Sharing the concern of 38 lakh pre-paid mobile phone subscribers hit by the ban on their SIM cards in Jammu and Kashmir, Chief Minister Omar Abdullah on Monday said genuine users should not be affected as a small service group did not do proper verification while issuing such cards. Abdullah said he would hold talks with the Centre, including Home Minister P Chidambaram, to resolve the issue as the blanket ban on the use of pre-paid SIM cards is not the answer.
Jammu and Kashmir Chief Minister Omar Abdullah has said 'the improvement in the law and order situation in the state was visible on the ground'.
The officials said the SSG will be "right-sized" by reducing the number of the elite force to the "bare minimum".
"Since home minister has called a meeting of the chief ministers on internal security on Januray 6, I hope to take over before that so that I could represent J&K as the chief minister. But we have few formalities. The governor's rule has to be revoked before that," Omar Abdullah said.
Jammu and Kashmir Chief Minister Omar Abdullah on Monday wondered where have the Indian troops withdrawn to after the Chinese troops ended their incursions in Ladakh after 19 days.
Opposition Peoples Democratic Party patron Mufti Mohammad Sayeed has urged the Union government to return the mortal remains of Parliament attack convict Afzal Guru to his family for burial 'to retrieve trust of the people of Kashmir'.
Having defied convention, Kashmir's first all-girls rock band is facing a challenge of online threats and abuses from conservative sections of the society.
Terming the bi-annual shifting of state capital as a "necessary evil", Jammu and Kashmir Chief Minister Omar Abdullah on Monday advocated a reverse 'darbar move' so that the government stays with the people when they are facing hardships due to extreme weather.
Strongly critical of the dilution of Article 370 of the Constitution, Omar said many reasons had been given to justify abrogation of the provision that granted special status, and claimed that none of those stand any scrutiny.
The statement comes after political leaders, including former chief ministers Omar Abdullah and Mehbooba Mufti, claimed they were put under house arrest.
Jammu and Kashmir Chief Minister Omar Abdullah in an exclusive interview to CNN-IBN, alleges that the Bharatiya Janata Party is trying to capitalise on the Kishtwar violence for electoral gains. He rejects any role of his Home Minister Sajjad Ahmed Kichloo, who was forced to resign, in the Kishtwar violence, while coming down heavily on BJP leaders Arun Jaitley and Narendra Modi.
Lone, who is contesting the Lok Sabha polls from Baramulla constituency, said one of the reasons he wants to go to Parliament is to strive and advocate for the same set of laws for the children of Kashmir and the rest of the country.
'Both my father and brother are very strong. Their spirit is unbroken,' says Dr Farooq Abdullah's daughter and Omar's sister, Safiya Abdullah Khan.
Jammu and Kashmir Chief Minister Omar Abdullah Friday said that 'the fear of gun would be removed for ever when the basic political issues of the state are addressed and resolved amicably'.
"Yes, if the current trends of leads in 27 seats hold momentum, we will approach the Congress which is a like-minded party. We will approach the Congress to form the government," party President Omar Abdullah said. Asked earlier as to whom the National Conference would like to see as a coalition partner in future government, Omar, 38, said: "Personally, I will prefer to have an alliance with the Congress.
Outgoing Chief Minister Omar Abdullah categorically said on Thursday night that there was "no deal" or any "discussion" going on between his National Conference and the Bharatiya Janata Party over the issue of government formation in Jammu and Kashmir.
Mufti's daughter Iltija Mufti, who is also the media advisor to the PDP president, confirmed that her mother is safe.
Jammu and Kashmir Chief Minister Omar Abdullah on Wednesday made it clear that he will complete his full term of five years, as per the agreement between the top leaders of the National Conference and the Congress.Addressing a media conference in Jammu, the CM said, "I, as the then president of National Conference and Sonia Gandhi, president of the Indian National Congress, discussed the issue threadbare and made it clear that there will be no rotational chief minister."
Chief Minister Omar Abdullah's recent announcement on limited withdrawal of the Disturbed Areas Act from Jammu and Kashmir has led to "utter confusion" and its price is being paid by ordinary civilians, People's Democratic Party chief Mehbooba Mufti alleged.
Jammu and Kashmir Chief Minister Omar Abdullah on Wednesday said that the tension at the Line of Control and International Border across the state directly impacts the tranquillity and development process.
'I am happy that the people of north Kashmir burst the bubble of Modi's naya' Kashmir'
'I feel bad for those idiots who threw their Chinese made TVs off their balconies only to see this happen'
It was a candle light dinner for Jammu and Kashmir Chief Minister Omar Abdullah on Saturday night as he directed disconnection of power supply to the VIP grid including his residence to divert the scarce electricity for maintaining essential services.
The Armed Forces Special Powers Act and the Disturbed Areas Act will be revoked from some areas of Jammu and Kashmir within the next few days, Chief Minster Omar Abdullah said on Friday. While assuring the people that revocation of these laws will not have any adverse affects, he said the measure will put an added responsibility on the shoulders of state police and paramilitary forces.
With 19 border polling stations along the Line of Control in Rajouri and Poonch, a contingency plan has been worked out to deal with cross-border shelling though chances are negligible given the ongoing ceasefire between India and Pakistan that came into effect in February 2021, officials said.
Even though state health minister on Monday ruled out outbreak of swine flu in Jammu and Kashmir, the state chief minister took stock of the preparedness to deal with the pandemic.
Jammu and Kashmir Chief Minister Omar Abdullah made a fresh appeal to the main opposition Peoples Democratic Party to attend the all party meet on Monday to discuss the present situation in the Kashmir valley.
Refuting speculations of split in the alliance between Congress and National Conference, Omar Abdullah said his party has no intention of leaving the alliance.
Stung by the death of a student in north Kashmir, Jammu and Kashmir Chief Minister Omar Abdullah on Wednesday directed the power development department to put in all efforts to mitigate the hardships faced by the people in the valley owing to power shortage.
This was the first general election in the valley after the abrogation of Article 370 and the enactment of the Jammu and Kashmir Reorganisation Act, 2019, the EC said in a statement.
The Congress and the National Conference on Monday announced they will fight the Lok Sabha polls in Jammu and Kashmir, and Ladakh, in alliance, with both parties contesting three seats each.
Jammu and Kashmir Chief Minister Omar Abdullah on Friday distanced himself from the WikiLeaks cable emanating from the United States embassy in Delhi relating to alleged human rights violations in Kashmir in 2005 and indirectly blamed the then government led by opposition Peoples Democratic Party.
The National Conference-Congress alliance won the recent Jammu and Kashmir assembly elections and is set to form the government. NC vice president Omar Abdullah will be the next chief minister of Jammu and Kashmir.
For the second time in a week, Jammu and Kashmir Chief Minister Omar Abdullah on Tuesday asserted that he would complete the full six-year term.
Home Minister P Chidambaram on Wednesday said the efforts of Jammu and Kashmir Chief Minister Omar Abdullah are to denotify the Disturbed Areas from some places in the state, a move which will pave way for removal of Armed Forces Special Powers Act.
Although Omar Abdullah has survived as Jammu and Kashmir chief minister he has been unable to govern, People's Democratic Party chief Mehbooba Mufti tells Sheela Bhatt in an exclusive interview.
Hitting back at Bharatiya Janata Party President Amit Shah for his dynastic politics jibe, Jammu and Kashmir Chief Minister Omar Abdullah on Tuesday termed it as "hypocrisy," saying the party should first "lecture" its friends in Maharashtra and Punjab.
Opposition People's Democratic Party on Thursday accused Jammu and Kashmir Chief Minister Omar Abdullah of dragging the state assembly into the Afzal Guru issue and refusing to take a stand when the clemency resolution came up for discussion in the House.
'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.
Jammu and Kashmir Chief Minister Omar Abdullah on Tuesday announced a judicial probe into the September 7 Shopian incident in which four youth were allegedly killed in paramilitary Central Reserve Police Force firing.
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