It was an emotional reunion of Kashmiri Pandits visiting the valley for the first time since their migration about two decades ago, and local Muslims on the occasion of annual Khir Bhawani mela at Tulmulla in Jammu and Kashmir on Wednesday.
The Jammu and Kashmir government on Tuesday imposed Section 144 of the CRPC on the movement of more than four persons along the international border and imposed a ban on the sale of combat dress in Samba district.
Life in Srinagar and other major towns was affected by a shutdown called by the hard-line separatist leader, Syed Ali Shah Geelani to coincide with the first death anniversary of a student killed by a tear smoke shell hit in old city last year.
The Indian Army has foiled an infiltration bid from across the border in Nowgam sector of Kashmir, killing three intruders. Army personnel detected some movement in the sector in north Kashmir's Kupwara district on Saturday night. When the intruders were challenged by the army patrol, they opened fire, said army spokesman Naresh Vij.
Junaid-ul-Islam, a top leader of the Hizbul Mujahideen, has been arrested in Brarmulla district of north Kashmir, the police said on Thursday. Islam is the chief spokesman and top militant commander of the outfit in the state, said police sources.
Two children were killed when a hand grenade exploded in Gawari village in the hilly Doda district at Jammu on Friday. The children had found the grenade by the riverside and were playing with it when the grenade exploded, said the police. The victims have been identified as Kamran (6) and Mohammad Afzal (12). The police suspect that the grenade may have been the leftover ammunition of the recent encounter between militants and security forces in the village.
A local court on Wednesday awarded life imprisonment to three Hizbul Mujahideen militants involved in killing of two women in Udhampur district a decade ago.
Ajit Mishra, vice president, Research, Religare Broking, answers your queries.
Six persons, including five civilians and a Border Security Force (BSF) trooper, were injured in a militant grenade attack in the main Chowk at Bandipore on Friday afternoon.
Security forces launched a search operation today afternoon, following inputs that a group of militants was moving towards the Line of Control to receive another group from across the border in the Krishna Ghatti-Mendhar sector in Poonch district, he said. However, the ultras were intercepted by the troops en route and a fierce encounter ensued, resulting in the killing of three militants, the spokesman said. One Army jawan sustained injuries when he stepped over a mine.
The Jammu and Kashmir government on Thursday set up a panel to investigate torture marks on the body of Chamel Singh.
Three top militants of Hizbul Mujaheedin were killed in a daylong fierce gunfight with security forces in the Ramban district of Jammu and Kashmir.
Terming as "illegal and unconstitutional" the actions of J-K authorities to prevent it from hoisting the tricolour at Srinagar's Lal Chowk, the Bharatiya Janata Party said it would file cases against the state government and move a breach of privilege motion in the assembly.
Engineers have been rushed in a special flight, which is expected to land at the airport on Monday afternoon to repair the damage and make it airworthy.
Moderate All Parties Hurriyat Conference Chairman Mirwaiz Moulvi Umar Farooq on Friday confirmed that Dileep Padgaonkar, veteran journalist and one of the interlocutors appointed by the Centre for Kashmir, had called him for a meeting. "Dileep Padgaonkar called me on Thursday and requested a meeting, which I declined. I told Padgaonkar that it was our stand not to meet them as long as our demands are not met," the Mirwaiz said.
Jammu and Kashmir can boast of having the world's tallest bridge after the construction of the Chenab bridge in Reasi district by Indian Railways. "The Chenab Bridge, linking Kauri and Bakkal hamlets in Reasi district. will have a height of 359 m above the bed of Chenab," deputy chief engineer (DCE) Konkan Railways, Ishwar Chand said.
Army Chief General V K Singh said the legal system in Jammu and Kashmir was under "various pressures" that leave a question mark over the process.
A suspected militant was killed as the Indian Army foiled an infiltration bid after a fierce gunbattle along the Line of Control (LoC) in Rajouri district of Jammu and Kashmir. Troops guarding the border line in Laam forward area in Nowshera sector observed the movement of some militants around 3.30 pm today and launched a search, Army officials said.
The return of around 6,000 paramilitary personnel to Jammu and Kashmir after election duty elsewhere has triggered large scale rumours, ranging from further bifurcation of the union territory to announcement of elections after realigning districts, for the last three days.
The separatists should shun their prejudices and understand that by coming forward and talking to the interlocutors, and the Centre, a lasting solution can be found to the vexed issue," Minister for Law and Parliamentary Affairs Ali Mohammad Sagar said.
The Jammu and Kashmir high court has restrained the authorities from deporting an aged Pakistani national, who came to his native Pekhri village in Samba district recently on a cross Line of Control permit issued by the Pakistan government, till further orders.The order was passed by Justice Mansoor Ahmed Mir in a petition filed by 83-year-old Hashmat Ali, who had migrated to Pakistan in 1947 and did not want to return.
It's been two months since the doctors staged their first protest.
The moderate faction of the Hurriyat Conference decided on Sunday, not to meet the interlocutors appointed by the Centre for Jammu and Kashmir, saying such an exercise was aimed at keeping the issue lingering.
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.
Opposition People's Democratic Party on Thursday said it will boycott the entire summer session of the Jammu and Kashmir legislative assembly to protest the deteriorating law and order situation in the Valley, in which over 100 people have died and thousands have been injured."We will not attend the rest of the session of the assembly as a mark of protest against the killings and solidarity with the people," PDP president Mehbooba Mufti said in the assembly.
Pakistan on Tuesday called on India to 'review the practice' of describing Jammu and Kashmir as its 'integral part' of its territory, even as Prime Minister Yousuf Raza Gilani flayed the alleged human rights violations in the Valley. "Indians should quit the policy of finding a solution to the Kashmir issue under their constitution and they should review the practice of calling (Jammu and) Kashmir an integral part of India," Foreign Office spokesman Abdul Basit said.
The Centre will extend invitation to groups and individuals, including separatists in Jammu and Kashmir for a meeting with the 39-member all-party delegation visiting the state from Monday.
Ajit Mishra, vice president, Research, Religare Broking, answers your queries.
Pakistani troops on Tuesday violated the ceasefire along the Line of Control in Uri Sector of Jammu and Kashmir by firing rockets, resulting in the death of three civilians, including two children. "Pakistani troops fired two 80mm rockets in an unprovoked ceasefire violation at Lambardar village in Uri sector of Baramulla district," official sources said.
The Central government has said there are reliable reports to suggest that anti-national elements are trying to exploit the situation in Jammu and Kashmir.
The Jammu and Kashmir Police has sought the custody of an army colonel, a major and four others for custodial interrogation in the alleged fake encounter of three youth in Machil sector in frontier district of Kupwara in April this year.
Mirwaiz Umer Farooq, chairman of the moderate Hurriyat faction, was put under house arrest and prohibitory orders clamped in Srinagar on Saturday as separatists called a strike against the visit of Congress chief Sonia Gandhi to Jammu.They said the step was taken as a precautionary measure to prevent the Hurriyat leader from visiting Shopian, 55 kms from Srinagar, to take part in a protest to mark the first anniversary of the alleged rape and murder of two young women.
The villager who gave the tip-off to the army about an underground tunnel dug from Pakistan along the International Border in Samba sector was on Thursday awarded Rs 5,100 cash by the Jammu and Kashmir government.
The Jammu and Kashmir police has formed a Special Investigation Team to probe the terrorist-cop nexus unearthed recently.
"The infiltrators were challenged to surrender after they were surrounded upon which they opened fire at the troops leading to an encounter, which has now ended. All the three infiltrators were killed," Lt Col J S Brar told rediff.com.
Earlier this week, the Centre cleared the decks for people from across the country to buy land in the union territory by amending several laws. Most shops, petrol pumps and other business establishments were shut in Srinagar, the summer capital of Jammu and Kashmir, the officials said.
The Jammu and Kashmir police on Tuesday set to charge-sheet the paramilitary border security force (BSF) commanding officer and a trooper involved in the killing of a 17-year-old schoolboy on February in Srinagar in February.
Authorities at the Rozabal shrine in Jammu and Kashmir's Khanyar district have banned foreigners from visiting the shrine after a sudden flurry of interest in the medieval tomb. The surge is being linked to rumours that Jesus Christ survived the Crucifixion and traveled later to Jammu and Kashmir, and his remains were still there in the Rozabal shrine.
A top commander of the Hizbul Mujahideen outfit was killed in a fierce gunfight in south Kashmir's Batpora village, 35 kms away from Srinagar, on Saturday evening.A senior police officer said troops of Rashtriya Rifles, Central Reserve Police Force and the state police jointly surrounded a house in Batpora village, after receiving information about the presence of a group of militants inside.
