The last assembly elections were held in Jammu and Kashmir in 2014, five years before the erstwhile state was reorganised into two Union territories on August 5, 2019.
There is a limit to ignoring genuine aspirations of the people and suppressing their legitimate voice in running the affairs of the state, notes Mohammad Sayeed Malik, the distinguished commentator on Kashmir affairs.
'Pakistan has no locus standi to pronounce on or interfere in matters that are internal to India, including the Indian territories under Pakistan's illegal and forcible occupation'
Climate activist Soman Wangchuk announced on Sunday that he will launch a 28-day fast on Independence Day if the government does not invite Ladakh authorities for talks on demands for statehood and constitutional protection for the union territory.
The value of the vote of a Member of Parliament is likely to go down to 700 from 708 in the presidential polls scheduled in July due to the absence of a legislative assembly in Jammu and Kashmir, officials said on Saturday.
"Give up arms and come for talks or our forces will hunt you down," the home minister said in election rallies in Jammu and Kashmir.
India has registered a strong protest with the United Kingdom over the visit to Pakistan Occupied Kashmir (PoK) by its High Commissioner to Islamabad along with another British official.
Besides the bills, the government has listed the first batch of supplementary demands for grants for 2023-24 for presentation, discussion and voting during the session.
The Bharatiya Janata Party on Saturday appointed election in-charges and co-in-charges for 23 states and Union territories in view of the Lok Sabha polls this year.
The Congress Working Committee (CWC) condemned the Pahalgam terror attack, calling it a direct assault on the values of the republic. The party accused the BJP of exploiting the tragedy to promote discord and polarization, while urging for unity and solidarity in the face of adversity. The CWC also demanded a comprehensive analysis of the intelligence failures and security lapses that led to the attack.
The National Investigation Agency has charge sheeted Dilawar Iqbal -- a right-hand man of Jaish-e-Mohammed (JeM) chief Maulana Masood Azhar Alvi -- and Kupwara-resident Mohammed Ubaid Malik for allegedly conspiring to disturb the peace and communal harmony of Jammu and Kashmir by attacking security forces, officials said on Wednesday.
A blog linked to TRF, an offshoot of the Lashkar-e-Taiba, published the list of 56 Kashmiri Pandit employees who were recruited under the Prime Minister's Rehabilitation Package, and warned of mounting attacks on them.
A series of deaths in a remote village in Rajouri district, Jammu and Kashmir, are not due to any disease, according to the Health Minister. Tests conducted by various institutions, including the ICMR, NCDC, and DRDE, have returned negative results. However, the minister has ordered an investigation into the deaths to determine the cause.
The Supreme Court on Monday upheld the government's decision to abrogate Article 370 of the Constitution, which bestowed a special status on the erstwhile state of Jammu and Kashmir, and said steps should be taken to conduct the election to the Assembly in the Union Territory by September 30 next year.
Terming Pakistan as a 'failed state', National Conference (NC) president Farooq Abdullah Thursday said relations between New Delhi and Islamabad would never improve until a peoples' government is elected in the neighbouring country.
The legislation is aimed at streamlining various services related to immigration and foreigners, including their entry, exit and stay in India.
The Supreme Court of India on Wednesday said it would consider a plea for early listing of petitions challenging the Centre's decision to abrogate provisions of Article 370 which had given special status to Jammu and Kashmir.
Several states have been reporting an uptick in the number of COVID cases over the last few weeks and nine states and Union territories have so far detected the presence of the JN.1 sub-variant of the virus.
Shah arrived in the evening and was received at the airport by Lieutenant Governor Manoj Sinha and Union minister Jitendra Singh, among others.
"In 1948, Indian armed forces were in a decisive position to take back Pakistan-occupied Kashmir but then PM Jawaharlal Nehru declared unilateral ceasefire," Amit Shah said. In 1971, Shah said, 93,000 Pakistani soldiers surrendered and India had 15,000 sq km Pakistan territory under control, but still PoK was not taken back. During the 1962 war with China, then PM Nehru bade goodbye to Assam in a speech on Akashvani, he said.
The Supreme Court on Friday said it will take a decision on the early listing of petitions challenging the Centre's decision to abrogate provisions of Article 370 which had given a special status to Jammu and Kashmir.
The eight-phase DDC polls, which began on November 28, is also the first election after Jammu and Kashmir's special status under Article 370 was revoked last year and it was reorganised into a Union Territory.
The value of the vote of a member of Parliament has gone down to 700 from 708 in the presidential poll scheduled for July 18 due to the absence of a legislative assembly in Jammu and Kashmir.
India and Pakistan exchanged lists of their nuclear installations on Wednesday, fulfilling a decades-old agreement that prohibits attacks on each other's atomic facilities. The exchange took place amid strained relations between the two countries over the Kashmir issue and cross-border terrorism. The agreement, signed in 1988, mandates the annual exchange of such lists, which has occurred for the 34th consecutive year.
The former Congress president is currently on a tour of Ladakh -- his first since the region was made a Union territory after being carved out of Jammu and Kashmir in August 2019 -- and is likely to visit Kargil next week.
'Non-BJP state governments and their leaders, navigating today's political landscape, know well they have no clue what awaits around the corner.' 'The chances of charges pressed and oneself getting parked in custody play out on an uneven playing field,' points out Shyam G Menon.
The Jammu and Kashmir Assembly unanimously passed a resolution on Monday expressing shock and anguish over the Pahalgam terrorist attack and resolved to fight resolutely to defeat the nefarious designs to disturb communal harmony and hinder progress.
Two soldiers who were critically wounded in Thursday's terror attack in Jammu and Kashmir's Gulmarg succumbed to their injuries, raising the death toll in the ambush to four.
The Union Cabinet, chaired by the Prime Minister Narendra Modi, on Friday approved the proposal of the Department of Rural Development for construction of two crore more houses under the Pradhan Mantri Awas Yojana - Gramin (PMAY-G). The Cabinet approved the 'Implementation of the Pradhan Mantri Awas Yojana-Gramin during FY 2024-25 to 2028-29,"which prescribes for the construction of two crore more houses at existing unit assistance of Rs 1.20 lakh in plain areas and Rs 1.30 lakh in North Eastern Region States and Hill States of Himachal Pradesh, Uttarakhand, Union Territories of Jammu & Kashmir and Ladakh, according to an official statement.
Omar Abdullah lost by 204,142 votes; Mehbooba Mufti by 281, 794 votes.
The next Census' findings will help identify the extent of India's ageing population and vulnerability levels.
According to an official release, the voting percentage is likely to go up when reports from all polling stations are obtained, as polling was scheduled until 6 pm in many constituencies.
Congress leader Rahul Gandhi visited Poonch in Jammu and Kashmir, offering condolences to families affected by cross-border shelling and encouraging students who lost two classmates to the violence. During an hour-long visit, Gandhi met with students at the convent school that lost the twins, and visited families whose homes were damaged in the shelling.
Twenty-nine of the 30 incumbent chief ministers are crorepatis with Andhra Pradesh's Jagan Mohan Reddy having the highest assets totalling Rs 510 crore, according to poll affidavits analysed by the Association for Democratic Reforms (ADR).
Additional solicitor general KM Nataraj, appearing for the Centre, told a bench of Justices SK Kaul and A Amanullah that responses were still awaited from Rajasthan and Telanagana.
National Conference leader Mohammed Akbar Lone on Tuesday filed an affidavit in the Supreme Court reiterating his oath as Lok Sabha MP, saying he will preserve and uphold the Constitution and protect the country's territorial integrity, an undertaking that irked the Centre which claimed it added "insult to injury to the nation".
She said the encounter in Jammu's Sidhra area in the morning, where four terrorists were killed, belied the government claims of uprooting terrorism in J and K.
Bookstore owners were cautioned against keeping or distributing the books. Police personnel briefed the bookstore owners about the legal consequences of violating the ban.
After inaugurating development projects worth nearly Rs 5,000 crore for boosting the agri-economy in the Union territory, Modi said he was "elated to be among the wonderful people of Srinagar".
The attack took place at 1:20 pm in Hari Singh High Street market area.
