The mass exodus of the Kashmiri Pandit community changed the very cultural ethos of Kashmir and there has been little turnback despite three decades having gone by since it got triggered by growing fundamentalism fuelled from across the border, Supreme Court judge Justice Sanjay Kishan Kaul said on Monday.
Mufti said relation of J&K with India will end if the terms and conditions of the state's accession to the Union were changed.
How long will Mehbooba be treated thus for her apparent refusal to go along with what the Modi Sarkar want? Uttam Ghosh offer his take on the unsavoury episode.
'If, as happened in Baramulla during the 2024 Lok Sabha election, the youth in the Valley get triggered enough to jump into the wider fray, the end result would be difficult to predict, especially as the state's post-August 5, 2019 political format remains substantially fragmented and foggy,' points out Mohammad Sayeed Malik, the veteran commentator on Kashmir affairs.
Not everyone in Jammu and Kashmir is optimistic about the alliance between the Peoples Democratic Party and Bhartaiya Janata Party. Upasna Pandey/Rediff.com spoke to Kashmiri pandit organisations to find out how they view the new coalition politics in the valley.
Those familiar with intricate Kashmir politics do not rule out further delay in the assembly elections. Primarily, because the BJP having 'invested' so much for so long in Kashmir would try its best to wait a little longer if only to secure the 'gains' it believes to have achieved after its deafening action on August 5, 2019, points out Mohammad Sayeed Malik, the veteran commentator on Kashmir affairs.
'Sheikh Abdullah ruled the state with secular values. Post 1953, when he was sacked, corruption took over governance.'
A rotating chief ministership as a way to appease factions can work only if there is a credible guarantor, explains Aditi Phadnis.
Union Home Minister Amit Shah said Prime Minister Narendra Modi government's message is loud and clear that anyone acting against the unity, sovereignty, and integrity of the nation will not be spared and face the full wrath of the law.
The Bharatiya Janata Party, a coalition partner in Mufti Mohammad Sayeed-led government in Jammu and Kashmir, on Sunday criticised the controversial decision to release hardline separatist leader Masarat Alam and said its ministers and legislators will meet to discuss the party stand over the "unilateral" step.
Gandhi's flying into Srinagar to meet Mehbooba assumes significance as there are reports that the PDP and the BJP are bargaining afresh over the formation of a new government.
Raina triggered a controversy when he took the name of Mata Vaishno Devi while taking oath
'You have to fight a lot of forces. To fight these forces and ensure control of the situation in Jammu and Kashmir, it is important the central government should fully stand behind us.'
Vohra has called Mehbooba and Sharma for separate meetings on Tuesday to discuss the issue of government formation in the state which is under governor's rule since January 8
Allies Peoples Democratic Party and Bharatiya Janata Party on Saturday dismissed speculation about any differences or new conditions between them over formation of new government in Jammu and Kashmir in the wake of death of Chief Minister Mufti Mohammad Sayeed.
Jammu and Kashmir was placed under governor's rule on Saturday night with the process of new government formation following the death of CM Mufti Mohammad Sayeed taking some time.
Dulat, who was advisor on Jammu and Kashmir to the central government during the tenure of former prime minister Atal Behari Vajpayee, also advocated the need for starting a dialogue with Pakistan.
A special court in Jammu on Wednesday asked the Central Bureau of Investigation to physically produce before it JKLF chief Yasin Malik, who is lodged in Delhi's Tihar Jail, on October 20 in connection with the 1989 kidnapping of Rubaiya Sayeed, daughter of then Union home minister Mufti Mohammad Sayeed.
Holding Pakistan responsible for the violence in the valley, the J-K CM said hat if Islamabad is really concerned then it will try to help in fixing the crisis rather than fanning the flames.
'There is no point in just saying, 'hum wapas bhej denge (we will send Kashmiri Pandits back)'.'
'They keep issuing statements to win a few rounds of applause.'
Peoples Democratic Party continued to play the guessing game on the issue of forming the new government with its ally Bharatiya Janata Party by saying on Friday that it cannot put a time frame for it.
"We are feeling quite uncomfortable over some of your actions and undesirable utterances especially which hurt patriotic sentiments," read a letter to Mufti signed by three leaders.
Jammu and Kashmir Chief Minister Mufti Mohammad Sayeed was in Mumbai to invite filmmakers to shoot in the valley.
A PDP-BJP alliance would have been formed on the evening of December 28 had the BJP agreed to let Mufti Mohammad Sayeed become chief minister for the first three years and allow the BJP to nominate its chief minister for the next three years.
A PDP leader said a final decision on the formation of the government in the state is expected after Mehbooba takes the opinion of the legislators.
Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Saturday announced a package of Rs 80,000 crore for Jammu and Kashmir.
'We had to respect the sentiments of the people of Jammu as our party was elected from Jammu.'
Mehbooba also became the second Muslim woman to become the chief minister of any state in India.
Sarwar Mufti is suspected of having links with militants and sent to Court Balwal Jail in Jammu.
An NIA court on Thursday convicted Jammu and Kashmir separatist leader Yasin Malik after he pleaded guilty to all the charges, including those under the stringent Unlawful Activities Prevention Act, before the court in a case related to alleged terrorism and secessionist activities that disturbed the Kashmir Valley in 2017.
Mehbooba Mufti said that incidents like the ones at Handwara and Nathnusa are "unacceptable" and come as a major setback to the efforts of the state government in consolidating peace dividends in the state.
Militants attacked the CM's residence on the busy Maulana Azad Road around 0945 IST. They hurled grenades and opened heavy fire from automatic weapons from a building opposite the house.
The first signs of efforts to end the nine-day impasse on government formation in Jammu and Kashmir emerged on Saturday with Peoples Democratic Party chief Mehbooba Mufti calling a meeting of her party's "extended core group" in Srinagar, expectedly to discuss the future course of action and ties with ally Bharatiya Janata Party.
Speaking to rediff.com from Kolkata airport, Sitaram Yechuri said that his party's stand is that if the AFSPA could be withdrawn in some areas of North East, why can't the the same be done in Kashmir. "For instance the AFSPA is now implemented in Tripura and some other states, which goes to shows that different strategy could be adopted for different situations," he said.
Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Friday took a dig at the culture of dynastic politics and appeared to target Congress by taking a veiled swipe at Sonia Gandhi's son-in-law Robert Vadra who is embroiled in controversies over his land deals.
She said Modi has the mandate to take bold decisions on the lines of Atal Bihari Vajpayee for the resolution of the problems in and around Jammu and Kashmir.
The 56-year-old leader, daughter of PDP founder Mufti Mohammad Sayeed, will take oath of office at Raj Bhawan in Jammu on Monday at 11.00 am.
She indicated that she was not looking for any financial package but the confidence building measures sought by her should focus on political aspect of the problem.
