Jammu and Kashmir Chief Minister Omar Abdullah favours troop levels in the state to be reduced to numbers that existed prior to 1989, but says the Centre can't undertake this presently with upswing in infiltration attempts.
Drones were sighted and explosions were heard in Jammu and Kashmir on Friday, a day after India thwarted attempts by the Pakistan military to attack Indian military installations using drones and missiles. The drones were also engaged in Udhampur and Nagrota of Jammu and Punjab. Heavy cross-border shelling started along the International Border in Suchetgarh and Ramgarh sectors of Jammu and Samba districts. Chief Minister Omar Abdullah appealed to residents to stay indoors and ignore rumors.
Jammu and Kashmir Chief Minister Omar Abdullah on Monday expressed hope that certain remarks made by India and Pakistan in the aftermath of the killing of al-Qaeda chief Osama bin Laden will not have an affect on the dialogue process between the two countries.
Stressing on "progressively" decreasing the footprints of security forces in Jammu and Kashmir, Chief Minister Omar Abdullah on Monday said conciliation and dialogue will always remain the best medium for seeking a solution to all contentious issues.
In a goodwill gesture, Jammu and Kashmir Chief Minister Omar Abdullah spoke to Bharatiya Janata Party leader Arun Jaitely and invited party members, who were arrested for trying to enter the state, to attend the Republic Day function either in Jammu or in Srinagar.
Holding that the government has to have courage to take a decision on the issue of Armed Forces Special Powers Act, Jammu and Kashmir Chief Minister Omar Abdullah on Wednesday questioned the need for "protection" to the army in areas where they have not operated for years.
Union Home Minister P Chidambaram today discussed security issues and progress of development projects with Jammu and Kashmir Chief Minister Omar Abdullah in Srinagar.
National Conference chief Omar Abdullah on Sunday said his party has got 'positive signals' from the Congress on forming a government in Jammu and Kashmir, where the Assembly election has returned a fractured verdict."The NC has got very positive signals from the Congress. Otherwise, I would not have come to Delhi," Abdullah, who flew in to New Delhi from Srinagar for a meeting with Congress chief Sonia Gandhi,said."Everything will be clear after the talks," he added.
Jammu and Kashmmir Chief Minister Omar Abdullah on Wednesday hit out at Narendra Modi for his "lies" during public speeches and also dared him to speak about dynasty politics in states like Punjab and Maharashtra.
Jammu and Kashmir Chief Minister Omar Abdullah on Saturday discussed the controversial arrest of alleged militant Syed Liyaqat Shah with Home Minister Sushilkumar Shinde. Liyaqat was arrested by the Delhi police while he was returning from Pakistan to surrender before the Jammu and Kashmir police under the rehabilitation policy of the state government for militants.
"I have made no bones about the fact that we should have made more progress on that (AFSPA). I believe we are comfortably placed for the phase-wise removal of the AFSPA," he told reporters after presiding over the Police Martyrs' Day function at Zewan in the outskirts of Srinagar.
Phase-wise revocation of the controversial Armed Forces (Special Powers) Act and return of power projects to Jammu and Kashmir are the two most important wishes of Chief Minister Omar Abdullah.
Jammu and Kashmir Chief Minister Omar Abdullah on Monday said the inquiry into the alleged custodial killing of a Sopore youth will be completed "in days" but the government will not act in haste as that can compromise with the case.
Jammu and Kashmir Chief Minister Omar Abdullah on Monday said people from villages close to the borders in Jammu region have been abandoning homes following shelling by Pakistan troops.
Taking a strong exception to frequent ceasefire violation by Pakistan along the Line of Control in Jammu and Kashmir, Chief Minister Omar Abdullah on Wednesday said the neighbouring nation should avoid confrontation with India for its own interest.
National Conference leader Mustafa Kamal landed in the middle of a controversy on Monday after he claimed that the Indian government was dragging its feet on talks with Pakistan, drawing criticism from his nephew and Chief Minister Omar Abdullah, who distanced himself from the remarks.
Climate activist Sonam Wangchuk was arrested Friday by a police party in Leh, two days after violent protests by supporters of the movement for statehood and extension of Sixth Schedule of Constitution left four persons dead and 90 others injured, officials said.
He was commenting on a video that has surfaced on social media showing some men sporting saffron scarves heckling a woman in 'hijab' and raising slogans at a college in Karnataka.
Accusing separatists of adopting double standards on dialogue for the resolution of Kashmir issue, Jammu and Kashmir Chief Minister Omar Abdullah on Thursday asked them to hold talks with the Centre's interlocutors, saying the panel is not bound by redlines.
Voicing concern at the heavy shelling in border areas, Jammu and Kashmir Chief Minister Omar Abdullah on Wednesday said no one in India was in favour of war with Pakistan but friendship cannot be a one-sided affair.
'Kashmir needs to be divided and we need the land of Panun Kashmir in Kashmir.'
Welcoming the resumption of talks between India and Pakistan, Jammu and Kashmir Chief Minister Omar Abdullah said the relation between the neighbours has a direct bearing on the state on Tuesday.
Pushing for partial withdrawal of controversial Armed Forces Special Powers Act, Jammu and Kashmir Chief Minister Omar Abdullah on Friday discounted suggestions that this will benefit terrorists, saying it is time to believe in the state police and paramilitary forces
The first phase of the three phase Jammu and Kashmir elections will be held on Wednesday, September 18, 2024.
In a sharp counter-attack against opposition People's Democratic Party, Jammu and Kashmir Chief Minister Omar Abdullah on Saturday dubbed the party as "utterly irresponsible" and told it bluntly that he was not "going to be caged in" by their "vicious" campaign for his ouster.
Army chief General V K Singh arrived in Srinagar on Monday on a two day visit to the Kashmir Valley.
Tharoor questioned the alleged arrest of leaders and said, "if we alienate them, who's left?"
The commission to be headed by justice Bashir-ud-Din, a retired judge of the state high court. He will be assisted by another retired judge, Justice YP Nargotra.
Jammu and Kashmir Chief Minister Omar Abdullah on Friday made a fresh appeal to the people of Jammu and Kashmir to help the government in restoring normalcy and said he will fight politically and administratively forces hell bent on disturbing peace.
In an exclusive interview to CNN-IBN's Senior Editor Suhasini Haider, Jammu and Kashmir Chief Minister Omar Abdullah admits the lapses in the rehabilitation policy for surrendered militants following the fiasco over the arrest of Hizbul Mujahideen terrorist Liaqat Ali Shah.
"I will not succumb to my critics and enemies and I am damn well going to do my job," a combative J and K Chief Minister Omar Abdullah declared on Friday.
Taking a dig at the Peoples' Democratic Party in Jammu and Kashmir, Chief Minister Omar Abdullah said on Monday that opposition in the state is nervous and worried as they were finding it difficult to cope up with the fact that they were out of power.
The Central Bureau of Investigation on Tuesday said the name of Jammu & Kashmir Chief Minister Omar Abdullah never figured in the 2006 sex scandal case in which two ministers of the then Peoples Democratic Party regime were arrested.
Tata had announced two-pronged strategy to give opportunities to students and entrepreneurs in the Kashmir Valley which includes supporting setting up of venture capital units.
Omar Abdullah is likely to constitute a state-level Investment Promotion Board that will work towards easing complex bureaucratic procedures to attract the private sector to Jammu and Kashmir.
Union Home Minister Amit Shah announced that two more constituents of the Jammu and Kashmir-based Hurriyat Conference, J&K Tahreeqi Isteqlal and J&K Tahreek-I-Istiqamat, have abandoned separatism and pledged allegiance to the new India envisioned by Prime Minister Narendra Modi. This development follows similar declarations from the Jammu and Kashmir People's Movement (JKPM) and the Jammu and Kashmir Democratic Political Movement (JKDPM) on Tuesday. Shah stated that under Modi's leadership, separatism is on the decline and the unity of India is growing stronger in Kashmir.
Jammu and Kashmir Chief Minister Omar Abdullah on Tuesday hit out at the Central Industrial Security Force over the killing of a youth during firing on protesters, calling it a "murder" and alleged that the "excessive" force used was "unwarranted and inexcusable".
Abdul Jan, the suspended policeman, who had flung a shoe towards Jammu and Kashmir Chief Minister Omar Abdullah on the Independence Day, resigned from service on Wednesday. "I have quit the job of police", Jan told mediapersons on reaching home in Ajas-Bandipora, 40 km from Srinagar, in North Kashmir.
After his tough talk with the army for withdrawing Armed Forces Special Powers Act from parts of Jammu and Kashmir, Chief Minister Omar Abdullah on Thursday said his government has the authority to revoke the controversial law and sought a 'workable' solution from the army.
Rescue operations continue in Kishtwar, J&K, following a devastating cloudburst. Anxious relatives cling to fading hope as the search for the missing enters its third day.
