4 civilians were also killed and dozens of others injured in clashes that broke out between protestors and security forces following three separate encounters.
J&K CM Mufti Mohammad Sayeed has issued directions to the state home department to step up investigations and provide secure environment to all civilians.
In a development that may raise an alarm in the security establishment, flags of dreaded terror outfit ISIS along with those of Pakistan were today raised in Kashmir after which police promised a thorough probe and legal action against those involved.
According to a National Crime Records Bureau report, a total of 356 cases of sedition -- as defined under section 124A of the IPC -- were registered and 548 people arrested between 2015 and 2020, out of which only six were convicted.
Normal life remained paralysed for the 45th consecutive day due to curfew, restrictions and separatist sponsored strike following Wani's killing in an encounter with security forces.
'The first clear cut call for 'engagement with all stake holders including separatists' came, not from the political class but the men in uniform,' points out Mohammad Sayeed Malik, the distinguished observer on Kashmir.
Under attack over pro-Pakistan slogans and flags being waved at a rally by hardliner Syed Ali Shah Geelani, Jammu and Kashmir Chief Minister Mufti Mohammed Sayeed on Thursday said it was "not acceptable" and "will not be tolerated'.
Jammu and Kashmir government on Thursday ruled out exclusive colonies for Kashmiri migrant Pandits but said it would consider any alternative plan, even from separatist groups, to rehabilitate the minority community in the Valley.
Lashing out at the Congress and Bharatiya Janata Party for opposing the proposed meeting of separatist leaders with the Pakistan high commissioner, both moderate and hardline factions of the Hurriyat Conference on Monday said their reaction was unwarranted and demonstrated political immaturity.
According to the order, all security and vehicles provided to the separatists will stand withdrawn by Sunday evening. No security forces or cover will be provided, under any pretext, to them or any other separatists. If they have any other facilities provided by the government, they are to be withdrawn forthwith.
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.
For the first time in 25 years since the start of militancy in Kashmir, the separatists have not called for a general strike on Martyrs' Day on Monday in view of the fasting month of Ramzan.
The special NIA judge charged him with being a member of a terror group, raising funds for them as well as aiding an outfit.
The panel had first visited the Valley in October after which it had recommended an immediate ban on use of pellet guns by security forces.
"It will take time," Sayeed told media persons.
'There were 27 cases against me. I have obtained bail in all the cases. The judiciary has released me,' the freed Kashmiri separatist tells A Ganesh Nadar/Rediff.com
Lt Gen Dua called on Governor Vohra and briefed him about the security situation and the Army's preparedness to deal with any arising exigency.
Pakistan Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif came out with a Sunday night statement condemning the action of Indian security forces.
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.
"We keep hearing that Pakistan is a 'victim of terrorism'. This is the country which is an arsonist disguising itself as a fire-fighter. Pakistan nurtures terrorists in their backyard in the hope that they will only harm their neighbours," India's first secretary Sneha Dubey said in the UN General Assembly on Friday.
'The Modi government has turned the basic fundamentals of its Pakistan policy on its head.' 'It means an admission that its hands-off-Hurriyat policy was flawed and it is ready to engage with Pakistan without minding if the Kashmiri separatists talked to the Pakistani government,' says Rajeev Sharma.
Jammu and Kashmir government on Thursday ordered immediate replacement of the paramilitary Central Reserve Police Force personnel with state armed police in the Gagran camp of curfew-hit Shopian district.
The youths will be provided short-term training for at least three months, in a range of skills for which there is good market demand.
Earlier, a youth injured during clashes last week succumbed at a hospital in Srinagar on Monday morning.
'I don't know who is deciding Indian foreign policy today. I don't know who is deciding how India deals with Pakistan,' former Union minister Ram Jethmalani takes on the Modi government.
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.
The separatist leaders were told that "restrictions have been imposed on their movement in the national capital" ahead a possible talks between NSA Sartaj Aziz and his Indian counterpart Ajit Doval.
Curfew remained in force in entire Srinagar district and Anantnag town on Saturday to thwart the separatists' plan to stage a two-day sit-in in the city centre even as the death toll in the ongoing unrest climbed to 56 in the Valley with the death of a youth injured in firing.
The upcoming Indo-Pak National Security Adviser-level talks appeared to be on the verge of being aborted with both sides locked in a confrontation over Kashmiri separatist leaders.
Curfew was imposed in the Srinagar and other parts of the Kashmir Valley a day after four people were killed and 40 others wounded in security force firing at Gool in Ramban district of Jammu region.
'It will be a long time before we will see the likes of Vajpayee again.'
While confirming that the voice in the slideshow was that of Moosa, senior police officials did not rule out the possibility that the banned IS terror group was trying to create a base in the Valley.
Javadekar was at the event, where presence of his ministerial colleague V K Singh last year had drawn flak from the media, for around 20 minutes, and extended his 'best wishes' to the Pakistani people on the sidelines.
The JeI (J&K) also has several trusts for running schools to disseminate orthodox Islamic education, has a youth wing and has numerous publications for spreading its fundamentalist ideology.
Brushing aside the strong opposition to it from separatist leaders, religious heads and some civil society groups, authorities have decided to go ahead with the high profile Zubin Mehta concert in Srinagar on September 7.
The re-opening of the state government offices in Srinagar after the annual Darbar Move was marked by citywide shutdown and protests.
The sudden arrest and immediate release of Kashmiri separatist leaders who are to meet Pakistan National Security Advisor Sartaj Aziz introduced an intriguing element into the scheduled talks he will have with his Indian counterpart Ajit Doval on terror on next week.
Probe agencies have found a common link between money received by Firdous Ahmad Shah, a member of Syed Ali Shah Geelani's hardline Hurriyat Conference, and financiers of 26/11.
Clashes broke out between youths and security forces in several areas of Srinagar and Anantnag districts after Eid prayers on Friday even as separatist leaders including Syed Ali Shah Geelani and Mirwaiz Umar Farooq were put under house arrest as a precautionary measure.
Former Research and Analysis Wing chief AS Dulat has claimed that everybody in Kashmir makes money off the unstable situation in the region, alleging that it is 'in their DNA'.
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