Life in Kashmir Valley came to a grinding halt on Monday due to a bandh called by separatists to protest the Election Commission's move to decide the date for assembly polls in Jammu and Kashmir.Shops and other business establishments, educational and semi-government institutions remained closed, while attendance in government offices was thin, official sources said.All modes of transport remained off the roads in Srinagar and elsewhere in the Valley.
The Pakistani troops were seen firing mortars and missiles from civilian houses, using villagers as human shields. The Pakistani army used heavy weaponry, firing 120-mm mortar targeting civilian hamlets.
Additional solicitor general KM Nataraj, appearing for the Centre, told a bench of Justices SK Kaul and A Amanullah that responses were still awaited from Rajasthan and Telanagana.
The Delhi high court on Tuesday dismissed National Conference leader Omar Abdullah's plea seeking divorce from his estranged wife on grounds of cruelty, saying there was no merit in his appeal.
Shelling and firing by Pakistani troops was "very heavy" in 2019, virtually making the 2003 India-Pakistan border truce "redundant", officials said.
The state government pointed accusing fingers at separatists, saying they had started the "era of destruction" in Kashmir but were now trying to find an escape route.
'In both places the minority was disproportionately powerful.' 'Few people acknowledge it but at its core the Tamil Nadu problem between the Brahmins and the rest was one of power.' 'In Kashmir the Hindus held most of the land and the accompanying political power, while the Muslims were the peasants and powerless,' notes T C A Srinivasa Raghavan.
'We have had three wars with India, and they have only brought more misery, poverty, and unemployment to the people'
Rai said as per the information provided by the government of Jammu and Kashmir, after the abrogation of Article 370, a total of 520 migrants have returned to Kashmir for taking up the jobs under the Prime Minister's Development Package-2015.
The Army on Thursday evening staged a flag march in the Satwari area of Jammu city after a Sikh youth was killed in police firing, while two others were wounded in daylong clashes between protestors and security forces.
BJP president and Union Home Minister Amit Shah said the prime minister shared his vision and commitment for the development of the people of Jammu and Kashmir and Ladakh region and and urged them 'to be a part of this historic journey'.
The deaths of over 400 children in the past five months in Kashmir Valley's only paediatric hospital -- the G B Panth hospital in Srinagar -- have triggered a social, political and administrative commotion, reports Mukhtar Ahmad.
Normal life was disrupted on Tuesday in Kashmir due to a strike called by separatists in protest against the landing of army in the valley on this day in 1947.
He said the then prime minister Manmohan Singh had given a speech in which he had said Muslims have the first right to the country's resources.
Curfew-like restrictions were imposed on Saturday in parts of Kashmir, including Srinagar city, and Amarnath yatra suspended as authorities apprehended protests in the Valley, where tension prevailed following the killing of Hizbul Mujahideen commander Burhan Wani by security forces.
She will return home with the Mrs World crown after 21 years.
The security personnel deployed to maintain law and order stayed put even as restrictions were lifted from most areas of the valley.
Educational institutions, shops and business establishments remained closed across the Valley, while all kinds of transport remained off the roads due to the strike.
A few incidents of protests were reported in Jammu city even as mobile Internet services remained suspended and policemen deployed in strength to thwart any flare up.
"There are floods. Large number of leaders try to portray militant groups in a good way. A number of militant groups have sent their elements to Balochistan and Sindh for helping people affected by floods," Lt Gen Singh said.
Winter vacations in secondary and higher secondary schools have been cancelled to make up for the time lost during the over five months of unrest in the region during the summer, reports Mukhtar Ahmad.
The number of terror incidents in Jammu and Kashmir has shown significant decline since the abrogation of Article 370 in August 2019, the Lok Sabha was informed on Tuesday.
Government sources in New Delhi said the neighbouring country's attempt to 'politicise' a humanitarian issue by its 'unwarranted' statement on Kashmir during the video-conference reflected 'very poorly' on it.
The Centre on Monday expressed happiness over the reopening of most educational institutes in Jammu and Kashmir and appealed to all sections of the people, especially parents, to cooperate with the government in their smooth functioning. Home Minister P Chidambaram said there was a call by one of the Hurriyat leaders to the parents asking them not to send their children to schools and colleges, but it was heartening that parents have disregarded that call.
Defence Minister A K Antony on Saturday arrived in Srinagar on a two-day visit to Jammu and Kashmir during which he will review the security situation in the Valley and also interact with troops deployed in forward locations.
Rajni Bala, a government school teacher who was killed by terrorists in Jammu and Kashmir's Kulgam district, was cremated in Samba on Wednesday, amid an outpouring of grief and anger.
The ongoing violence in the valley is driving students to excel, but it is also making them angry, discovers Ritwik Sharma.
In a significant move, Kashmiri separatist leaders on Sunday decided to convene a meeting of all stakeholders on Tuesday to decide the future course of the nearly four-month-long shutdown in the Valley.
Normal life has been paralysed due to curfew-like restrictions and separatists-sponsored strike since Saturday.
Kashmir remained on the edge with six more persons, including a cop getting killed in violence on Sunday.
The report covers 20 countries, including war-torn Syria, Afghanistan, and Yemen and also the situation in India, the Philippines and Nigeria.
Sayeed said said such attacks would not deter the people from pursuing the path of peace and the process of dialogue and reconciliation would be carried forward.
The minority affairs minister ruled out reconsideration on abrogation of Article 370 provisions, saying there was no going back.
Kashmiris hope that India and Pakistan can find a lasting solution to what many call the Kashmir 'problem'.
Prime Minister Manmohan Singh is expected to announce a package for border districts of Jammu and Kashmir when he travels there on Tuesday along with United Progressive Alliance Chairperson Sonia Gandhi on a two-day visit.
'As of now, it seems like they want to tread the Vajpayee line, but the central government has to create trust.' 'It has to be vibrant and unambiguous.'
'They are worried that the BJP government is trying to reduce Kashmiris as a minority.'
'Collateral damage during operations needs to be avoided.' 'Such an objective can be achieved more easily should stone throwers not gear up to en masse oppose security forces.' 'With the conditions being quite sensitive at this stage, the death of one of these boys could easily serve the terrorists in instigating violence,' notes Brigadier S K Chatterji (retd).
'...Else we will let the situation develop to a dangerous level where much greater violence will be the only outcome,' says Colonel Anil A Athale (retd).
© 2026 Rediff.com - Advertise with us - Disclaimer - Privacy Policy - Sitemap - Feedback - About us - Terms of use - Grievances