The prestigious Poonch Assembly by-election scheduled for December 12 is going to witness a tough contest between the candidates of ruling Congress and the Opposition National Conference (NC), with the coalition partner, People's Democratic Party (PDP) providing vital support to its Congress ally.
Referring to former Prime Minister Atal Bihari Vajpayee's famous statement, Abdullah said "we can change friends but we cannot change neighbours".
The Army chief is likely to visit Jammu and discuss the recent and ongoing counter-terrorist operations and the casualties that have been suffered in the recent terror attacks there, defence sources said.
A Junior Commissioned Officer was killed when Pakistan opened heavy fire with automatic weapons and rockets on Indian posts along the Line of Control in Poonch sector on Friday, in the third ceasefire violation in a fortnight.
A soldier was killed in indiscriminate firing by Pakistani troops in Krishna Ghati sector in Jammu and Kashmir's Poonch district on Sunday night. The unprovoked firing appears to have escalated tension along the border ahead of United States President Barack Obama's visit to India. According to official sources, Pakistani troops targeted the Indian posts of Kirpan, Kranti and Kirpan-II from their forward posts of Chuha and Daaku.
The manhunt for the terrorists responsible for the ambush in Jammu and Kashmir's Kathua district, which resulted in the tragic death of five army personnel, has led to the detention of a truck driver and 50 others for questioning, officials said on Wednesday.
On Thursday, April 20, 2023, five soldiers were killed and another was seriously injured after their vehicle caught fire following a terrorist attack in Jammu and Kashmir's Poonch.
In a fresh ceasefire violation, Pakistani troops tonight fired at Indian posts along the Line of Control in Poonch sector of Jammu and Kashmir, but there was no casualty on the Indian side.
He said over 30 people were detained for questioning during searches in 30 Rohingya settlements in Jammu city.
Former chief minister of Jammu and Kashmir Ghulam Nabi Azad will contest the Lok Sabha elections from Anantnag -Rajouri constituency, his party Democratic Progressive Azad Party (DPAP) said.
Mehbooba Mufti-led PDP accused National Conference vice president Omar Abdullah of leaving them "no option".
'The Galwan clash in 2020 resulted in a large number of troops being moved from J&K to Eastern Ladakh which caused a thinning of deployment in the Jammu area.'
Two women were killed and two other persons were injured in indiscriminate firing by a trooper of the Territorial Army in the border town of Poonch in Jammu region in the morning on Wednesday.
Majid's family lives in the Ajot hamlet located between zero-line and border fencing along the LoC.
On the Opposition's poll promise of statehood restoration, Shah said, "I want to ask Farooq Abdullah and Rahul Gandhi, who is going to restore the statehood. You cannot give it back. Why are you misleading the public?"
Five passengers of a mini bus were killed and seven others wounded in a deadly improvised explosive device blast at Marah village in the frontier Poonch district of Jammu region on Tuesday evening.
'I believe that Baba Budha Amarnath saved me.'
Four militants were killed in the encounter which began on Sunday.
In the first ceasefire violation this year, Pakistani troops fired at Indian posts along the Line of Control in Jammu and Kashmir's Poonch district on Wednesday morning.
'Everyone is unhappy with the lieutenant governor's administration, which is ignorant, high-handed, and inaccessible.'
A defence spokesman in Jammu said miscreants fired three rocket propelled grenade rounds at Nangi Tekri posts in the Krishna Gathi area in the Poonch district on Saturday morning
He said that the army has tried to neutralise foreign terrorists along the Line of Control in Rajouri and Poonch.
Several deaths were reported across the country due to rain-related incidents like lightning strikes and drowning.
The People's Democratic Party and the National Conference -- the two Indian National Developmental Inclusive Alliance (INDIA) partners in Jammu and Kashmir -- will be taking on each other on the three Lok Sabha seats in the valley.
The frequent use of these assault rifles by terrorists in Jammu and Kashmir, according to experts, is a consequence of the US Army leaving behind arms and ammunition while pulling out from Afghanistan in 2021 and is a cause of concern due to the more lethal nature of the steel bullets used.
India agreed to give up the Poonch salient as well as Uri. To the north India also proposed to give up land in the Gurez sector giving the entire Neelam/Kinshanganga valley to Pakistan. In return India sought control of the post dominating Kargil town, points out Colonel Anil A Athale (retd).
A terrorist was killed and another was most likely injured on Saturday in an ongoing operation in the densely forested area of Rajouri district in Jammu and Kashmir, Army said.
Congress candidate Jehangir Mir was on Saturday elected from the Poonch-Haveli Assembly constituency in Jammu and Kashmir.
Security forces tightened their cordon around a forest area in the higher reaches of Doda district on Tuesday evening following an encounter with hiding terrorists, officials said.
The army early on Thursday foiled an infiltration bid by terrorists on the Line of Control in Poonch district of Jammu region.
The planned phased withdrawal of the Army from certain areas of the Jammu region has been shelved "indefinitely" in view of terror attacks being orchestrated from across the border, officials said in Srinagar.
As part of the heightened security arrangements in view of Modi's visit, the officials said, the BSF and the police conducted a joint two-hour-long anti-tunnelling operation in the Ramgarh sector of Samba district.
The DGP, along with additional director general of police (law and order) Vijay Kumar and Jammu zone additional director general of police Anand Jain, visited Jammu-based White Knight Corps and interacted with General Officer Commanding Lt Gen Navin Sachdeva, the army said.
The disputed region witnessed clashes on Saturday between the police and activists of a rights movement, leaving at least one police official dead and injuring over 100 people, mostly policemen.
A statement from the Army's Northern Command said its personnel have been conducting 'relentless intelligence-based operations to flush out a group of terrorists involved in an ambush on an Army truck in the Tota Gali area of Bhata Dhurian in Jammu region last month'.
Congress leader Mani Shankar Aiyar's remarks on Pakistan sparked a political row on Friday, with his party quick to dissociate itself from the comments while the ruling Bharatiya Janata Party latched on to them, accusing the Congress of being an apologist for Pakistan and the terrorism emanating from its soil.
The incident occurred on Monday night when the victim, Mohammad Razaq (40), came out of a mosque in his village Kunda Top under the Thanamandi police station area. Razaq's brother, Mohammad Tahir Choudhary, is a soldier in the Territorial Army, police said.
'There is no peace in the Kashmir Valley.'
