Kashmir's first INOX multiplex in Srinagar's Somwar area will be thrown open to the public next week.
Modi began his nearly 45-minute speech by welcoming the people who attended the rally in the Kashmiri language. "This time, the (assembly) election will decide the future of Jammu and Kashmir, which has remained the target of foreign powers since Independence," he told the gathering.
'Article 370 is now dug 70 feet deep in the ground. It cannot come out.'
'The BJP claims they have eight lakh cadres in the Kashmir Valley so why can't they contest elections from Kashmir?'
'The lack of opportunities here remains the biggest worry.' 'We have seen investment summits, but if you look around, much of it is only on paper and not on the ground.'
The padyatra concluded at the Lal Chowk area on Sunday with Rahul Gandhi unfurling the national flag but the official closing would take place on Monday in Srinagar, amid snowfall.
Gandhi said that the approach that the government was following 'by completely denying' that the Chinese have 'taken our land' is extremely dangerous as it would give them the confidence to do even 'more aggressive things'.
Women's separatist outfit Dukhtarane Milat staged a protest in Srinagar on Thursday against Valentine Day celebrations in Kashmir.
After a lull of several months, Srinagar was rocked by a massive explosion in which at least 17 persons were injured, one of them critically. The police said militants carried out the powerful explosion on the city's only flyover in Jahangir Chowk, adjacent to city centre Lal Chowk on Wednesday evening.
Maulana Showkat Ahmed Shah, chief of the Ahli-Hadees organisation in Jammu and Kashmir, was killed in a powerful bomb explosion outside a mosque in Maisuma locality near Srinagar's city centre Lal Chowk on Friday afternoon.
Authorities disallowed the main Muharram procession as they apprehended it may create law and order problem in summer capital Srinagar.
Travelling from South India to Kashmir in December was magical for Ganesh Nadar as he feasted his eyes on the beauty of the snow-capped Himalayas.
An exchange of fire between terrorists and security forces was also reported from Keran sector.
Rediff reader Gagan Chachra shared these photographs.
The Lashkar-e-Tayiba terrorists, who were killed by security forces during the siege at Lal Chawk in Srinagar, were in constant touch with their handlers in Pakistan when they were holed up inside a hotel there.
Kashmir valley witnessed normal life on Sunday after a week-long curfew, shutdowns and fierce protestor-security force clashes.
Authorities imposed strict security restrictions in certain areas of Srinagar on Friday to foil a Muharram procession.
At least six persons were injured in a powerful explosion in south Kashmir Anantnag town on Tuesday afternoon.
Authorities imposed restrictions in parts of Srinagar on Sunday to foil a Shia Muharram procession in the city even though small processions are being allowed in the city interior without any restrictions.
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.
The extent of the damage and the cause of the fire at A-Z Shopping Centre in Lal Chowk are not known yet.
Mirwaiz Umar Farooq, chairman of the All Party Hurriyat Conference, condemned the collective punishment being inflicted upon the entire population of valley for pursuing their just cause for the resolution of Kashmir issue.
Militants struck in the heart of summer capital Srinagar on Friday morning killing an assistant sub-inspector of the state police.
Security forces were on Sunday deployed in strength in parts of Srinagar in the wake of fresh violence following death of a teenager, even as normal life remained affected elsewhere in the Valley for the 121st consecutive day due to separatist-sponsored strike.
The acid attack victim, who received severe facial burns and damage to her left eye in an acid attack on January 2, was on Friday flown to Delhi for restorative medical intervention at Apollo hospital even as the city centre Lal Chowk shut for two hours in protest against the attack.
One civilian was injured in a powerful explosion in an armoury located in the lower court complex near the city centre in Lal Chowk on Friday.
A six-year-old girl, who was kidnapped from the local Ramlila ground by some unidentified persons, has been found, with the victim's family alleging that she was gang-raped.
Unprecedented security measures were taken across Srinagar city, including Bharatiya Janata Party's professed flag-hoisting venue Lal Chowk and parade ground Bakshi stadium to ensure that the Republic Day was celebrated peacefully.
Bharatiya Janata Party President Nitin Gadkari, who is on a five-day visit to China, on Monday condemned the Centre's attempt to stop his party's Ekta Yatra as "repressive" and warned that such an approach would lead to increase in terrorism in Jammu and Kashmir.
Attacking Prime Minister Dr Manmohan Singh for opposing its proposed flag hoisting at Lal Chowk in Sringar, the Bharatiya Janata Party on Sunday accused the Centre and the state government of "surrendering" to separatists who have declared that they will not let the tricolour be unfurled.
Complimenting the Jammu and Kashmir Police and Central Reserve Police Force for successfully eliminating two terrorists in Lal Chowk area of Srinagar on Wednesday, Home Minister P Chidambaram said the terrorists were in communication with their handlers outside the country.
Authorities on Friday imposed curfew in Srinagar to prevent the main Muharram procession.The curfew was imposed in areas falling under seven police stations in Srinagar and Central Reserve Police Force troopers were deployed to enforce the preventive restrictions.Since the rise of militancy in Kashmir, authorities have not allowed the Muharram procession to take place. The procession was scheduled to start from Abiguzar area of Srinagar, near the city centre Lal Chowk.
Hardline separatist leader Syed Ali Shah Geelani and dozens of Shia mourners were on Thursday detained as police scuttled separatist plan to mark the fourth day ceremony of slain trucker Zahid Bhat and stage a Muharram procession in violation of prohibitory orders.
Delhi Police has given permission to the farmers to hold their 'Kisan Mazdoor Mahapanchayat' with the condition of gathering not exceeding to 5,000, no tractor trolleys, no march at the Ramlila Maidan, and made elaborate security arrangements that may lead to a heavy traffic jam in the national capital on March 14, officials on Wednesday said.
Moulvi Showkat Ahmed Shah, head of the Ahli-Hadees organisation in Jammu and Kashmir, was killed in a powerful bomb explosion outside a mosque in Maisuma locality near Srinagar's city centre Lal Chowk on Friday afternoon.
The police on Friday afternoon detained pro-independence Jammu and Kashmir Liberation Front chairman Yasin Malik along with five of his associates in Srinagar where life was paralysed by a protest shutdown.
Two policemen were injured when Jammu and Kashmir Liberation Front supporters clashed with security men in Lal Chowk area of the city after Friday prayers demanding handing over of mortal remains of JKLF founder Mohammad Maqbool Bhat.
Terming as "illegal and unconstitutional" the actions of J-K authorities to prevent it from hoisting the tricolour at Srinagar's Lal Chowk, the Bharatiya Janata Party said it would file cases against the state government and move a breach of privilege motion in the assembly.
Some have argued that the BJP's gesture is redundant in face of the traditional ceremony conducted by security personnel in Srinagar. But there is a subtle difference. Raising the tricolour in an empty maidan under the watch of a thousand guns undermines our stand and reinforces the false propaganda of people being terrorised by the might of our armed forces.
There was high-drama at the Jammu airport after senior Bharatiya Janata Party leaders were not allowed to leave the airport ahead of the flag yatra planned in Jammu. Sushma Swaraj, Arun Jaitley and Anant Kumar were asked to return to Delhi after they landed in Jammu to "take command" of the party programme to hoist the tricolour in Lal Chowk in Srinagar on Republic Day.
