The reopening brought a sense of relief to students, teachers, and parents across the region.
The Congress is fighting the elections in a pre-poll alliance with National Conference and has fielded 32 candidates, mostly in Jammu region, compared to 51 by the regional party. Additionally, the CPI(M) and the Jammu and Kashmir National Panthers Party (JKNPP) have each been allocated one seat while both the Congress and NC had a 'friendly contest' on five seats.
Incidentally, 164 of the total 356 candidates in the fray from the 43 assembly seats of Jammu region got less votes than none of the above, which gives an option to voters to reject all candidates in a constituency.
The Congress was fighting the elections in a pre-poll alliance with National Conference and had fielded 32 candidates, mostly in Jammu region, compared to 51 by the regional party.
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.
The army has initiated a Court of Inquiry against a major-rank officer who allegedly opened fire on his colleagues and exploded grenades inside a camp in the Rajouri district of Jammu and Kashmir, officials said on Friday.
A search operation to track down the fleeing terrorists continues near the scene of the ambush, while mobile internet services remained suspended in the twin districts for the second day on Sunday, they said.
Official sources said mobile Internet services were suspended both in Poonch and Rajouri districts as a precautionary measure to check rumour-mongering and prevent miscreants from creating any law and order problem.
Over 30 suspects have been questioned during the past few days and several of them have been released.
Defence Minister Rajnath Singh on Wednesday assured justice to the families of three civilians who were found dead last week after being allegedly picked up by the Army following an ambush on two of Army vehicles in Jammu and Kashmir's Poonch district.
Three civilians picked up by the Army for questioning after the terrorist ambushed two Army vehicles on Thursday at Dhatyar Morh between Dhera Ki Gali and Buffliaz in Poonch were found dead on December 23.
While the operation to track down the terrorists in the forest belt of Poonch-Rajouri was underway, the security forces received information about the suspected movement of terrorists in the vast forest area of Khabla along the Mughal Road in the early hours of Saturday, the officials said.
The sources said there was a firing practice going on at the camp for the past several days and the accused officer started firing on his colleagues and subordinates without any provocation on Thursday.
The vehicles came under attack in the Savni area on the Rajouri-Thanamandi-Surankote road around 3.30 pm.
A search operation in Thanamandi belt turned into a fierce encounter after the terrorists opened fire on the forces, who retaliated, Army officials said.
The Jammu and Kashmir administration on Saturday announced compensation and jobs to the kin of the three civilians who were found dead in Poonch district as a massive search operation was underway to track down terrorists behind the recent ambush on two Army vehicles that left five soldiers dead.
Officials said the entire forest area from Mendhar to Thanamandi remains under a strict cordon and a massive search operation is on to neutralise the terrorists moving from one place to another in an attempt to escape the dragnet.
Officials said gunshots were heard as the joint search parties of the Army and the police resumed the operation in Poonch's Mendhar area. However, it was not immediately clear whether it was speculative firing by the search parties or fresh contact was established with the terrorists, they said.
Nine Army personnel including two JCO's and an arrested Pakistani terrorist have been killed and three security men injured since the commencement of the operation on October 11.
An arrested Pakistani terrorist was killed, while three security personnel were injured on Sunday when militants opened fire on a joint search party of the Army and police inside a forest in Poonch district of Jammu and Kashmir, officials said.
Several counter-terrorist operations and encounters have taken place in the twin border districts of Rajouri and Poonch this year.
The operation to track down a group of hiding terrorists, who are responsible for the killing of nine soldiers, in Bhatti Durrian forest in Mendhar along with Surankote forest in Poonch and nearby Thanamandi in Rajouri district entered the 21st day on Sunday, the officials said.
Security forces continued a massive search operation on Tuesday in a forest area connecting the twin border districts of Rajouri and Poonch in Jammu and Kashmir, where five soldiers including a junior commissioned officer were killed in a gunfight the previous day, officials said.
As the counter-insurgency operation in the forest belt of Jammu and Kashmir's twin border districts of Poonch and Rajouri entered the ninth day on Tuesday, public announcements were made in Mendhar asking local residents to stay indoors for their safety, officials said.
After initial 'zero infiltration' in the wake of renewed ceasefire agreement between India and Pakistan in February, fresh attempts are on to push terrorists from across the border where 250 to 300 terrorists are trained and waiting on the launch pads, Jammu and Kashmir Director General of Police Dilbag Singh said on Tuesday.
Army chief General M M Naravane visited forward areas along the Line of Control in Jammu region on Tuesday and was briefed on the ground situation in the region and ongoing counter-infiltration operations, officials said.
Army Chief General M M Naravane carried out an aerial reconnaissance of forward areas on Wednesday and was briefed about the prevailing security situation along the Line of Control (LOC) in the Jammu region, officials said.
The Centre and state governments have shied away from highlighting the ISI's attempts to displace Hindus and create corridors of sympathetic demography to further their designs especially along the communication arteries from Jammu to the Kashmir Valley.
Two terrorists carried out a 'fidayeen' attack on an Army camp in Jammu's Rajouri district in the early hours of Thursday, killing three soldiers.
Pakistan's western front continues to remain unstable and it fishing in troubled waters of Afghanistan is going to come and bite it in the future, Army Chief General M M Naravane said on Thursday.
Senior Superintendent of Police, Rajouri, Farooq Khan told UNI that army personnel of 43 Rashtriya Rifles along with state police, acting on a tip-off, cordoned off Raina Mohalla of Thanamandi for search operations.
Militancy has plagued the valley since more than two decades and most of the time innocent civilians and children are the victims
Sayed Zabiuddin alias Abu Jundal, a prize catch in 26/11 terror case, picked up his first lessons in terrorism when Lashker-e-Tayiba terrorist Mohammed Aslam alias Aslam Kashmiri arranged for his arms training in Nepal in 2004.
Acting on a tip-off that some terrorists were hiding in Rajdhani forest belt at Thanamandi, troops of Rashtriya Rifles and police launched a cordon-and-search operation in the area. In the ensusing gunfight, two ultras were killed and a police constable was wounded, said SSP (Rajouri) R K Jalla who supervised the operation.
Two policemen were killed in a militant ambush in the Rajouri district of Jammu region late last night, a senior police officer said Thursday.
Jammu and Kashmir Director General of Police Gopal Sharma had said recently that 1200 fully armed militants were still active in the state even though the number of violent incidents had come down.
Geelani, who was scheduled to address a Friday congregation at Rajouri town and Thanamandi, was arrested at Chingus, 90 km from Jammu.
The troops busted a natural hideout in which a large cache of arms, ammunition and other warlike stores was recovered.
A large amount of RDX and arms were also seized.
It was found under a culvert on the Sarthangal-Bhadarwa Road.
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