the new government actually manages the 25-year-old issue, says Upasna Pandey
Accusing Pakistan of continuing to support "proxy war" in Jammu and Kashmir despite suffering casualties due to terror on its soil, Army Chief Gen Dalbir Singh on Tuesday said threats and challenges have been growing because of the "active borders".
The Kashmir-based PDP's linkage with the BJP could even be a turning point, provided it is safeguarded against real possibility of miscarriage. So-called fringe elements on either side, more so in the Saffron parivar, can easily upset Modi-Mufti applecart. They have only to drag contentious issues into limelight to do that, says Mohammad Sayeed Malik.
'Once the violence is contained, the politicians must play their role, but unfortunately that is not happening.'
The Centre also justified the abrogation of Article 35A of the Constitution which "enabled the then State to make laws giving special rights and privileges to permanent residents, while imposing restrictions upon others".
A non-Kashmiri describes the state of siege and police brutality that the outside students at the NIT campus in Srinagar are facing in the last week.
'It marks the start of an era where the BJP must now campaign on its own record rather than against the misrule of another party.'
'Now you have a full clampdown and a huge security blanket. How long are you going to maintain that? The moment you lift it, all that suppressed protest and anger will come out.'
'India, which climbed the escalation ladder first, has climbed down.'
'It remains unclear what Indian objectives have been realised in precipitating the crisis in the first instance last Tuesday,' notes Ambassador M K Bhadrakumar.
The fruits of election boycotts are harvested not only by the separatists but also by beneficiaries across the democratic divide, points out Mohammad Sayeed Malik.
The kind of freedom Kashmir is enjoying today is not there even in Islamic countries like Afghanistan, Syria, Turkey and Pakistanis, Mufti said.
'The youth have given New Delhi a chance. Now it is up to the policy-makers in Delhi to respect their political choices.'
BJP strategists need to remember even at this late hour that 'negativism' sells when you are in the Opposition as the Indian voter has mostly voted anti-incumbency, and not when you are in power. You still needed to highlight your achievements and promises, and let the voter draw his conclusions, says N Sathiya Moorthy.
While no one has been named in the two FIRs yet, the official said police is investigating the video evidence of the violence that took place on the days of incidents.
Kejriwal believes in good governance and takes pride in his Hindu identity, points out Sudhir Bisht.
The education sector has been badly hit in Kashmir Valley during the five-month-long unrest, causing "irreversible loss" to students, the Economic Survey Report has said.
Slamming Hurriyat leader Syed Ali Shah Geelani's demand for restricting Amarnath yatra to 30 days, Jammu and Kashmir Deputy Chief Minister Nirmal Singh on Saturday.
The Congress was not unduly perturbed by reports that party vice-president Rahul Gandhi's application for proof of residence in Amethi was turned down by the district magistrate, stating emphatically that this would have no impact on his nomination from his Lok Sabha constituency. Anita Katyal explains why
Taking potshots at West Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee over the Saradha chit-fund scam and the Burdwan blast, Bharatiya Janata Party president Amit Shah on Sunday appealed to the people here to vote for change and development in the state.
'Knee jerk reactions are the worst in this kind of conflict situation.' 'The responses have to be thought through for strategic advantage rather than tactical satisfaction and ego,' says Lieutenant General Syed Ata Hasnain (retd), former commander of the Uri-based Kalapahar Brigade.
Haryana remained on the boil on as the Jat stir unleashed fresh incidents of violence and arson even as the Army had to use choppers to reach parts of blocked Rohtak.
The RSS on Sunday said it has not abandoned its commitment to build a grand Ram temple in Ayodhya and sought speeding up of the case proceedings in the Supreme Court.
'If Article 35A is scrapped, then Jammu's identity will be over.'
Pakistan's prime minister is trying to use the unrest in Kashmir to save his government, says Ambassador G Parthasarathy, a former high commissioner to Islamabad.
'Civilian casualties are something that could change the mood overnight, and therefore should be avoided by every means.'
