India is apprehensive about the Taliban's return as it would mean loss of access to Baluch rebels and help to the restive tribals of Waziristan. This would be a setback to the Indian strategy of returning the compliments of death by a thousand cuts to Pakistan, notes Colonel Anil A Athale (retd).
The Jammu and Kashmir Cricket Association has put out ads on local TV channels to get in touch with their players from the Valley who have been incommunicado.
Armed forces and the police can only ensure that violence is kept under control but for any kind of lasting peace, politicians will have to find an answer to the perception that the Indian State is anti-Islam. Therein lies the biggest challenge to the Modi government, says Colonel Anil A Athale (retired).
The clear assertion by New Delhi came ahead of a fresh round of Lt General-level talks between the Indian army and the Chinese PLA which government sources said is set to take place within the next two days.
The digital blackout in Kashmir completed 145 days on Friday with no sign of restoration of the services in near future.
External Affairs Minister S Jaishankar and his Chinese counterpart Wang Yi met in Moscow on Thursday amid hopes of a possible breakthrough in reducing tensions along the Line of Actual Control (LAC) in eastern Ladakh.
Kashmir witnessed the season's heaviest snowfall.
'Although Hong Kong weathered many a storm and displayed a remarkable resilience to bounce back, the developments in the territory have raised question marks with regard to its future stability and prosperity.' A revealing excerpt from Rup Narayan Das's Hong Kong Conundrum: Pangs of Transition.
'With Punjab and Kashmir in flames, it would not have been politically wise to alienate the West.' 'It would have inclined Western countries towards Pakistan.' 'It would have been a self-goal.'
Sources said China has been slowly increasing its troop level in the Doklam Plateau.
Independent candidates have emerged as big winners in Jammu and Kashmir's maiden District Development Council polls, with 49 of them having been declared elected so far from 280 seats, putting them ahead of parties like the Congress and the Peoples Democratic Party.
'Bommai's predicament is pathetic right now because deep inside he is not like this, but to remain in power he has to talk and speak against his own conscience.'
Experts said the tensions have added to a sense of apprehension in the United States, Europe and parts of Asia that China will engage in more aggressive behaviour in pursuit of its territorial interests, which in turn has raised the possibility of a serious and coordinated pushback by leading global players.
Instead of "the dragon and the elephant compete with each other", "the dragon and the elephant dance together, Chinese Foreign Minister Wang Yi said.
What the ceasefire does is to show the supporters of violence in the Kashmir valley an alternative to militancy, argues Colonel Anil A Athale (retd).
The delimitation commission will visit Jammu and Kashmir between July 6-9 and interact with political parties, public representatives and officials of the UT to gather 'first hand' information of the mega exercise to carve out new constituencies, the EC said.
K Pazhani of Kadukkalur village served the army for 22 long years and was due to retire in a year.
Social media giant accused of anti-competitive conduct by abusing its market power to create a monopoly and crushing smaller competitors.
Restrictions have been imposed in five police station areas of Srinagar, a police official said.
"Though we reiterate our commitment to peace, our defence forces -- the army, the air force and the navy -- are adequately mobilised in a well-coordinated move to thwart any attempt to undermine our security. Our national interest will be protected at all costs. We have also ensured a widespread understanding in the international community of India's firm and principled stand," the President said. India and China are locked in a nearly nine-month long military standoff in eastern Ladakh.
With no agenda announced for the meeting, the leaders from Jammu and Kashmir said they have come with an open mind.
The detentions come ahead of a crucial hearing on Article 35-A in Supreme Court which is likely to take place on Monday. The article, incorporated into the Indian Constitution in 1954, grants special rights and privileges to the citizens of Jammu and Kashmir.
'The economy of Kashmir has collapsed.'
China remains in firm control of an estimated 600-800 square kilometres of Indian territory.
The education sector has been badly hit in Kashmir Valley during the five-month-long unrest, causing "irreversible loss" to students, the Economic Survey Report has said.
Ashutosh Topey, an IT professional from Hyderabad takes us through his recent Himalayan adventure trek.
The Srinagar-Leh National Highway connecting Ladakh with Kashmir Valley was reopened for traffic on Tuesday after remaining closed for seven days due to heavy rains, boosting connectivity to the flood-hit region awaiting crucial supplies.
Army Spokesperson Colonel Aman Anand said troops from China's People's Liberation Army (PLA) 'violated' the consensus arrived at during military and diplomatic engagements on the ongoing standoff in eastern Ladakh, and carried out provocative military movements to change the status quo.
There was no comment from the Indian side on the statement made by the Chinese defence ministry spokesperson Colonel Wu Qian, and carried by China's official media.
'India cannot allow Beijing's policy of stabilising and destabilising the border at will to perpetuate its own ends.' A riveting excerpt from Manish Tiwari's 10 Flashpoints; 20 Years National Security Situations That Impacted India.
The procurement will come at a cost of Rs 38,900 crore.
"He was one of the oldest militant and wanted for several terror-related crimes," police told PTI.
Google Chief Executive Officer Indian-American Sundar Pichai, 47, will be assuming the role of Alphabet CEO, making him one of the most powerful corporate leaders of the world.
Director General of Police S P Vaid said that Burhan Wani's successor Sabzar Ahmad Bhat is among the two terrorists killed in the encounter in Soimoh area of Tral on Saturday morning.
The grenade blast which killed a protester took place at Brakpora village in Anantnag district of south Kashmir.
Notwithstanding how the current impasse is solved, at some point in the future, Russia will realise that just as centuries ago it developed the paradigm of securing its heartland's safety through annexing vast buffer zones between itself and the enemy, a more modern security is possible only through friendly relations and sustainable peace, observes Shyam G Menon.
Unless each attack drone can be neutralised, India will be literally deploying elephants to stamp out ants -- and the ants may still survive! points out N Sathiya Moorthy.
The Taliban have the ISIS in its crosshairs. The Taliban has shown the skill to assimilate extremist elements if they are reconcilable as well as the ruthlessness to eliminate troublemakers, observes Ambassador M K Bhadrakumar
The right path for the two sides is to respect and support each other as this serves our long-term interests, Chinese foreign minister said.
There was some respite in cold conditions in Kashmir as the mercury went up by several degrees at most places after four days of virtual free fall.
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