A Central Reserve Police Force jawan-turned-militant and another ultra were arrested and a cache of arms recovered from them in Kishtwar and Poonch districts of Jammu and Kashmir, the police said on Thursday. Acting on a tip off, security forces raided a hideout of the CRPF-jawan-turned-militant of Hizbul Mujahideen, Khalik Hussain, in Patidhar village of Poonch district. Khalik had served in the 84th battalion of the CRPF before he was dismissed and jailed.
Three suspected members of terror group Hizbul Mujahideen, who are believed to have come from Pakistan via Nepal, were on Tuesday detained by an anti-terrorism squad of Jammu and Kashmir police at the railway station in Jammu, police sources said.
The death of a 33-year-old civilian during a fierce encounter in the south Kashmir Pulwama district triggered tension in the area.
"Prime Minister Narendra Modi is squandering an opportunity to find a solution for Kashmir," former Research and Analysis Wing chief A S Dulat said.
Public transport has resumed plying at many places in Kashmir and shops have been gradually reopening as more people are now carrying out their day to day activities
Srinagar city along with the rest of Kashmir was buzzing with activity on Saturday with offices, shops and other business establishments opening in the Valley which saw return of normalcy after 133 days of shutdown as separatists suspended their stir for the weekend.
There was a significant increase in movement of people and transport across the Valley as the annual board examinations began, officials said in Srinagar.
A suspected Pakistani militant of terror outfit Lashker-e-Tayiba was killed in an encounter in Kupwara district, while another militant of Hizbul Mujahideen outfit was arrested in Srinagar on Tuesday, according to the police. The LeT militant was killed today morning in a joint operation by the state police and the Army's Rashtriya Rifles at Kakadpathi forest in Lolab, 100 kms from Srinagar, said Senior Superintendent of Police (Kupwara) Uttam Chand.
Due to the intense global pressure in the wake of the terror attack on Mumbai, terror groups have been maintaining a low-profile, but this is their latest plan to cause mayhem in India.
Pakistan added that it is necessary to establish "veracity of the Indian claim".
Militants in the Kashmir valley are increasingly finding it difficult to get medical aid and many of them are dying due to various diseases and bullet wounds, a surrendered Ultra has claimed.
"It was a formal courtesy call, nothing else," an official said.
Mobile Internet services continued to remain snapped in the Valley.
Pakistan Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif on Thursday warned India that if "ceasefire violations" continue they will not go unpunished, according to a media report.
Sopore -- known as the 'apple town' of Kashmir -- is fast gaining notoriety for becoming a safe haven of terrorists, especially of Pakistan-based Hizbul Mujahideen and Lashkar-e-Tayiba, as it has seen a sudden spurt in violence during the last six weeks.
Pakistan played a 'key role' in fomenting the recent trouble in Kashmir, Home Minister Rajnath Singh has said.
"Grassroots democracy must get precedence than any other considerations, including security," the functionary said.
Here are the latest updates from the Valley.
Gandhi asked who in the Bharatiya Janata Party government had been held accountable for the security lapses that allowed the attack.
Normal life has been paralysed due to curfew-like restrictions and separatists-sponsored strike since Saturday.
"The secretary-general regrets the reported loss of dozens of lives and the injuries to many others," a statement issued by Ban's spokesperson said.
There were no curbs on the movement of people anywhere else in Kashmir.
Aurangzeb, who was in blue jeans and t-shirt was being asked by suspected Hizbul Mujahideen terrorists about his duties, posting and encounters in which he participated in 1.15 minutes video probably shot in a forest area, they said.
Four other associates of Sajjad were killed in a two-day long operation after the army intercepted them while they were trying to sneak in.
Curfew was imposed on Friday morning in seven police station areas of Srinagar district as a precautionary measure, a police official said.
The resolution expressed concerns over the detention of Hurriyat leaders and human rights activists and urged the Indian government to release them.
Two Hizbul Mujahideen militants, part of a group that recently infiltrated into the valley through Gurez sector, were killed in an encounter in Jammu and Kashmir's Baramulla district on Friday.
Singh's comments came hours after a Border Security Force and adjoining army camps in Baramulla were attacked by heavily armed militants on Sunday night.
The security forces had then described the arrest of Gazi as a major success in their anti-insurgency operations in the state. He was presented in the district court at Anantnag on Thursday where his detention under the Public Safety Act was set aside by the court. The judge released Gazi and he was handed over to his lawyer.
"Disappointed to see the Pakistan PM use the UN to praise a militant group that uses violence to promote its cause," Congressman Ted Poe said in a tweet.
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 case relates to alleged terror funding in 2017 in the valley and involves Jamaat-ud-Dawah (JuD) chief Hafiz Saeed, the 2008 Mumbai terror attack mastermind based in Pakistan.
Two terrorists were mauled to death and another seriously wounded after a bear attacked their hideout in a forest area in south Kashmir, a senior police officer said.
While the world marks Eid-al-Adha, the Kashmir Valley remains silent and there are no signs of celebrations. All 10 districts in the Kashmir Valley are under strict curfew on Eid on Tuesday to prevent any outbreak of violence, making it the 67th day of the lockdown.
Pakistan's spy agency Inter Services Intelligence had drawn up a plan to target Buddhist religious sites in India to avenge the alleged atrocities against the Rohingya Muslim community in Myanmar.
The separatists have extended the shutdown programme till September 16.
"The Kashmiri people, like people everywhere, deserve their fundamental human rights... They should live free of fear and repression," Malala said.
The delegation is expected to meet a cross section of people, individuals and organisations in its efforts to bring peace in the Valley.
With the Centre grappling to bring peace in restive Kashmir after the killing of Hizbul commander Burhan Wani, the slain militant's father Muzaffar Wani met Art of Living Founder Sri Sri Ravi Shankar at his ashram in Bengaluru.
The Pakistani prime minister urged the special envoys to ensure their efforts for highlighting the Kashmir cause across the world.
