'The people of Jammu and Kashmir are your own people. Do not use them as cannon fodder in your laboratory.'
The encounters took place in Pulwama, Ganderbal and Kupwara districts of the Kashmir valley, a police official said.
Authorities had imposed restrictions in parts of Kashmir as a precautionary measure to maintain law and order on the eve of the second death anniversary of Hizbul Mujahideen commander Burhan Wani, even as a strike called by separatists evoked mixed response in the Valley.
Ahead of a crucial meeting on Jammu and Kashmir, National Security Advisor Ajit Doval on Thursday met Union Home Minister Amit Shah and is believed to have discussed the security situation in the Union territory which has witnessed a spate of targeted killings since May 12.
Both the terrorists, equipped with suicide vests and sophisticated weapons, were killed in the encounter on Friday, averting a major suicide attack in the city.
Terrorists on Saturday shot dead a policeman in Anantnag district of Jammu and Kashmir, police said, evoking condemnations from mainstream political parties in the Valley.
Women will have a decisive say as chairpersons in seven of Jammu and Kashmir's 20 districts.
Saifullah, who had taken command of the outfit after the killing of Riyaz Naikoo in May this year, was one of the most wanted terrorists in the Kashmir Valley and involved in several attacks on the security forces, an official said.
Kashmir is currently under the grip of 'Chillai-Kalan' -- the 40-day harshest winter period when a cold wave grips the region
Most of these new recruits came from Pulwama, Shopian and Kulgam districts in South Kashmir, which had become the hub of tech-savvy, young militants.
Reasi district of Jammu region recorded 75.20 per cent voting, the highest in the union territory, State Election Commissioner (SEC) K K Sharma said, adding that 50.53 per cent voter turnout was recorded in the third phase of the maiden DDC polls in J-K.
After a spell of relative calm, Jammu and Kashmir witnessed a spate of killings of innocent civilians last month, triggering apprehensions of an intense cycle of violence and turmoil in the region.
The suspended officer was produced in the special NIA court along with the two terrorists, who he was helping travel out of Jammu and Kashmir, and their two associates.
The strike affected attendance in government offices and banks, the officials said.
Ishfaq Dar alias Abu Akram, was not only responsible for attacks on security forces, but also for civilian killings, police said.
The security forces including army launched a counter-insurgency operation in Chancer area of Kulgam district on Friday night, following information about presence of ultras in the area, police officials said.
The terrorists attacked a police station in Handwara area of Kupwara by resorting to firing and also lobbed a grenade, a police officer said.
'Earlier we had been told we were the crown of India.'
A youth was killed in alleged Central Reserve Police Force firing in Kulgam district of Kashmir during protests against Israeli aggression in Gaza Strip on Saturday.
The two men arrested are Shahnawaz Ahmad Teli from Kulgam and Aquib Ahmad Malik from Pulwama in Jammu and Kashmir.
She also hit out at the Centre alleging that while the Government of India was expressing concern for the rights of people in Afghanistan, the same were denied to Kashmiris.
Security forces launched a cordon and search operation in Laroo area of Kulgam district in south Kashmir following specific information about the presence of terrorists in the area, he said.
The encounter began in the afternoon at a village in Kulgam as Jammu and Kashmir Police, along with the Central Reserve Police Force and the army, were carrying out operations to clear a national highway ahead of the Amarnath Yatra, beginning June 28, a senior police official said.
Constable Javaid Ahmad was found dead by the roadside at Sehpora in the neighbouring Kulgam district
As per one of the arrested persons, the slain terrorists were Pashto-speaking either from a village in Pakistan bordering Afghanistan or from Afghanistan itself, the Jammu police chief told reporters in Jammu in the evening.
The Resistance Front (TRF), which is believed to be a shadow group of LeT, claimed responsibility for the killings. IGP (Kashmir) Kumar said police have seized a vehicle used in the attack and that such killings were being executed at the behest of Pakistan.
Shah, 34, was working with the Jammu and Kashmir Police as a Special Police Officer and had been given an out-of-turn promotion and selected as a constable.
This is the second encounter in the district in as many days.
Clashes broke out between supporters of the ruling National Conference and Opposition Peoples Democratic Party on Thursday during filing of nominations by their candidates at Kulgam district election office in south Kashmir, the police said.
Clashes also broke out at several places in Kashmir on Tuesday, leaving several persons injured.
Major Kamlesh Pandey and Sepoy Tanzin Chhultim died in hospital.
Terrorists killed a retired police officer in south Kashmir Kulgam district late on Tuesday night.
The alarming incident occurred during the funeral of Fayaz Ahmed alias Setha, a resident of Qaimoh area of Kulgam, who was killed in retaliation on Saturday after terrorists had fired upon a police party which had gone to Mir Bazaar area to investigate a road accident.
The Hizbul Mujahideen outfit claimed responsibility for the attack.
The voluminous report has proposed redrawing of the Anantnag Parliamentary seat by including Rajouri and Poonch from the Jammu region, besides carrying out massive changes in the Kashmir division, they said.
The scene of the blast along the B C Road was sealed off by police and a massive hunt has been launched to nab the grenade thrower, Inspector General of Police, Jammu, M K Sinha said.
According to new guidelines imposed by authorities on Sunday, shops have been allowed to open on alternate days.
According to the order, Singh was awarded Jammu and Kashmir's highest police award in 2018.
Mobile services were partially restored in the Valley which has been rocked by violence since July 8.
3 terrorists -- two from the Lashkar-e-Tayiba and one from the Hizbul Mujahideen -- were arrested over the past three days.
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