An Army-run school in Baramulla district has stoked a controversy by asking its staff to avoid wearing the hijab during school hours, prompting criticism from Jammu and Kashmir's mainstream political parties.
Terming the 'azadi' statement made by senior Congress leader and Jammu and Kashmir Health Minister Sham Lal Sharma as "unfortunate", the ruling National Conference on Wednesday said that it always stood for the integrity of the state and equitable development.
Mukhtar Khan, Yasin Dar and Channi Anand -- three photojournalists working with the Associated Press (AP) -- were among those who were awarded the Pulitzer on Monday night.
The National Conference leader suggested that the CM should take responsibility for the prevailing situation and lead the recovery process from the front.
With the addition of two new UTs, its total number will go up to nine -- J&K, Ladakh, Delhi, Puducherry, Diu and Daman, Dadra and Nagar Haveli, Chandigarh, Lakshadweep and Andaman and Nicobar Islands.
Contours of government formation in Jammu and Kashmir appeared hazy on Friday with the Bharatiya Janata Party and the People's Democratic Party trying hard to hammer out a workable arrangement with various stakeholders.
Pandemonium broke out in the Jammu and Kashmir assembly on Monday over the Shopian case with opposition People's Democratic Party members trooping into the well of the House and trying to snatch the Speaker's microphone. Led by their leader Mehbooba Mufti, the 21-member PDP group raised slogans like "Shopian kay katiloon ko pesh karo". As Mehbooba tried to snatch the mike of the Speaker, Lone directed the watch and ward staff to remove the agitating PDP members from the House
Where do the big guns stand as counting underway for the Jammu and Kashmir and Jharkhand elections?
In a noteworthy progress, a working group of the prime minister has suggested autonomy for Jammu and Kashmir, asserting that the Central government may consider an offer made by the ruling National Conference in this regard.
"Hurriyat has nothing to do with this meaningless exercise and will ask the people to stay away from it as well," Mirwaiz Umer Farooq, chairman of the separatist amalgam's moderate faction, said after the Election Commission announced the seven-phased poll schedule for the border state.
'They forget that denial of basic rights has helped create a big political void which is adding to a deepening alienation.' 'This creates a fertile ground for extremist elements and targeted killings which we are witness to once again.'
National Conference president Farooq Abdullah, reading out a resolution adopted at the meeting, said the parties have decided to send delegations to meet President Ram Nath Kovind, Prime Minister Narendra Modi and leaders of political parties to apprise them about the consequences of any attempt to abrogate Article 370 and Article 35A of the Constitution, or carry out delimitation of constituencies or trifurcating the state.
'If you go by the essence of the Constitution of India, I don't see any problem in having a separate PM for J-K.'
'We don't have any agenda in that, there will be no discrimination against anyone. Constitution will be Gita in that'
A new political party called the 'Jammu and Kashmir Apni (own) Party' (JKAP) will be launched on Sunday and will be led by former state finance minister Syed Altaf Bukhari, with the primary aim of proving "relief to people who have been facing uncertainty since August 5 last year". This will be the first political activity in Jammu and Kashmir after August 5 last year, when the Centre withdrew the special status of the erstwhile state and bifurcated it into Union territories of Jammu and Kashmir, and Ladakh.
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.
Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman on Wednesday rebutted the Opposition's charge that the Bharatiya Janata Party too shared the responsibility for the failure to check the exodus of Kashmiri Pandits in 1990 as it was supporting the then V P Singh-led government at the Centre.
The terrorists fired at two non-local labourers at a brick kiln at Magraypora in Chadoora area of the central Kashmir district, the officials said.
The ultras fired upon advocate Babar Qadri at his Hawal residence around 6.25 pm from close range before fleeing the spot, a police official said.
The BJP has already cobbled up 28 seats to counter-bargain with the PDP's 28 seats in future talks. It is up to the Kashmir-based parties like the National Conference and PDP to assess the damage of going with the BJP which is perceived as the 'Hindu' party in the state. Sheela Bhatt/Rediff.com's takeways from a historic but fractured mandate in Jammu and Kashmir.
Government formation in Jammu and Kashmir remains a puzzle with the Bharatiya Janata Party looking for a partner among the state's mainstream parties but the National Conference has virtually ruled out a tie up with the saffron party.
Sajjad is the younger son of Hurriyat leader Abdul Gani Lone who was assassinated on May 21, 2002, by militants
The governor said he wanted polls to take place in the state and an elected government to function.
The rehabilitation policy okayed by the Jammu and Kashmir government on Monday facilitating the return of youth who had crossed over to Pakistan occupied Kashmir since 1990 for arms training has not gone down well with the Opposition parties.
The government is taking various steps, including provision of accomodation.
Militants shot at and killed a police constable and wounded another person in south Kashmir's Kulgam district on Saturday morning.
The Parliament had earlier this week given its nod to the legislation for bifurcating the state, a bold and far-reaching decision that seeks to redraw the map and future of a region at the center of a protracted militancy movement.
Jammu and Kashmir Legislative Council Chairman Amrit Malhotra has dissolved the House Committee which was formed to probe allegations of land grab against senior cabinet minister Taj Mohiuddin.
Sources said that Abdullah has now been detained under the stringent Public Safety Act
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.
Terrorists have stepped up attacks in the Kashmir valley over the past week.
Ten people died and 28 more were injured when an overcrowded mini-bus plunged into a deep gorge in Jammu and Kashmir's Poonch district on Wednesday, officials said in Jammu.
A war of words has broken out between ruling National Conference and Opposition People's Democratic Party in Jammu and Kashmir over posting of pictures on a networking site, caricaturing Chief Minister Omar Abdullah, his father Farooq Abdullah and late grandfather Sheikh Mohammad Abdullah as characters of the film 3 Idiots.
Bharatiya Janata Party candidate Javed Ahmad Qadri from Shopian in Jammu and Kashmir allegedly thrashed a voter inside a polling station, claiming that the latter had entered the booth without a voter slip.
Nineteen candidates saw an extremely close contest in the maiden District Development Council (DDC) polls in Jammu and Kashmir where the margin of victory was less than 100.
Founder of Jammu and Kashmir National Panthers Party Prof Bhim Singh passed away in Jammu on Tuesday after being unwell for about a month. He was 81.
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.
Three opposition PDP legislators were suspended from Tuesday's proceeding of Jammu and Kashmir legislative council after they broke into the house demanding a discussion on the alleged custodial death of a National Conference worker.
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