Over 50 village heads (sarpanch) have resigned from their positions in Kashmir Valley, with four of them announcing their resignation on Monday. The resignations are a blow to the revival of grass-root level democratic institutions in Kashmir Valley, elections for which were held in 2010 after a long hiatus with great fanfare.
The AFSPA, often criticised as a draconian law, gives armed forces operating in disturbed areas sweeping powers to search, arrest and open fire if they deem it necessary.
'In today's political spectrum, it is the Bharatiya Janata Party that always says, nation first.'
Cold wave tightened its grip on Kashmir Valley ahead of the onset of 'Chillai-Kalan' -- the 40-day harshest winter period -- with the summer capital Srinagar and Leh town recording the coldest night of the season.
It was a sweet homecoming of sorts for Sanjay Dutt when he visited Kashmir to shoot his Tamil film, Leo.
The Union home ministry on direction of Prime Minister Dr Manmohan Singh is preparing a road map for relocation of the security forces in the Kashmir Valley -- the major demand of agitators across the state. Unified command of the security forces in the Valley is also involved in this process.
Gauba said the JKLF spearheaded the separatist ideology in Kashmir Valley and the action was taken following the 'zero tolerance' policy of the central government against terrorism.
The first club from Jammu and Kashmir to qualify for the I-League is slowly building up
Amid controversy over the Gulmarg fashion show held during the month of Ramzan, Jammu and Kashmir Chief Minister Omar Abdullah on Monday said his government would have never given permission for such an event in any month of the year.
'The future does not look very promising for peace in Kashmir,' warns Colonel Anil A Athale (retd).
Kashmir has emerged as a haven for cherry cultivation.
Witnessing one of the harshest winter in decades, the Kashmir Valley experienced an extremely chilly night with a drastic fall in the night temperature even as the remote town of Kargil recorded the lowest temperature of the season at minus 25 degrees.
A total of 3,372 nominations have been filed for 1,145 wards. The next phases take place on 10th, 13th and 16th October.
The overall security situation in Kashmir Valley was reviewed at the core group meeting held on Saturday at the headquarters of army's 15 corps in the high security Badami Bagh cantonment area.
A group of primary school students on Wednesday protested against the 80-day-long agitation in the Kashmir Valley, saying it was denying them the right to education.
Use of chilli-filled grenades as an alternative to pellet shotguns, which will be used in rarest of rare cases, was cleared on Saturday by Union Home Minister Rajnath Singh for crowd control ahead of the visit of an all-party delegation led by him to restive Kashmir on Sunday.
Prime Minister Narendra Modi will chair a high-level meeting on Tuesday to review the situation in Jammu and Kashmir which is witnessing violent clashes between security forces and protesters in the aftermath of killing of Hizbul Mujahideen's poster boy Burhan Wani.
Authorities today the curfew from Sopore town and restriction on movement of people across Kashmir Valley but life continued to remain disrupted due to a week-long shutdown called by the separatists. The situation in Batmaloo in central Srinagar was, however, tense following death of a youth in a road mishap involving a police vehicle in the locality on Monday morning.
Two soldiers who were critically wounded in Thursday's terror attack in Jammu and Kashmir's Gulmarg succumbed to their injuries, raising the death toll in the ambush to four.
However, it is immediately not clear whether the relaxation will be given fully or partially.
'Everyone knows Pakistan is doing it.' 'But what are we doing? We should not incite more violence.'
The strike affected attendance in government offices and banks, the officials said.
"The tourists desirous of undertaking visit to the state shall be provided with all necessary assistance and logistical support," read the order by the state administration.
'From the time we landed to the time we left, we got so much love that I didn't feel like coming home.'
As the US gets tougher with visas, the prayers of US-bound devotees in India are getting more fervent, and their purse strings looser. Called Visa Hanuman temples (there are half a dozen all over India), some of them ask for a 'fee'.
Power supply in the snow-bound Valley has become almost normal with the state electricity department ensuring working of almost all the 19 power stations including those in far flung Lolab and Tangdhar areas of north Kashmir.
It's a different Srinagar from what Rediff.com's Syed Firdaus Ashraf encountered 24 years ago. Tourists throng the Kashmir Valley post-Article 370, azaadi appears dead, and everyone says one man is responsible for this change, so what if his poster is nowhere to be seen.
Prime Minister Dr Manmohan Singh will on Wednesday convene the Cabinet Committee on Security meet to discuss the current crisis prevailing in the Kashmir Valley.
Kashmir remained cut-off from the rest of the country for the second day on Thursday with road and air links to the Valley snapped due to snowfall, the heaviest in a decade in the month of January.
'The wave of terrorism is over in Kashmir. Local people do not support it.'
"We are not able to find any work due to the prevailing situation," say migrant labourers who are being forced to move out owing to the unrest.
'That is why I'm extremely concerned when India says that every terrorist incident in future from Pakistan will be treated as an act of war.'
The chief said that the reason for the fall is because of the combined efforts of NIA, state police and security forces.
A moderate intensity earthquake jolted Kashmir valley early on Tuesday.
The Centre had earlier ordered deployment of about 10,000 central forces personnel to Kashmir in order to strengthen counter-insurgency operations and law and order duties.
A moderate earthquake struck Kashmir valley on Thursday afternoon triggering panic among the residents.
Everything about Sharmila was a gift from the Divine: The graceful way she twirled her paintbrush, the naughtiness with which she teased his desperate attempts at cooking her favorite dishes, the gentleness when her lips touched his, the softness of her hair as it fell on his face, the flowery smell of her perfume when he nuzzled her neck, the mole near her quivering lips that he kissed every opportunity he got.
With the launch, RCom became the first private service provider to launch the service in Kashmir Valley.
A strike called by a group of separatists demanding return of bodies of Parliament attack convict Mohammad Afzal Guru and JKLF founder Mohammad Maqbool Bhat evoked little response in Kashmir Valley on Thursday.
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