The first phase of polling, held on September 18, saw an estimated 61.38 per cent voter turnout, while the final phase is set to take place on October 1 in the crucial elections being held after 10 years.
This is the third major encounter in Shopian in four days.
The official said security forces have cordoned off the area and launched a hunt for the attackers.
The State Election Commission in Jammu and Kashmir on Saturday imposed restrictions on conduct of exit polls till the last of the eight-phase District Development Council election is completed.
Non-local students left the institute in the afternoon in a convoy of 15 vehicles under security escort to Jammu for onward journey to their respective home states, officials said.
Neelam Kothari and her husband Samir Soni enjoyed a beautiful weekend in Kashmir, taking in the Gulmarg Winter festival, organised by the Indian Army to promote tourism in the valley.
Asked if the party would approach the court for the restoration of Jammu and Kashmir's statehood, the NC leader said, "I do not want to get into that right now."
Director general of police Dilbag Singh described it as an "extremely unfortunate" incident and said a manhunt had been launched to nab his domestic help identified as Jasir, who is absconding.
A worker from Punjab who was injured in Wednesday's terror attack in Srinagar's Habba Kadal area died at the SKIMS hospital in Srinagar on Thursday morning, taking the toll to two in the first targeted killing of the year by terrorists in Jammu and Kashmir.
Tral, the former hotbed of terrorism, rocks to the music of democracy.
Lt Gen (Retd) Puri and several other Kargil veterans who had played a decisive role in the 1999 war were felicitated by the Chief of Defence Staff General Anil Chauhan in Delhi recently.
The separatists have extended the shutdown programme till September 16.
The principal secretary (home) issued a security advisory, saying pilgrims and tourists 'may curtail their stay' and 'return as soon as possible'.
The long term trends on violence in Kashmir are positive and India must secure these gains further, asserts Aakar Patel.
'An entire operation was running systematically prior to the revoking of Article 370.'
Security forces have been deployed in strength in sensitive and vulnerable areas to maintain law and order.
The Valley, which was brought under a virtual curfew with communication networks snapped on August 5 after the government abrogated special status to Jammu and Kashmir, has seen little difference in the last seven weeks as public transport is still not available and schools waiting for students to collect assignments.
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.
All parties in Jammu and Kashmir said the assembly election should be held with the parliamentary polls, but the entire administrative machinery said it cannot be done simultaneously
'My mother feels it will be tough and emotional for her to enter an assembly which has essentially been reduced to a municipality now.' 'My opinion is that even if it is a municipality one cannot cede that space to the BJP.'
The Valley has witnessed heavy snowfall and sleet over the past two days.
Kashmir police chief Vijay Kumar has directed personnel to apprehend those responsible for the attack as soon as possible.
'We want to ensure that no government in J&K will be formed without our support.'
The separatist amalgam appealed to the international community to intervene in putting an end to the daily violence and tragic loss of life in Kashmir by "pushing for the resolution of the lingering Kashmir conflict, which is the root cause of all this suffering".
The upper reaches of Kashmir valley witnessed the first snowfall of the season. The weather department has predicted bad weather for a few days. Snowfall at hill stations like Gulmarg and Pahalgam also brings the hope of revival of tourism in the area which has been severely hit for most of the year due to the coronavirus pandemic.
If Rashid cannot be the king, he could be the kingmaker after October 8 when the results to the J&K assembly are declared.
The solicitor general told the court that restrictions on Internet was going on as the issue has "cross border implications".
Tensions between India and Pakistan spiked after New Delhi abrogated Article 370 of the Constitution to revoke the special status of Jammu and Kashmir on August 5, 2019. India's decision evoked strong reactions from Pakistan, which downgraded diplomatic ties and expelled the Indian envoy.
Pressure is mounting for a resolution to be moved in the assembly when it meets next week for its maiden sitting to demand 'restoration of Article 370 and Article 35A' as committed in the National Conference's election manifesto, reveals Mohammad Sayeed Malik, the distinguished commentator on Kashmir affairs.
'The Abdullah family is the problem and facilitator of the instability that we are seeing in Kashmir.'
Gandhi said that the approach that the government was following 'by completely denying' that the Chinese have 'taken our land' is extremely dangerous as it would give them the confidence to do even 'more aggressive things'.
Two army troopers were injured in a powerful improvised explosive device blast near Chakala village in north Kashmir on Thursday morning.
The incident took place at Sirnoo village in the morning when the security forces laid siege to a locality based on intelligence reports about the presence of three terrorists, including an army deserter - Zahoor Ahmad Thoker, in the area, police officials said.
The steep hike in airfares is making Kashmir out of bounds for most travellers, leading many business-owners to fear that the tourists may be forced to look for another holiday destination, says Mukhtar Shah.
'Article 370 is now dug 70 feet deep in the ground. It cannot come out.'
'The BJP claims they have eight lakh cadres in the Kashmir Valley so why can't they contest elections from Kashmir?'
Nearly a dozen grenade attacks have taken place in the valley since Thursday.
Stone-pelters clashed with security personnel in Anantnag and in the Safakadal area in Srinagr in the wake of the rumours, he said.
'There was a statement by a minister that 30,000 Kashmiri Pandits have come back to the Kashmir Valley after the abrogation of Article 370, it is all b.......t and a white lie.' 'Nobody has come back.'
For the last four years since abrogation of Article 370, Kashmir-based political parties have been struggling to forge an alternate narrative to the one forcibly snatched from them. The BJP is bound to go hammer and tongs at them now that their armoury is reinforced with the Supreme Court judgment, notes Mohammad Sayeed Malik, the veteran commentator on Kashmir affairs.
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