Twenty-seven months after she lost her husband in an anti-insurgency operation in south Kashmir's Pulwama, 29-year-old Nitika Kaul on Saturday donned the army uniform after completing a one-year rigorous training in Tamil Nadu.
The first-ever district development council (DDC) elections will be held in eight phases to elect 280 members in 20 districts from November 28 to December 22.
The Bal Puraskar was conferred by Prime Minister Narendra Modi, who gave digital certificates to the awardees using blockchain technology developed by IIT Kanpur.
Jammu and Kashmir National Panther's Party chief Bhim Singh, who is undergoing treatment in Jammu hospital, has called the pact between National Conference and the Congress to form new government in the state as a complete sell out.
The Congress on Sunday said that it will not take the initiative to form a government in Jammu and Kashmir if it does not emerge as the single largest party in the 87-member Assembly."If we do not emerge as the single-largest party, we will not take the initiative to form the government," All India Congress Committee General Secretary Prithviraj Chavan told reporters in New Delhi.Congress sources said the party would like to go with one of the two regional parties.
Opposition National Conference on Wednesday accused the state government of discriminating against the Kashmir Valley over the distribution of power sector funds as they disrupted the proceedings of the Assembly, forcing the Speaker to marshal them out and adjourn the House for 10 minutes.
Congress spokesperson Jayanthi Natrajan has denied the charge that the Gongress has reached an understanding with Farooq Abdullah, former chief minister of Jammu and Kashmir and promised to make him the chief minister in case his party wins the forthcoming state assembly elections that would be held in seven phases between November 17, and December 24.
Nineteen candidates saw an extremely close contest in the maiden District Development Council (DDC) polls in Jammu and Kashmir where the margin of victory was less than 100.
The ruling National Conference's traditional bastion Ganderbal is set for a triangular fight with People's Democratic Party, National Conference and an Independent contesting the polls after Chief Minister Omar Abdullah decided not to contest from the constituency which goes to polls on November 25.
'His revelation about what went on behind the scenes make it abundantly clear that the BJP must have indulged in similar tactics in Goa, Manipur and Meghalaya where it formed a government even though it did not have a majority,' says Amulya Ganguli.
Prime Minister Narendra Modi is likely to chair a meeting with all political parties from Jammu and Kashmir on June 24 as part of the Centre's initiatives to bolster political processes, including holding assembly elections, in the union territory, officials said in New Delhi.
Opposition parties on Tuesday asked the government to call an all-party meeting to resolve the current impasse in Parliament, while sticking to their demands for a discussion on Pegasus snooping issue and a Supreme Court-monitored probe into the matter.
The ultras fired upon advocate Babar Qadri at his Hawal residence around 6.25 pm from close range before fleeing the spot, a police official said.
Aijaz Hussain won the Khonmoh-II District Development Council seat in Srinagar, while Aijaz Ahmad Khan gave the party more reason to cheer by winning the Tulail seat in Bandipora district.
"Our handshake with Indian Union was subject to certain conditions," he said.
'I am not afraid of BJP. I am not armed with lathi or stone, let them come to me and reply to my questions which they will not'
Released on Friday after his detention under the stringent Public Safety Act (PSA) was revoked, former chief minister Farooq Abdullah drove from his residence to nearby Hari Nivas where his son, also a former chief minister, has been held first under preventive custody since February 5 under the PSA. The two warmly embraced.
A look at the pictures from the event!
The People's Alliance for Gupkar Declaration (PAGD) on Monday said assembly elections should be held only after restoration of statehood to Jammu and Kashmir and asked the Bharatiya Janata Party-led central government to honour its commitment made on the floor of Parliament.
The parties reiterated that they are bound, wholly, by the contents of the 'Gupkar Declaration', a resolution issued after an all-party meeting on August 4, 2019 at the Gupkar residence of NC president Farooq Abdullah.
The ruling National Conference President and Union Minister for New and Renewable Energy, Dr Farooq Abdullah on Thursday asked his party spokesman Dr Mustaffa Kamal "to exercise restraint and follow the party policy line on all issues, particularly those pertaining to the policies of the coalition government, relationship with the Congress party, Armed Forces Special Powers Act (AFSPA) and the role of the army".
Meet the winners of the Lokmat Most Stylish awards.
The Jammu and Kashmir Assembly was on Tuesday adjourned sine die amidst strong protests by Opposition Peoples Democratic Party demanding a discussion on the death of a National Conference worker allegedly in police custody last week.
The police do not have it in them to confront the Hindutva groups in a country ruled by a Hindutva party. No wonder Munawar Faruqui feels this is the end for him, asserts Jyoti Punwani.
Jammu divisional commissioner Sanjeev Verma said that these leaders were never detained and were free to participate in political activities.
'And the old war horse has left nothing to chance. He campaigned vigorously in the by-election defying his age,' says Mohammad Sayeed Malik, the distinguished commentator on Kashmir.
The Congress will be a part of the government, Omar said, emerging from a meeting with Congress chief Sonia Gandhi in New Delhi on Tuesday. The meeting took place in the backdrop of both National Conference and the People's Democratic Party initially showing the inclination to form the government in the state and Congress having a rethink on whether it should support NC or PDP.
With no agenda announced for the meeting, the leaders from Jammu and Kashmir said they have come with an open mind.
The PDP and the NC condemned the killing of the special police officer.
Last week's heavy snowfall seems to have affected electioneering in Kashmir. South Kashmir's Anantnag and the prestigious Srinagar constituencies go to polls on April 24 and April 30 in the five phased Lok Sabha polls in the state.
The National Conference, the People's Democratic Party and the Congress on Saturday said they will take a call on attending a meeting with the prime minister in Delhi after deliberations within their respective parties, while the Bharatiya Janata Party expressed hope that all invitees will take part in the all-party deliberations.
The ruling National Conference on Sunday termed the opposition Peoples Democratic Party as "enemy number one" of the People of Jammu and Kashmir for the highest degree of corruption during its rule as Jammu and Kashmir became number two corrupt state after Bihar.
Cool red carpet fashion, right here.
The announcement comes on a day a 15-member delegation of National Conference from Jammu met their detained party president Farooq Abdullah and vice president Omar Abdullah in Srinagar.
The couple came together to raise funds for a social cause.
In Srinagar, wearing black bands, scores of PDP leaders and activists, led by party president Mehbooba Mufti, took out a protest march from the party's head office near the Sher-e-Kashmir Park.
A regular morning cup of tea proved fatal for two unarmed policemen who were gunned down by a terrorist in broad daylight in an upmarket Srinagar area, an incident witnessed by several people and captured on CCTV cameras, police said on Friday.
A look at the pictures.
Designers Manish Malhotra and Shaina NC held a charity fashion show on July 1 for the Cancer Patients Aid Association. Here's a look at all the celebs who appeared on the ramp for a worthy cause!
Ganderbal was once the bastion of the Abdullah family but this time around, the electoral battle in this north Kashmir assembly constituency is being fought sans the Abdullah's.