The local recruitment of terrorists in the Pakistan-sponsored terror groups is also very low as only four locals have joined these groups this year, Army officials told ANI.
'I don't want what happened to me should happen to anyone else,' says Shagun Parihar, the BJP candidate from Kishtwar whose father and uncle were killed by terrorists.
Prime Minister Narendra Modi is set to hit the poll campaign trail in support of his party candidates on Saturday by addressing a mega rally in Jammu and Kashmir's Doda district, amid tight security arrangements.
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.
The 270-km Jammu-Srinagar highway reopened on Sunday after a day-long closure due to heavy snowfall, allowing stranded vehicles to proceed to their destinations. However, several other important inter-district routes, including the Mughal Road, Sinthan Pass, Sonamarg-Kargil inter-UT road, and Bhaderwah-Chamba inter-state road, remained closed for vehicular traffic due to heavy snowfall.
They said police parties fanned out to find them amid reports that they had been abducted and killed by terrorists.
A turnout of about 59 percent -- the highest in the past seven elections -- was recorded in the first phase of assembly polls in Jammu and Kashmir on Wednesday, Chief Electoral Officer P K Pole said, adding polling passed off peacefully.
The withdrawal of the candidature by DPAP leaders on the last day on August 30 is seen as a boost to the NC-Congress alliance.
The nomination papers of 35 candidates including that of jailed separatist Sarjan Barkati were on Wednesday rejected during scrutiny for the first phase of assembly polls in Jammu and Kashmir, leaving 244 contestants in the fray.
Three women, including former minister Sakeena Masood (National Conference), won elections on Tuesday to enter the male-dominated assembly in Jammu and Kashmir.
Incidentally, 164 of the total 356 candidates in the fray from the 43 assembly seats of Jammu region got less votes than none of the above, which gives an option to voters to reject all candidates in a constituency.
The terrorists have been identified as local residents Ashiq Hussain, a rape accused who was released on bail from Kishtwar Central Jail three weeks ago, and Basharat Hussain.
Mohd Ali, Haji Anayat Ali of Kargil and their assistants Shero Ali and Nazir Ahmad of Kathua had gone to the higher reaches of Warwan in J-K's Kishtwar district to purchase livestock in August 1998 but did not return to their homes.
A 32-year-old man chargesheeted in the deadly terror attack on a Central Reserve Police Force (CRPF) convoy in Jammu and Kashmir's Pulwama district five years ago has died of a heart attack in the Government Medical College Hospital in Jammu, officials said.
With Monday's court order, the total number of proclaimed offenders in Kishtwar stands at 36, they said.
Sheetal Devi finished second in the women's individual compound open ranking round with a stunning performance to directly make a round of 16 entry
The Union cabinet on Wednesday accepted the recommendations of the high-level committee headed by former President Ram Nath Kovind on simultaneous elections.
Police has started picking up evidences and recovered an empty shell of AK rifle from Tapal Mohalla, where the duo were killed by suspected militants while they were returning home after closing their stationary shop located outside old DC office complex.
Several deaths were reported across the country due to rain-related incidents like lightning strikes and drowning.
The bus, which way on its way to Kishtwar from Keshwan, skidded off the road at Sirgwari and rolled down into the gorge around 7:30 am.
Security forces on Sunday intensified their operation to flush out terrorists from the forest area of Jammu and Kashmir's Anantnag district on the second day of encounter that has left two soldiers and a civilian dead.
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.
An Army captain lost his life while four terrorists are believed to have been killed in an ongoing operation in the higher reaches of Jammu region's Doda district on Wednesday, officials said.
The BJP has emerged the second largest party by winning 29 constituencies in the maiden assembly polls post abrogation of Article 370 in Jammu and Kashmir, improving its all-time high tally of 25 seats recorded in 2014 elections.
Bharatiya Janata Party leader Arun Jaitley was on Sunday detained as he arrived at the airport here on his way to communal violence-hit Kishtwar, which was made out of bounds for political leaders by the Jammu and Kashmir government.
The encounter broke out after the terrorists opened fire at the search party personnel, who retaliated, the officials said.
Fresh protests against arrests in connection with the Kishtwar communal-strife on Tuesday rocked Jammu, Aknoor, Ramnagar and Samba areas even as curfew was relaxed in several towns of the Jammu region.
The father, brother and an associate of Lashkar commander Habib Gujjar alias Salman were arrested during raids in Keshwar belt of Kishtwar district on Tuesday night, Kishtwar Superintendent of Police Haseeb Mughal said. The arrested persons have been identified as Jamal-ud-Din and Khair Din, brother and father of LeT commander Salman, and Shahid Baro, an associate, he said.
Immediately after the attack, people started assembling outside the residence of Parihar and refused entry of senior police officers, who were even manhandled.
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.
The BJP's Central Election Committee had met on Sunday evening to finalise the party's candidates for the polls.
Braving minus six-degree temperature and chilly winds, the India Air Force on Wednesday came to the rescue and airlifted 150 stranded people, including women and children in snow-bound Kishtwar district of Jammu and Kashmir.
More than 40 per cent of the 908 candidates contesting the assembly elections in Jammu and Kashmir are Independents, leading to claims that a large number of them have been propped up by the Bharatiya Janata Party to divide votes.
Investigators probing the Delhi high court blast are vigorously pursuing the email sent from Kishtwar in Jammu and Kashmir and believe that the other three emails claiming responsibility for last week's terror strike were pranks.
An all-party delegation on Tuesday visited Kishtwar, which witnessed communal strife recently, and took stock of the situation as curfew remained in force in the trouble-torn district of the Jammu region for the 12th straight day.
Security forces and terrorists exchanged fire twice briefly within a span of four hours in a forest area in Jammu and Kashmir's Doda district, officials said on Wednesday.
A group of terrorists struck the house of PDP Kishtwar district president and escaped with the service rifle of his PSO early Friday.
In a joint operation, army troops and police have busted a militant hideout and recovered a cache of ammunition and explosive material in Kishtwar district of Jammu and Kashmir.
Five troopers of the Rashtriya Rifles and a special police officer were injured Tuesday night when the terrorists attacked a joint check post in the upper reaches of Chattergalla on the Bhaderwah-Pathankot road in the hilly district.
Over 100 persons have been arrested in Jammu and 11 in Kishtwar in connection with incidents of violence in the past few days, the Jammu and Kashmir government said on Monday.
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