Prime Minister Narendra Modi would visit Jammu and Kashmir on Saturday where he would address two public rallies and also inaugurate the second phase of the Baglihar hydel project.
'It will be a long time before we will see the likes of Vajpayee again.'
Governor's rule was imposed in Jammu and Kashmir on Friday after political parties failed to muster the requisite number in the 87-member assembly for staking claim to form the government.
The vehicle was on its way to Ramban town from Banihal when the accident occurred around 9.55 am. The driver lost control over the "overcrowded" vehicle which rolled down the deep gorge at Kela Morh near Maroof, Deputy Inspector General of Police, Doda-Kishtwar-Ramban range, Rafiq-ul-Hassan, said.
The situation in the Valley is tense as the fresh order directing the zonal SPs to provide the list of mosques here and its management committees has added to speculation about some major decision in the offing regarding Jammu and Kashmir's special status.
'I have never seen the Kashmiris in a more conciliatory mood or a more defensive and reasonable mood than I did when I went there in May. All of them said, "raasta nikaliye".' 'Farooq Abdullah has said hundreds of times that the LoC has to be recognised as the international boundary. So that is where the solution lies, it lies on the LoC.' A S Dulat, former RAW chief, explains why he is perplexed by the Modi government's decision to call off foreign secretary-level talks with Pakistan.
'The ISI doesn't trust the Kashmiris. They hate them...' 'We can never take Kashmir for granted, so there is that element of unpredictability. Anything can happen anytime.' 'The next chief minister will still be from the Valley. Even if a BJP chief minister or a BJP chosen candidate comes, he will be from the Valley. And he will be a Muslim.' A S Dulat, the former R&AW chief, on why he is perplexed by the BJP's Mission 44 plan for the J&K assembly election.
Top Kashmiri separatist leaders, including Syed Ali Shah Geelani and Mirwaiz Umer Farooq, were on Thursday put under house arrest only to be released within hours in actions that were linked to their proposed meeting with Pakistani National Security Advisor Sartaj Aziz in Delhi on Sunday.
'If the virulence of COVID-19 has muted the toxicity of the BJP's communalism, it will be an example of good coming out of the pandemic,' notes Amulya Ganguli.
The official said five civilians received bullet injuries in the cross-firing near the gunfight site.
Chief Minister Mehbooba Mufti warned that there could be a backlash if the force loses patience.
Sixteen Congress secretaries drafted a letter on September 2 to be sent to party general secretaries and Congress Working Committee members, criticising senior leaders (without names, of course!) for their comments, asking the old guard to introspect about what went wrong at the general election.
The man identified as Farooq Ahmad Dar speaking of his ordeal says that the army personnel tied him up to the jeep and paraded him through several villages for nearly five hours before his family members and villagers got him released.
What the leaders said after the all-party meeting called by Prime Minister Narendra Modi in New Delhi on Thursday.
It added that there had been several reminders from the club to the government for freeing the communication of newspaper offices, journalists and the club itself.
The fresh batch of diplomats also includes EU representatives, and their participation assumes significance as the EU Parliament recently initiated to bring a joint draft resolution on the Citizenship Amendment Act and Kashmir, the vote on which was later deferred.
Out of the seven, four belonged to one family from Delhi.
Drama heightened on Friday when the army said that Pakistan-based terrorists are planning to target the ongoing Amarnath Yatra followed by the Jammu and Kashmir administration issuing an advisory, asking the yatris and tourists to "curtail" their stay in the Valley and leave immediately.
The bus, which way on its way to Kishtwar from Keshwan, skidded off the road at Sirgwari and rolled down into the gorge around 7:30 am.
Payal, who has been residing at 7, Akbar Road bungalow since 1999, however, refused to move out and urged the court to pass an order.
A flood alert was sounded on Thursday in Srinagar city as River Jhelum was flowing four feet above the danger mark after incessant rain, while 23 villages have been inundated by floods in south Kashmir districts of Anantnag and Kulgam.
The Opposition National Conference and Congress lawmakers on Friday disrupted proceedings in both houses of the Jammu and Kashmir legislature, accusing the government of misleading people on the issue of transfer of power projects to the state, and created ruckus in the assembly as Speaker directed marshalling out of some members.
Five mosques in the United States have received intimidating messages, including a bomb threat and one saying "death is waiting for you and your kind", prompting calls for increasing security at Muslim facilities.
Officials said there was no discussion on constituting a delimitation commission.
"We have come to realise that these elections are being held to facilitate only one party -- ruling party," Congress leader Ghulam Ahmad Mir said.
The selection of a woman Senator with an Indian background as the Democratic party's vice-presidential nominee should normally be a matter of elation in India, especially for those who boast of their nationalistic credentials such as the BJP followers, notes Amulya Ganguli.
The eight-phase DDC polls, which began on November 28, is also the first election after Jammu and Kashmir's special status under Article 370 was revoked last year and it was reorganised into a Union Territory.
A division bench of J&K HC stayed a single bench order directing the govt to hoist the state flag on official buildings along with the National Flag.
'This election was the first opportunity where Kashmiris told the world they do not agree with the Centre's policies and are unhappy about their disempowerment.'
A group of terrorists struck the house of PDP Kishtwar district president and escaped with the service rifle of his PSO early Friday.
The country is all set for the second round of elections on April 18 in the ongoing seven-phase Lok Sabha polls that will elect 543 members to the lower house of Parliament. Going to polls in the second phase will be 95 seats in 12 states and one Union Territory. Here is a look at some of the big names contesting in phase two of Lok Sabha elections.
Normal life has been paralysed due to curfew-like restrictions and separatists-sponsored strike since Saturday.
'Although the tactical move to outflank the BJP fell through with New Delhi's decisive intervention and eventual dissolution of the state assembly, the PDP, NC and the Congress appeared to be more than satisfied.' 'They see the assembly dissolution as their 'great achievement'.' 'If one were to believe what they say, this was also their main objective,' reveals Mohammad Sayeed Malik, the doyen of Kashmiri commentators.
Major opposition political parties and separatists groups in J&K on Wednesday slammed the move of the government to create separate townships for Kashmiri pandit migrants.
'We demand immediate release of all public representatives of mainstream political parties and innocent citizens,' the resolution said.
In the words of a senior PDP leader, the party, in order to continue its alliance with the BJP, only needs 'a long spoon to sup with the devil.'
'The root of the Kashmir problem lies in Partition. To solve the issue, we have to begin from there and settle it forever.'
However, it is immediately not clear whether the relaxation will be given fully or partially.
Many political detainees have been released but former chief ministers Farooq Abdullah, Omar Abdullah and Mehbooba Mufti, who were whisked into custody in the early hours of August 5, 2019, are still in preventive detention.
'The government is adopting double standards by allowing foreign envoys to visit Jammu and Kashmir, but not Indian politicians'
