India is proposing a new law that would impose a jail term of up to seven years and a fine of Rs 10 lakh on anyone found using a forged passport or visa to enter, stay, or exit the country. The Immigration and Foreigners Bill, 2025, also mandates reporting of foreign visitors by hotels, universities, and hospitals to track overstaying individuals. The bill aims to simplify laws, ease business, and strengthen national security while promoting economic growth and tourism.
The number of active terrorists in the valley is at its lowest in the last 34 years, General Officer Commanding of Chinar Corps Lieutenant General A D S Aujla said.
Gyanesh Kumar, a 1988-batch Kerala Cadre IAS officer, has been appointed as the next Chief Election Commissioner (CEC) of India. Kumar, who was previously an Election Commissioner, will serve until January 26, 2029. His appointment comes amidst controversy as the Congress party demanded the government defer its decision until the Supreme Court concludes its hearing on a petition challenging the composition of the selection panel. Kumar's tenure will see him oversee several state assembly elections, including Bihar, Kerala, Puducherry, Tamil Nadu, and West Bengal.
'Where are the safer zones in Kashmir? We have to move out, drop our children at local schools and attend to our duties'
The anti-encroachment drive by Jammu and Kashmir administration intensified on Saturday as the land illegally occupied by 'influential persons' was retrieved at many places in the valley, officials said.
'The whole Kashmiri population is seemed to be a suspect community. This status is not good.'
Ahead of a crucial meeting on Jammu and Kashmir, National Security Advisor Ajit Doval on Thursday met Union Home Minister Amit Shah and is believed to have discussed the security situation in the Union territory which has witnessed a spate of targeted killings since May 12.
After the 1962 War with China, there was a demand to forge greater defence cooperation between India and the West. One such voice was that of Sudhir Ghosh, a distinguished MP, to tie up strategic cooperation with the USA immediately after the Chinese attack on India, recalls Rup Narayan Das.
So far 14 Kashmiri Pandits have filed nominations to contest from the valley for the upcoming Jammu and Kashmir assembly elections, aiming to ensure the return and rehabilitation of their fellow community members, whose number run up to 3 lakh.
We have seen such scenes from legislatures in South Korea and Europe for instance, but who would have wagered that we would witness such tumult in India, in the Jammu and Kashmir assembly, no less, which only convened for legislative business days ago.
As per one of the arrested persons, the slain terrorists were Pashto-speaking either from a village in Pakistan bordering Afghanistan or from Afghanistan itself, the Jammu police chief told reporters in Jammu in the evening.
The BJP's victory in the Delhi Assembly elections has sparked speculation over who will lead the next government. Several prominent leaders, including Pravesh Verma, Ashish Sood, Pawan Sharma, Vijender Gupta, and Satish Upadhyay, are in the running for the chief minister's post. The party's national leadership is expected to make the final decision, leaving the contenders in a state of anticipation.
Travelling from South India to Kashmir in December was magical for Ganesh Nadar as he feasted his eyes on the beauty of the snow-capped Himalayas.
The encounter broke out after the terrorists opened fire at the search party personnel, who retaliated, the officials said.
The meeting came after terrorists carried out a series of targeted killings in the Kashmir Valley that include non-Muslims, security personnel, an artist and local civilians.
Former winners Vidarbha will rely on their red-hot form to stake claim for a title they last won over five years ago, while first-time finalists Kerala will be driven by grit when the two contrasting teams clash in the summit showdown for the 90th Ranji Trophy, starting in Nagpur on Wednesday.
Kashmir is currently under the grip of 'Chillai-Kalan' -- the 40-day harshest winter period when a cold wave grips the region
According to the officials, fresh batches of pilgrims were not allowed to leave Jammu to embark on their yatra due to closure of the Srinagar-Jammu National Highway.
The cabinet of the new government led by Rekha Gupta balances representation of all major communities that propelled the Bharatiya Janata Party to power in Delhi with a massive majority after over 26 years.
'Everyone is unhappy with the lieutenant governor's administration, which is ignorant, high-handed, and inaccessible.'
Security forces on Sunday intensified their operation to flush out terrorists from the forest area of Jammu and Kashmir's Anantnag district on the second day of encounter that has left two soldiers and a civilian dead.
'The lack of opportunities here remains the biggest worry.' 'We have seen investment summits, but if you look around, much of it is only on paper and not on the ground.'
A two-member team of the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR) met Rohingya Muslims at a slum in Jammu amid a heated debate whether the illegally settled immigrants be provided water and electricity.
Narayan Dutt, a resident of Katra in Udhampur district, was fired upon by the militants in the evening in the Kanilwan area of Bijbehara in the south Kashmir district, a police official said.
The PDP looks a distant third in the race, observes Mohammed Sayeed Malik, the distinguished commentator on Kashmir politics.
A delegation of diplomats from 16 countries, including the United States, Norway and Singapore, on Wednesday observed the ongoing assembly polls in Jammu and Kashmir.
More than a dozen Mountain Rescue Teams assisted thousands of pilgrims during this year's Amarnath pilgrimage in the south Kashmir Himalayas, officials said on Monday, as the annual yatra concluded with more than 5.10 lakh pilgrims offering prayers at the cave shrine.
The money was being transported from Punjab to South Kashmir.
The withdrawal of the candidature by DPAP leaders on the last day on August 30 is seen as a boost to the NC-Congress alliance.
The nomination papers of 35 candidates including that of jailed separatist Sarjan Barkati were on Wednesday rejected during scrutiny for the first phase of assembly polls in Jammu and Kashmir, leaving 244 contestants in the fray.
The home minister also reviewed the preparations for the annual Amarnath pilgrimage scheduled to begin on June 29.
The operation to neutralise the terrorists involved in the encounter that led to the killing of four security forces personnel continued for the second day on Thursday, September 14, 2023.
Huge tri-colour-themed banners have been put up along the Kartavya Path while the theme for this year's tableaux that would roll down the boulevard where the annual Republic Day celebrations take place is 'Swarnim Bharat: Virasat aur Vikas', focusing on 75 years of the enactment of the Constitution.
This spell is most likely to give good snow/rain in the Pirpanjal area Gulmarg, Ramban-Banihal, Shopian, Poonch-Rajouri and Zojila especially during November 24-25 and decrease thereafter significantly.
Additional security personnel have been deployed on the ground and drones are being used for aerial surveillance, they said.
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.
Dulat, who was advisor on Jammu and Kashmir to the central government during the tenure of former prime minister Atal Behari Vajpayee, also advocated the need for starting a dialogue with Pakistan.
Basit Mukhtar was injured by a tear gas shell in clashes on September 5.
The long term trends on violence in Kashmir are positive and India must secure these gains further, asserts Aakar Patel.
To curb the spread of violence, authorities on Wednesday clamped a curfew on more areas in south Kashmir, where three youths were killed when Central Reserve Police Force troopers allegedly opened fire during clashes with protestors on Tuesday.
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