The panel discussion titled 'Kashmir: From Turmoil to Transformation' was held on Thursday. It was moderated by columnist Se Hoon Kim and addressed by president of the Jammu and Kashmir Workers Party Mir Junaid, and Touseef Raina, president of the Municipal Council of Baramulla.
India on Thursday night swiftly foiled Pakistan's attempts to hit various key Indian installations including military stations at Jammu, Pathankot and Udhampur with drones and missiles, the defence ministry said.
'Who are Omar Abdullah and Mehbooba Mufti to issue certificates?'
On sustained questioning, the SSP said, the trio admitted they are working for Hizbul Mujahideen terrorist outfit and were luring young boys into militancy.
Pakistan military spokesperson Lieutenant General Ahmad Sharif Chaudhry told a hurriedly called press conference in Islamabad at around 4 am that th Pakistan air force's Nur Khan (Chaklala, Rawalpindi), Murid (Chakwal) and Rafiqui (Shorkot in Jhang district) airbases were targeted.
Terrorists blew up a portion of the Anantnag-Baramulla rail track near Galbugh in the south Kashmir Pulwama district late on Thursday night.
'I am happy that the people of north Kashmir burst the bubble of Modi's naya' Kashmir'
Jammu and Kashmir is facing a severe water crisis this year due to a massive rainfall deficit. Chief Minister Omar Abdullah has expressed concern about the situation and called for a proactive approach towards water management and conservation. The state has witnessed an 80% deficit in rainfall this year, raising the possibility of drought in the valley this summer. Several water bodies are flowing below the zero level mark, and some springs in south Kashmir have dried up completely. The water level in Jhelum and other major streams is alarmingly low.
Additional sessions judge Chander Jit Singh granted the relief to Rashid, who had moved the court seeking interim bail to campaign in the upcoming Jammu and Kashmir assembly elections.
'Me contesting elections from two seats is not a proof of weakness, it is a proof of the strength of the National Conference.'
Authorities imposed curfew in north Kashmir Sopore and Baramulla towns and curfew-like-restrictions in the summer capital Srinagar to foil separatist called sit-ins and protests Wednesday.
Union Home Minister Amit Shah on Wednesday ruled out holding any dialogue with Pakistan and asserted that the Modi government will wipe out terrorism from Jammu and Kashmir and make it the most peaceful place in the country.
A voter turnout of 69.69 percent was recorded in the third and final phase of voting Tuesday in the assembly elections in Jammu and Kashmir, the Election Commission said.
Pakistani military targets at Rafiqui, Murid, Chaklala, Rahim Yar Khan, Sukkur and Chunian were engaged using air-launched precision weapons from Indian fighter jets and the retaliation largely focused on command and control centres, radar sites and weapon storage areas, Qureshi said.
'Looking at how quickly the hostilities were escalating, the nuclear threshold did not seem that far.'
Additional security personnel have been deployed on the ground and drones are being used for aerial surveillance, they said.
He said the identity and group affiliation of the slain ultras is being ascertained.
Last week's heavy snowfall seems to have affected electioneering in Kashmir. South Kashmir's Anantnag and the prestigious Srinagar constituencies go to polls on April 24 and April 30 in the five phased Lok Sabha polls in the state.
Stone-pelting broke out in Baramulla town of north Kashmir soon after hardline Hurriyat Conference leader Syed Ali Shah Geelani on Friday addressed a gathering there, police said.
Baramulla town in northern Kashmir remained tense on Tuesday after a young protestor was critically wounded in firing by the security forces and normal life was paralysed across the valley in response to a shutdown called by the separatists.Baramulla, 54 kms away from Srinagar, has been simmering since Monday, after two youth were killed and 15 others wounded in the day-long violence in the town.
A huge cache of arms and ammunition and 'war-like stores', including AK-74 rifles, Pakistani-origin hand grenades and balloons with 'I Love Pakistan' markings, were recovered along the Line of Control (LoC) in Uri Sector of Jammu and Kashmir's Baramulla district, an Army officer said on Friday.
Three unidentified terrorists were killed in a fierce encounter in north Kashmir Baramulla district on Thursday.
At present, the railway services in Kashmir operate between Banihal in Ramban District and Baramulla only.
Voting for this crucial phase, covering 40 assembly segments across seven districts -- Jammu, Udhampur, Samba and Kathua in the Jammu region and Baramulla, Bandipora and Kupwara in north Kashmir -- is scheduled for October 1.
Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Monday asserted that he would keep promises he had made to the people of Jammu and Kashmir, a statement seen as an oblique reference to the demand for restoration of statehood voiced strongly by Chief Minister Omar Abdullah.
Curfew was clamped in Baramulla town of north Kashmir on Wednesday, which witnessed protests over the drowning of a student, even as authorities terminated the services of a policeman accused by locals of pushing him into the river.
Moderate to brisk polling marked the fourth phase of state assembly elections in the north Kashmir Baramulla and central Kashmir's Budgam district on Sunday.
Lone, who is contesting the Lok Sabha polls from Baramulla constituency, said one of the reasons he wants to go to Parliament is to strive and advocate for the same set of laws for the children of Kashmir and the rest of the country.
'The Pakistani State has to realise that the pigeons have come home to roost.'
Violence erupted in north Kashmir's on Baramulla town following death of a youth on Tuesday afternoon.
The Delhi High Court has reserved its order on a plea by jailed MP Rashid Engineer, facing trial in a terror funding case, seeking custody parole to attend the ongoing Parliament session. Engineer, a Baramulla MP, was opposed by the National Investigation Agency (NIA) who argued that he has no vested right to attend Parliament and there were security concerns. The court said though there might not be a vested right to attend the session, it could exercise its discretion. The NIA also argued that Rashid misused the telephone facility in Tihar jail and that allowing him to attend the session would be a security risk.
A prominent social activist was on Wednesday shot dead by militants in Sopore township of north Kashmir's Baramulla district, police said.
Two senior Jammu and Kashmir ministers were among over 32 injured in a powerful hand grenade explosion at a Peoples Democratic Party rally in the border town of Uri in Barramulla district on Thursday afternoon.
A youth was killed in army firing in Baramulla town and several others including a police officer injured in the day-long protests and violence as authorities ordered suspension of the internet services across Kashmir on Tuesday evening.
'There is no link between Article 370 abrogation and a rise in voting percentage.'
An unidentified terrorist was killed on Sunday in an encounter with security forces in Baramulla district of north Kashmir, a defence spokesman said.
The Jammu and Kashmir government on Tuesday night decided to replace the paramilitary, central reserve police force (CRPF) with Jammu and Kashmir armed police (JKAP) in Baramulla town, after one more youth died in the CRPF firing in the town.
Fresh clashes broke out between protesters and security forces in Kashmir, even as Union Home Minister Rajnath Singh is set to visit the Valley on Saturday.
Every Indian must visit the National War Memorial in Delhi where every soldier who made the supreme sacrifice for the Motherland is remembered in gold letters.
The Jammu and Kashmir police have arrested four persons, including a former militant, involved in the stone pelting incident in north Kashmir Baramulla town, 54 kms from Srinagar, that resulted in the death of an 11- day old baby.
