Lone was released days ahead of the first anniversary of the Centre's move to revoke Article 370 of the Constitution in August last year, the officials said. The JKPC chairman was moved to his residence in Srinagar in February this year and placed under house arrest, the officials said.
Lone, after accepting the invitation from the Prime Minister, said his party termed the move of the centre as "positive" and would emphasise identifying other parties and individuals necessary for inclusive participation.
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.
"If we want freedom, we must first give it to those who seek it from us."
The National Conference called the meeting after remarks related to the addition of voters in the revised rolls by the Union Territory's chief electoral officer Hirdesh Kumar raised hackles of the regional parties.
Jammu and Kashmir AAP chief and MLA Mehraj Malik was detained under the Public Safety Act for allegedly disturbing public order in Doda district. The detention has sparked condemnation from opposition parties.
The previous highest voter turnout in the Baramulla Lok Sabha constituency was witnessed in 1984 at 58.90 percent.
Chief Minister Omar Abdullah on Sunday said that the 'unelected nominees of New Delhi locked up the elected representatives' of the people of Jammu and Kashmir after prominent leaders from ruling and opposition parties were not allowed to leave their houses to prevent them from visiting the graveyard of 1931 martyrs in Srinagar.
Arvind Kumar Sah, a resident of the Banka area in Bihar and Saghir Ahmad, a carpenter from Uttar Pradesh were killed by terrorists in Srinagar and Pulwama, police officials said.
The terrorists opened fire on the camp housing labourers of a private company working on construction of a tunnel Gund area in the district, officials said.
Sajjad is the younger son of Hurriyat leader Abdul Gani Lone who was assassinated on May 21, 2002, by militants
While Jamaat cannot take part in the elections due to the ban imposed on it by the Union home ministry, it had shown interest in participating in the polls during the Lok Sabha elections if the ban were removed.
Voting for this crucial phase, covering 40 assembly segments across seven districts -- Jammu, Udhampur, Samba and Kathua in the Jammu region and Baramulla, Bandipora and Kupwara in north Kashmir -- is scheduled for October 1.
People's Democratic Party president Mehbooba Mufti and several other regional party leaders on Monday claimed that they have been placed under house arrest on the fifth anniversary of the reading down of Article 370 of the Constitution that provided special status to Jammu and Kashmir.
A massive controversy is raging in Jammu and Kashmir after a plaque with the Ashoka emblem was vandalised in the Hazratbal shrine as parties on Saturday accused Waqf Board chief Darakshan Andrabi of hurting religious sentiments by using the national emblem in the mosque and demanded registration of a criminal case and her immediate removal.
The row broke out after a private television news agency attributed the excerpts of the article shared by the NC leader to him.
Gupkar Alliance, which includes mainstream political parties of Jammu and Kashmir, has accepted the invitation of the all-party meeting called by Prime Minister Narendra Modi on June 24.
The process for the takeover of the management of the schools began on Saturday morning as officials of district administrations, principals of the respective nearest high and higher secondary schools, accompanied by police teams, reached these schools, the officials said.
The stage is set for the second phase of assembly polls in Jammu and Kashmir which will seal the fate of 175 candidates, including the deputy speaker, four ministers and 11 other sitting MLAs, amidst tight security in Kulgam and Kupwara districts following the murder of a sarpanch by militants.
A local court in Ajmer has issued notices to the dargah committee, the Ministry of Minority Affairs, and the Archaeological Survey of India on a plea seeking to declare the shrine of Sufi saint Khwaja Moinuddin Chishti a temple. The petition, filed in September, has sparked a heated debate, with politicians and community leaders weighing in on the potentially volatile issue. The dargah committee has declined to comment, but the Anjuman Syed Zadgan, a body representing the caretakers of the dargah, described the petition as a deliberate attempt to fracture society along communal lines. The petition comes just days after four people were killed in Sambhal, Uttar Pradesh, following a local court ordering survey of a Mughal-era shrine. The Places of Worship (Special Provisions) Act, 1991, which fixed August 15, 1947, as the cut-off date for status quo on the character of religious places, is at the centre of much of the debate. Several politicians, including Union minister Giriraj Singh and PDP chief Mehbooba Mufti, have weighed in on the issue. The Communist Party of India (Marxist) has called the civil court's decision to entertain the petition unwarranted and has asked the Supreme Court to immediately intervene.
Former deputy chief minister Muzaffar Hussain Baig was among the 24 candidates in Baramulla constituency whose deposits were forfeited.
The junior Abdullah would be banking heavily on Shia support as the constituency has many Shia dominated areas that include Budgam, Beerwah, Pattan, Sonawari and Bandipora, among other pockets.
A large number of voters cast their votes in Baramulla, north Kashmir, on Monday, May 20, 2024. The National Conference's Omar Abdullah, Peoples Conference's Sajad Lone and Independent candidate Sheikh Abdul Rashid alias Engineer Rashid are in the contest.
'I have faced 18 hours of darkness daily all my life.'
An Army colonel commanding a battalion, a major and a Jammu and Kashmir deputy superintendent of police were killed in a gunfight with terrorists in the higher reaches of Kokorenag area in the valley while one soldier was missing, officials said on Wednesday.
Omar Abdullah lost by 204,142 votes; Mehbooba Mufti by 281, 794 votes.
The deceased policeman was identified as assistant sub-inspector Mushtaq Ahmad.
The Baramulla Lok Sabha constituency in Jammu and Kashmir will vote on Monday, May 20.
A high polling percentage of about 71 percent was recorded in the 18 constituencies of Jammu and Kashmir that went to polls on Tuesday in the second phase of the 5 phase assembly elections.
Saddam, a businessman, is the eldest among the two siblings. He has studied in England. Sofiya Nabi Azad, his sister, has studied journalism.
There is a limit to ignoring genuine aspirations of the people and suppressing their legitimate voice in running the affairs of the state, notes Mohammad Sayeed Malik, the distinguished commentator on Kashmir affairs.
Qadri said the Governor should have satisfied himself by seeking additional documentation in support of the claims made in letter for government formation.
"NC is not power hungry... We shunned prospects of an alliance with the BJP a year ago and the reasons for having done that remain unchanged," Omar wrote on his official Facebook page.
Political parties and leaders wait with bated breath for the Haryana and Jammu-Kashmir assembly poll results on Tuesday.
Authorities on Thursday placed the moderate All Parties Hurriyat Conference Chairman Mirwaiz Moulvi Umar Farooq under house arrest to scuttle a rally called by the separatist group.
The group was banned for five years under anti-terror law on grounds that it was "in close touch" with militant outfits and is expected to "escalate secessionist movement" in the state.
The 56-year-old leader, daughter of PDP founder Mufti Mohammad Sayeed, will take oath of office at Raj Bhawan in Jammu on Monday at 11.00 am.
Mehbooba also became the second Muslim woman to become the chief minister of any state in India.
BJP members, including the Leader of Opposition Sunil Sharma, opposed the resolution, saying it was not part of the listed business.
Ignoring the separatists' call to shun the vote, electors in the five districts emulated the trend seen in the first phase by turning up at polling booths in large numbers at 8 am, the scheduled start of voting. It turned out to be an impressive 71.28 per cent turnout in the second phase.
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