Jammu and Kashmir Lieutenant Governor Manoj Sinha has cleared a resolution passed by Chief Minister Omar Abdullah-led cabinet urging the Centre to restore the statehood to the Union territory, officials said on Saturday.
Union Home Minister Amit Shah asserted that the abrogation of Article 370 in 2019 was crucial in ending terrorism in Kashmir. He stated that the provision fostered separatism among Kashmiri youth and impeded the region's full integration into India. Shah also highlighted the development initiatives undertaken in Jammu and Kashmir post-Article 370, including a reduction in terrorism, successful local body elections, and an increase in tourism and film production. He emphasized the significance of writing India's history with facts and evidence, countering narratives that had obscured the country's rich heritage.
Srinagar Senior Superintendent of Police Rakesh Balwal, who has expertise in handling terror-related cases, has been "prematurely" repatriated to Manipur cadre where a fresh bout of violence has worsened the already tense situation.
Temples across Uttar Pradesh were packed with devotees on Sunday for Ram Navami, with Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath leading prayers at the Gorakhnath Temple. Heavy crowds were witnessed at temples in Lucknow, Gorakhpur, and Varanasi, where security was heightened. In Gorakhpur, Adityanath performed the traditional kanya pujan ritual, while in Varanasi, a 51-foot statue of Lord Ram has become a major attraction. The festival was celebrated with enthusiastic fervor across the state.
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.
According to the official, two Punjab residents were arrested following the recovery of one of the biggest narcotic haul this year from Banihal area along Jammu-Srinagar national highway.
Securing an impressive victory in Budgam and leading in Ganderbal -- the two seats that he contested -- the third-generation politician is set to become the next Jammu and Kashmir chief minister and carry on his family's legacy.
Former deputy chief minister Muzaffar Hussain Baig was among the 24 candidates in Baramulla constituency whose deposits were forfeited.
Even Ajmal Kasab was given a fair trial in our country, the Supreme Court on Thursday remarked and indicated it may set up a courtroom inside Tihar Jail for the trial of J-K separatist leader Yasin Malik in a kidnapping case.
'We called him Sher-e-Kashmir but we realised he was no lion but a pussycat who surrendered.'
Pakistan's intelligence agency, the ISI, is reportedly using individuals under the influence of drugs or posing as mentally disturbed to infiltrate India and deliver messages to terrorists in prisons. Officials have reported over 10 such cases since July, with individuals entering from Pakistan and Pakistan-occupied Kashmir and being sent to prisons in Jammu, Punjab, and Rajasthan. Security agencies suspect these individuals are couriers tasked with relaying communication to jailed terrorists. The ISI's tactic is believed to be a response to the increased use of technology in communication, which leaves behind electronic footprints. This method of infiltration has also been linked to drug smuggling operations. The ISI's current tactic is reminiscent of its past use of "sawari operators" on the Samjhauta Express for covert operations, which were effectively curtailed by authorities.
'The Congress backstabbed us and the BJP frontstabbed us.' 'This is the only difference between the two parties.'
He would be the first non-Jammu and Kashmir cadre officer to be posted in Srinagar after the cadre was merged with the Assam, Goa, Mizoram and Union Territory (AGMUT) cadre following the bifurcation of the erstwhile state into the union territories of Jammu and Kashmir, and Ladakh on August 5, 2012.
Bharatiya Janata Party national general secretary Ram Madhav on Wednesday accused the National Conference and the People's Democratic Party of taking support from ex-militants for the assembly polls in Jammu and Kashmir, and said the two parties want to take the Union territory back to its 'trouble-filled days'.
Karra, who became the J&K Congress chief last Friday replacing Vikar Rasool Wani, said a call is already there for all secular parties who are opposed to the "hegemonic attitude" of the BJP to unite.
The Indian National Developmental Inclusive Alliance (INDIA) is poised to form the first elected government in Jammu and Kashmir, having secured a victory in the assembly elections by securing 49 out of 90 seats on which polls were held for the first time since the abrogation of Article 370 five years ago.
Ahead of counting of votes, National Conference president Farooq Abdullah on Monday said his party was open to the idea of taking support of Mehbooba Mufti's People's Democratic Party to form government in the Union territory.
The road ahead will require navigating complex financial challenges while fostering job creation and sustainable development in the region.
Scores of individuals and groups including from many political parties, and Panchayati Raj Institutions members, met the commission.
Delegates of all G20 countries, barring China, arrived in Srinagar on Monday for the third working group meeting on tourism -- a much-anticipated event for which authorities have made extensive security arrangements and spruced up the summer capital of Jammu and Kashmir.
A Pakistani intruder was also killed in the exchange of fire, they added.
They said police parties fanned out to find them amid reports that they had been abducted and killed by terrorists.
National Conference leader Omar Abdullah was sworn in as the chief minister of Jammu and Kashmir on Wednesday, the first elected government in the Union Territory since 2019 when Article 370 was abrogated.
Shinde's remarks come in the middle of the election season in JK.
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.
Notwithstanding protests by the opposition Bharatiya Janata Party, he said the first session of the newly elected Jammu and Kashmir Assembly is "short in duration but historic in terms of agenda".
At Srinagar's famed Lal Chowk, Rediff.com's Syed Firdaus Ashraf meets a computer engineer who drives an auto for a living and discovers that Kashmiris are more interested in finding jobs than discussing the assembly election.
Medical Superintendent of the government-run G B Pant Children Hospital Dr Nazir Hussain Choudhary said the baby died at 6.30 am at the neonatal intensive care unit.
At least three MLAs were marshalled out on the directions of Speaker Abdul Rahim Rather but the brawl ensued due to resistance put up by the opposition members.
In a significant political development, National Conference president Farooq Abdullah announced on Thursday that an alliance with the Congress was finalised for all 90 assembly seats in Jammu and Kashmir, which is going for its maiden assembly polls after being reorganised into a Union Territory.
Jammu and Kashmir Lt Governor Manoj Sinha assured the newly elected legislative assembly on Monday that the Omar Abdullah government will make all efforts for the restoration of full statehood and constitutional guarantees available to the state.
Three women, including former minister Sakeena Masood (National Conference), won elections on Tuesday to enter the male-dominated assembly in Jammu and Kashmir.
So far 14 Kashmiri Pandits have filed nominations to contest from the valley for the upcoming Jammu and Kashmir assembly elections, aiming to ensure the return and rehabilitation of their fellow community members, whose number run up to 3 lakh.
Chief minister-designate Omar Abdullah met Lieutenant Governor Manoj Sinha to present letters of support from coalition partners, shortly after the Congress officially extended its backing to the party.
On the Opposition's poll promise of statehood restoration, Shah said, "I want to ask Farooq Abdullah and Rahul Gandhi, who is going to restore the statehood. You cannot give it back. Why are you misleading the public?"
Pakistan has declined to allow the use of its airspace for flights from Jammu and Kashmir's Srinagar to Sharjah in the United Arab Emirates, sources said.
'For decades, we have heard only lofty claims. We have become accustomed to empty assurances, and it seems that political leaders see us merely as voters'
The truck loaded with husk was intercepted near Sidhra's Tawi bridge checking point along Jammu-Srinagar national highway on Wednesday morning
Sinha called for justice to the victims as he blamed Pakistan for "still trying to kill innocent people" in the region to disrupt peace.
A list of lesser-travelled destinations in India that you must explore this year!
© 2026 Rediff.com - Advertise with us - Disclaimer - Privacy Policy - Sitemap - Feedback - About us - Terms of use - Grievances