A batch of 429 pilgrims left for the yatra from Jammu. The pilgrims included 32 women and 102 sadhus.
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.
People belonging to different areas of Anantnag assembled at Mattan bus stand on Tuesday morning to protest the killing of five youths in Sopore and Baramulla, police said. Police and paramilitary forces deployed in the town, 65 km from Srinagar, asked them to disperse but when they refused to budge, they fired tear gas shells and batons to disperse them.
"He was one of the oldest militant and wanted for several terror-related crimes," police told PTI.
The outgoing Lok Sabha had 23 Muslim MPs, the most being from Congress and TMC. The highest number of Muslim MPs were in 1980 when as many as 49 MPs from the community which constitute nearly fifth of Indian population present in the Lok Sabha.
The clash took place at Malaknag, 55 km from Srinagar, in Anantnag district when a group of people defied the curfew and allegedly pelted stones at the security forces, prompting them to fire warning shots, burst teargas shells and use batons to control the unruly mob, they said.
The Hussain family from Sopore and Iqbal household in Kashmir's Anantnag are eagerly waiting for their cell phones to buzz. It's been 11 days since 20-year-old Amir Hussain Rather and 25-year-old Wasim Iqbal last spoke with their folks back home.
Curfew was on Sunday lifted from many parts of Kashmir Valley while authorities announced relaxation of curfew in Srinagar city, where curbs had been re-imposed in the wee hours of Sunday, following incidents of stone pelting. Curfew has been lifted from Anantnag, Pulwama, Kulgam, Shopian and Awantipora towns in south Kashmir and Handwara town in north Kashmir, a police spokesman said. While curfew has been lifted from Budgam district in central Kashmir.
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.
Two youth were critically injured on Sunday as mobs defied curfew and attacked the home of the state education minister in south Kashmir Anantnag district. Meanwhile 34-year old Mohammad Ashraf Mir who was critically wounded in police firing in Palhallan town on the Srinagar Muzaffarabad road on September 6 succumbed to injuries in the Soura medical institute this afternoon.
Indefinite curfew was clamped on Sunday in Srinagar and six other towns of Kashmir Valley in view of several incidents of arson and violence on Saturday, official sources said.
At least six Central Reserve Police Force jawans were injured when unidentified militants opened fired on their convoy on Srinagar-Jammu national highway in south Kashmir's Anantnag district on Monday.
Adding to recent howlers, a visual of former Prime Minister Manmohan Singh was run on Doordarshan instead of Prime Minister Narendra Modi before a news segment relating to his current visit to the United States.
Kashmir witnessed a spontaneous shutdown to mourn the killing of Hizb commander Sabzar Bhat in an encounter with security forces in Tral area of south Kashmir's Pulwama district on Saturday. Soon after the news of Sabzar's killing spreads shopkeepers lowered their shutters and public transport disappeared from the roads. Students took to streets in several areas of Ganderbal district of central Kashmir, where a spontaneous shutdown is being observed in the district.
Fresh clashes broke out between protesters and security forces in Kashmir, even as Union Home Minister Rajnath Singh is set to visit the Valley on Saturday.
After nearly a week, curfew was lifted on Sunday in the entire Kashmir Valley in view of the situation remaining generally peaceful but prohibitory orders have been imposed in Baramulla, Anantnag and Pulwama districts besides some parts of Srinagar, officials said.
Army columns were deployed in the entire city, which saw widespread violence in Batmaloo and Maisuma locality resulting in the death of three people on Tuesday.
The situation in most parts of Kashmir Valley returned to normal after a week of curfew and violence, barring Anantnag town where police lobbed tear gas shells to quell stone-pelting protestors.
After four days of violence and deaths, Kashmir was today relatively incident-free even as more violence-hit areas were brought under curfew in South Kashmir where 3 youths were killed in alleged CRPF firing.
With this phase, election will be over in 424 seats and polling in the remaining 118 seats will be held on May 12 and 19.
Young soldiers blame commanders of for the debacle at the Uri army camp. Ajai Shukla reports
Curfew was re-imposed on Sunday in Srinagar and other major towns of the Kashmir Valley, where the death toll in the ongoing unrest has risen to 102 with three more persons, including a youth leader of opposition PDP, succumbing to injuries.
The army had to had to aim at the crowd when jawans claimed to have been fired upon from the other side.
With floods rendering the Jammu-Srinagar National Highway inoperational for 12 consecutive days on Monday, Valley residents are facing an acute shortage of essential commodities even as people in some areas of north and south Kashmir accused the administration of concentrating only on Srinagar city.
One person was killed in a clash between a mob and security forces in downtown Srinagar on Sunday evening, shattering the peace that was by and large witnessed in Kashmir through the day with curfew in force in the capital and two other towns.
Militants have blown up a bridge on the route to the holy shrine of Amarnath.
Rediff.com brings you monsoon images from across the country
The cold conditions returned in Kashmir division as the night temperature in most places, including Leh, plunged further below the freezing point followed with clear skies and unusual sunny days.
An indefinite curfew was imposed in Srinagar on Monday and restrictions were put in place in other towns to thwart a march called by separatists.To protest the killing of three teenagers allegedly by the police, the hard-line separatist All Parties Hurriyat Conference headed by Syed Ali Shah Geelani has asked people to march to south Kashmir's Anantnag town on Monday.The forces beefed up security arrangements in the old city area of Srinagar.
More than 8,000 pilgrims on Monday paid obeisance at the holy cave shrine.
Mobile Internet services continued to remain snapped in the Valley.
A trooper of the paramilitary Central Reserve Police Force shot dead two of his colleagues and wounded two others inside the heavily guarded CRPF camp at Kokernag in south Kashmir Anantnag district on Friday night.
In a fresh initiative, Prime Minister Manmohan Singh expressed the Centre's willingness to "talk to anyone" having "meaningful ideas" to promote peace in Jammu and Kashmir and offered to resume dialogue with Pakistan provided it curbed activities of those engaged in terrorism in India.
Asking Pakistan to destroy terror groups operating from its territory, Prime Minister Manmohan Singh on Wednesday said if it showed sincerity and good faith, India will not be found wanting.
Curfew was lifted on Thursday from all parts of the Kashmir Valley on the eve of Eid-ul-Fitr.
The number of terrorists killed in the past seven months this year is the highest in the same period over the past seven years.
The fourth phase of polling in Jammu and Kashmir ended peacefully on Sunday recording a turnout of 49 per cent, the lowest compared to the earlier three phases.
See what they have made up of Syria, see the situation of Afghanistan and Iraq. God forbid, does Farooq (Abdullah) want our situation similar to them? Or he wants our state to prosper?" the chief minister asked.
A junior commissioned officer (JCO) and two militants were killed, while four policemen were injured in an encounter between security forces and ultras in Kralpora area of Kupwara district in Jammu and Kashmir.
The briefing comes ahead of the parliament session beginning Monday.
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